Contra Costa Herald

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

Multi-county police pursuit starting in Pittsburg ends with driver’s arrest in Sonoma County Tuesday

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Screenshot from Contra Costa Sheriff’s helicopter video of suspect surrendering at end of pursuit on Tues., June 4, 2019.

By CHP-Golden Gate Division

Tuesday afternoon shortly before 1:30 pm, the Pittsburg Police Department, Pittsburg, CA attempted to stop a Toyota truck within their jurisdiction. The driver fled from officers at a high rate of speed. Pittsburg officers deployed a Starchase, LLC tracking device and discontinued the pursuit.
A Contra Costa Sheriff’s helicopter and CHP Airplane Air-37 arrived over the suspect vehicle and followed it from above. The suspect continued to flee through Contra Costa, Solano, Napa and Sonoma Counties. After the Contra Costa Sheriff Helicopter discontinued their involvement, CHP H-32 arrived overhead.

Due to law enforcement monitoring from overhead, it allowed ground units to get into position and deploy spike strips. Once the vehicle became disabled by the spike strips, the suspect pulled to the shoulder and surrendered.

The CHP – Napa Office and the Sonoma Sheriff is jointly investigating this incident.

To see video of the pursuit, click here.

Man arrested in Concord for stealing car from resident’s driveway Saturday

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Stolen Jeep and suspect arrested by Concord Police. Photos by CPD.

By Concord Police Department

On Saturday, June 1, one of our Concord residents got up early to volunteer at a sports competition that showcases Veterans and active duty service members with disabilities. Before driving off, he realized he left important items in the house. As he entered his house, he immediately heard his vehicle pulling out of his driveway (he realized he forgot to take the keys out). He ran out front and saw his car driving off towards Clayton Road.

Our good-hearted community member dialed 9-1-1 and Concord Police responded immediately to the call. Within 10 minutes of being broadcast an observant Officer saw the stolen vehicle driving on Willow Pass Rd. near Landana Dr. (almost four miles away from where it was taken). The car thief casually turned off on a side street, but then pulled over once he saw the officer was still following behind. The suspect was placed under arrest without incident and the registered owner was reunited with his car.

We are happy to report that because of CPD’s quick response, our community member was able to make it in time to volunteer for the Valor Games!

Man dies following shooting by police in Walnut Creek Sunday afternoon

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By Lieutenant Tracie Reese, Walnut Creek Police Department

Walnut Creek Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place today, June 2, after multiple 911 calls regarding a disturbance at a home on Sandra Court. The first 911 call was received at 4:41 p.m. The caller said her grandson, a 23-year-old from Walnut Creek, came into her room and threatened her. The dispatcher could hear a male voice yelling in the background. At 4:42 p.m., Walnut Creek Police received a call from a nearby resident, who said he could hear an argument and possibly a gunshot. At 4:47 p.m., WCPD spoke to a second resident from where the disturbance was occurring. The caller reported her son was being violent and threatened her with a metal pole. The woman said her son has mental health problems and will be aggressive with police. The woman said he broke a sliding glass window and had a metal pole with a pointed end.

Officers arrived at 4:52 p.m. At 4:53 P.M., WCPD dispatch received another 911 call from another resident on Sandra Court. The caller said a man was pounding on his front door, had a red bandana over his head and face, and a giant crowbar in his hand.

Officers searched the neighborhood and found a man with a long pry bar with a pointed end walking on Arlene Lane towards a residence. Officers gave multiple commands, ordering him to drop the pry bar. He ignored those commands and ran towards the officers with the pry bar. One officer shot multiple less-than-lethal kinetic energy rounds (also referred to as bean bags) at the man. He continued to run at the officers, resulting in two officers firing their handguns at him. He was struck and fell to the ground but, attempted to get up. Officers were able to subdue him, and provided lifesaving measures, including CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene. He was transported to John Muir Hospital where he later died from his injuries. His family has been notified.

