Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

DA issues policy requiring prosecutors consider reason for looting during state of emergency before charging with crime

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Policy issued by Contra Costa DA Diana Becton to Deputy DA’s. Courtesy of CCCDA.

Antioch Mayor “disturbed” by and doesn’t “agree with this approach”; theft by 3 of $20,000 of alcohol in San Pablo not charged as looting; more cases affected by policy

By Allen Payton

Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton issued a policy in June, that recently went public, requiring her Deputy DA’s assess the reason someone was looting during a state of emergency before filing charges against them. However, the policy doesn’t prevent police officers from arresting the looter, according to DA’s office spokesman, Scott Alonso. CCDA Looting Guidelines

In the document obtained by Red State News, and shared with the Herald, today, reads:

“Theft Offenses Committed During State of Emergency (PC 463)

In order to promote consistent and equitable filing practices the following analysis is to be applied when giving consideration to filing of PC 463 (Looting):

1. Was this theft offense substantially motivated by the state of emergency, or simply a theft offense which occurred contemporaneous to the declared state of emergency?

a. Factors to consider in making this determination:

i. Was the target business open or closed to the public during the state of emergency?
ii. What was the manner and means by which the suspect gained entry to the business?

iii. What was the nature/quantity/value of the goods targeted?

iv. Was the theft committed for financial gain or personal need?

v. Is there an articulable reason why another statute wouldn’t adequately address the particular incident?”

“I am not sure how they obtained the policy. But it is our policy,” Alonso confirmed. The policy is true but the article in Red State is highly misleading and frankly wrong.”

He then shared a link to an analysis of the policy and articles about it by Red State and other publications on the Snopes website devoted to fact checking, which has some of it’s own controversial history in getting things wrong, at times.

Alonso then clarified matters by writing, “Nothing in the guidelines prohibits the police from arresting someone for a crime. It is really important to underscore these guidelines are because of the COVID-19 shelter in place given Governor Newsom’s statewide order to declare a state of emergency. We look at if the theft is because there is a state of emergency – or is this simply an offense contemporaneous to the state of emergency. We wanted to ensure consistency across the Office in considering any criminal charges for alleged violations of PC 463. Historically, prior to COVID-19 – we could find no recent evidence that our Office had filed looting charges during a state of emergency.”

“As you know, when evaluating any criminal case our prosecutors look at the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he continued. “These guidelines are consistent with how we evaluate criminal cases. The policy does not say we won’t file these types of cases. The Red State article is incredibly misleading and frankly written from a slanted point of view. The author of the piece did not reach out to us prior to publication. I appreciate you reaching out in advance of publishing anything.”

Section 463 of the California Penal Code states that a person convicted of second-degree burglary or grand theft during a state of emergency is guilty of the crime of looting, which can be punishable by imprisonment in county jail for one year. However, alternative sentencing for someone on probation can be issued for 180 days in jail and 240 hours of community service. The crime of petty theft during a state of emergency is increased to a misdemeanor punishable by six months in county jail or 90 days in jail and 80 hours of community service.

Antioch Mayor Responds

In an email sent from his re-election campaign account on Monday, Antioch Mayor Sean Wright wrote to Antioch residents with the subject line, “Unbelievable what our District Attorney just did.”

“I am disturbed by our Contra Costa County District Attorney’s announcement that our police officers must consider if looters ‘needed’ stolen property before they can charge them with looting,” he wrote. “Our DA is the first and only DA in the nation urging this kind of guidance.”

“Looting that takes place in times of emergency, such as we are going through, is against the law,” Wright continued. “According to our DA, if the looters ‘need’ an item in a retail shop, for example, it is OK for them to take that item without being charged. I don’t agree with this approach – do you? Please feel free to share your thoughts on this by clicking here to send me an email.”

He then provided a link to an article about the matter on The Daily Wire.

3 Arrested for $20,000 Theft of Alcohol Not Charged With Looting

One of the cases already affected by the policy includes three people arrested during the COVID-19 pandemic for stealing $20,000 from a beverage store in San Pablo but not charged with looting. Another case affected by the policy involved a woman attempting to break into an ATM during the pandemic, who was also not charged with looting.

The Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association and police officers’ associations in the county are expected to issue a response to the policy, soon.

