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The gun used in the attempted robbery found by Antioch Police located in the car occupied by the suspects. Photo by APD

From Antioch Police Facebook page

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 at 12:14 am, Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to a report of an armed robbery at the Denny’s at 4823 Lone Tree Way. Three suspects entered the restaurant and ordered everyone to the ground. One suspect brandished a firearm, but all three fled before taking anything.

Witnesses gave a clear description of the suspects, the involved vehicle and the weapon they used. The business also had video surveillance that was reviewed by officers which captured the incident and the suspects. A detailed description of the suspects was obtained and distributed to all officers on duty.

Two hours later, at 2:15 am, while on routine patrol, Officer Inabnett saw a similar vehicle on G Street in downtown and contacted the occupants. Officer Duff was able to identify three of the occupants of the vehicle as the suspects in the robbery.

During a search of the vehicle, the firearm used in the robbery was located under a seat. As a result, a 20-year-old Oakley resident and two juveniles were arrested. The adult suspect was transported to County Jail and the two juvenile suspects were transported to Juvenile Hall.

This is another example of our citizens and officers working together to ensure the safety of our community.

Brizhit “Bree” Turner with her Freshman Girls Basketball Team MVP trophy and certificate. Photos by Rossolyn Turner

By Rossolynn Turner

Antioch High School no longer has a secret.  It came out when Brizhit Turner, a JV girls’ basketball player, scored a total of 25 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists against the Panther’s rival school, Deer Valley High beating the crosstown Wolverines 36-26 on Thursday, February 8. Brizhit showed her skills again on February 13 scoring a double double with 26 points and 14 rebounds, plus four steals, three assists and three blocks creating a victory against their other rival school, Pittsburg High, edging the Pirates 47-45.

Turner “breezes” by an opponent on her way to the hoop.

The sophomore Brizhit, also known by her nickname Bree, is a scholar athlete currently averaging 10.2 points per game, while maintaining a 3.5 GPA.  She was MVP and captain during her freshman year and is currently the captain of her JV team.

Bree had a slow start this year, but thanks to Coach Armenta, who believed in her, he was able to get that drive going again and the old Bree started showing up from her freshman year, causing everyone’s morale to fly high and score those victories.

Bree is a great leader keeping her team motivated and has great chemistry with her players, and  was recently chosen to move up to play for the Panthers’ varsity team in time for the playoffs. She is definitely one player to keep your eyes on.

Keep up the good work, Bree and congratulations on being moved up to varsity to play in the playoffs with your new team!

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Do you have a story about the accomplishments of your child or someone you know in Antioch, who you’re proud of and would like to share it with our readers? The Antioch Herald will publish it for free. That’s why we call ourselves The People’s Paper and The News Of, By and For the People. Please email your story as a Word document to us at editor@antiochherald.com with your name and phone number and relationship to the person about whom you’ve written. We reserve the right to verify the information, as well as edit and retain ownership of the article once submitted, without compensation to the author or photographer.

Joy Motts from Facebook on Oct. 31, 2017. Photo by the Hon. Monica Wilson

By Allen Payton

After serving on the Antioch School Board and running unsuccessfully for reelection in 2014 and then again in 2016, on Tuesday, Feb. 13, Joy Motts switched her sights toward the City Council and filed an intent to run in the November election. She is the first candidate to do so and will either face one of the incumbents Tony Tiscareno or Lori Ogorchock, if either decides to run for reelection or are able to should they live in one of the new districts that will be soon be created by the council. Form 501 – Joyann Motts filed 2-13-18 (1)

Motts served on the school board from 2010 to 2014. She has since been leading the effort to create a park and event center, named the Rivertown Square, on the former Antioch Lumber Company lot in downtown, also known as The Yard. Two efforts by the group to place an initiative on the ballot have failed. But, the council recently rezoned the property to mixed use which would allow the park and event center.

Motts is also one of the directors of the Celebrate Antioch Foundation which organizes Antioch’s annual July 4th Parade and Celebration, as well as the Holiday Parade and City Christmas Tree Lighting. She is also a member of the Rivertown Preservation Society, a group of homeowners seeking to preserve the historic qualities of the city’s downtown, north of W. 10th Street.

