Sheriff | Contra Costa Herald

Dublin teen and swim instructor arrested for possession of child pornography

July 16, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

James Happ

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

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the Contra Costa D.A.’s Office recently received information about a person who was allegedly possessing and sharing child pornography. Detectives launched an investigation and on July 3, 2019, executed search warrants at residences in Danville and Dublin.

Detectives subsequently found child pornography on electronic devices belonging to 18-year-old James Happ of Dublin. He was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility for possession of child pornography. Happ was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and has since bailed out.

Additionally, as Happ is a swim instructor at The Wave in Dublin, the Dublin Police Department is conducting a separate investigation. Any inquiries regarding The Wave can be directed to the Dublin Police Department.

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

Suspect in Pacheco murder arrested, victim identifed

July 6, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

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

The suspect in Friday’s homicide on Pacheco Boulevard is in custody. (See related article)

On Friday, July 5, 2019, at about 8:35 P.M. BART police contacted suspect Aaron Goode at the Concord BART station. He was detained without incident. Later Detectives and Deputies from the Office of the Sheriff took custody of Goode, a 41-year-old from Pacheco. Goode was then booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on a murder charge. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Homicide Detectives from the Investigation Division continue to investigate yesterday’s murder.

A short while later, Pleasant Hill police officers arrived and performed CPR on the male victim. He was later pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim is identified as Erick Ousey, a 29-year-old Pacheco resident.

The Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab responded to the location. Detectives later identified Goode as the suspect. Detectives are still trying to establish the exact motive. They say suspect Goode and victim Ousey knew each other and that they appeared to have a dispute.

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

Pacheco: Sheriff’s Detectives investigate murder of Pacheco man, Friday afternoon

July 5, 2019 By Publisher 1 Comment

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

Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division continue to investigate a murder that occurred this afternoon.

At about 12:12 PM, Sheriff’s Office dispatch was notified about a medical call with police needed on the 5900 block of Pacheco Boulevard in Pacheco. The caller stated that a man covered in blood was lying on the sidewalk. The California Grand Casino on both sides of the street and Wendy’s are blocked off with yellow cautionary tape, according to witnesses.

A short while later, Pleasant Hill police officers arrived and performed CPR on the male victim. He was later pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim, believed to be a 29-year-old Pacheco resident, is not being identified at this time.

The Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab responded to the location. The investigation into this murder is ongoing. Detectives say this incident does not appear random and that the victim and the suspect knew each other.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Coroner’s Jury finds death of Concord man in county jail was of natural causes

June 21, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

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

Sheriff-Coroner David O. Livingston announces that a Coroner’s Jury has reached a finding in the September 15, 2018 death of 61-year-old Dwight Dwayne Dunn of Concord while in custody at the county’s Martinez Detention Facility. The finding of the jury is that the death was the result of natural causes.

The Coroner’s Jury reached the verdict after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by the hearing officer Matthew Guichard.

A transient, Dunn was found unresponsive by a sheriff’s deputy conducting a room check at the jail. Fire crews and an ambulance responded, but he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy and toxicology tests were conducted. Dunn had been booked into jail on September 5 for a parole violation.

A Coroner’s Inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving peace officers, is a public hearing, during which a jury rules on the manner of a person’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding:

accident, suicide, natural causes, or at the hands of another person, other than by accident.

Supervisors approve pay raises for Sheriff-Coroner, top commanders, new labor pact for Deputy Sheriffs

June 21, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Sheriff David O. Livingston

7.5% for Sheriff and 5% for top brass, then 5% annually for three more years

By Daniel Borsuk

Without asking one question, supervisors unanimously approved a salary boost for Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston and his top brass during their meeting on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. The proposed labor contract for rank and file deputies also received the supervisors’ approval

Except for a 7.5 percent wage increase for Sheriff-Coroner Livingston set to go into effect July, 1, 2019, he and his top commanders, including assistant sheriff-exempt, chief police-contract agency exempt, commander exempt and undersheriff exempt will receive 5 percent wage increases every July 1 in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, a memo from County Administrator David Twa states.

Twa said the salary increases will cost the county $177,000 in fiscal year 2019/2020, including $81,000 in benefit costs. The fiscal year 2020/2021 cost is $173,000, including $79,000 in benefit expenses. The fiscal year 2021/2022 cost is $181,000, including $85,000 in benefit costs, and the fiscal year 2022/2023 costs are $191,000, including $88,000 in benefit costs.

In a related matter, supervisors approved memorandums of understanding for new labor contracts between the Contra Costa County and Deputy Sheriffs Association Management Unit and Deputy Sheriffs Association Rank and File Unit. Collectively the two contracts will cost the county $6.57 million including $1.68 million in benefit costs for fiscal year 2019/2020, $13.14 million including $3.37 million in benefit costs for fiscal year 2020/2021; $19.71 million including $5.05 million in benefit costs for fiscal year 2021/2022; and $26.28 million including $6.64 million in benefit costs for fiscal year 2022/2023.

