At a brief ceremony at the Antioch Police Facility on Thursday afternoon, January 21st, Antioch Police Officers James Stenger and John Fortner were promoted to the new positions of Corporal and Sergeant respectively.

The following information was provided by Chief Cantando about each of the two officers who were promoted on Thursday.

Sergeant John Fortner

Sergeant Fortner has been a police officer with the City of Antioch since August 20th of 2001.  Prior to working at APD he was employed with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department for approximately (2) years, where he was assigned to the Martinez Detention Facility.  While working with CCCSO, he was also a Reserve Police Officer with the City of Antioch starting in January of 2000.

Prior to his career in law enforcement John was enlisted in the United States Air Force from 1990 to 1998 where he received an Honorable Discharge.

Sergeant Fortner was assigned to the Patrol Division from 2001 -2013.  While on patrol he was appointed to the APD’s Honor Guard Team, and became a certified Dispatcher to assist them during low staffing levels.

In 2004, he was assigned to the APD’s Special Weapons and Tactics team, and became a Team Leader.

In 2006, he was appointed as a Field Training Officer, and was assigned to APD’s Special Response Unit.

In 2013, he was assigned to the Investigations Bureau Violent Crimes Unit and was appointed as a Firearms Instructor.

In November 2013, John was promoted to Corporal.  As a Corporal he was appointed to supervise the Reserve Officer Program, the SWAT Team and SWAT Team Proactive Patrol Details, the Explorer Post, Special Events, and the Northern California Special Olympics Torch Run and charitable Tip-a-Cop events.   In addition to those programs

John is a Department Firearms Instructor and SWAT Team Instructor.

Awards

–          Medal of Valor

–          Meritorious Service Award

Corporal Fortner lives in Brentwood and has been married to his wife, Stephany since 1995.  They have twin daughters, Sophia and Jacqueline, who are 12-years-old.

Corporal James Stenger

Corporal James Stenger was sworn into the Antioch Police Department as a Police Officer in September 2002. Prior to becoming a Police Officer he worked as a Part-time CSO while attending the San Joaquin Delta College Police Academy. Before Corporal Stenger started working at APD he served as a US Army Calvary Scout from 1989 – 1992.

Corporal Stenger worked Patrol from 2002 – 2007. In 2005 he was appointed as a Field Training Officer and was appointed as a First Aid/CPR Instructor in 2006. In 2008 he was appointed as an APD Gang Investigator and was appointed to the PACT Team (Police and Community Together Team). Corporal Stenger moved up to Investigations in February 2010 and was assigned as Investigation’s VCU Detective until 2014. In 2015 he served as Acting Sergeant of Investigations.

During his career here at APD, Corporal Stenger has testified over 30 times as an expert witness regarding Criminal Street Gangs, assisted with the investigation of almost 60 homicides, and assisted in the investigation of 15 critical incidents.

Awards

–          1991 Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device for valor from actions during combat

–          2002 Top Academic Award 96.3% and True Grit Award from San Joaquin Delta College Police Academy

–          2010 Meritorious Service Award

–          2011 Officer of the Year

–          2012 Medal of Valor

James and his wife Kimberly have a five children, 22-year-old daughter Alexx, 19-year-old sons Stephen and Jake, 16-year-old son Dominic, and 14-year-old daughter Kyra (sounds like Kierra).

Congratulations to the new leaders within the department.

By Nick Goodrich

A protest march by Antioch teachers was held before the Antioch School Board meeting Wednesday night, January 20th, during its first meeting of the new year. Holding signs that read things they’ve been speaking about at recent school board meetings, such as “Show Value to Your AUSD Teachers and Students,” “$ Recruit and Retain,” “Use Class Size Money to Lower Class Size,” and “Our Special Education Students Deserve Safe Class Sizes,” the teachers marched on the sidewalk surrounding the parking lot in front of the School Services Building, for a half hour before the meeting began. They chanted “What do we want? Respect. When do we want it? Now.”

The Board then began the meeting holding a ceremonial oath of office for new board member Fernando Navarro, and voted on a search firm to help select its new Superintendent on a 3-1 split, with Navarro dissenting. Trustee Debora Vinson was absent.

Navarro, who officially took his oath of office for his position on December 9th, last year during a special, early Board session, reenacted it so his family could witness the ceremony.

