Based “on a legal and factual determination — and not an elective, optional, or discretionary one.”

Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton issued the following statement on the charging decision of Ronald Benjamin Jackson, III who was arrested for robbing an Antioch gas station convenience store and killing the clerk, James Williams while exchanging gunfire on Sunday morning, Nov. 26. (See related articles here and here)

“The family, friends, and loved ones of James Williams are understandably devastated by the shocking news of his death in a gun battle at the Chevron station in Antioch on November 26th — where he worked as a store clerk. Our sympathies and condolences go out to those closest to him.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office declined to file murder charges in this case solely on a legal and factual determination — and not an elective, optional, or discretionary one. It was based upon an established law that clearly states a person cannot pursue another to retrieve stolen property once the threat of bodily injury or harm to the victim has subsided.

The video evidence of the incident clearly shows Ronald Benjamin Jackson, III, and another suspect exiting the Chevron station convenience store after the robbery and running from the scene. Mr. Williams is also seen in the video footage leaving the Chevron station store with a firearm while running after the robbers. Mr. Williams then fired upon Mr. Jackson, hitting him in the leg while he was fleeing and causing him to fall to the ground. Mr. Williams continued to approach Mr. Jackson with his firearm pointing at him when Mr. Jackson fired shots at Williams hitting him twice. Once in the chest and in the leg.

In the eyes of the law, Mr. Williams’ actions ceased to be self-defense when Mr. Williams pursued Mr. Jackson and the other suspect with a firearm — and continued to pursue Mr. Jackson after he shot him.

The legal distinction is clear: when your property and life are being threatened, an individual is legally justified in using deadly force in self-defense. However, once the threat of harm has dissipated, the victim of a property crime cannot then use deadly force to reclaim stolen property.

However, the reality of Mr. Williams’ tragic death will be a substantial factor in the DA’s position in asking for greater penalties in the sentencing of the defendants.

Diana Becton, District Attorney of Contra Costa County”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

New hearing set for Dec. 13

By Allen D. Payton

According to an Antioch resident who was at the courthouse in Martinez, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, Mayor Lamar Thorpe did not show up for his DUI trial before Judge Joni T. Hiramoto, and that his lawyer stated Thorpe wants to change his plea from not guilty. The resident also shared that a new hearing for Thorpe is set for Dec. 13, 2022, in Dept 20. at 8:30 am. The information was later confirmed by Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office Public Information Officer, Ted Asregadoo.

Thorpe was arrested in March for DUI at 1:15 a.m. in Concord. In a Facebook video later that morning he apologized for having “the drink with dinner”. He wouldn’t say with whom or where he had dinner nor what alcohol he had consumed that night. Thorpe was charged by the DA and later pled not guilty. (See related articles here, here, here and here)

However, reports from the staff of an Antioch restaurant are that Thorpe had consumed three shots of alcohol earlier that evening before heading out of town.

An email was sent to Asregadoo Wednesday morning asking, if he could confirm the information provided by the resident was true and if not, to please provide the correct information. In addition, he was asked who from the DA’s office is prosecuting the case.

“You are correct,” he replied. “The next court date is on 12/13/22 at 8:30 am in Department 20.  They set the date today for a change of plea. I don’t know which DDA has been assigned to this case, but the supervisor of the misdemeanor trail team is Jay Melaas.”

Attempts to reach Thorpe were unsuccessful asking if what the resident shared is true and if not to please provide the correct information. He was also asked, “Why weren’t you there? Were you still in Seattle for the APTA conference or traveling home at the time? What will you be changing your plea to? No contest or guilty? Will you attend the new hearing on Dec. 13?”

Thorpe might have been traveling home from the conference, today and unable to respond to questions. An effort to reach staff of Tri Delta Transit asking who from the agency attended the conference and if Thorpe, who is the agency’s board vice chair, was among them were unsuccessful prior to publication time. District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson who is also a board member for the agency representing Antioch did not attend the conference, as was previously expected.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Face life sentences

ANTIOCH, CA – On Monday, September 26, 2022, a jury of Kenry Lee Young and Lamar Young’s peers returned with a guilty verdict after a five-week trial. The brothers were convicted of California Penal Code Section 289 (sexual penetration by a foreign object), PC 287 (oral copulation), and two counts of PC 211 (robbery) for the numerous crimes they committed on October 17, 2020. (See related article)

While we regret these crimes took place, we would like to commend the bravery of the victims for coming forward and assisting with the prosecution of these two men. Because of their efforts, the Young brothers will never be able to victimize anyone else.

Additionally, we would like to thank Deputy District Attorney Jessica Murad and everyone else involved for their hard work during this lengthy trial.

The Antioch Police Department would like to thank the members of the community who assisted us with this investigation, in addition to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab, Serological Research Institute, FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Stockton Police Department.

