Contra Costa Herald

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

Sheriff’s Office investigates fatal single vehicle collision on Hwy 24 in Orinda after suspects flee from officer

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Photo from the CHP-Contra Costa Twitter feed.

Car catches fire, closes all westbound lanes

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

This morning (7/21/18) at about 9:02, an Orinda Police Officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop for vehicle code violations in the area of St. Stephens Drive and Tahos Road in Orinda. As the officer approached the vehicle, it fled at a high rate of speed leading the officer on a pursuit.

Suspects’ burned car from CHP chase and crash on Highway 24 in Orinda, Saturday morning, July 21, 2018. Photo by KTVU Fox2 News.

The suspect vehicle entered westbound Highway 24. The officer lost sight of the suspect vehicle and later came upon a single vehicle collision involving the vehicle on Highway 24 near the BART station.

First aid was rendered to the two occupants of the vehicle. They were taken to a local hospital, where one was pronounced deceased. They are not being identified at this time. The officer involved fatal incident protocol has been invoked. This incident is being investigated by the District Attorney’s Office, Office of the Sheriff and CHP.

According to an ABC7 News report the collision resulted in the shutdown of the westbound lanes of Highway 24 and “the CHP reported the overturned car was engulfed in flames and that an ambulance was called to the scene.” According to a tweet on the CHP-Contra Costa Twitter feed, all vehicles were being diverted to the Orinda Road offramp.

Anyone who has any information on this incident is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff 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.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Man shot, killed in El Sobrante Wednesday night

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

On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at approximately 10:46 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the 4800 block of San Pablo Dam Road, El Sobrante, for a report of a person shot at that location.

Deputies arrived on scene and located a shooting victim lying in a driveway. Deputies started CPR on the victim and requested the fire department and an ambulance to respond to the scene.

The 22-year-old male victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene. He is not being identified at this time. The investigation is ongoing and detectives are interviewing several people at this time.

Anyone with any information on this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff 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.

County Sheriff cancels contract with ICE at West County Detention Facility

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The West County Detention Facility in Richmond. File photo

Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston announced, today the end to the county’s contract to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. He was joined at a press conference by Board of Supervisors Chair Karen Mitchoff and Vice Chair John Gioia, in whose district the facility is located.

Following is the Sheriff’s complete statement:

“Today I am announcing that I am ending the contract with ICE to hold detainees at our dormitory buildings on our Richmond jail facility,” he said. “I recently notified ICE of this decision and asked them to begin the process of removing their detainees in a safe and orderly manner. The contract requires 120-day notice and they have told me they will try to resolve as many open-ended immigration cases as they can during this period of transition.

To be clear, the Sheriff’s Office does not do immigration enforcement. In fact, our policy prohibits it. These detainees are not arrested for immigration violations by us or any other law enforcement organization or agency in the county. They were instead persons ICE brought to us under the terms of the contract from all over Northern California and beyond.

There is not one single over riding issue that causes the termination of this contract. Instead there are many. And I am not here to comment on ICE’s enforcement policies or any of their federal partners’ policies. Instead I want to explain the reasons why we are cancelling the contract.

First, we have held an average of about 200 adult detainees a day. And that has generated about $2.5 – 3 million dollars in annual revenue. That revenue varies year to year. Losing it would likely result in the lay-off of Deputy Sheriffs and that was something I was unwilling to do. Instead, working closely with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board, and ultimately with the full board, we have found a solution that will backfill the expected budget deficit going forward including the use of state funds to minimize the impact on local taxpayers.

Second, the number of detainees constantly fluctuates. We cannot rely on budget projections and ICE could always decide to move their detainees to another facility.

Third, county employee and operating costs have risen over the years, But the reimbursement rate has not. Long term the contract is just not sustainable.

Finally, the outstanding work by the over 1,000 employees of the Office of the Sheriff have been overshadowed by the attention that the ICE contract brings, even though immigration is a matter of federal law. Managing protests in Richmond have become expensive and time-consuming for our staff.