Mother and son from San Ramon convicted of $2 million insurance and tax fraud scheme

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Husband and father is wanted and believed to be in India; owners of defense contractor companies

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

Martinez, Calif. – Selina Singh (57-years-old) and Kabir Singh (30-years-old), a mother and son from San Ramon, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance premium fraud and related felonies today, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020. Both defendants also admitted an aggravated white-collar crime enhancement for a loss exceeding $500,000 through a pattern of criminal activity. The crimes were committed through two businesses they owned and operated that did contract work for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The husband and father, Majinder Paul “MP” Singh, age 59, was vice president of the family business, and was also charged in November 2018 with multiple counts of workers’ compensation fraud, insurance fraud, laundering $1.5 million, as well as conspiracy. He has a warrant out for his arrest and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office believes he is in India.

Workers compensation coverage to protect employees from injury is mandatory in the State of California. Premium fraud creates unfair competition in dangerous industries, as law-abiding business owners are outbid by competitors that unlawfully evade the cost of coverage at the expense of their workers. Such fraud can also result in harm to public if it exposes the person or entity hiring the contractor to liability for the injury, or even to the unsuspecting employees themselves, as an injured worker may encounter a claim denial or delay in obtaining coverage for needed medical care if the employer’s false reporting of company operations causes the insurance company to question and investigate the employee’s claim of injury.

The investigation of this case started after an employee severed his thumb while working on a Bara Infoware, Inc. construction jobsite at Fort Hunter Liggett. The injured employee and his site safety supervisor reported to Monterey County District Attorney investigators that Selina Singh directed them to lie about the injury occurring on a Bara Infoware, Inc. jobsite and report it occurred while working for the family’s other company, Federal Solutions Group.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office determined the companies were headquartered in San Ramon, California and started a joint investigation with the relevant local and State agencies. Investigators determined that the defendants obtained government contracts, including construction contracts that required compliance with workers compensation laws. Defendants then used their companies hire, employ, and pay construction laborers, carpenters, painters, and other workers in order to complete construction work, even as they fraudulently misrepresented the construction payroll to insurance carriers in less dangerous industries such as clerical, and consulting, in order to lower their insurance rates.

Investigators located another injured employee that reported that Kabir Singh asked him not to report his injury and offered to pay his medical expenses instead of reporting the injury to company’s insurance and located a third company, Eagle Solutions, that was used first to move money between Bara Infoware, Inc. and Federal Solutions Group, and then eventually directly to obtain workers compensation policies for non-construction payroll while running construction jobsites. An audit by a forensic accountant at the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office concluded that the scheme evaded over $2 million dollars of insurance premiums that law abiding competitors would have had to pay in seven years, in addition to over $200,000 of evaded payroll tax owed to the State of California.

Selina Singh pled guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance premium fraud, payroll tax fraud, and a white-collar crime enhancement. The maximum sentence for those charges is eleven years and eight months.

Kabir Singh pled guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance premium fraud, and a white-collar crime enhancement. The maximum sentence for those charges is eleven years and eight months.

The Honorable Laurel Brady accepted the pleas. Sentencing is scheduled for November 19 at 1:30 p.m. in Department 31 of the Contra Costa County Superior Court.

This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, California Department of Insurance, Fraud Division and Employment Development Department, Criminal Investigation Division and was prosecuted by DDA Jeremy L. Seymour. DDA Seymour is the Supervising Attorney in the Workers’ Compensation Unit for the DA’s Office.

Anyone with information about possible insurance fraud can report that information to the District Attorney’s Office via email at DA-ReportFraud@contracostada.org.

Read more about the case, here.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa DA issues joint statement on 11 criminal justice reform commitments

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“…change needed to upend a system rooted in slavery.” – District Attorney Diana Becton

By Allen Payton

Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton. From CCC website.

In a joint commentary published on Politico.com last week, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and four other district attorneys from across the country, issued a statement on 11 criminal justice reform commitments. However, the commentary states they want to transform and no longer reform the system. The commentary was not sent to local media which covers Contra Costa County.

One of the points reiterates what Becton promoted in June, with other prosecutors in California, which is to ban political contributions from police unions to candidates for district attorney. However, questions to her about that issue, including asking if Becton would also support banning contributions from criminal defense attorneys, were never responded to.

The commentary begins with the claim, “Our criminal legal system was constructed to control Black people and people of color. Its injustices are not new but are deeply rooted in our country’s shameful history of slavery and legacy of racial violence. The system is acting exactly as it was intended to, and that is the problem. We should know: We’re Black, we’re female, and we’re prosecutors. We work as the gatekeepers in this flawed system.”

