Crime | Contra Costa Herald

Following attempted police stop, car crash three arrested in Richmond with illegal guns Friday night

January 17, 2021 By Publisher 2 Comments

Guns seized by Richmond Police Friday night, Jan. 15, 2021. Photo: RPD

By Richmond Police Department

Friday night, Jan. 15, 2021, Central District Officer Fuller attempted to stop a car with stolen license plates. The driver refused to yield and shortly after, the car crashed into another vehicle in the intersection of Marina Way and Barrett Ave. Three suspects fled the vehicle and ran onto the Union Pacific train tracks. Officers searched the area and located all three subjects.

A search of the vehicle revealed five firearms, all fully loaded. Two of the guns were rifles and three were handguns with extended magazines. The two rifles were an AK-47 and AR-15 with high-capacity magazines.

All three suspects were either on parole or had outstanding warrants for their arrests.

It is a relief to have these firearms off the streets and we are extremely proud of our officers and their commitment to keeping our community safe.

#RichmondPDCali #richmondpd

West Contra Costa murder suspect in custody, held on $1,050,000 bail

January 16, 2021 By Publisher Leave a Comment

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Kenneth Jordan Lightfoot. Posted on his Facebook page Feb. 1, 2019.

The suspect in the Tara Hills murder that took place on Sunday was arrested by deputy sheriffs on Friday, January 15, 2021. He is identified as 30-year-old Kenneth Jordan Lightfoot of Tara Hills, a neighborhood in West Contra Costa County.

On Sunday, January 10, 2021, at about 12:39 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a report of shots fired at an apartment complex at San Pablo Avenue and Crestwood Drive in Tara Hills.

Deputies found a man who appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound in a vehicle. Deputies immediately began life-saving measures until the fire department and an ambulance arrived. The victim, later identified as 30-year-old Charles Johnson of San Francisco, was pronounced deceased at the scene. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.

Homicide detectives worked continuously on this case and identified Lightfoot as the suspect. They secured a warrant for his arrest.

On Friday, at about 2:39 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were called to a report of shots fired at the same apartment complex where the murder took place. They detained a man who was confirmed to be Lightfoot. He was later interviewed by detectives.

At about 10 PM, Lightfoot was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on the following charges: murder and illegal discharge of a firearm. He is being held in lieu of $1,050,000 bail.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Sheriff’s Office investigates Sunday murder of San Francisco man in West County

January 12, 2021 By Publisher Leave a Comment

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County, Office of the Sheriff

On Sunday, January 10, 2021, at about 12:39 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a report of shots fired at an apartment complex at San Pablo Avenue and Crestwood Drive in the Tara Hills neighborhood of West Contra Costa County.

Deputies arrived finding a man who appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound in a vehicle. Deputies immediately began life-saving measures on the victim until the arrival of the fire department and an ambulance. The victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene. He is identified as 30-year-old Charles Johnson of San Francisco. An autopsy this morning determined the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.

San Ramon Police ID, seek public’s help locating suspect in NYE shooting

January 5, 2021 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Terence “Terene” Brown. Photo: SRPD

By San Ramon Police Department

San Ramon PD needs your assistance.

On New Year’s Eve San Ramon PD officers responded to the 100 block of Amberstone Lane for a shooting.

The victim was life flighted to a local hospital and is in stable condition.

The suspect was identified as 19-year-old San Ramon resident Terence “Terene” Brown who fled the location. Brown is wanted for assault with a deadly weapon. The firearm has not been accounted for.

If you have any information about Brown’s whereabouts please contact SRPD at 925.973.2779 or 9-1-1.

Sheriff’s Deputies arrest Richmond man for murder of older brother from Concord Sunday

January 5, 2021 By Publisher Leave a Comment

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

On Sunday, January 3, 2021, at about 7:02 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a home on the 1700 block of Lettia Road in the Montalvin Manor neighborhood for a medical-police call.

A resident reported that her injured son was unresponsive. Deputies arrived and started CPR on the victim. Other deputies conducted a protective sweep of the residence.

An ambulance arrived on scene and later pronounced the victim deceased. He is identified as 42-year-old Edward Mosqueda of Concord.

During the investigation, the brother of the victim was identified as the suspect. He was located by deputies several blocks away. He was arrested without incident. He is identified as 39-year-old Jason Mosqueda of Richmond. He was interviewed by homicide detectives and later booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.