And to be very fair, one must acknowledge a growing chorus of community groups and individuals from both within and outside the county, that have focused on undocumented immigrants’ issues. And they raise important concerns.
Obviously, this action today does not address the larger and more complex issue of federal immigration enforcement. Most of us have compassion for those to come here seeking a better life but we are a nation of laws. And to be sure, those who come here undocumented who commit new crimes while here will be arrested and processed into our jails as they are currently. That will not change.

My number one priority remains and will continue to be keeping Contra Costa County safe.”

Photo by Contra Costa County Sheriff.

Gioia, who has long publicly opposed the contract, spoke forcefully about why the policy was harmful to families and eroded trust with immigrant communities. He thanked both Sheriff David Livingston for ending the contract and the thousands of residents across Contra Costa who joined in calling for an end to the ICE contract.  According to an ABC7 News report “The West County facility currently houses 169 ICE detainees, part of a longstanding agreement that netted the county up to $3 million per year.” 

“This is an historic day in Contra Costa County,” said Gioia. “Sheriff Livingston’s decision to cancel his Federal contract to hold ICE detainees at the West County Detention Facility is an important and positive step to build greater trust with our hard-working immigrant families here in Contra Costa.”

“I appreciate and thank Sheriff Livingston for making this decision,” Gioia continued. I know that thousands of Contra Costa residents countywide also thank Sheriff Livingston for this action.  To the thousands of our county’s residents who have passionately advocated for an end to the detention of immigrants at the West County Jail, thank you. Thank you for your consistent and loud advocacy. Your actions do make a difference. The Sheriff’s decision was based on a number of factors. Your voices were one of those factors. I thank Sheriff Livingston for listening to the opinion of the large number of sincere and passionate residents who believe that our County should not use our local jail to house ICE detainees.”

However, according to the ABC7 report, “Mitchoff opposes canceling the ICE contract, primarily out of concern about where current and future Bay Area detainees might be sent. ‘I’m sorry to be losing the contract,’ Mitchoff explained. ‘Unfortunately, with the closure of this facility, those individuals that ICE is not able to release through the normal process will be sent to other places throughout the United States.’”

“We don’t know ultimately what ICE will do with these detainees,” Livingston said.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA11) issued the following statement after the Sheriff’s announcement.

“Having called for the termination of the contract, I support the Board of Supervisors’ decision and look forward to working with them on making sure the concerns of the community and clients are addressed,” he said.

Following multiple and varying allegations of abuse by ICE agents at the West County Detention Facility, DeSaulnier called for the termination of the County’s ICE contract in March of this year, and he urged U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and California Attorney General Javier Becerra to conduct a third-party investigation of the West County Detention Facility. Contra Costa County is the only of the nine Bay Area counties that has a contract ICE.

Following accusations of mistreatment of ICE detainees, DeSaulnier and Livingston toured the facility, last November and the Sheriff’s investigation found the claims to be unfounded.

Please check back later for updates.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Sheriff’s Deputies shoot, kill dog that attacked owner in Discovery Bay Wednesday morning

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

At about 8:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the 5500 block of Arcadia Circle in Discovery Bay for report of a woman who was being attacked by her own dog.

When Deputies arrived, the victim, who had severe bite wounds in several areas on her body, was on the ground being assisted by neighbors. The dog ran off before Deputies arrived.

The dog later returned. Deputies attempted to corral the dog. Because of the dog’s earlier attack and because it moved toward bystanders, a deputy was forced to shoot the dog, which died.

Because of the nature of her injuries, the victim was taken to a local hospital by helicopter. She is said to be in stable condition.

Contra Costa County Animal Services is following up on this incident and will be looking at what led up to the dog attack.

Supervisors downplay key finding in Grand Jury opioid crisis report

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Accept minimizing school casualties report

By Daniel Borsuk

Two Contra Costa County Supervisors disagree with a key finding in a newly released Contra Costa County Grand Jury Report titled “The Opioid Crisis: Dying for Treatment” that reported in 2015-2016 over 100 county residents died from opioid overdoses.