In that commentary, the five elected prosecutors also wrote, “Each level of the legal system reflects a level of inherent bias, and unless we stop trying to reform the system and instead work to transform it, we will never achieve the kind of change needed to upend a system rooted in slavery. Working from within, we have begun the steps to rectify past wrongs. We are implementing policies that include declining to prosecute minor offenses, overturning wrongful convictions, refusing to take cases from officers with a history of racial bias and expunging marijuana convictions.”

“Now we are pushing even further. We have decided to make the following 11 commitments, and we urge our fellow prosecutors to join us:

  1. Do not prosecute peaceful protesters. Citizens have a right to protest, and prosecutions can antagonize marginalized communities.
  2. Do not accept any funding from police unions. This will ensure our offices’ independence, and the ability to hold police accountable for injustice and misconduct.
  3. Require the review of all available evidence — including body-worn camera and other video footage — in cases that rest solely on the testimony of an officer. One officer’s perspective cannot guarantee the full truth, and therefore all available evidence must be reviewed for the cases that come across our desks.
  4. Ban “No Knock” warrants and reexamine our policies for issuing warrants. “No Knock” warrants are a violation of individual rights and represent an overreach of police power. They often result in unnecessary and tragic fatalities, as we saw in the case of Breonna Taylor.
  5. Hold police accountable by pursuing criminal charges against officers unlawfully using excessive force and other forms of state-sanctioned violence.Each member of law enforcement must do their part to hold officers accountable for unlawful practices and misconduct to ensure the safety of every person who comes in contact with the legal system.
  6. Expand our office policies on declining low-level offenses to cover decisions regarding charging and issuing warrants. By increasing our efforts to decline to prosecute certain low-level offenses, we can work to reverse the disproportionate impact the legal system has on Black people and low-income communities.
  7. Financially support and advocate for increases in funding to community-led and community-defined responses, restorative justice and violence prevention programs. Investing in community-led programs is crucial to addressing the racist origins of our legal system.
  8. Commit to using our office’s power and platform to advance discussions of divestment from the criminal legal system and toward community-led and community-defined responses to harm. Strong community support, restorative justice practices and diversion practices are key to dismantling the current legal system and shifting its focus from punishment toward justice.
  9. Develop grant-based community reinvestment programs to be administered in partnership with community-based partners. Community programs have proved to lessen recidivism and keep people out of contact with the criminal legal system, while keeping communities safer, overall.
  10. Solicit feedback from Black and brown community groups we were elected to serve through public, virtual forums in the next two weeks. Only by listening to the most impacted communities and advocates and bringing them to the table, will we truly understand their greatest needs and biggest challenges. Then, we will work together to rectify them.
  11. Commit to budget transparency.A budget is a moral document, and our constituents have the right to see how we allocate our budget and what we are funding to invest in community supports and safety.

To read the entire commentary on Politico, click here.

Orinda armed robbery suspect with criminal history arrested in Texas

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

All three suspects involved in an armed robbery that occurred on July 25, 2020 in Orinda have been arrested.

The robbery occurred on Fallen Leaf Terrace in Orinda at about 2 PM when armed suspects approached a resident as he was unloading his vehicle in his driveway. The suspects fled with personal property.

Orinda police detectives, working with other law enforcement agencies, were able to identify the three suspects involved in the robbery. They were apparently suspects in other crimes committed in the East Bay.

Two of them were arrested late last month by Piedmont and Berkeley Police. The two agencies were serving search and arrest warrants at an Oakland home for crimes that occurred in their jurisdictions. The two are identified as 23-year-old Shane Downs and 25-year-old John Downs, both of Oakland.

The third suspect wanted by Orinda police was taken into custody on Tuesday, August 25, 2020, in Plano, Texas. He is identified as 25-year-old Demaria Leanthony Adger of Oakland. He remains in custody in Collin County and is pending extradition back to Contra Costa County.

Orinda detectives continue to investigate the incident.

Adger has a criminal history with multiple arrests dating back to 2014 in Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda County, San Joaquin County, and Sonoma County. (See graphic below)

From localcrimenews.com.

Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact Sergeant S. Valkanoff of the Orinda Police Department at (925) 253-4217. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Richmond man sentenced to six years in prison on child porn charges

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Followed by 20 years of supervised release

OAKLAND – John Vicencio Vinoya was sentenced today to six years in prison, to be followed by twenty years of supervised release, for attempted receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr.