Lastly, we would like to recognize the tireless efforts of Antioch PD Detective Kelly Inabnett, who was the lead investigator on this case. His extensive work and dedication to bringing justice to the victims led to the identification, arrest, and successful prosecution of this case.

According to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, Lamar and Kenry Young, the two brothers who callously committed a sexual assault and robbed two foreign national students in Antioch are facing life sentences.

35-year-old Lamar Lee Young of Stockton and 33-year-old Kenry Lee Young of Antioch attacked a couple on October 16, 2020, before midnight in the Palms Parking Lot near G Street in Antioch. The victims traveled to Antioch from the South Bay to go fishing at a pier on the Delta. When the victims returned to their vehicle, Lamar and Kenry approached them on foot with handguns drawn while the couple were seated in their car. The Youngs then proceeded to use their firearms as blunt force weapons on both individuals, carried out sexual acts on the female victim, and robbed them of their valuables — including an ATM card.

Members of the Antioch Police Investigations Bureau took the lead in reviewing a large amount of video evidence – including areas near the scene of the crime and a bank’s security camera footage where Kenry Young attempted to use the stolen ATM cards to withdraw cash. Investigators also used a DNA sample from Kenry Young to compare it to forensic evidence from the scene of the crime – which resulted in a positive match.

On October 22, 2020, members of the Antioch Police Special Operations and Problem Oriented Policing Units arrested Kenry Young at his residence in Antioch, which was only a few blocks from the crime scene. Lamar Young, identified as the second suspect, was arrested in Stockton on October 29, 2020.

After the Youngs were booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed a six-count felony complaint on November 2nd against Kenry and Lamar Young.

On September 26^th, 2022, a jury found both men guilty of forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object with enhancements for use of a dangerous or deadly weapon, as well as second-degree robbery and assault.  Each faces a minimum of 30 years to life. A sentencing date has been set for December 16^th, 2022, in Martinez in front of Judge Rebecca Hardie.

Deputy District Attorney Jessica Murad – who prosecuted the case for The People — said she’s thankful to the victims for coming forward and “having the courage to testify against these men for these truly horrific crimes. By doing so they have ensured no one else will ever be victimized by these brothers again.”

Antioch Police Detective Kelly Inabnett said in a statement: “I am sorry I met the victims during one of the most traumatic moments of their lives, but I am grateful and inspired by the strength they showed when testifying against their perpetrators. I am grateful the jury decided to hold the Young brothers accountable for their actions.”

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and the Antioch Police Department would like to thank the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab, Serological Research Institute, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stockton Police Department, the CCCDAO’s Sexual Assault Unit, Legal Assistants, Victim Support, and the members of the community who helped in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

Original Antioch Police News Release

ANTIOCH, CA. On Saturday, October 17, 2020, at about 1:00 am, Antioch Police patrol officers were notified of a brutal sexual assault that occurred in the Palms Parking Lot (near the Foot of G Street). Officers learned two victims were fishing at the San Joaquin River and returned to their vehicle at about 11:50 pm the previous evening. They were approached by two male suspects who were armed with handguns. The suspects robbed and pistol whipped both victims. After doing so, both suspects forced the female victim to perform sexual acts on them. The suspects left the scene in a vehicle – and minutes later – attempted to use a credit card stolen in the incident at an ATM.

Members of the Antioch Police Investigations Bureau took over the investigation and performed an extensive collection of video evidence. This included areas near the scene of the crime and the ATM that was used. From this video collection, investigators developed a suspect, 31-year-old KENRY LEE YOUNG of Antioch. A reference sample of his DNA was compared to forensic evidence from the scene of the crime, resulting in a positive match. On October 22, 2020, members of the Antioch Police Special Operations and Problem Oriented Policing Units arrested Kenry Lee Young at his residence, which was only a few blocks from the crime scene.

Detectives conducted additional investigation and learned the second suspect was Kenry Young’s brother, 33-year-old LAMAR YOUNG of Stockton. On October 29, 2020, members of the Special Operations and Problem Oriented Policing Units placed Lamar Young under arrest in Stockton.

On Monday, November 2, 2020, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged both Kenry and Lamar Young with multiple felonies, including oral copulation by force, sodomy by force, sexual penetration by force, aggravated assault with a firearm, and two counts of

robbery. Both remain in-custody at the Martinez Detention Facility awaiting trial and their bail was set at $3,450,000.

The Antioch Police Department would like to thank the members of the community who assisted us with this investigation, in addition to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab, Serological Research Institute, FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Stockton Police Department.

Additional inquiries or information can be directed to Antioch Police Detective Inabnett at (925) 779-6932 or by emailing kinabnett@antiochca.gov. Anonymous tips or information about this – or any other incident – can be sent via text to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword ANTIOCH.