The January 20^th meeting marked his first session as a participating member of the board, and he was the lone dissenting voice in several Board decisions throughout the evening. The meeting was also Diane Gibson-Gray’s first as President of the Board, with Walter Ruehlig serving as Vice President.

The meeting began with public comments from District employees, moved to the forefront due to the number of teachers that came to speak before the Board. Most of the teachers were protesting the District’s use of funds in the wake of Governor Jerry Brown’s newly released state budget.

Tech-certified teachers, who teach computer skills in elementary and middle schools, benefitted the most from the budget, receiving greater pay than many teachers who have worked in the District for 20 or 30 years, but without tech certification. In some cases, one teacher claimed, tech-certified teachers were being paid twice as much as veteran teachers.

“To keep new teachers coming in, the District needs to treat veteran teachers better,” she said.

Bob Carson, another teacher, noted that the Governor’s new budget marked the largest ever increase in the District’s budget, and that all Antioch teachers should benefit.

Other teachers decried the large class sizes of special education classes, telling the board that unless they adhere to a 20:1 ratio of students to teachers, then prospective teachers will be less attracted to the District and harder to hire.

One speaker, however, had something positive to say. Resident Frank Deluna spoke before the board and told of how his daughter, a student at Deer Valley High School, had been failing out of her Algebra class. After three weeks of enrollment in DVHS’s new after-school, math-intensive program, which received funding from the District late last year, Deluna reported that she was now getting A’s in her math class. He spoke highly of the program.

“She’s improved so much,” Deluna stated. “I would like for this program to be continued.”

After looking over the Governor’s new budget, the Board noted that they were in the midst of a 12-year decline in enrollment across the District, with most of the losses occurring in grades 9-12. Trustee Claire Smith asked the Board staff, as she has in previous meetings, where the students are leaving to; and was not pleased when there was as yet, no answer.

“The answer is always, ‘I don’t know,’” she said. “The City Council needs to get out in front of this. We have an image problem and a reputation problem. Maybe it’s time to get real.”

Board Hires Superintendent Search Firm

The Board discussed the institution of more comprehensive exit surveys to better discover where and why students are leaving, and plans to take action in future meetings.

The Board did, however, take action in its search for a new superintendent. After a thorough selection process, the School Board settled on the search firm Leadership Associates from among three candidates. Smith found that Leadership Associates were “highly professional” and was impressed at the level of experience they brought to the table. Ruehlig and Gibson-Gray agreed.

“We wanted the best and the brightest,” said Gibson-Gray.

Fernando Navarro was the sole dissenter in the 3-1 vote that brought Leadership Associates onboard. He argued that the Board should potentially look, first within the District for a new superintendent, rather than search for an outside hire, which would cost the Board significantly more than promoting someone from within and would bring in someone who knows the District well.

However, Smith stated that during conversations she had with several potential inside-hires, none were interested in the superintendent position, and Gibson-Gray added that she was willing to bear the extra cost of the search firm if it meant they could find the best talent in the state.

During the meeting, Navarro also brought up the possibility of moving the school board meetings to larger accommodations.

“This chamber seems a little small to meet our needs,” he noted.

Board meetings have been held in several different locations before, but none stuck. Board members cited a few reasons that they have remained in the School Services Building on G Street; cost, microphone and visual setups, and longer driving distances, were chief among them. Navarro mentioned the possibility of holding Board meetings in the City Council Chamber in downtown Antioch, but a possible location switch was not discussed further.

He also brought up the idea of televising Board meetings or webcasting them online, saying it could be a good idea to increase exposure to the Board and allow residents to be more informed and involved in District decisions. While the most of the Board seemed open to the idea, Smith said the Board had been over that before and it was just too costly. But, since it wasn’t on the agenda, the idea could not be fully discussed and would have to wait for a future meeting.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Taylor Pagan

The former Antioch recreation business known as Golf N Games will reopen under a new name, according to Marcus Jefferson, who announced his business plans at the January 12th city council meeting.

Jefferson introduced himself and KangaZoom franchise owner Trina Scott of Atlanta, Georgia during the Announcements of Civic & City Events.

“Since we are new to the Antioch area, we are asking for the city’s support,” he said.

Jefferson said he plans on hiring 20 employees, including veterans and those with disabilities. He also plans on having an after school program for children, as well as a “Mommy and Me” program for stay-at-home moms with toddlers.