Vinoya, 48, of Richmond, California, pled guilty to the charge on September 30, 2019. According to the plea agreement, Vinoya admitted that, in July 2018, when he was 46 years old, he texted a girl that he knew to be fourteen years old.  When he learned that the minor was about to take a shower, he requested that she send him a “half body pic.”  Vinoya admitted that he hoped and intended that the minor would send him a naked photograph that would have constituted child pornography.

Vinoya further admitted that, two weeks later, he sent sexually explicit text messages to the minor’s cell phone.  He attempted to persuade and entice the minor to have sexual intercourse with him.  On August 2, 2018, Vinoya drove to the minor’s home at a time when he believed that her parents were out of town.  He brought condoms and lubricating oil with him to the meeting. He was stopped by law enforcement when he reached the minor’s home.

Vinoya was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 13, 2018.  He was initially charged with online enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b).  He ultimately pled guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C §§ 2252(a)(2) and (b), attempted receipt of child pornography.  Vinoya has been in custody since his arrest by officers of the El Cerrito Police Department on August 2, 2018.

Katherine Lloyd-Lovett is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kay Konopaske.  The prosecution is the result of the collaborative investigative efforts of the El Cerrito Police Department, the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations HSI.

Bay Point man shot, killed in Bay Point early Tuesday morning

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

Tuesday morning, August 11, 2020 at about 1:46, Muir Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a report of a body on the 400 block of Pullman Avenue in Bay Point.

Deputies arrived on scene and found a man on the ground. He appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound.

The fire department and an ambulance responded. The victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene.

Detectives and crime lab personnel responded to investigate this incident.

The victim was later identified as 28-year-old Joshua Johnson of Bay Point. The cause of death is listed as gunshot wound.

Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

 

Brentwood couple charged with, plead not guilty to criminal labor trafficking for domestic slavery of nanny

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One employed with Contra Costa County since 1998; first ever case of this type for Contra Costa DA

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

Martinez, Calif. – Last month, Ijeoma Chukwunyelu and Nnamdi Onwuzulike made their first court appearance and entered pleas of not guilty in Contra Costa County’s first criminal labor trafficking case. In addition to labor trafficking under Penal Code section 236.1(a), defendants are charged with extortion and conspiracy to violate Labor Code section 1199 which requires employers to follow California’s minimum wage and hour requirements.

In this case, a woman was recruited from outside the United States to be a nanny for a family with young children in East Contra Costa County. Defendants instructed the victim to obtain her passport and visa fraudulently and claim she was coming to California for three weeks as a tourist to attend the wedding of her son and the defendants’ daughter. Because of her economic circumstances, and fear that the job opportunity would be given to someone else, the victim followed the instructions she was given. She was not aware of her legal rights to minimum wages, breaks, overtime or employment conditions under California law.

When the victim arrived in California in April of 2017, defendants took possession of her passport and visa. From the time she started until October of 2018, the defendants required her to perform work beyond what she was hired to do. She was required to sleep on the floor of the children’s room so she could care for them round the clock, to cook for the entire family and clean their 5-bedroom house for no additional wages. They did not provide the victim with breaks or days off from her work responsibilities as required by California Law. The defendants never paid her overtime for any of the additional hours she worked and continued to employ her with knowledge that her visa expired. This made the victim a particularly vulnerable worker without immigration status who was fearful of deportation.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Chukwunyelu has worked for Contra Costa county for almost 22 years, first as a Senior Information Systems Analyst and then since April 2016, as an Information Systems Manager. According to MyLife.com, Onwuzulike is 56 and formerly lived in Antioch, Martinez and Oakland. Additional information about the couple has been sought from those they claim to be affiliated with discovered through internet searches. Please check back later for updates to this report.

This investigation was a collaborative effort the Brentwood Police Department, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Department of Labor, and the California Department of Industrial Relations/Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and the Victim Witness Assistance Program within the DA’s Office. The investigation began when American Medical Response (AMR) personnel recognized a victim in need of assistance and connected her to resources that could help her.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic causes massive job losses and severe economic instability, California workers are more vulnerable than ever to exploitative employment practices. Our collaborative efforts on this investigation led to a successful filing of this case. I am proud to work with our partners at all levels of government to protect workers and seek justice for those harmed by predatory behavior,” stated Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton.