The Coroner’s office will be releasing his name. The Walnut Creek Police Department is deeply saddened by this event as any loss of life is tragic.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Walnut Creek Police Department are actively working on this ongoing investigation. The five officers who were on scene will be interviewed and placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. We anticipate releasing the officer’s Body Worn Camera footage on a later date.

If anyone has information regarding this crime, please call Walnut Creek Police Department immediately at 925-935-6400 or Detective Greg Leonard at 925-256-3523. This investigation is in its early stages. Information could change as the investigation continues.

Law firm says California Secretary of State systemically violates National Voter Registration Act

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Contra Costa attorney leading effort

The San Francisco-based Dhillon Law Group sent a letter to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, demanding that he correct, within 90 days, his office’s systemic failure to verify the eligibility of voters registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles, as required by the National Voter Registration Act.

The letter sent on behalf of three California voters demands that the Secretary of State’s office make the following corrections:

  • Obtain from the DMV documentation regarding an individual’s citizenship, so that the Secretary of State may fulfill the NVRA requirement to ensure eligibility prior to placing a registrant on the voter rolls;
  • Begin to review all voter registrations and compare the voter registration with databases maintained by the state of California to ensure that all registrants are eligible to vote before placing them on the California voter rolls;
  • Review all current California registered voters to determine eligibility, and send notices to all non-citizens who happen to be on the voter rolls; and
  • Update the California NVRA Manual to specifically enumerate the responsibilities of the registrar of voters in verifying voting eligibility, by consulting state and county databases to determine eligibility.

“The integrity of our voter rolls is critical to fair and honest elections,” said lead attorney from the Dhillon Law Group, Mark Meuser. “With this anticipated litigation, we seek to maintain the voter rolls by ensuring that only those who are eligible to vote are on the voter rolls, from the start.”

Meuser lives in Contra Costa County and ran against Padilla in last year’s election.

Judicial Watch and the Election Integrity Project of California won a settlement against the Secretary of State and Los Angeles County in 2018 that forced the removal of 1.5 million inactive voters from the voter rolls in compliance of the NVRA.

“California is the home of Silicon Valley and big data, the brain trust of global innovation, yet the California DMV insists on using stone-age strategies to manage its critical data on citizenship and voting rights,” said Dhillon Law Group managing partner, Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The DMV possesses information that can protect non-citizens from illegal registration on the voter rolls, yet this information is not properly being distributed to or used by the Secretary of State to perform his legally mandated duties. Californians deserve to know why the DMV and the Secretary of State are unwilling, or unable, to effectively share data and ensure the integrity of our voter rolls.”

The letter and more information may be found at CAVotingRights.com

 

Supervisors withdraw Blackhawk police tax measure set for August 27

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Possible November ballot measure instead

By Daniel Borsuk

At a specially called Tuesday meeting, on May 28, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors took the unusual action of withdrawing a special tax, measure approved a week earlier, that would have permitted residents of the Blackhawk Homeowners Association to vote on whether to increase a parcel tax to keep police services intact.

The special election scrubbed by supervisors on a 3-0 vote, was originally to be held August 27 and would have generated sufficient parcel tax revenue from Blackhawk homeowners to maintain police services that are provided by the Contra Costa County Sheriff at current levels, three deputies and one lieutenant.

At the request of District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood, whose district includes the residential area consisting of 2,027 exclusive homes near Danville, the supervisor said after the May 21 action she had met with representatives of the Blackhawk Country Club, which opposes being included in any type of parcel tax proposal for police services. Burgis said she will present at an upcoming meeting a Blackhawk police services parcel tax proposal that would be “fair and agreeable.”

“We’ve had challenges concerning the funding for the police district,” Burgis admitted.

In the May 21 action, the special taxes levied in the zone for police protection would have been increased in fiscal year 2020-2021 to $380 per parcel for residential properties, including single, small multiple and large multiple, $3,040 per parcel for commercial/industrial/institutional properties and $13,300 per parcel for commercial/theater properties. The ordinance also would have taxed parcels owned by the Blackhawk County Club, which are currently exempt from the Zone A police protection special tax.