In addition to updating the miniature golf course and batting cages, other amenities include a full cafe and free Wi-Fi. However, Jefferson said there would no longer be go-carts.

“It will be a real exciting place and something for all ages to enjoy,” he said.

Mayor Wade Harper said he just had a group of students telling him how it’s good that restaurants are opening up, but they need something for them. He said he can now tell them it’s coming.

“This is exciting,” Harper said. “So we definitely want to know how we can support this.”

He also said a council member who is knowledgeable about work force development would be reaching out to Jefferson.

“I brought the lease with me to let you know we are ready to sign and get going ASAP, and if the Lord says the same we will be open within the next month or two,” Jefferson said.

As published in City Manager Steve Duran’s Weekly Report dated January 8, 2016 and provided by Chief of Police Allan Cantando. More serious or interesting crimes highlighted in bold.

EDITOR’S NOTE: There was an oversight and this list of Calls for Service was not posted on our website, until tonight. Thanks to reader Joe C. for catching the mistake.

Service Call & Arrest Data Summary:

Time Period: 12/31/15 00:00:00 – 01/06/16 23:59:59

Number of Calls for Service: 1,373

Number of Case Reports: 264

Number of Arrests: 60

Felony: 24

Misdemeanor: 36

Arrests with DUI charge: 1

The data is based upon unaudited CAD/RMS data at time of report generation.