The California Labor Code and a series of 17 Wage Orders maintained by the California Department of Industrial Relations set forth state minimum wage and overtime requirements for nearly all types employees, including live-in domestic workers. The orders can be found here:  https://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/WageOrderIndustries.htm and information about worker rights can be found here:  https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html. These rights apply to California employees without regard to the person’s immigration status. Such illegal practices by employers could carry both civil and criminal liability for the employer even if the worker “agrees” with the employment conditions out of financial desperation, concern for their immigration status, or simply because the employee did not know their rights.

“The experience of this domestic worker represents countless more who are preyed upon because of economic desperation. These criminal acts are not only illegal but immoral,” said California Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower. “Human trafficking is modern day slavery, an we are committed to stopping it by partnering with agencies to eradicate this horrific crime.”

The case is being prosecuted by the DA’s Office, which is a member of the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Taskforce. The Taskforce is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement and community-based victim service partners. The Task Force works collaboratively to identify and investigate all forms of trafficking in our community while providing victims with culturally competent services and support.

“Our agency remains relentlessly committed to dedicating resources to disrupt and dismantle organized crime associated with human trafficking, and will continue to work collaboratively with our Taskforce partners to make an even greater impact,” said Investigations Lieutenant Walter O’Grodnick with the Brentwood Police Department.

Any person who thinks they may be a victim of labor trafficking in Contra Costa County can make a report to the DA’s Office Human Trafficking Tip Line at 925-957-8658.

“HSI appreciates the opportunity to partner with the various agencies in the Contra Costa County Human Trafficking Task Force in order to provide victims with the resources they need and deserve and to hold the violators to account for actions akin to modern day slavery,” said Tatum King, Special Agent in Charge – HSI San Francisco.

Case information: People v. Nnamdi Onwuzulike and Ijeoma Chukwunyelu, Docket Number 04-199478-9

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa Supervisors seek applicants for two seats on Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council

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Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton (center) with the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council. Photo by CCC.

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is seeking applicants who may be interested in serving on its 19-member Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC).

The JJCC is a multi-agency advisory body charged with creating and maintaining the County’s comprehensive Juvenile Probation Consolidated Annual Plan and coordinating county-based juvenile delinquency prevention initiatives. The state-mandated Juvenile Probation Consolidated Annual Plan is designed to improve services for Contra Costa County’s juvenile justice population by assessing existing practices and resources, identifying system needs and gaps, and prioritizing and recommending solutions.

The Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council is composed of the following 19 members:

Nine (9) ex-officio voting members:
1. Chief Probation Officer, as Chair
2. District Attorney’s Office representative
3. Public Defender’s Office representative
4. Sheriff’s Office representative
5. Board of Supervisors’ representative
6. Employment and Human Services Department representative
7. Alcohol and Other Drugs Division representative
8. Behavioral Health Division representative
9. Public Health Division representative

Ten (10) additional voting members selected and appointed by the Board of Supervisors:
10. City Police Department representative
11. County Office of Education representative
12–15. Four (4) At-Large Members, residing or working within Contra Costa County;
16–17. Two (2) Community-Based Organization representatives;
18–19. Two (2) At-Large Youth, age 14 to 21 years old, residing or working in Contra Costa County

The Board is now seeking applications for two (2) of the seats identified above:

–Two (2) Community-Based Organization representatives

The Board is now seeking applications for two (2) of the seats identified above:

–Two (2) Community-Based Organization representatives

This recruitment effort is for mid-term appointments to JJCC seats #16 and #17. The Board of Supervisors is looking to appoint individuals to these seats to complete the remainder of their two-year term that is set to expire on June 30, 2021.

The JJCC is expected to meet on a regular basis, at intervals to be established by the JJCC. Members will serve without compensation, stipends, or reimbursement of expenses. The community-based organization representatives should reflect the geographic, ethnic, and racial diversity of the County and should include those providing restorative justice, faith-based, or mentoring services, to justice-involved, homeless, or foster-care involved youth.

Applicants will be interviewed by the Board of Supervisors’ Public Protection Committee: Supervisors Candace Andersen, District II, and Federal Glover, District V. The nominations for the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council will then be forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors for action.