Mosqueda is being held on the following charges: murder and violation of a protective order. In addition, he had arrest warrants for domestic violence, elder abuse, stalking, and violation of a protective order. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Feds charge Antioch nurse with possession of child pornography

December 28, 2020 By Publisher Leave a Comment

In addition to charges filed by Contra Costa DA

Shawn Jamison Prichard. Photo: CCDA

OAKLAND –Shawn Jamison Prichard was charged in a criminal complaint with possession of child pornography announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

That’s in addition to the charges filed against him by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office on December 10th. (See related article) (See related article)

According to the complaint filed December 22, 2020, and unsealed this morning, Prichard, 41, of Antioch, allegedly possessed at least one image of child pornography involving the use of a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Prichard is a licensed nurse in California. The criminal investigation in this case began with a tip from a social media company based on defendant’s use of a messaging service to send images of child pornography. Prichard is charged with possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252.

Prichard made his initial federal court appearance in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen. His next appearance is a detention hearing scheduled for December 29, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.

A criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years (20 years if the images depict pre-pubescent children), and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan U. Lee is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez and Kathleen Turner. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and HSI.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa DA: Pittsburg Police Officers lawfully shot, killed man during 2018 standoff

December 28, 2020 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Following domestic dispute and high speed chase

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office concludes that use of deadly force in the 2018 officer involved shooting (OIS) of Salvador Morales, by Officer Kyle Baker, Sgt. Gabriel Palma, Sgt. William Hatcher, Sgt. Charles Blazer and Corporal Alex McCray was a lawful response, and was legally justified. The DA’s Office released a public report about the shooting today, Monday, Dec. 28.

That follows an April 2019 Coroner’s Inquest Jury determination that Morales died at the hands of another person, other than by accident. (See related article)

On October 22, 2018, Morales took his wife and baby son hostage. A family member attempted to intervene in the situation, but Morales drew a handgun and shot him. Morales then fled the scene and kidnapped his wife and baby son at gunpoint. Pittsburg Police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on his car, however, Morales refused to stop and led the officers on a 27-minute high speed chase.

Morales eventually arrived at his residence and Pittsburg Police officers negotiated with Morales for over two hours in an effort to get him to surrender. Twice he walked out of the home pointing a handgun at his head. When he refused to comply with the officer’s orders to surrender, (name the officer) fired a non-lethal, beanbag round at him in the hope of getting Morales to surrender without using deadly force. Unfortunately, the beanbag round did not stop Morales. After he was hit with the beanbag round, Morales raised his firearm and fired one bullet towards the responding officers. In turn, officers returned fire and ultimately Morales succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

The release of this report is the first under a new policy for any officer-involved shooting that results in a fatality if the DA’s Office does not file criminal charges against an officer. The DA’s Office has never consistently released reports about fatal law enforcement incidents and has never released a comprehensive report of this kind.

A criminal prosecution of the involved officers would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers were not justified in using deadly force. The DA’s Office’s conclusion that under the circumstances presented to these officers in this case, a reasonable juror would not make such a finding.

The DA’s Office and every law enforcement agency in Contra Costa County has adopted the Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incidents Protocol (“the Protocol”) to investigate incidents when officers or civilians are shot or die during an encounter with law enforcement.

Under the Protocol, the DA’s Office investigates all officer-involved shootings in Contra Costa County for the purpose of making an independent determination of criminal liability. The sole purpose of the District Attorney investigation is to determine if there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a law enforcement official committed a crime in connection with the shooting.

The OIS public report is available on our website.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Three arrested in Tuesday night San Pablo drive-by shooting

December 26, 2020 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Photos by San Pablo Police Department.

Two suspects from San Pablo, one from Richmond

Photo: SPPD

By San Pablo Police Department

On December 22, 2020, at 10:11 p.m., officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation of reported gunshots in the 1400 block of 23rd Street in San Pablo. Officers arrived and found two adult victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Both victims were transported to nearby hospitals for their injuries and are expected to survive. It was reported this was a drive-by shooting and the suspects had fled the scene.

SPPD Detectives responded to assume the investigation. With the assistance of the San Pablo Public Safety Cameras, Detectives were able to quickly identify the suspects as Darius Markel Buie (20-years old) of San Pablo, Thomas Angelo Trevino (20-years old) of San Pablo and Brian Michael Banuelos (18-years old) of Richmond. It is believed the suspects knew the victims as there was an ongoing dispute surrounding a dating relationship with another party.