• ·On 1/6/16 at 7:07 pm, officers were called to the 3200 block of G St for a report of an injury accident. According to the reporting party, subjects were holding one male down, 32 year old John Foster, who attempted to flee from the scene. Upon arrival officers were advised that Foster was driving a white Honda at a high rate of speed on G Street and collided with the 45 year old victim as he was pulling out of his driveway. The Honda turned out to be a recently stolen vehicle out of Stockton and video of the incident showed Foster traveling approximately 60+ mph just prior to the accident. After colliding with the victim’s vehicle, Foster slammed into two more parked cars. Residents from 3221 G Street observed Foster trying to flee and detained him until officers arrived. Both Foster and the victim suffered numerous injuries as a result of the crash and were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Foster was released pending further investigation due to the extent of his injuries. The victim was expected to be released with minor injuries.
• ·On 1/6/16 at 8:43 am, administration from Tobin World located at 2330 Country Hills Dr, called to report that two of their staff members assaulted a student yesterday (1/5/16) and had already been fired. The staff members were identified as 22 year old Chad Corbin and 26 year old Kamaljot Kaur who are both teachers’ aides. Officers responded to the school and interviewed several staff members, student witnesses, the victim, and reviewed video of the incident. They learned that Kaur called for assistance in her classroom because 9 year old male student was acting out of control. Corbin responded and assisted by wrapping his arms around the child to control him. Several other students became involved and one grabbed the victim by his feet to help control him. Kaur then struck the victim in the face (as seen on the video) after he was being restrained. Corbin eventually let go of the victim and Kaur approached him, pushed him to the ground, and assaulted the victim again. Kaur was contacted at her residence and admitted to losing her temper and assaulting the victim. She was arrested without incident and booked at county jail for felony child abuse. Corbin was contacted at his residence and provided a statement that he was trying to help control the victim when the assault occurred and he had no idea Kaur was going to assault the victim. He was not arrested at this time, but the investigation is continuing.
• ·On 1/6/16 at 2:35 am, the mother of 24 year old Stephanie Sorano and 21 year old Nadine Sorano called stating the two sisters were intoxicated and in a physical fight with each other. When officers arrived, the sisters were on the ground with handfuls of each other’s hair. The officers had to pry them apart to separate them. Nadine struck an officer twice in the face before he could gain control of her. Stephanie was cited and released at the scene. Nadine was sent to county jail where she continued to be uncooperative. The officer who was struck sustained a swollen lip but did not need medical attention. The only injuries to the sisters were from each other.
• ·On 1/6/16 at 12:53 am, the 21 year old male victim and his 20 year old girlfriend arrived at their home in the 1800 block of Modoc Ct home to find the male victim’s cousin, 19 year old Francisco Lopez-Martinez, in front of the house asking to use the phone. Lopez-Martinez used the telephone then 23 year old Carlos Ventura and 21 year old Alex Rangel came into the residence. Ventura was armed with a handgun and they robbed the victims. The male victim was pistol whipped and received lacerations to his face. Ventura, Rangel, and Lopez-Martinez fled with cell phones, cash, and keys. The male victim went to a local hospital for treatment. The investigation is on-going.
• ·On 1/5/16 at 8:19 pm, an employee of Burger King located in the 4600 block of E 18^th St was working the front counter when a male in his mid 30’s entered the store armed with a black revolver and demanded the cash drawer. The suspect threatened to shoot the employee and other customers in the business. The employee gave the suspect the cash drawer which he took and fled the scene. Oakley PD responded because they just had an attempted robbery of one of their business on the Antioch/Oakley border with a matching suspect description. The suspect was not located.
• ·On 1/5/16 at 10:05 am, while the 58 year old property owner was checking on his vacant rental property in the 4400 block of Elk Dr, he heard someone inside. He called the police and we ultimately detained 26 year old Eddie Ford squatting inside. Ford was arrested for felony vandalism due to the extensive damage in the room he was squatting in. Ford was transported to the county jail.
• ·On 1/5/16 at 9:39 am, 38 year old Richard Kearnes was extremely intoxicated (again) and passed out next to the Food Maxx on Lone Tree Way. Kearnes was not able to stand on his own and an ambulance was called for him. He was arrested and cited so that he could be transported to a local hospital for treatment of extreme intoxication.
• ·On 1/4/16 at 10:50 pm, an officer was on routine patrol when he heard the alarm sounding at 1409 Auto Center Dr (Blue Star Heating and Air) and noticed the glass door had been broken out. At about this same time dispatch was receiving the burglary alarm call. Several units arrived and set up on the business. A police K9 was used to search the business and alerted on one particular locked door. We attempted to locate and get a subscriber to respond but were unsuccessful. Based on the short time frame of the incident and the K9’s alert on only this particular door it was forced open but no one was found inside.
• ·On 1/4/16 at 9:01 pm, an officer on routine patrol saw 28 year old Brandon Hill enter Burger King on Mahogany Dr. The officer was aware Hill had an outstanding felony warrant for robbery. He contacted Hill and took him into custody without incident. He was sent to county jail.
• ·On 1/4/16 at 4:36 pm, an officer was conducting follow up on a robbery report he took yesterday. He contacted the responsible, 22 year old Lontrice Ray at the 2400 block of Sequoia Dr and was able to take her into custody without incident. Ray was booked and sent to county jail. None of the property taken during the robbery was recovered.
• ·On 1/4/16 at 1:25 pm, the 37 year old male victim was near the east side of the Lone Tree Way Community Center when an unknown male suspect approached him and brandished a pistol. The suspect took his wallet at gunpoint and then fled on foot towards the back of the community center. The victim was not injured during this incident. An extensive area check was conducted, but the suspect was not located.
• ·On 1/4/16 at 12:10 pm, the 32 year old male victim was driving in the above area when he noticed a newer black Chrysler 300 following him. The victim made several turns to evade them, but he wound up running into them again because he was not familiar with the area. The Chrysler fell in behind his vehicle again and an unknown male passenger with leaned out of the window with a black semi-auto pistol and shot at his car approximately 10 times. The victim fled the area at a high rate of speed and ran several stop lights to get away. The victim stopped at Chichibu Park and we contacted him. The victim did not recognize the shooter or the car, and he claimed that he did not know why anyone would be shooting at him. The victim and his vehicle were not struck by bullets. We located the crime scene and recovered several 9mm casings in the intersection of Oak Haven Way and Mesa Ridge Dr. We searched the area and completed a neighborhood canvass. No other witnesses were located, and there is no other known damage.