Below is a timeline of the recruitment process for the two vacancies:

  • September 18, 2020: Final Day of the Application Period, due by 5:00 p.m.
  • September 28, 2020: Public Protection Committee Meeting Interviews
  • October 6, 2020: Board of Supervisors’ Consideration of Nominees

Application forms can be obtained from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by calling (925) 335-1900 or by visiting the County’s webpage at http://www.contracosta.ca.gov/3418/. Completed applications should be emailed to ClerkoftheBoard@cob.cccounty.us. Applications can also be mailed to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 106, County Administration Building, 651 Pine Street, Martinez, CA 94553.

 

DA Becton supports closing Contra Costa Juvenile Hall, establishes Reimagine Youth Justice Task Force

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Supervisors Gioia, Glover support her efforts

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

Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton. From CCC website.

On Tuesday, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton issued the following statement regarding the status of Contra Costa County’s Juvenile Hall and the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility.

“These are historic times and we have an opportunity and a responsibility to re-imagine our justice system so that our youth have a greater chance to lead successful and enriching lives.

I am forming a Reimagine Youth Justice Task Force, which will include county departmental and community representatives, that will study and make recommendations on the most effective ways to invest in our justice involved youth through restorative, community-based solutions, with an initial focus on developing an effective process for closing Juvenile Hall.

Youth crime has been on a steady decline over the last twenty years, reinforcing the conclusion that moving away from youth incarceration is in the best interest of rehabilitation, public safety, and fiscal responsibility. Research has shown that youth can be better treated and rehabilitated in community contexts where they can retain ties to family, school, and their community. Programming and services which are based in the home or in the community are more successful at holding youth accountable and positively changing behavior than institutional settings.

Despite the steep decline in youth crime and consequent reduction in numbers of incarcerated youth, the money invested into the operation of youth prisons has not been reduced accordingly. Data shows that the average cost per incarcerated child in Contra Costa Juvenile Hall skyrocketing to over $473,000 per year.

The Reimagine Youth Justice Task Force will make explicit recommendations for financial investments in community-based services for youth instead of investing in youth prisons which have proven to result in worse outcomes for our children and families. Such an approach will allow for critical re-investments in basic needs such as housing, mental health services, and workforce development as well as support the creation of alternatives to incarcerating children in locked facilities.

In the meantime, we should pause and not take any actions to close the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility until the Task Force has made its recommendations to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.

This transition is urgent. The Task Force should finish its efforts by the end of this year and make evidence-based recommendations for the process to close Juvenile Hall to the Board of Supervisors in January 2021. The Task Force will present a proposed timeline and transition process for closing Juvenile Hall and will identify alternative investments for our public dollars into community-based services and programming for youth. Implementing these recommendations will create a safer community and help youth get on the right track in their lives.”

“I support District Attorney Becton’s efforts to reimagine youth justice in our County,” said District 1 Supervisor John Gioia. “We need to move away from institutionalization of young people and instead invest in community based restorative justice solutions which make us safer and are more fiscally responsible.”

“I applaud District Attorney Diana Becton’s effort to examine restorative justice alternatives to simply incarcerating our county’s youth,” District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover said. “The factors that lead young people to run afoul of the law are as varied as the youth themselves. In many cases a service-oriented approach will achieve much more in rehabilitating and helping them to become productive members of our community.”

 

Former basketball coach and school district employee sentenced for sexual abuse of child under 14

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

Paul Fielder.

On Wednesday July 29, 2020, Paul Fielder, a 60-year-old resident of Suisun City, California pleaded guilty to charges he sexually abused a minor under the age of 14. As a result of his guilty plea, Fielder was sentenced to 15 years in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration. Fielder was taken into custody on July 11, 2019 and has remained in custody since his arrest. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Bryan Tierney. (See related article)

The charges are a result of an investigation by the Walnut Creek Police Department, in conjunction with the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. On July 11, 2019, Fielder was arrested by Walnut Creek Police Detectives and Federal Agents when he arrived at a location to meet a minor to engage in sex. The investigation revealed Fielder had been sexually abusing a minor for several years. A search warrant was also served at his residence in Suisun City in Solano County.

Investigators learned Fielder had previously coached youth sports in Solano County and worked for at least one high school as a campus supervisor.

The investigation was conducted by a multi-agency Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is managed by the San Jose Police Department. In Contra Costa County, detectives and investigators from the Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, San Ramon, Concord and Moraga Police Departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Contra Costa County Probation Department, and inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office participate in the task force.

Parents are encouraged to discuss online safety with their children, and can visit the website www.kidsmartz.org or our website for further information.

Case information: People v. Paul Ruben Fielder, Docket Number 05-192507-2