Contra Costa Herald

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

Deputy Sheriffs arrest Livermore man in Danville following stolen car chase that began in Pittsburg, Tuesday afternoon

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Driver Darryl Maiale in a photo from his Facebook profile posted on July 11, 2017.

Chase began on Highway 4 at Bailey Road in Pittsburg

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

On Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 6, 2018 at about 2:55 PM, a Deputy Sheriff located a stolen vehicle on westbound Highway 4 at Bailey Road. The Deputy started following the vehicle but, did not attempt to stop it.

The vehicle suddenly sped away, leading the Deputy on a pursuit. The Deputy terminated the pursuit because of the suspect’s wreckless driving and the successful deployment of the StarChase GPS tracking technology.

The vehicle traveled at high speeds on Highway 4, Highway 242 and I-680 for approximately 15 miles before being located a second time by Deputy Sheriffs in the area of I-680 and Stone Valley Road.

The vehicle exited Stone Valley Road leading deputies on a pursuit again. The suspect vehicle crashed at the intersection of Danville Boulevard and Orchard Court, where it struck a Sheriff’s Office radar trailer and came to rest in the parking lot of a business.

The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody at that time. He is identified as 24-year-old Darryl Maiale, the only occupant in the vehicle. According to his Facebook profile, he is a resident of Livermore and attended Granada High School.

He was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. He will be booked at the Martinez Detention Facility for charges that include vehicle theft, felony evading, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest.

Man found guilty of animal cruelty for dog attack on calves in Contra Loma Regional Park

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

On October 31, a Contra Costa County jury found defendant Vinicio Santos of Antioch guilty of three misdemeanors, including animal cruelty. On December 1, 2017, Santos’ dog attacked the three calves owned by grazer Paul Daysh. The brutal attack left the three calves permanently injured.

Santos now faces a sentence of up to three years in county jail. Sentencing for Santos will occur on November 30 by the Honorable Leonard Marquez in Department 34 at the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Pittsburg. Restitution for Daysh will also be decided on November 30. Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Whitnee Goins prosecuted the case on behalf of the People for this misdemeanor jury trial.

“I am grateful the jury held the defendant accountable for his crimes. He ignored repeated orders from East Bay Regional Parks Rangers to control his dog. Consequently, these calves needlessly suffered serious injuries. We will continue to prosecute animal cruelty cases to ensure the public is protected and animals are cared for in a humane manner,” DDA Goins stated.

Santos and his dog were at the Contra Loma Regional Park in Antioch on December 1, 2017. Santos’ dog was not on leash when spotted by park rangers. After rangers saw Santos, they heard animals in distress. When the rangers connected again with Santos they saw the white Husky mix dog viciously attacking one calf, then moving to attack two more calves. Santos was told repeatedly to leash his dog and bring the dog under control. Santos ignored the rangers’ commands.

Santos was found guilty of the following misdemeanor offenses:

·         Animal Cruelty

·         Vandalism Over $400 Damage

·         Resist, Obstruct, Delay of Peace Officer

Case information: People v. Vinicio Arturo Santos, Docket Number 04-193968-5.

Suspect arrested for attempted murder in unincorporated Oakley dies

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

The suspect in an attempted murder/domestic violence incident in unincorporated Oakley early Tuesday morning, October 30, 2018, was pronounced deceased at the hospital yesterday. The 34-year-old Oakley resident is not being identified. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

On Tuesday, at about 3:26 AM, Delta Station Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a female screaming for help on the 3500 block of Wells Road in unincorporated Oakley. One person reported seeing a naked man holding an infant. The man was struggling with a female for control of the infant. Additional callers reported the female had passed the infant over to them and they had secured the infant in a nearby condominium.

The female continued to struggle with the male, who was attempting to throw her off of the balcony. Four neighbors arrived and were able to control the male after a struggle. The female fled to safety.