On Wednesday, December 23, at 2:47 p.m., Buie was arrested in the area of Shasta Avenue at Yuba Avenue in San Pablo. Later at 3:38 p.m., Trevino and Banuelos were arrested in the 1300 block of Esmond Avenue in Richmond. Investigators impounded the vehicle used during the crime; a 1994 Burgundy Buick Park Avenue. The firearm suspected to have been used during the commission of the crime, a fully automatic 9mm handgun with a high-capacity magazine, was also recovered during the operation.

All three suspects were subsequently booked into Martinez Detention Facility on charges of conspiracy, and attempted murder with special circumstances (drive-by shooting). Banuelos had the additional charge of an illegal weapons possession for the automatic firearm. The case will be presented to the Contra Costa Office of the District Attorney for review and formal charging.

The San Pablo Investigations Unit is investigating this incident. Anyone with information in this case is encouraged to contact the San Pablo Police Department at 510-215-3150. All callers can remain anonymous.

We want to recognize the men and women of our Investigations Division for yet another example of exceptional police work! #WeAreSanPablo

Pittsburg man pleads guilty to multiple felonies including July 2020 carjacking, attempted murder

December 22, 2020 By Publisher Leave a Comment

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County

On December 18, 2020, Gilberto Villegas of Pittsburg (42-years-old) pleaded no contest Attempted Murder and Carjacking related to his violent attacks on multiple victims over a two-day period in Antioch and Pittsburg during late July of 2020. Villegas also admitted to causing great bodily injury and to having a prior violent felony/ strike offense. In total, Villegas will serve 18 years in state prison for his crimes.

On the evening of July 25, 2020, Villegas approached Jane Doe 1 in a parking lot at her place of work. He pulled up his car next to the victim’s, waited until she exited the vehicle and demanded her car keys. She had attempted to leave her car and escape, Villegas brought her back to her car using physical force. The Victim then threw her car keys away in an effort to end the attempted carjacking. Villegas responded by using his own car keys to stab the victim in the neck multiple times. Fortunately, a witness came upon the attack and yelled at the defendant. He then broke off his attack and fled in his own vehicle.

The next day, Villegas approached another female victim, Jane Doe 2, in a parking lot where the victim worked. The Victim was in her car during her lunch break. He proceeded to open her car door while she was inside her vehicle and strangled her to the point where she lost consciousness. After he pushed her out the vehicle, Villegas then started the victim’s car and tried to run her over. Co-workers intervened and Villegas fled the parking lot in Jane Doe 2’s car.

As part of the criminal complaint filing against Villegas, he had a prior violent felony for a 2015 conviction for a robbery with the use of a weapon.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chris Sansoe of the Victims of Violent Crimes Unit. The cases involving Villegas were investigated by the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments.

Case information: People v. Gilberto Villegas Docket Number 04-200031-3 and 04-200067-7.

Contra Costa DA Becton issues new policy on civil asset forfeiture cases

December 15, 2020 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Doubles minimum cash amount to $1,000; notices must be issued in multiple languages; plus more requirements

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County

Martinez, Calif. – Today, Dec. 15, 2020, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton formalized a new policy for civil asset forfeiture cases within the DA’s Office. In June 2019, DA Becton implemented an interim policy to address growing concerns with certain types of civil asset forfeiture cases. This interim policy is now permanent for the DA’s Office and applies to the entire county. Civil asset forfeiture cases are a civil procedure for law enforcement to seize cash and other property from suspects alleged to have ties to drug trafficking and drug sales.

The policy covers the following items:

A new threshold for any case, the amount seized must total at minimum $1,000 for the DA’s Office to consider using the civil asset forfeiture process. Previously, under prior administrations, the amount seized could be as low as $500 for the office to initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
The seizing law enforcement agency must serve a Notice of Non-Judicial Forfeiture Proceedings and a Claim Opposing Forfeiture on any person who has, or may have, an interest in the seized property. Under this new policy and for the first-time, this notice is now required to be translated into multiple languages, including Spanish and Mandarin.
A criminal case will accompany any civil asset forfeiture proceeding. This will align the DA’s Office charging standards to mirror all criminal cases. Some exceptions include:
If the property is abandoned or not claimed, then our policy would not apply.
Where the property subject to forfeiture is claimed by a third party who does not appear to own the property or have an interest in the property.

“The community rightfully has tremendous concerns about the use of the civil asset forfeiture process by law enforcement. I have listened to the concerns and instituted this new policy on a permanent basis. We must only use civil asset forfeiture when absolutely necessary and in conjunction with a criminal case,” Becton stated.