During Wednesday hearing at Los Banos Courthouse; Robin Ruth Recla swindled six local, prominent residents who invested

“Ms. Recla is a con artist, plain and simple who should be committed to state prison for her crimes,” Merced County Deputy D.A. Colby

Victims “relieved that it’s over”, praise prosecutor, police and judge; main victim knew her for 30 years

By Allen D. Payton

After entering no contest pleas to embezzlement and filing a false tax return on May 25, 2022, in the case of the Los Banos, CA restaurant scheme, a 46-year-old Brentwood woman, Robin Ruth Ann Recla, aka Robin Berard, appeared in front of Merced County Superior Court Judge David W. Moranda on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, for sentencing in the Los Banos Courthouse. Following requests by both the prosecution and her victims, Recla was sentenced to the maximum available to the District Attorney under current law of two years, eight months in state prison.

The Merced County District Attorney’s office announced on May 25, 2022, Ms. Recla admitted to swindling approximately $300,000 from six prominent Los Banos investors. She also failed to claim the profits on her income tax return.

In 2018, the group of investors pooled their funds and formed an L.L.C. with the intent of creating and opening a restaurant in the Los Banos area. Ms. Recla was selected to manage and direct the project, but investors learned there were problems when they were notified by their bank that the business accounts were overdrawn

An investigative team comprised of an investigator from the state Franchise Tax Board Criminal Investigation Bureau, Commander Justin Melden with the Los Banos Police Department, and Merced County D.A. Investigator Moses Nelson worked diligently to trace the financial transactions exposing Ms. Recla’s behavior. The coordinated, year-long investigation uncovered Ms. Recla’s personal use of nearly all of the funds, including $159,273 in checks written to herself and her withdrawal of $24,900 in cash from automated teller machines. The investigators determined Ms. Recla also used the investors’ funds for personal travel and the purchase of personal items like furniture.

In the past, embezzled amounts as high as the amount involved in this case would have resulted in a larger prison sentence. However, changes in the law now mean the longest possible sentence Ms. Recla faces is two years and eight months in prison. Also, with the passage of AB 109, known as realignment, Ms. Recla’s sentence in most cases would result in a Penal Code, Section 1170(h) local prison sentence.

Local prison sentences in Merced County are in nearly all cases served on the Sheriff’s Supervised Release Program, referred to commonly as ankle monitor. However, because investigators and the Merced County D.A.’s Office appropriately pursued and prosecuted the acts of tax evasion, any prison sentence issued in this case must be served in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Ms. Recla’s no contest plea was not the product of a negotiated plea, and she entered an open plea to the charges, meaning that the court has all options available up to the maximum allowable by law.

At the sentencing hearing, attorneys for both sides presented arguments to Judge Moranda advocating for a sentence they believe to be in the interest of justice. Deputy D.A. Travis Colby is handling this case for the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.

According to the prosecution brief by Colby, “Ms. Recla has a history of fraud and deceit dating back to 1998 when she was convicted of fraud to obtain aid. She was convicted of felony grand theft in Pocatello, Idaho District Court in 2010, and in 2011 she was convicted of felony grand theft for stealing $35,000 from a former employer, Advanced Professionals – an insurance agency in San Jose. She was also accused of embezzling $70,000 from a restaurant in Los Altos between 2015 and 2017 before taking charge in this scheme to defraud people in Los Banos,” who are prominent and local but chose to not be identified for this report.

“Ms. Recla is a con artist, plain and simple who should be committed to state prison for her crimes,” Colby continued. “She is presumptively ineligible for probation. But even if probation did apply, probation is not appropriate for her under any reasonable analysis.”

Recla asked for leniency from the court for medical reasons including her mental health and her husband’s physical health and expressed regret and sorrow without showing mercy for the Los Banos’ investors who lost up to $300,000 collectively and requested the court to reduce her charges of two felony counts to probation.

Judge Moranda agreed with the prosecution noting her crimes “started small and worked their way up.” The judge further stated, “I don’t see the remorse. I don’t see that she is sorry.”

He then sentenced Recla to two years for felony embezzlement and eight months for filing a false tax return to run concurrently in state prison, the maximum under law. Since there was no credit for time served, and showing no mercy for her victims, she was handcuffed and taken away to immediately begin serving her sentence.

Victims “Relieved That It’s Over”, Praise Prosecutor, Police and Judge

Asked how she was feeling, Sandie Silva, one of the victims said, “I’m feeling, I guess, relieved that it’s over. I feel that justice has been done and I feel that our district attorney and detectives, Melden from Los Banos and Moses from the District Attorney’s Office. And Travis Colby was amazing.”

Cheryl Silva, Sandie’s sister-in-law, and her husband Anthony were also victims in the restaurant investment embezzlement scheme.