Filing for the two council seats up for election in November opens in July. However, neither Motts nor anyone else knows, yet if she will be able to run this year. She lives in the Rivertown area but, if and until the council approves dividing the city into four districts, the two that will have elections this year won’t be known until their meeting on April 10.

Asked why she wanted to run for the city council, Motts responded with the following via email:

“To start, service for my community is a part of my DNA.  My parents believed and instilled in myself and my siblings that it was a citizen’s responsibility to participate in making and leaving the world a better place. My father served our nation in World War II and my mother, served 20 years on the Antioch School Board.  I followed in her footsteps and served on Antioch’s School Board between 2010 and 2014, and I am proud of the work that was accomplished during that time, from being fiscally efficient and successfully weathering the economic downturn to the rebuild and renovation of Antioch High School.  I serve and still work on several Foundations and service organizations that support Antioch’s children, its quality of life and its citizens.

As a lifelong resident, it has been frustrating to watch surrounding communities thrive while Antioch continues to struggle with issues of crime, blight and homelessness.   Whereas recently I have seen improvements, we are still a community that needs a stronger and cohesive vision, and leadership that can collaborate on a brighter path forward. The perception that we are not a healthy or safe community, that our schools are failing is sometimes played out on social media, our local news and in the conversations amongst ourselves and all over the Bay Area and makes economic vibrancy very difficult. This should not be our story.  It is time for Antioch to recognize its potential!  We sit in a beautiful place, with unparalleled climate, on the San Joaquin Delta, one of the largest inland waterways in the world, in the middle of the State that has the seventh largest economy in the world. We are diverse, intelligent and are home to citizens with some of the highest salaries in the Bay Area.

As a city councilwoman, I plan to tackle those issues that are preventing us from changing our story.  We must maintain and improve the number of police that protect this great city. We must support the extension of Measure C to support law enforcement and all efforts to keep our citizens safe. We need Code Enforcement to return to pre-recession employee levels to tackle the negligent and irresponsible landlords and business owners who do not maintain their properties or shopping centers and all areas of blight in our community.  We must develop a long-term plan to support the rehabilitation, support of services and housing for homeless.

We must work together with the Antioch Unified School District as over 20,000 of our citizens attend Antioch schools, private and public as AUSD is our largest employer, their concerns and challenges are and should be the City of Antioch’s concerns and challenges.  We need to develop a strategic plan to address infrastructure needs for our entire city especially our older north Antioch community. We must work with other cities in the Bay area and aggressively promote job development in East County and along Antioch’s northern waterfront, a gold mine of possibility for good living wage jobs for our citizens.

We must sit down with our community, developers and other interests, in collaborating on what smart growth and development looks like before we end up at a stalemate.  We must listen to our citizens, promote community and civic events and create reasons for our community to come together to celebrate.  I am committed, passionate and capable of making a difference.  Hope this helps you understand why I am running.”

On Thursday, Feb. 22 Motts filed paperwork for the formation of her campaign committee, “Citizens for Joy Motts – 2018 City Council,” allowing her to begin raising receiving contributions. Form 410 – Citizens For Joy Motts – 2018 City Council rcvd 2-22-18

For more information about the city’s districting process, click here. For information about running for city council, contact the City Clerk’s office at (925) 779-7009.

Three Antioch Police officers at the scene of the shooting that left one man dead next to the white car. Small yellow cones mark the locations of bullet casings. Photo by Allen Payton

By Lieutenant D. Bittner #3252, Antioch Police Investigations Division

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at approximately 7:59 pm, Antioch Police Department officers were dispatched to the 900 block of W. 3rd Street on the report of a shooting. Upon arrival officers located two gunshot victims.

One victim was an adult male who was critically wounded and passed away at the scene. The second victim was an adult female who was also critically wounded. The female victim was transported from the scene to a local hospital and is still in critical condition.

The case is currently under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.