• ·On 1/3/16 at 6:00 pm, APD received a call from Sutter Delta hospital that an 18 year old male victim was in the ER being treated for a gunshot wound to his calf. Upon making contact, the victim advised he was shot about an hour earlier while walking on W. 6^th Street near A Street. The victim had a through and through wound to his leg. He was very vague on details, could not provide any real suspect information, and had some conflicts in his statements. When confronted with the change in his story he blamed it on the pain medication. There were no shots fired called in the area he described being shot at. Officers checked the area for any evidence and were not able to locate any that would indicate a shooting actually took place. Although his injuries were not life threatening, the victim was transferred to another hospital. The victim’s father later called dispatch and advised dispatch his son was shot by “Marlon.” The victim’s father was in Mexico and we were unable to make contact with him to verify this information.
• ·On 1/3/16 at 4:21 pm, Officers were dispatched to the apartment complex located at 2301 Sycamore Dr on the report of a verbal argument with shots fired. Responding Officers located a vehicle fleeing the area at high speed, stopped the vehicle, and detained the occupants. 19 year old Ronvell Scheneck and a 17 year old male were in the car and found to be in possession of firearms. They were arrested as well as 22 year old Dominic Pedrelli and 25 year old Darrell Crane. The victim was not injured and advised he was shot at by subjects and returned fire with a shotgun after an argument with the boyfriend of the female in unit #164. Several spent shell casings were located and collected at the scene. The suspects continued to fire at the victim as they fled through the complex. The gunfire struck three occupied apartment units. A second 19 year old victim was in an unrelated apartment sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her abdomen that did not penetrate her abdominal wall. A third victim, age 29, was in her bedroom when her apartment was shot at several times, she was unharmed. Scheneck was booked into county jail and the 17 year old male suspect was sent to Juvenile Hall. The other two suspects were later released pending further investigation. There is still one outstanding suspect.
• ·On 1/3/16 at 1:33 pm, an officer observed 29 year old Eric Butson loitering in the parking lot of the Executive Inn at 515 E 18^th St. Upon seeing the police Butson fled into a room with several boxes of new Dewalt power tools. During the investigation it was learned the room was rented to a female who used a stolen identification. She was contacted and lied about her name using the stolen identification. She was identified as 34 year old Catalina Hernandez and found to be on probation for theft. Butson was contacted hiding in the room and also lied about his name. He was found to be on parole. As the investigation continued the officer uncovered a moderate identity theft operation with stolen ID’s, personal information, and new unaccounted for merchandise. Both were sent to the county jail.
• ·On 1/3/16 at 10:29 am, an unwanted guest was loitering at the play structure of Carl’s Jr’s at 4194 Lone Tree Way making everyone feel uncomfortable. Upon contact it was learned that 32 year old Chris Fraulino had a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested transported to county jail.
• ·On 1/3/16 at 4:30 am, officers were dispatched to a vehicle fire at 234 Crest St. Upon arrival, they located a fully engulfed Buick that was parked on the street. The vehicle was unoccupied, clear in the system, and registered to 35 year old Patrice Glaude of Pittsburg. Pittsburg Police Department did an outside assist and advised that no one was home at Glaude’s residence. Officers were unable to contact Glaude as of this writing.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 11:08 pm, an officer located an occupied stolen vehicle traveling east bound on Lone Tree Way. An enforcement stop was conducted and the driver, 24 year old Ashley Buggs, was detained without incident. Buggs was booked into county jail for auto theft.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 9:38 pm, a 55 year old male flagged down an officer to report being the victim of an armed robbery in the Sycamore Dr and Lemontree Way area. The victim described doing a “business transaction” in the Lemontree alleyway with a male who arrived in a vehicle. The two began fighting and more subjects exited the car including one with a shotgun according to the victim. They took his wallet containing $300 dollars cash and left the scene. He was not injured and provided little information which would help with identification of the suspects.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 9:30 pm, 31 year old Chino Jones was observed by officers riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the roadway with no lighting equipment. A traffic enforcement stop was conducted and Jones provided a false name to officers. He consented to a search and a BB gun was located which had been modified to hold live ammunition in the barrel. Officers continued their search and located more ammunition and a glass pipe. Jones continued to lie about his name and eventually we discovered his true identity through fingerprinting. Jones had two outstanding warrants and was also on felony probation. He was sent to county jail. This was not the first time Jones had been arrested with a similar gun converted to hold actual ammunition.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 7:30 pm, 33 year old Douglas Kennedy was being seen at Sutter Delta Hospital for a laceration to his hand. He was heavily intoxicated and decided he no longer wished to receive care. He began running around the hospital and police were called. Prior to our arrival he fled the hospital running north on Lone Tree Way. Officers located him in the intersection of A St and E Tregallas Rd walking in traffic. He was detained and submitted to a preliminary alcohol screening device which came back as a .207% blood alcohol. His injury to his hand was minor and Sutter did not wish to have him returned to the hospital. He was transported to county jail for a sobering period.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 12:23 pm, we received calls of a male running near the park naked. 36 year old John Pavlin was contacted and found to have a warrant for his arrest. Pavlin was arrested and sent to Martinez Detention Facility.
• ·On 1/2/16 at 7:44 am, a homemade explosive device was found in the parking lot of Delta Beauty College located at 320 H St. The device had exploded sometime during the night and caused minor damage to the building. An arson investigator responded and took over the investigation. No suspect info at this time.
• ·On 1/1/16 at 7:05 pm, for the second night in a row, we received a call from an anonymous subject stating there was a fight at the address located in the 1500 block of Barkley Ct. We also had information that 36 year old Atilua Siona had an outstanding felony warrant and was at the residence. Upon arrival we surrounded the house and residents were refusing to answer the door. As we were on the perimeter, an officer observed Siona looking out of an upstairs window. After a long failed negotiation attempt, we eventually forced entry and took Siona into custody without further incident. Siona was booked into county jail.
