Key March arrests for robbery, burglaries, drugs in Oakley highlighted

By Oakley Police Department

Your Oakley Police Department has been busy lately with several key arrests being made and several investigations either coming to fruition or developing into other things.

“The arrests and investigations that are listed here embody the spirit of the Oakley Police Department and what we have become,” said Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard. “I truly believe we have become a better police department for the community of Oakley by recruiting and hiring the best police officers that have been available on the market and by making internal appointments into key positions that allow us to do more work, make more arrests and file more cases for the people we serve. It is my goal to hold onto the great officers we have recruited and continue this trend of making us better and better with every new hire, every promotion and every internal appointment we make. I salute and truly appreciate all of the men and women who wear the Oakley Police patch. As always, I urge the maximum allowable amount of accountability in these cases so we can start turning back the tide of criminal behaviors.”

Juvenile, Brentwood man arrested for robbery

Adult with history of arrest also charged with child cruelty; Antioch, Brentwood police assist

On March 7, 2023, Oakley Police Officers responded to the ARCO station at 5540 Bridgehead Road for the report of a robbery. The male suspect passed a note which demanded money and then fled on foot. City cameras captured the suspect running into the adjacent Sandy Point Mobile home park. Oakley Detectives Dombrouski, Locke and Soares collaborated together and located additional footage from a mobile home which showed the suspect enter the passenger side of a blue SUV. The SUV had been seen on Wilbur Avenue at Bridgehead Road just prior to the robbery. Detectives developed leads on potential suspects. Brentwood Police detectives and the Oakley Detectives started working together on the case and they were able to link a juvenile suspect to robberies in their respective cities. On March 8, 2023, Brentwood PD placed the juvenile under arrest. Oakley and Brentwood Detectives served search warrants at a residence where they located clothing items believed to be involved in many of the robberies.

The joint investigation led to the identification of the specific blue SUV that was used during the robbery on March 7th. On March 8th the Antioch Police Department located the vehicle and Oakley PD Officers responded to their location. 25-year-old Jorge Lara of Brentwood was identified as the driver, Lara is also on parole for robbery. The vehicle was towed to Oakley PD lot and a search warrant was written, and the vehicle was searched. The search turned up stolen property from the robbery, identifying information, and a note pad matching the shape and color of notes collected from the multiple robberies.

On March 22, 2023, the Oakley Police Department coordinated with the Brentwood Police department to take Lara into custody. Lara was subsequently taken into custody and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on a warrant for PC 211 – Robbery, PC 459 – Burglary, PC 273(A)(a) – Child Cruelty, and PC 182 – Conspiracy.

The joint investigation led Oakley and Brentwood detectives to be able to link the juvenile and Lara to several robberies in East Contra Costa County. The agencies worked with the District Attorney’s Office and several formal charges were filed against Lara, he remains incarcerated with a $1.9 million bail.

According to localcrimenews.com he has a history of arrests dating to Sept. 7, 2016 by Concord Police for conspiracy to commit a crime; by Antioch Police on June 12, 2017 for revocation of probation, resisting arrest, vehicle theft; and on Aug. 15, 2018 by San Mateo County Sheriff’s Deputies for lying to a peace officer, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with firearm, burglary, robbery, addict in possession of firearm, possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm with a previous felony conviction and carrying a concealed firearm. Lara was also arrested by Concord Police last month on Valentine’s Day for grand theft.

Two men arrested for repeated burglaries, drugs

On March 18, 2023 Oakley Police Officers Hernandez, Fielding and M. Jackson were on routine patrol at the business complex, located at 4100 Wilbur Avenue. Our officers were specifically checking the area due to a pattern of repeated thefts and burglaries, and they wanted to bring the trend to a stop. While checking the area our officers found a Blue Chevrolet Pickup and Silver BMW sedan parked at the rollup doors of one of the businesses. Our officers saw two suspects attempting to duck out of sight. Our officers successfully detained 32-year-old Ronald Stephens of Concord and 45-year-old Darren Lawson of Oakley/Concord.  Our officers saw a drill near the tire of a nearby semi-truck and the door to the warehouse had been drilled out in an attempt to make entry. Our officers also located additional burglary tools. Stephens and Lawson both have a history of committing thefts and are believed to be associated with other burglaries in Oakley.

Stephens was arrested and booked for PC459- Burglary, PC182- Conspiracy and PC647(h)- Prowling to commit a crime. Lawson was arrested and booked for PC459- Burglary, PC182- Conspiracy, PC647(h)- Prowling to commit a crime, PC 466- Possession of burglary tools and H&S 11364- Possession of paraphernalia.

According to localcrimenews.com, Stephens has a history of arrests dating back to March 22, 2016 by multiple agencies for drug possession, attempted vehicle theft, burglary, vehicle theft, manufacturing an illegal weapon such as a billy club, vandalism, trespassing, resisting arrest, receiving or concealing stolen property, possession of burglar’s tools, and cargo theft of over $950. Most recently he was arrested by Antioch Police on Jan. 10 for conspiracy to commit a crime, grand theft and receiving or concealing stolen property.

Antioch man arrested with loaded “ghost” gun

On March 20, 2023, Officer M. Jackson observed a silver Nissan vehicle, lacking a license plate, at Live Oak Road and Laurel Road. Officer M. Jackson stopped the vehicle and made contact with the driver who lied about his name. At the time of this contact (1130PM) it was 52 degrees outside, yet the driver was nervously shaking and sweating profusely. Officer Jackson believed the driver was nervous about being contacted by law enforcement and believed the driver had a reason to be evasive about his identity. The driver was detained, and the vehicle was searched.

Oakley Police Officers Hernandez and Fielding arrived to assist Officer Jackson and collectively they continued to investigate the situation. The investigation revealed the true identity of the driver 25-year-old Jahsaun Brown of Antioch and a fully loaded handgun under the driver’s seat. The handgun is described as a semi-automatic 9mm, but with no manufacturer markings or serial number. A firearm lacking this key information is considered a “ghost gun” because it is not trackable in the DOJ system. The handgun also had a full capacity magazine with twelve rounds loaded into it. Further investigation revealed Brown had a warrant for his arrest charging him with carrying a loaded weapon. Even further investigation revealed Brown was the subject of a criminal protective order, which stated he was not allowed to be in possession of any firearms.

Brown was arrested for: PC25400- Carrying a concealed weapon, PC32310- Possession of large capacity magazine, PC25850- possession of loaded weapon, PC29180- possession of un-serialized firearm “ghost gun”, PC 148.9- Providing false identification to an officer and PC 166- Violation of a court order. Brown was booked for these crimes.