Deputies arrived on scene seeing a person on the ground who was being held down by others. After securing the person in handcuffs, Deputies found that he was unresponsive. Deputies unhandcuffed the person and began CPR. AMR arrived on scene and performed life-saving measures for approximately 10 minutes. The man was transported to a local hospital. The infant was also taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The investigation is ongoing. This case is being investigated as an officer-involved incident. Per the officer-involved protocol, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Sheriff are jointly investigating this incident.

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

Attempted murder of woman during domestic dispute in unincorporated Oakley early Tuesday morning

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

Tuesday morning at about 3:26 a.m., Delta Station Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a female screaming for help on the 3500 block of Wells Road in unincorporated Oakley.

One person reported seeing a naked man holding an infant. The man was struggling with a female for control of the infant.  Additional callers reported the female had passed the infant over to them and they had secured the infant in a nearby condominium.

The female continued to struggle with the male, who was attempting to throw her off of the balcony. Four neighbors arrived and were able to control the male after a struggle. The female fled to safety.

Deputies arrived on scene seeing a person on the ground who was being held down by others. After securing the person in handcuffs, Deputies found that he was unresponsive. Deputies unhandcuffed the subject and began CPR.  AMR arrived on scene and performed life-saving measures for approximately 10 minutes. The subject was transported to a local hospital.  The infant was also transported to the hospital as a precaution.

The investigation is ongoing. The subject is not being identified at this time. Additional details are pending.

Playoff stakes are riding on today’s 100th Big Little Game of Antioch vs. Pittsburg high school football

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Panthers to host Pirates for the historic rivalry

By Luke Johnson

One of the greatest high school football rivalry games will likely decide who gets a playoff bid and who doesn’t.

“If we lose tomorrow, we shouldn’t be in the open division,” said Pittsburg head coach Vic Galli.

The No. 1 and 2 seeds for the North Coast Section Open Division appear be locked in for De La Salle (9-0) and Liberty (9-0, 4-0 BVAL). In contention for potentially one of the other two seeds are Antioch (7-2, 2-2) and Pittsburg (6-3, 3-1), who play in the 100th Big Little Game Saturday.

Galli said Antioch’s greatest strength is its quarterback Willem Karnthong, who has passed for 1,120 yards and rushed for 406 this season.

Karnthong has 43 career touchdown passes and is seven away from breaking the Panthers’ all-time record.

The Pirates have to overcome injuries from star players to win the contest. Washington-bound nose guard Jacob Bandes and starting quarterback Tre Turner are ruled out for the game.

“Pittsburg’s greatest strength is the front seven — specifically, that triangle that anchors the middle: [Jack] Lacy, Bandes and [De’Jon] Benton,” said Antioch quarterback coach Juan Corral. “All 3 of those guys are Top 5 all time in their school’s history at their positions.”

Another weapon in Pittsburg’s arsenal is Willie Harts III, who has scored touchdowns via passing, rushing, receiving, interception, kick return and punt return this season.

Other key players for the Panthers consist of wide receiver Gaudie Campbell and linebacker Vinny Ballardo. Campbell is tied for most all-time receiving touchdowns at Antioch with 18 and Ballardo has averaged 100-plus tackles per season since he was a sophomore.

Game time is 1:30 p.m. at Antioch High School’s Eels Stadium at W. 18th at L Streets.

Antioch Police Chief shares statistics showing decrease in most major crimes

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Lately, I have had a number of people ask me about crime statistics in Antioch. More specifically, they want to know how our current crime rate compares to the crime rate prior to Measure C being approved by voters back in November 2013. Below is a graph comparing Antioch’s Part I crimes for the first nine months of 2013 to the first nine months of this year. (They can also be viewed on the City’s website at https://www.antiochca.gov/police/crime-statistics/)

Pretty staggering results! Overall, violent crime is down 39.9% and property crime is down 25.5%, resulting in a Total Part I Crime reduction of 28.2%.

This data clearly shows that Antioch is a safer community than it was five years ago. Now, by no means am I saying Antioch is crime-free, or even as safe as we would like it to be. It’s not. However, we have made great strides over the last five years in making our city safer. But like many things that happen over a period of time, the results aren’t as obvious to those of us who live here and are acclimated to the environment we see every day.

