Contra Costa Herald

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

Woman’s lifeless body found lying on sidewalk in Bay Point Sunday morning

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

This morning, March 31, 2019 at 12:29 AM, Muir Station Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report from several callers of a suspicious circumstance regarding a woman who was found down on the ground.

Deputies arrived and located a woman lying on the sidewalk on Suisun Avenue near North Broadway Avenue in Bay Point. The unidentified woman was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Detectives from the Office of the Sheriff homicide unit and Crime Lab responded to the scene.

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

Pittsburg principal dies from gunshot by wife in domestic violence incident

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Paul Shatswell

By Pittsburg Police Department

On Saturday, March 16, 2019, Pittsburg officers responded to a residence on Barrie Drive in regards to a shooting. When officers and medical personnel arrived they found a 45-year-old man, identified as Paul Shatswell, with a gunshot wound. It was later determined during a domestic altercation the man’s wife, 39-year-old Maria Vides, shot him with a handgun. The man was transported to a local hospital and has been in critical condition since this incident occurred. On Sunday March 24, 2019, Paul Shatswell died as a result of his injuries.

Last week, on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, this investigation was reviewed by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Vides was charged with attempted murder, an enhancement of inflicting great bodily injury in the commission of a felony, and an enhancement of committing a felony with the use of a firearm. Bail for Vides was set at $2,070,000. Due to the death of Shatswell, the case will be taken back to the District Attorney’s Office for additional review and Investigators will be seeking the charges against Vides be amended to include murder.

Vides remains in custody at the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office Main Jail in Martinez. This is the city of Pittsburg’s first homicide of the year.

“Celebrating the Life of César Chávez” awards ceremony at Los Medanos College Friday, March 29

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Los Medanos College (LMC) will host the annual “Celebrating the Life of César Chávez” recognition program on Friday, March 29, at its Pittsburg Campus; the reception will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the College Complex Indoor Quad, followed by the award presentations at 7:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall. The campus is located at 2700 East Leland Road in Pittsburg. The celebration is free and the public is encouraged to attend; RSVPs are not required. Complimentary, easy-access parking is available in Lot C for this event.

Los Medanos College hosts this event each year to honor the life of labor leader and human rights activist, César Chávez. The celebration also recognizes members of the East Contra Costa County community who embody his great tradition of voluntary service, civic activism, and non-violent social change.

The event includes the presentation of three recognition awards. The César Chávez Award for Exemplary Community Service, established in 1995, is presented to local residents who represent the core values modeled by César Chávez: “Service to Others, Sacrifice, A Preference to Help the Most Needy, Determination, Non-Violence, Acceptance of All People, Respect for Life and the Environment, Celebrating Community, Knowledge, and Innovation.” The East County Educator Award honors members of the educational community who demonstrate a commitment to student success and equity, particularly for students of color and those from low-income families. The Chávez Spirit Award recognizes up-and-coming leaders who have made a significant impact on the local community in the areas of advocacy and social justice.

This year’s recipients of the César Chávez Award for Exemplary Community Service are Dr. Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sidrian and Ms. Nancy Parent.  Dr. Gonzalez-Sidrian, a School Psychologist for Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) and advocate for students, serves on the Board of Directors for Future Leaders of America (FLA) East Bay Area.  Her commitment to volunteerism and serving others is demonstrated through her long-time involvement with FLA and its Youth Leadership Conference.  Ms. Parent, City Treasurer for Pittsburg, has a long history of community service and community engagement, having served on the PUSD School Board and five terms on the Pittsburg City Council.  She had an extensive record of volunteerism, mentoring, and securing donations to support student and community needs.

The East County Educator Award will be presented to Ms. Rebecca Quiñones, a teacher at Antioch High School, for her dedication to student learning and success.  Through her efforts to provide support, set high expectations, and engage with the AHS community, Ms. Quiñones has established deep and lasting connections with students and their families.

The Spirit Award will recognize two rising leaders and advocates in the community: Mr. Jose Cordon and Mr. Alphonso Guerrero.  As the Community Education Lead at One Day at a Time (ODAT) in Brentwood, Mr. Cordon empowers and builds leadership skills for East Contra Costa County youth.  Mr. Guerrero is the Founder and President of Compass Mentoring Academy, a non-profit organization that – through its weight-training program – provides mentoring and a supportive environment to young men at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility.

Please join us to celebrate the spirit of service and activism in our community.

For more information about all of LMC’s activities celebrating César Chávez, visit www.losmedanos.edu/chavez/events.  Questions about the events or awards may be directed to Jennifer Adams at jadams@losmedanos.edu or (925) 473-7302.

Pittsburg Police investigate early Wednesday fatal hit-and-run collision

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West Leland Road near Bailey Road

By Pittsburg Police

Early this morning at 01:24 A.M., officers responded to a pedestrian versus vehicle collision near the intersection of West Leland Road and Bailey Road. Officers were advised that Firefighters from Station 87 were returning to their station on West Leland Road, when they encountered the collision. When officers arrived, the pedestrian was located in the westbound lanes of West Leland Road and Firefighters were performing lifesaving efforts. These efforts were unsuccessful, and the man succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the involved vehicle fled the scene and the make or model of the responsible vehicle is unknown at this time. The Pittsburg Police Department Fatal Accident Response Team responded and took over the investigation. It is believed the driver of the vehicle was traveling westbound on West Leland Road at the time of the collision. The identification of the pedestrian is being withheld pending notification to the family.

West Leland Road from Chestnut Drive and Bailey Road is expected to be closed until approximately 10:00 A.M. this morning.