• ·On 1/1/16 at 3:03 pm, Officers were dispatched to Victory Tune located at 301 W 6^th St on the report of a male slumped over the wheel of a vehicle. 23 year old Mario Fregoso was contacted in the vehicle and was found to be in possession of cocaine and heroin. Fregoso was arrested and later cite released.
• ·On 1/1/16 at 6:48 am, 37 year old Joseph Simpson lives at a residence in the 3700 block of Almondwood Dr. alone. His 26 year old girlfriend and another couple, ages 19 and 21 years old came over to Simpson’s house for New Years. Simpson’s girlfriend started fighting with the 19 year old female and Simpson started fighting with the 21 year old male. During the two fights, Simpson obtained his AR-15 from his bedroom and struck 21 year old male in the face with the barrel of the rifle while ordering him and the 19 year old female to leave his residence. They left, but called APD reporting the incident. Officers contacted the victims in front of the residence upon arrival. Both were covered in blood. Simpson and his girlfriend were eventually called out of the residence and detained. During a protective sweep of the residence the illegal AR-15 was located loaded in the front room. A large scale marijuana grow and hash oil lab were also located inside the home. Simpson admitted to running the hash oil operation. Narcotic detectives were called to the scene and obtained a search warrant for the residence. Simpson was arrested for manufacturing a controlled substance, illegal possession of an assault rifle and violation of probation. Simpson was booked into county jail. The other three did not desire prosecution against each other for the mutual assaults.
• ·On 1/1/16 at 3:13 am, Officers were dispatched to a vehicle that had stopped in the middle of the road and turned its lights off near the intersection of Hillcrest Ave and Via Dora Dr. Officers found the vehicle at the above location. 42 year old Kapri Diaz was in the driver seat and refused to unlock her door or roll down her window. 49 year old Fernando Llamas was sitting on a fence on the side of the road next to the vehicle. Llamas approached officers and began challenging them to fight while calling them names and stating the police had shot his nephew. Officers pointed their Tasers at Llamas at which time his demeanor changed and he was placed into handcuffs. Llamas was intoxicated and arrested for being drunk in public. Diaz eventually opened her car door and was also uncooperative. She was intoxicated and belligerent. She refused field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested for DUI and transported to county jail. A search warrant had to be obtained for a blood draw.
• ·On 1/1/16 at 2:30 am, a 17 year old male victim rode in a car with his 18 year old friends to a house party at an unknown address near Raley’s. The party had approximately 50 people. While at the party, the victim became separated from his friends and walked to the front yard to look for them. He was hit in the head from behind and lost consciousness. The victim’s friends found him unconscious in the front yard and woke him up. The victim discovered his cell phone and $50 in cash was missing from his pockets. The friends drove the victim to a local hospital for treatment and left the scene. They had not been located for interviews as of this writing.
• ·On 12/31/15 at 11:23 am, 37 year old Richard Kearns was in front of Chevron at 4700 Lone Tree Way intoxicated. Kearns was unable to care for his safety and was placed under arrest. Kearns was released after a sobering period at APD.
• ·On 12/31/15 at 1232 am, a security officer for 2400 Horizon Lane observed 33 year old Sarah Jaramillo wondering around the complex looking into cars and talking to herself. The security officer approached her to find out what she was doing and she became belligerent with him. At one point she reached into the small of her back and stated he needed to back off or he would get hurt. The security officer drew his weapon and Jaramillo eventually backed down. She fled behind a building when officers arrived but was quickly detained. Jaramillo was intoxicated and had no business on the property so she was placed under citizen’s arrest for trespassing and being under the influence. She was sent to county jail.
• ·On 12/31/15 at 8:19 pm, 23 year old Tommy Walker was kicked out of the holiday shelter the church at the 3700 block of E 18^th St was providing after he was found to be intoxicated. Walker continued drinking and began harassing staff and causing a disturbance. Officers responded and took him into custody. While in the patrol car he began kicking the rear passenger window. He was extracted from the vehicle, placed into a restraint device, and sent to county jail.
• ·On 12/30/15 at 10:30 pm, 37 year old Kentrell Hall showed up at the 2300 block of Manzanita Way and began banging on the door and demanding to be let in. Hall did not live there and the occupants did not know him. Hall was contacted by officers and found to be extremely intoxicated to the point that he could barely stand. He was arrested and transported to county jail for a sobering period.
• ·On 12/30/2015 at 9:13 pm, officers contacted the 57 year old male in the lobby of the police department. The victim lives in the 3200 block of Ashley Way and has been renting a room to 53 year old Daniel Hard for the past few months. The night before at approximately 3:00 am, the victim confronted Hard about having several unknown people in the house. Hard punched the victim in the face causing several fractures, swelling, and bruising. The victim drove himself to an area hospital for treatment and then came to APD. Hard is on parole out of Lake County and had an active warrant for violating the terms of his release. We responded to the residence and located a brand new Chevy Tahoe in the driveway. The vehicle was found to be stolen/ embezzled out of LA. During a search of the residence, Hard and 30 year old Lisa Stubbs were both found hiding inside and taken into custody. Stubbs had a probation violation warrant for auto theft out of Sonoma County. Keys to the Tahoe were found inside Hard’s bedroom. A search of the Tahoe yielded a large amount of processed marijuana and a loaded revolver. Additional ammunition, marijuana, packaging and scales were located in Hard’s bedroom. Both subjects were booked at county jail.
• ·On 12/30/15 at 2:57 pm, officers were dispatched to the 800 block of D St for a report of a missing 82 year old male who had driven off in a vehicle. The man’s wife stated he did not have a license and suffered from dementia. He was supposed to walk to the liquor store but instead took their pick-up truck. Officers conducted an area check and put out a county wide bulletin for the 82 year old male. Approximately 2 1/2 hours later we received a call from a 15 year old male on Peachtree Circle who stated someone was at the door speaking Spanish. The male was yelling that the occupants of the house had his tools. Officers overheard the call come out and based on the description of the male, responded to the address. Upon arrival they located the 82 year old and his truck and returned him to his own home.