Supervisors accepted the Grand Jury report as a consent item on a 4 to 0 vote.  Board Chair Karen Mitchoff, who had won re-election to a new four-year term in last Tuesday’s election, was absent.

District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood and District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg said the actual number of deaths linked to opioid overdoses in 2015-2016 was lower.   The two supervisors said there were 52 overdose deaths tied to opioids based on the information the supervisors received at a health conference that they attended last week.

Why the discrepancy?  It is unclear.

Grand Jury Foreperson Mario Gutierrez told the Contra Costa Herald the Grand Jury collected its information from the Urban Institute and county senior healthcare officials in the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Gutierrez says he and the grand jury backs up the statistic. “County deaths mirror the alarming trend and the national epidemic of misuse and abuse of opioids, particularly prescription painkillers,” the report states.

Gutierrez speculates the two supervisors may have received “partial or half-year opioid death count figures” for either the 2016-2017 or 2017-2018 fiscal years. In both years, the opioid death tolls will exceed that of 2015-2016, Gutierrez predicted because that is the local and national trend with this drug crisis.

In May, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors joined 29 other county board of supervisors in suing 19 opioid manufacturers and three major distributors for creating an opioid epidemic in California. The lawsuit seeks reimbursement of taxpayer funds that have already been spent in reaction to the opioid epidemic in Contra Costa County related to ongoing costs of continuing the fight including emergency response, prevention, monitoring and treatment, and for prospective relief to help the county undo some of the widespread damage that opioid manufactures and distributors have caused.

“The Grand Jury also found that limited implementation, lack of funding, inadequate availability and insufficient accessibility in treatment being the least supported of the strategies.  There are not enough programs in place to enable first responders to provide treatment immediately when sought.  There is a need for on-demand treatment, but delays in access to medical care result in missed opportunities to reduce harm, and recovery, and prevent overdose deaths,” the report said.

“Based on its findings, the Grand Jury recommends that the County Board of Supervisors consider seeking funds for expansion of addiction treatment programs.  The Board may also consider encouraging more medical care providers to become Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) certified, hire more MAT clinicians, provide in-county residential treatment facilities for adolescents, and place more certified professional addiction clinicians within the county’s three detention facilities.  The Grand Jury also recommends that the Contra Costa County Office of Education consider making overdose antidotes in public high schools.”

The supervisors have 60 days to respond to the Grand Jury’s recommendations.  The Contra Costa County Office of Education has 90 days to respond to the Grand Jury’s recommendation that the CCCOE seek funds for the 2019-2020 fiscal year to provide free NARCAN kits in all county school districts.

Supervisors Accept Minimizing School Casualties Report

Supervisors also approved as a consent item another grand jury report entitled Minimizing School Casualties During an Active Shooter Incident.

While acknowledging “No active shooting incidents have occurred on school campuses in Contra Costa County, The Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury conducted an investigation to determine what preparations law enforcement agencies have made to respond to such an incident in the county, should one occur.  The Grand Jury reviewed current practices of County law enforcement and paramedics serving the County.  The investigation focused on high schools, where most school shootings have occurred.’’

The Grand Jury report was drafted at a time when 148 students and teachers had been killed and 310 wounded during 240 school shootings nationwide.

During the Grand Jury’s investigation, it surveyed the Acalanes Union High School District’s four high schools, at one of which local police ran an active shoot exercise.  “Although most teachers and students have received verbal guidance on dealing with an armed classroom intruder, they have not received specific written instructions developed jointly by the AUHSD and the local policy,” the Grand Jury report stated.

In addition, the report states: “The Grand Jury recommends that the County Board of Supervisors consider seeking funds to finance ballistic protection for Fire District paramedics.  The Grand Jury further recommends that the BOS continue funding the County Sheriff’s Office active shooter training program for paramedics and law enforcement.  In addition, the Grand Jury recommends that the Acalanes Unified High School District Governing Board consider requiring its four high schools to work directly with local police to develop and implement specific written guidelines for teachers and students on how to handle classroom break-ins by an active shooter.”

The supervisors have 60 days to respond to the Grand Jury’s recommendations.