This investigation remains active and officers are examining the city’s video surveillance system that may have captured the incident. The Pittsburg Police Department asks anyone with additional information to please contact the Pittsburg Police Department Tip-Line at 925-252-4040.

Pittsburg murder suspect tracked down and captured Monday night

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Rolando and Edna Aquino. Photos courtesy of Pittsburg PD.

Family member also arrested for accessory to murder

By Pittsburg Police Department

On Monday, March 11, 2019, Pittsburg Police arrested Rolando Aquino who was wanted for the murder of Mark Gretler on July 27th of last year. Aquino has been on the run ever since the murder and had a $1,000,000 warrant for his arrest. (See related KPIX CBS5 TV news report)

Aquino, who was identified as the suspect shortly after the murder, was tracked down by the Pittsburg Police Investigations Division in the City of Oakland. Edna Aquino, a 60-year-old family member, was also taken into custody as an accessory to the murder.

Anyone with additional information should contact Detective Jacob Stage with the Pittsburg Police Department at 925-252-6972.

Extraordinary new Rotary Club charters in the county

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Northern California Gateway Rotary Club meets online instead of at weekly sit-down meetings

Rotary International District 5160 Governor Jon Dwyer visited Northern California Gateway Rotary’s Charter reception at the Elks Lodge in Pittsburg, Wednesday March 6, to personally welcome the 25 diverse members of the area’s newest and most novel Rotary Club.

The club’s composition is extraordinary, 12 women and 13 men, with an average age of 42 years, one a former President of a Rotary youth group. The objective of the club is to connect committed, community minded volunteers in the pursuit of service through friendship without the traditional meeting constraints of the past, thus the name Northern California Gateway.

Victor Georgiou, of the Danville Rotary Club, was the Governor’s Representative tasked with guiding new members through the Charter process, over recent years. Joyce Chiu, a former Danville Rotarian, was also active from the beginning. While there are 71 other clubs in the district with over 3,500 members, population growth has outpaced Rotary’s growth, in part because of the culture shift away from the weekly sit-down-meal meeting.

The new club concept embraces engagement over meeting attendance, retaining the network of community-minded friends’ approach that is the core of Rotary. Participation in projects is a large part of attendance. Members may also attend meetings online.

But don’t get the new members wrong: As flexible as the club may be in terms of presence, the focus on joint implementation of social projects is paramount.

Like all new ideas, there was some early resistance to change. That has largely gone away as other clubs are coming to view the new club as an asset to their efforts Northern California Gateway Rotary received its official charter in December 2018. District Governor Jon Dwyer, and his wife Bonnie, congratulated each member of the new club. DG Dwyer also emphasized the club’s status as a role model:

“Rotary club of Northern California Gateway stands for a new generation of Rotary clubs – the kind of clubs I consider necessary so that Rotary can continue to grow,” he said.

In his thanks to Gateway Rotary, new club president Daniel Lopez clarified the future path of the club.

“Together we will interpret the Rotary idea in new ways, design and start new projects and make new friends,” he said. “In this process, we will be guided by our Rotary values and the idea that is expressed in our club name.”

“We all had a great entertaining and humorous evening with good conversations among friends and families,” Lopez continued. “After all the words of praise, it is time now to grow together as a club, to get the first projects off the ground, to get active in the region, and to contribute to the development of the Rotary family – both internally and externally. All in the spirit of the club name: Rotary Club of Northern California Gateway.”

To learn more visit http://gatewayrotary5160.org.

Fatal Discovery Bay hit and run driver surrenders to court Monday

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Suspect: Crystal Diane Lia of Discovery Bay

By CHP-Contra Costa

On May 4, 2018, Contra Costa CHP began an investigation of a fatal hit and run on Hwy 4 at Bixler Road in Discovery Bay. In brief summary, the deceased was located the next day just off the roadway with no real leads that were presented early on, which compounded the tragic loss of life for the family of the deceased because we were unable to provide any clear details of what really happened at that time.

Our CHP Officers began the investigation and followed many leads, including working along side our special investigations unit, but were unfortunately unsuccessful in locating the suspect or suspect vehicle.

Then in late 2018, CHP received a tip with information regarding the investigation. This led to locating the vehicle involved, and a possible suspect as well. But many more hours of hard work were put into the case to obtain solid evidence, records, interviews, warrants, etc.

Then just last Friday, March 8, 2019, all the long hours and hard work of the investigation finally produced the fruits of the Officers labor. CHP was successful in filing a criminal complaint for Vehicular Manslaughter (DUI) and Felony Hit & Run with enhancements. The judge set bail at $300,000.

The suspect was not immediately located. But later a peaceful & successful surrender was negotiated with the suspects attorney and the suspect, Crystal Diane Lia, 36yr old from Discovery Bay, surrendered to the court Monday, March 11, 2019.

If you have any information regarding this incident from May 4, 2018, or the morning of May 5 2018, and would like to come forward to provide that, please contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at (925) 646-4980.

Although the life that the suspect took cannot be replaced, we hope that this will begin to bring some closure to the family that lost their loved one nearly one year ago.

Sheriff’s Office investigates Friday homicide of teen in Bay Point

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

On Friday, February 15, 2019, at about 8:48 PM, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to an unknown medical problem on the first block of Lancaster Circle in Bay Point. The Sheriff’s Office was later told that someone was shot at that location.

Deputies arrived finding a person on the ground. The 18-year-old man suffered from a gunshot wound. The fire department and an ambulance arrived. The victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim is not being identified at this time.

The investigation is ongoing by Detectives from the Homicide Unit.

Anyone with any information about this case is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 646-2441 or (925) 313-2600. For any tips, call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message or email: tips@so.cccounty.us.