I’d like to share a personal story as an analogy to this. About 13 years ago, I weighed 320 pounds. I made some eating and lifestyle changes, and eventually lost over 100 pounds. This was very difficult for me to do and took more than a year to accomplish. The sad part about this was while I was losing weight, I continually felt as though my physical appearance was not changing. I saw myself every day, picking apart every flaw, and continually feeling as though I was making very little (if any) progress. It was not until I saw a picture of myself at my heaviest, and compared it to a more recent picture, that I was able to appreciate the change I had made.

Some people have a preconceived notion about Antioch. And for them, every single incident of crime reported helps justify their opinion. Also known as confirmation bias, this is the mentality of someone who fails to see the forest for the trees. Antioch previously had the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most dangerous cities in California. That is no longer the case. In fact, the most recent list I saw (just published last week) had Antioch down to #51 (https://www.roadsnacks.net/most-dangerous-cities-in-california/). By no means is this perfect or even ideal. But it’s a marked improvement from where we were.

There is still a lot of work needed to make Antioch safer. But the men and women of the Antioch Police Department have been, and are still, committed to doing the best we can with the staffing and resources we have to improve the safety of our community. I believe the funding generated by Measure C has enabled the Antioch Police Department to make a measurable impact on the crime in our city over the past five years. Measure W, on this November’s ballot, is intended to continue providing the Department funding that could be used for programs and staffing to further reduce crime in our community.

As your Chief of Police, and an Antioch resident, I am truly thankful for everything and everyone working to keep our community safer!

Respectfully,

Tammany Brooks III

Antioch Chief of Police

**The increase in Rape crimes was a direct result of the Department of Justice expanding the definition of that crime, which took effect January 2014.

Contra Costa DA, police agencies to hold Family Violence Prevention Forum Thursday, Oct. 25 in Antioch

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On October 25, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office along with our justice partners, is hosting a community forum and resource fair which will address what family violence looks like in Contra Costa County, what Contra Costa County’s response is to family violence and how law enforcement responds to family violence. Victims may feel conflicted about reporting violence in the home or may not be aware of the wide range of resources in our community that can respond to, intervene in and work to prevent these issues and keep our families safe.

32.9 percent of California women and 27.3 percent of California men experience physical violence, sexual violence and/or stalking in their lifetimes. In 2016, the National Domestic Violence Hotline received over 28,000 calls from California and nearly one-third of these had children in the home. Research has shown that only 4 percent of domestic violence murder victims nationwide had ever availed themselves of domestic violence program services. Our goal is to increase that number by letting our community members know how to get help right here in Contra Costa County.

The event will occur in Antioch at the Antioch Water Park (4701 Lone Tree Way) starting at 5:00 p.m. with the resource fair. Community members will receive a “passport” to use when visiting providers at the resource fair and will be eligible for prizes if they collect a “stamp” from each provider. A blue ribbon panel of experts from many levels of our County’s family violence response system will address the audience at 6:00 p.m. and be available for questions. After the panelists finish, the resources fair will be continue until 8:00 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided.

 Victims of family violence can get help by reporting the conduct to the police, by calling the STAND! for Families Free of Violence 24-hour toll free crisis line at 1-888-215-5555 or contacting the Family Justice Centers in Richmond (256 24th St.) or Concord (2151 Salvio St., Suite 201). In any life-threatening emergency, victims should always call 911. In 2019, a new Family Justice Center location will open in Antioch to serve East County residents.

The entire program will be moderated by KTVU’s Candice Nguyen. Panelists will include:

·         Dana Filkowski, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office

·         Rhonda James, STAND! For Families Free of Violence

·         Devorah Levine, Contra Costa Alliance to End Abuse

·         Kevin McAllister, Rainbow Community Center

·         Nicole Riddick, Pittsburg Police Department

·         Jason Vanderpool, Antioch Police Department

The participating agencies are as follows: 

·         Antioch Council for the Teens

·         Antioch Police Department

·         Bay Area Rapid Transit

·         Brentwood Police Department

·         Brentwood Union School District

·         Catholic Charities of the East Bay

·         Community Violence Solutions

·         Contra Costa Family Justice Centers

·         Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office

·         Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Department

·         Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office

·         International Rescue Committee

·         Mexican Consulate

·         Oakley Police Department

·         Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa, Inc.