While admitting the association has been losing revenues to support the police services at current levels, Blackhawk Homeowners Association President Ron Banducci, who is also chairman of the Blackhawk Police Advisory Committee, had informed supervisors at the May 21 meeting that without the infusion of increased revenues from homeowners residents would lose one deputy from its police department.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Banducci warned supervisors to leave intact their May 21 decision to allow a vote on the August 27 parcel tax measure that would also, for the first time, include the Blackhawk Country Club to be assessed parcel taxes.

He cautioned supervisors Federal Glover of Pittsburg and Board Chair John Gioia of Richmond about any “backroom deal by Supervisor Burgis and the Blackhawk Country Club for $40,000 for 10 years” to allegedly be excluded from a police district tax district.

Blackhawk Homeowners Association member, Rick Marse, said the fact that Burgis and the country club have been meeting makes any kind of deal “completely irregular.”

Another Blackhawk resident Henry Schutzel thought that the meeting was invalid because it violates the public open meeting law. “I believe this meeting is a violation of the Brown Act,” he claimed.

Even then, without much comment from Supervisors Glover or Gioia on the issue at hand, Burgis’s request was unanimously approved.

Contra Costa DA creates office’s first ever standalone conviction integrity unit

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District Attorney Diana Becton announced recently that she has created the first ever standalone Conviction Integrity Unit for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. The unit will investigate wrongful conviction claims of actual innocence based on new evidence and information, and cases where there is evidence involving significant integrity issues. Interested parties can submit a claim using the forms on the district attorney’s website to the Conviction Integrity Unit through the District Attorney’s Office.

“Our Office is ethically bound to consider any legal wrongs committed during a prosecution of an individual. With this new unit, the public can be assured we have resources now at our disposal to investigate prior convictions and seek justice for the wrongly convicted. We have a duty as prosecutors to uphold the law and administer fair justice for all. Our Office now joins over 30 jurisdictions across the country in a growing movement to establish Conviction Integrity Units,” said Becton.

The Conviction Integrity Unit will also assist in reviewing and developing practices and policies related to training, case assessment, investigations, and disclosure obligations with the goal of preventing wrongful convictions in the first place. The unit is supervised by Deputy District Attorney Brian Feinberg and overseen by Assistant District Attorney Venus D. Johnson.

Multiple national and local criminal justice organizations such as the Innocence Project, Fair and Just Prosecution, and Immigration Legal Resource Center support DA Becton’s move to create the Conviction Integrity Unit.

In a support letter, Fair and Just Prosecution’s Miriam Aroni Krinsky wrote: “Having a process for review of convictions through a CIU is a recognized best practice around the nation. Establishing these protocols in Contra Costa County will protect the integrity of the criminal justice process and promote public safety by bolstering trust and confidence in local law enforcement and the justice system as a whole.”

Rose Cahn, a Criminal and Immigrant Justice Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s said: “We applaud the CCCDA’s leadership and its commitment to ensuring that innocent people do not face continued punishment, from inside or outside the criminal justice system.”

Northern California Innocence Project’s Executive Director, Linda Starr, also supports the creation of a standalone Conviction Integrity Unit as our Office’s new unit “includes all of the best practices — neutral, expansive, and collaborative review — which will lead to just results.”

Camino Tassajara Bike Lane Gap Closure Project to begin construction Monday

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Contra Costa County Public Works will begin construction on the Camino Tassajara Bike Lane Gap Closure Project. The project will widen the pavement to provide bike lanes in four separate segments along Camino Tassajara between Windermere Parkway and just north of Penny Lane. Segments are as follows:

Segment 1: From 240 feet north of Penny Lane to 150 feet south of Johnston Road

Segment 2: From 1,300 feet north of Highland Road to Highland Road

Segment 3: From 700 feet south of the bridge over Tassajara Creek to 2,050 feet south of the bridge

Segment 4: From 1,600 feet north of Windemere Parkway to 350 feet north of Windemere Parkway

The project also includes drainage improvements, signing and striping improvements, and placing a slurry seal from Windemere Parkway to Lusitano Street.