 

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

State Route 160:

There will be full freeway closures in the southbound direction of State Route 160 between Main Street/E. 18th Street and the State Route 4/State Route 160 connector ramp on Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between Railroad Avenue and Contra Loma on Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of State Route 4 between Bailey Road and Contra Loma on Monday through Friday from 4:30 am to 12:00 pm.

State Route 160:

There will be highway lane closures in the northbound direction of State Route 160 between the State Route 4/State Route 160 connector ramp to Main St. off ramp on Tuesday through Wednesday from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am.

There will be highway lane closures in the southbound direction of State Route 160 between 18^th St. on-ramp to State Route 4/State Route 160 connector ramp on Tuesday through Thursday from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm.

For questions or comments please send e-mail to info@4eastcounty.org.

On sixth anniversary of Citizens United

By Allen Payton

On Wednesday, January 21, the sixth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA-09) called for what he believes are “long-overdue fixes to our broken campaign finance system.” McNerney is advocating for H.J.Res.31, a constitutional amendment to limit campaign contributions to individuals and prevent heavily-financed special interests from influencing our elections. It is a change to a similar bill, also labeled H.J.Res.31, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) in 2013.

McNerney’s amendment would also allow for financing of campaigns with public, taxpayer funds.

“This bill specifies individual citizens or public election financing or voter education systems as the only sources of funding to directly or indirectly support or oppose campaigns for election to public office or state ballot measures,” the resolution states.