“I’m elated that the judge listened to our victim’s impact statements,” Cheryl exclaimed. “I believe he responded to us through the sentencing. He listened to how we’re really feeling. This is not Robin Recla’s first felony offense and the judge responded to that saying, this is a pattern with Robin. For me that was very reassuring. We did not feel as though, in her statements she did apologize, but we did not feel it was sincere. She had many opportunities over the past four years to do what was right but chose not to. I’m elated that justice was served. It was not vindicative on our part. We were seeking justice.”

Asked how they met Recla, Cheryl responded, “she was very close to Sandie to the point she called her mom. She garnered our trust through that relationship and that’s how all of this came about.

Asked when they first met, Cheryl said, “Sandie met her 30 years ago.”

“I’m in real estate and I had a business with my ex-husband and Robin was actually our ad sales rep for the Los Banos Enterprise,” Sandie said. “I actually also owned a house-cleaning service and cleaned her parents’ house and helped her get the job at the Enterprise.”

“She befriended me, she could sell yellow snow to an Eskimo,” Sandie continued. “Robin babysat my kids, and I kept her son, too.”

“Then we lost touch for years and then she found me on Facebook in 2009. She was living in the San Jose area at the time and bought me flowers one year, and the card said, ‘Happy Birthday, Mom’. I thought, ‘awww. She just wants someone to love her.’ She catered my daughter’s best friend’s husband’s funeral reception and she told everyone that I was her mom and that my kids were her brother and sister.”

“That was around Easter time, I asked her what they were doing, she said they were going to be alone, so, I invited her to our house,” Sandie shared. “Because she was spending so much money on rent, I said she needed to come back Los Banos, save money and buy a house. She and her kids stayed with us less than a month, while a house was getting ready for them to move into.”

“Robin was working at a restaurant in the Bay Area – she was charged over there, too,” Sandie said. “I was paying their bills for her. I told her, ‘you can’t afford to quit your job, you stay there and save your money’.”

“About six months later she presented this plan to us. My husband, Danny Silva, was born, here and started sharing this with his friends. He thought it was a pretty good idea.”

“It was going to offer farm to table comfort food. It was called ‘Double R’. It was going to have a nice cocktail lounge. It was nice,” Sandie stated. “We leased a space by the Target on West Pacheco Blvd.”

“What happened was I was a signer on the account and the bank called me that the account was overdrawn, and I said, ‘we haven’t started construction, yet. How can it be overdrawn?’” Sandie continued. “That was the first time. Robin gave me some con story that she had a loan that hadn’t funded, yet and that she called and explained it to the bank, and everything was fine. Then I got a second phone call from the bank and the account was $50,000 overdrawn. So, I went down to the bank and got a printout and saw that the day after we deposited funds, she started writing checks to herself.”

“I went over to her house, my husband and I met with her and her husband, and told her you’re not my daughter, you just screwed over my family, and you better start talking,” Sandie stated. “Robin said, ‘I know. I thought I could fix it before anyone found out.’ Then she told me she was going to sue our attorney, who set up our LLC, for malpractice and give us our money back.”

“She did actually file a lawsuit against him, but it was dismissed. She didn’t get anything from it,” Sandie added.

“Robin had purchased a liquor license and it was in escrow, she didn’t pay the seller, she gave him back the license and she took the money out of escrow and kept it, she didn’t put it back in the escrow account,” Sandie explained. “But she’s a convicted felon so she put the liquor license in her son’s name. She was writing to the checks ABC, but they must have told her they couldn’t accept her checks, so, she forged my signature on a $10,000 check.”

That wasn’t one of the charges. “They said I would have to take her court,” Sandie stated.

“All these people, they only trusted her because I trusted her,” she continued. “That’s kind of a heavy weight to carry.”

“My heart really broke, today because I was sending someone I loved to prison,” Sandie shared. “But I didn’t believe anything coming out of her mouth, today. I’m a sucker but I wasn’t suckered, today.”

“I have to tell you, that judge and Travis, they did their jobs,” Sandie stated. “Even if we lost, today I’m proud of the job they did.”

“Everything went good, because she was found guilty,” Danny Silva said. “The problem I had was the people in Sacramento.”

“I’m all for giving people a second chance,” he continued. “So, a minimum sentence like this for a first offense. But it’s not here first offense. If you keep making the same mistakes and no consequences, you’re going to keep doing it. The thing is she can be out for six to eight months. I hope I’m wrong. But I’m willing to bet $20 she’s out in eight months or sooner. She has nothing to worry about. The judge knew she’s a habitual liar and con artist. It’s a shame our system doesn’t punish these people more.”

As with most white collar crime cases, the investigation required time intensive forensic accounting and a large collaboration among several agencies. White-collar crime is taken very seriously by the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, as the effects are often far reaching and can financially devastate individuals and businesses. The DA’s Office thanked the Franchise Tax Board, Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Los Banos Police Department for their collaboration and shared that it is greatly appreciated to see that the defendant was brought to justice in this case.

Andy English contributed to this report.