Sheriff identifies man, woman in murder-suicide case

June 19, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

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

Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division continue to investigate a murder-suicide that occurred on June 13, 2019. (See related article)

At about 9:33 AM, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the area of Nortonville Road and Kirker Pass Road in unincorporated Pittsburg for a citizen reporting having seen two people who appeared to have been shot in a parked vehicle.

It was later confirmed that both of the occupants of the vehicle, a man and woman, suffered from apparent gunshot wounds. They were pronounced deceased at the scene.

The two are identified as 58-year-old Dong Liu of Antioch and 56-year-old Meizhen Zhu of Santa Rosa. Detectives say the two had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Liu apparently shot Zhu before taking his own life. The cause of death for each was gunshot wound. The exact motive is unclear at this time.

Man, woman found in car shot to death in possible murder-suicide near Pittsburg Thursday morning

June 13, 2019 By Publisher 1 Comment

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

Thursday morning at about 9:33 A.M., Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the area of Nortonville Road and Kirker Pass Road in unincorporated Pittsburg for a citizen reporting having seen two people who appeared to have been shot in a parked vehicle.

It was later confirmed that both of the occupants of the vehicle, a man and woman, suffered from apparent gunshot wounds. They were pronounced deceased at the scene. Investigation Division Detectives and Crime Lab Personnel also responded to the location.

The identities of the two subjects are not being released at this time. Detectives say initially that this appears to be a murder-suicide.

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

Pilot of downed plane in Delta identified as Berkeley man

June 11, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Deputies of the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Marine Unit search for the plane and pilot on Monday, June 10, 2019. Photo by CCCSheriff.

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

During a search yesterday of Broad Slough where the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit located the plane wreckage, the Dive Team recovered a body from the wreckage, which was in approximately 20 feet of water, at about 5:30 PM.

The Coroner’s Division later identified the person, who was the pilot and only occupant of the plane, as 22-year-old Colin Um of Berkeley.

On Sunday, June 9, 2019, at about 5:32 PM, a boater notified Sheriff’s Office Dispatch of a small plane crashing into the Delta at the north end of Broad Slough, north of Antioch.

Several public safety agencies immediately responded. Debris and a backpack were found at the location. The plane took off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord at about 5 PM.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the cause of the crash. Any witnesses to this incident are asked to contact the NTSB by email at: witness@NTSB.GOV.

Although a date has not been set, a salvage company is expected to remove the plane wreckage in the near future.

The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office would like to extend our condolences and sympathies to the family and friends of Colin Um. An autopsy into the cause of death is scheduled for tomorrow.

Wreckage of downed plane found in river near Antioch and Pittsburg

June 10, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Deputies from the Contra Costa County Sheriff Marine Services Unit search for the downed plane on Mon., June 10, 2019. Photos by CCCSheriff.

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

Monday morning, June 10, 2019, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit went to Broad Slough in the Del-ta where a plane was reported to have gone down yesterday. Marine Patrol Deputies, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, used a side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle to find the exact location of the plane. The plane wreckage was located at about 10:30 AM. A Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was later deployed.

On Sunday, June 9, 2019, at about 5:32 PM, a boater notified Sheriff’s Office Dispatch of a small plane crashing into the Delta at the north end of Broad Slough, north of Antioch.

Several agencies that included the Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Pittsburg PD, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard, and the California Highway Patrol responded. Debris and a backpack were found at the location.

The plane took off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord at about 5 PM. The pilot is believed to be the only occupant in the plane. The name of the pilot is not being released at this time as his identity has not been confirmed.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the cause of the crash. Any witnesses to this incident are asked to contact the NTSB by email at: witness@NTSB.GOV.

The Marine Services Unit is continuing with recovery operations. A salvage company is expected to remove the plane wreckage within the next few days.

Small plane crashes in river north of Pittsburg, pilot missing Sunday evening

June 9, 2019 By Publisher Leave a Comment

By Contra Costa County Sheriff

Sunday at about 5:32 PM, a boater notified Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Dispatch of a small plane crashing into the California Delta at the north end of Broad Slough, west of Kimball Island, north of Pittsburg.

According to a KPIX5 CBS SF Bay Area news report, “A piece of what is believed to be a Piper Cherokee single-engine airplane was located about 6:45 p.m. Sunday in Broad Slough north of Antioch, about an hour after a witness told authorities a small plane went down in the San Joaquin River, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman said.

The piece of the airplane tail is thought to be from an aircraft that departed Buchanan Field in Concord, with one person aboard, a short time before the crash, said fire district spokesman Steve Hill. The plane, Hill said, had been rented from Sterling Aviation, based at the Concord airport. Calls to Sterling Aviation early Sunday night went unanswered.”

Several agencies that included the Office of the Sheriff Marine Patrol Unit, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Pittsburg PD, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard, and the California Highway Patrol responded. Debris and a backpack were found at the location. The plane is believed to have taken off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord at about 5 PM. The pilot was the only occupant in the plane. The name of the pilot is not being released at this time as his identity has not been confirmed.

A search was conducted by the responding agencies with negative results. The FAA and NTSB have been contacted. Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Units have been conducting sonar searches for evidence of the plane wreckage.

Any witnesses to this incident are asked to contact the NTSB by email at witness@NTSB.GOV.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.