“Citizens United made an already broken campaign finance system much worse. Over the past six years we’ve seen its damaging effects, with excessive amounts of dark money from hidden donors, corporations, and special interests flowing into electoral campaigns while crushing the voice of individual voters,” said McNerney. “This corrosive influence drives much of the partisan gridlock in Washington and many state capitals, making it exceedingly difficult to tackle some of our country’s most complex and pressing issues. This is why I’m advocating for significant changes that will overhaul our broken campaign finance system to remove the destructive influence of unlimited dark money contributions, and restore the health of our democracy.”

In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same free speech rights as people, allowing highly-financed special interest to use their money to fund campaigns for public elective office and ballot initiatives.

Since the Citizens United decision, a majority of campaign spending now comes from undisclosed and unregulated sources. A report from Center for Responsive Politics (CFRP) illustrates that while federal elections are becoming more expensive, fewer people are making contributions.

In 2012, CFRP also found that spending from outside entities required to disclose contributions (that is, not candidates or parties) totaled over $1 billion. That pales in comparison to the amount of so-called “dark money” from SuperPACs and groups that aren’t required to disclose their donors, estimated at over $300 billion.

McNerney’s legislation specifies individual citizens or public election financing or voter education systems as the only sources of funding to directly or indirectly support or oppose campaigns for election to public office or state ballot measures.

He claims that “a majority of Americans say fundamental changes need to be made to our campaign finance system,” and cites a 2015 NY Times/CBS poll found that 84 percent of Americans say money has too much influence in politics, and 85 percent of those surveyed said the campaign-finance system should be either completely rebuilt or fundamentally changed.

However, during the 2016 presidential campaign, the influence of SuperPAC’s has been diminished according to a December, 2015 article in The Atlantic, having little to no effect on the Republican presidential campaign.

“Super PACs have spent millions in the 2016 presidential race, but so far there’s been little to show for it,” the article states. “The deep coffers of some super PACs seem to have done little to help candidates gain traction.”

McNerney has repeatedly advocated for campaign finance reform to remove the influence of money in our elections and restore the voice of the voters.

McNerney  serves the constituents of California’s 9^th Congressional District that includes portions of Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Sacramento Countie, including part of Antioch. For more information on McNerney follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepMcNerney.

This week, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost issued the following statement:

“BART has committed to install a working camera system on each and every train car as quickly as possible.  Staff is already working on funding options, a procurement plan, and deployment strategy.  Our riders and employees’ safety is BART’s top priority.

BART, like all forms of public transit, is a safe mode of transportation. Prior to this announcement, we utilized a robust surveillance system with cameras located in train cars, on platforms, in stations, and even on our individual police officers.  However, the ability of decoy cameras to deter crime depends on the principle of uncertainty.  Once that uncertainty was removed, our strategy was rendered ineffective.

BART’s new Fleet of the Future trains already have cameras on all cars.  Now, both our existing and future cars will have security cameras.”

Antioch’s Black History Month Exhibit was created by Rua’h Community Outreach Ministries and Parent Providers Partnering for the Education of Young Children in 2009 with a desire to share the cultural history and struggles of African Americans with the children and parents attending the Rites of Passage Life Skills Training Academy being held at the Rivertown Kid’s Club in Antioch. The exhibit continued to grow and the location for the past two years is the Nick Rodriguez Community Center, located at 213 F Street, in downtown Antioch.

The 2016 exhibit showcases a timeline of African American history from Africa to the present featuring historical events, creative art, artifacts, and literature that reflect the African American experience in America, to promote dignity and pride in the African American community and provide cross cultural education for the larger community.

The exhibit opens with a reception on Saturday, February 6th, from 2-4 PM and continues from February 9th – 19th from 12-5 PM (Tuesdays – Fridays) and Saturday February 13th from 12-5 PM. The final date of the exhibit is Saturday, February 20th from 12-4 PM.

The organizers are offering students an opportunity to earn community service hours and teachers to send their students to the exhibit for extra credit. For more information contact Dr. Carrie Frazier at (925) 787-4827.

The exhibit is a community partnership between Rua’h Community Outreach Ministries, Parent Partners Providing for the Education of Young Children, JTS Art Gallery, City of Antioch and the Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch.

For more information visit http://art4antioch.org/Black-History-Exhibit.asp or call Diane Gibson-Gray, (925) 325-9897.