·         Opportunity Junction

·         Pittsburg Police Department

·         Planned Parenthood

·         Rainbow Community Center

·         Rubicon Programs

·         Ruby’s Place

·         STAND! For Families Free of Violence

·         Tourette Association of America

·         Village Community Resource Center

 October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.

 

East County transient man convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter in 2017 Hwy 4 fatal crash

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Crash in Pittsburg on Oct. 4, 2017 took life of Discovery Bay woman

On October 2, a Contra Costa County jury found defendant Frank J. Newkirk, a 26-year-old transient, guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter. The victim, Theresa Frazer, was killed on October 4, 2017 during the morning commute on Highway 4 in Pittsburg. Newkirk was driving westbound on Highway 4 in a 2004 Chevy Tahoe in the slow lane when the incident occurred.

Newkirk now faces a sentence of up to six years in state prison. According to the D.A.’s Office Public Information Officer Scott Alonso, “Newkirk was a transient and his last known address according to court documents was Discovery Bay. But he lived all over including Bay Point and may have lived in Antioch at the time of the crash.”  Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Aron DeFerrari prosecuted the case behalf of the People for this felony jury trial. Sentencing for Newkirk will occur on November 16 by the Honorable Barry Baskin in Department 7 at the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez.

On the morning of October 4, 2017, Newkirk was driving his girlfriend’s 2004 Chevy Tahoe without a license and careened into Frazer’s Nissan Sentra. Frazer was driving her friend to work when the accident occurred. The impact of the crash spun the Nissan around and crushed the vehicle. In total, five cars were impacted by Newkirk’s crash into Frazer.

California Highway Patrol investigated the crash and found Newkirk was traveling at an unsafe speed between 54 to 61 miles per hour in traffic with cars slowed in front of him due to an unrelated accident. Evidence gathered by CHP showed the vehicle’s brakes were never activated before the crash. Newkirk also did not take his foot off the throttle. Newkirk’s collision led to the unfortunate death of Frazer, a 47-year-old mother of three children. Restitution for this case will be determined at a later date.

Traffic collisions can cause very serious injuries and even result in fatalities. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, traffic fatalities are increasing, totaling 3,623 in 2016 and serious traffic injuries are on the rise.

Earlier this year our office filed the following counts against Newkirk:

  • Count 1, Vehicular Manslaughter – Felony
  • Count 2, Driving Without a License – Misdemeanor

Case information: People v. Frank J. Newkirk, Docket Number 05-181281-7.

Pittsburg teen arrested in Lafayette battery, attempted kidnapping case

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Jordan Wilson in a photo posted on his Facebook page Aug. 4, 2018.

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

Lafayette Police have arrested a suspect involved in a battery and kidnapping case that occurred early yesterday morning.

On Tuesday morning at about 4:25 A.M., Lafayette Police Officers were dispatched to a battery incident on the 3500 block of Mt. Diablo Boulevard.

As a resident was walking towards the Lafayette BART Station, two individuals pulled up next to her in a dark colored sedan. Both of them were wearing masks. One subject got out of the vehicle and grabbed the woman, attempting to pull her towards the vehicle. She was able to break free and yell for help. The subjects then fled the area.

The suspect is identified as 19-year-old Jordan Andrew Wilson of Pittsburg. Wednesday morning at about 4:20 A.M., Wilson was in a vehicle that was stopped by Pittsburg Police in the city of Pittsburg. He was arrested and transported to Lafayette PD for an interview. Following his interview he was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Wilson is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Two suspects remain outstanding. Lafayette Police Detectives are actively investigating the case and are asking anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious dur-ing that time to contact Detective Sergeant T. Rossberg at (925) 299-3234. You can also call police dispatch at (925) 646-2441 or send a tip to the Lafayette Police Department at: 94549TIP@gmail.com.