In Memoriam: Former Contra Costa Deputy Sheriff Don Bell passes at 71

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Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff Don Bell, left. Photo provided by his family.

Don Stuart Bell, a veteran of the Vietnam War, a former Contra Costa County Sheriff Deputy, and former Antioch resident died unexpectedly on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at age 71.

He is survived by his wife, Sandy Harter-Bell; his children Don Scott Bell, Leanne Herrick, Debra Peeling, and Dawnyll Hooker; and his grandchildren, Garret, Elizabeth, Alex, Ashlyn, Michael Patrick and Elijah. He is also survived by his siblings; John Bell and Susan Hoff.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, June 28th at 2:00 p.m. at the Folsom Veterans Hall – 1300 Forrest Street, Folsom, CA 95630.

Sheriff identifies inmate who committed suicide as suspect in eight-count child molestation case

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

The investigation into the in-custody death at the Martinez Detention Facility is continuing. The death is being investigated by the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the District Attorney’s Office per the in-custody death protocol.

At approximately 7:43 AM Tuesday, a Deputy Sheriff at the Martinez Detention Facility found an inmate who had hung himself in the shower.

The inmate was unresponsive. Deputies called for medical staff at the facility and began CPR. An ambulance and the fire department also responded to MDF. The inmate was later pronounced deceased at the scene.

The inmate has been identified as 52-year-old Phillip Andrew Jacobson of Antioch. He was arrested and booked into jail on July 11, 2017 by the Antioch Police Department. He was being held on eight felony counts of child molestation. His bail was set at $4,150,000.

Arrest photos of child molesters are not typically released by the Antioch Police Department out of respect for the victims.

Sheriff investigates in-custody death of male inmate at Martinez Detention Facility Tuesday morning

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

At approximately 7:43 Tuesday morning, a Deputy Sheriff at the Martinez Detention Facility found an inmate who had hung himself in the shower.

The inmate was unresponsive. Deputies called for medical staff at the facility and began CPR.

An ambulance and the fire department also responded to MDF. The inmate was later pronounced deceased at the scene.

The inmate’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The in-custody death protocol was initiated. Investigators from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the District Attorney’s Office are conducting an investigation into the death.

Six-hour standoff in El Sobrante ends peacefully with surrender and arrest Sunday night

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

On Sunday, June 10, 2018 at about 4:20 PM, Office of the Sheriff Dispatch received a call regarding a person on the 3800 block of La Colina Road in El Sobrante standing on the balcony with a rifle aimed at a neighbor’s home. The suspect also apparently threatened the neighbor.

Deputy Sheriffs responded and established a perimeter. Deputies made numerous attempts to communicate with the suspect, who initially came out on the balcony. He later retreated into the residence.

Members of the Sheriff’s Office HNT (Hostage Negotiation Team) responded and tried to communicate with the suspect, who would only speak briefly and then hang up the phone. Nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution. At about 10:53 PM, HNT was able to convince the suspect to surrender. The suspect exited his residence, complied, and was taken into custody without incident.

The suspect is identified as 51-year-old Alex Studer of El Sobrante. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on several charges – making criminal threats, exhibiting a firearm and obstruction. He is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Vehicle identified in North Richmond homicide investigation

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The suspect vehicle is described as a dark blue or black colored Jeep Grand Cherokee, possibly a 2016 model. Photo by CCC Sheriff.

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 are continuing to investigate a homicide that occurred in North Richmond on Friday morning, June 1, 2018.

At about 6:28 AM, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the 1500 block of Giaramita Street in North Richmond for a report that someone was shot in a vehicle. Deputies arrived and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a local hospital and later taken by helicopter to a local trauma center. The victim was later pronounced deceased.

The victim is identified as 22-year-old Taison Calderon-Lopez of North Richmond and San Rafael.

The suspect vehicle is described as a dark blue or black colored Jeep Grand Cherokee, possibly a 2016 model.

The suspect is described as an unknown race male, mid-20’s, with dark hair. He was wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with any information on this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff 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.