Construction will begin on Monday, June 3, 2019, with completion in late November 2019, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work hours will generally be 8:30 am and 4:00 pm to minimize impacts to commute traffic. Drivers should expect delays of up to 15 minutes during construction.

Funding for this project is provided by Measure J, Tri-Valley Transportation Council, South County Area of Benefit and Southern Contra Costa (SCC) Subregional Fee Program. More information on this project can be found at: http://www.cccounty.us/pwdmap.

Stabbing in Concord Thursday afternoon

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By Corporal S. Galer, Concord Police Department

On Thursday, May 30, 2019 just before 2pm, Officers responded to the 1400 block of Bel Air Dr. for a report of a stabbing. Investigators learned that three male teenagers, two of which are brothers, were playing video games inside an apartment. For reasons that are unknown at this time, one of the brothers produced a knife and stabbed the visiting friend several times. The juvenile suspect then fled the apartment; however, soon after called CPD dispatch to turn himself in.

The juvenile suspect was taken into custody a few blocks away from the apartment without incident. The victim was flown to a trauma center based on the injuries he sustained. There is no additional threat to the community.

This is an active investigation and no further details are being released at this time.

Guardrail repair work on Vasco Road June 3-6

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The Contra Costa County Public Works Department will repair guardrails on Vasco Road from Camino Diablo Road to the Alameda County line. The work will occur from June 3rd – June 6th between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The work may be rescheduled based on weather conditions. Electronic message boards will alert drivers of the scheduled work. There will be traffic control through the work area and drivers can expect delays.

Contra Costa County classified school employees honored

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Each year, the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE), in partnership with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), participates in the California State Classified School Employee of the Year (CSEY) program, coordinated by the California Department of Education. This program highlights the contributions of exemplary classified school employees that support and play a key role in promoting student achievement, safety, and health in California public schools, from preschool through 12th grade. On May 3, the CCCOE and ACSA introduced this year’s 13 county esteemed county award nominees, as well as three California State Award honorees at a well-attended reception, held at the CCCOE, in Pleasant Hill.

The following three are the 2019-2019 Contra Costa County Classified Employees of the Year Honorees:

  • Para-Educator and Instructional Assistant category – Jennifer Broder Haglund, Classroom Para Educator, San Ramon Valley Unified School District
  • Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities category – David Argueta, Head Custodian, Lafayette School District
  • Office and Technical category – Michelle Brobak, School Secretary, Orinda Union School District

And, one of those three honorees was recently named by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond as a California State Classified School Employee of the Year! Congratulations to Michelle Brobak, school secretary, at Del Rey Elementary, in the Orinda Union School District. Brobak is one of six 2018-2019 Classified School Employees of the Year, representing the “Office and Technical” category. Brobak and her fellow 2018-2019 State Classified School Employees of the Year, will be honored by Thurmond at a luncheon in Sacramento on Thursday, May 23.

The following 13 are the 2018-2019 Contra Costa County Classified Employees of the Year Nominees:

Maintenance, Operations, & Facilities category:

  • Donald Golinveaux, Night Custodian, Brentwood Union School District
  • Michael Lent, Maintenance Craftsmen, Orinda Union School District
  • Michael Fobbs, Grounds Equipment Operator, Pittsburg Unified School District
  • Rolly Valdez, Head Custodian, Walnut Creek School District

Office and Technical category:

  • Andrea Zeigler, Secretary, Brentwood Union School District
  • Gina Schenk, Purchasing Technician, Contra Costa County Office of Education
  • Christie Quinn, School Administrative Assistant, Contra Costa County Office of Education
  • Anita Dumay, Child Nutrition Senior Technician, Pittsburg Unified School District

Para-Educator and Instructional Assistant category:

  • Sharon Caldwell, Paraprofessional, Liberty Union High School District
  • Janice Taconni, Para-Educator, Martinez Unified School District
  • Celia Cornejo, Instructional Assistant, Orinda Union School District
  • Bonnie Flannery, Para Educator, Pittsburg Unified School District
  • Ljubica Chase, Para-Professional, Walnut Creek School District