Faces life in prison without the possibility of parole; Richmond PD Detectives solve case

By Allen Payton

On September 26, a Contra Costa County jury found defendant Jonathan Jackson (37 years old) of Richmond, California guilty of four felonies, including the murder of Sun Kwo, an elderly woman. The jury also found Jackson guilty of kidnapping Kwo to commit rape, forcible rape and sexual penetration by foreign object.

On January 28, 2012 in the early morning hours, Kwo was found nearly lifeless at the Big O Tires along San Pablo Avenue in Richmond. Jackson committed the heinous attack against her at that business in an alcove. This alcove was recessed from the storefront and hid the victim from the view of any passerby. According to an ABC7 News report, “when officers arrived, they found 82-year-old Sun Kwon of Richmond barely conscious, bloodied and lying next to a pile of discarded tires. Kwon, a grandmother of six, was sexually assaulted, beaten and suffered major head injuries.”

Six months later she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries inflicted on her by the defendant. The Richmond Police Department investigated the case.

According to a post on the Richmond Police Department’s Facebook page, “This was strong collaborative work by the detectives at the Richmond Police Department and the team at Pittsburg Police Department, Pittsburg, CA. Huge shout out to our detectives and their ongoing effort to keep Richmond safe.”

Initially, no suspect was identified at the time of the brutal attack. In 2016, Jackson was arrested for a felony offense by the Pittsburg Police Department triggering the collection of a DNA sample from him. Jackson’s DNA profile was entered into CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System which is a database that has been pivotal in solving countless criminal cases. Jackson’s profile matched a profile submitted by the Richmond Police Department from evidence they collected at the time of the crime. Richmond Police detectives resumed their investigation and solved the case.

“This day has been a long time coming; justice was finally served in this case thanks to the hard work of the Richmond Police Department, the patience of the victim’s family and the thoughtfulness of the jury who listened to all of the evidence,” Deputy District Attorney Aron DeFerrari stated. “In the end, the justice system is about shining a light on the truth, today that happened, and that is a good thing.”

Jackson now faces a maximum sentence life without the possibility of parole in state prison. Sentencing will occur on December 13, 2019 in front of the Honorable Rebecca Hardie – Department 5 of the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez.

The District Attorney’s office will not release how a victim may know a defendant in a sexual assault case. They don’t release the name of a victim to protect their confidentiality. However, previous news reports did release her name and photo.

Case information: People v. Jonathan Jackson, Docket Number 05-170598-7

Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa District Attorney was the primary contributor to this report.

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

Allegations of molestation and sexual abuse were brought last week to the attention of the Stockton Police Department. Officers later arrested the suspect, 69-year-old Lonnie Wright. He was then booked into the Martinez Detention Facility (MDF).

As the alleged crimes occurred in the unincorporated town of Rodeo in Contra Costa County, Detectives from the Office of the Sheriff followed up on the investigation. On Tuesday, September 17, 2019, Detectives presented the case to the Contra Costa D.A.’s Office, which charged Wright for 10 felonies that include sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a child 10 years old or younger and forcible lewd acts upon a child.

Wright, a Rodeo resident, is currently being held at the MDF. His bail is set at $5,500,000.

Wright has reportedly cared for numerous children. Detectives believe there may be additional victims and would like to talk to anyone who was cared for by Wright.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Special Victim’s Unit of the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2625. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

By Captain Brian Bubar, San Pablo Police Department & Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County District Attorney

San Pablo Police received information of sexual abuse of a 3-year-old child after the victim reported the conduct to a family member. In turn, San Pablo Police Detectives were called and an investigation ensued. Subsequently Detectives arrested Adalberto Guardado, a 65-year-old resident of San Pablo, on Saturday, September 14^th, at his home where the alleged attack occurred.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged defendant Guardado with two felonies, including the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, Jane Doe. The enhancements allege the defendant assaulted a three-year-old minor girl and befriended her before the alleged assault.

Guardado is set to be arraigned this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Richmond. The defendant is in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held without bail.

We will not release how a victim may know a defendant in a sexual assault case as well as the name of a victim to protect their confidentiality.

The investigation is ongoing and active. We are hoping the public may have additional information about the case or defendant. Members of the public with information about the case should call the San Pablo Police Department at 510-215-3150.

The case is assigned to Deputy District Attorney Bryan Tierney with our Office’s Sexual Assault Unit.

Case information: People v. Adalberto Guardado, Docket Number 02-330741-0

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

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, Seth Sears a 39-year-old resident of Richmond, CA, pled guilty to first degree murder during his trial for the 2015 killing of victim Neil Akin. Sears will be formally sentenced on September 27 before the Honorable Judge Charles Burch in Department 23 of the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. Sears in his pleading also admitted to using a firearm during the murder. He is expected to receive 25 years to life in state prison.

“The defendant pled guilty as charged to the first degree murder of Neil Akin, and further admitted that he personally used and fired the weapon that killed Mr. Akin. We hope that the defendant’s full admission of responsibility will help the victim’s family find closure after four long years,” Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Satish Jallepalli stated. DDA Jallepalli prosecuted the case and is assigned to our Office’s Homicide Unit. DDA Alison Chandler and DDA Colleen Gleason also prosecuted the case for our Office.

In September 2015, the victim’s body was found deceased in Oakland with a gunshot wound to the head.  Days earlier, the defendant shot Akin and left his body initially in the defendant’s apartment in Richmond. Sears wrapped the body in trash bags and used silver tape to bind the bags together to try to conceal the body. He rented a white van in El Cerrito and used the van to transport the body from his apartment to Oakland. Surveillance video in Oakland showed a similar white van in the vicinity of where the body was found.

Fortunately, a witness came forward to report that Sears had invited her over after the murder while the victim’s body was still in his apartment, and implored her to help him dispose of the body. She refused to help him cover up the crime and later met with the Richmond Police Department to describe what she had seen.

Case information: People v. Seth Rumi Sears, Docket Number 05-171844-4