The damaged window facing W. 5th Street on the American Plumbing building in downtown Antioch, and the suspect. Photos by APD

From the Antioch Police Facebook page

Thank you to our alert downtown business owners who called in on a male subject who had been seen breaking a window of a business on Thursday, Dec. 28. The incident caused over $1,300 in damage, however, the callers provided such an excellent description and location of the suspect that our officers were quickly able to arrest him for vandalism and an outstanding felony warrant.

While the homes are still decorated with Christmas lights this week and you’re off work, spent all your money on presents, are in need of some free entertainment and have nothing else to do, grab your family and/or significant other, hop in the car, take a drive around town and take and send us a photo of your favorite one with the address of the home and we’ll post the photo here with your name as the photographer.

Then the homeowners and first photographers of a home who send in their photo and are one of the three whose photos get the most likes by Monday, January 1st at 12 pm Noon will each win a gift certificate from an Antioch business!

Email your one photo only (no videos) to info@antiochherald.com. Only one favorite home photo can be submitted per person. First 100 photos will be accepted. Photographers must also “Like” the Antioch Herald FB page to be eligible for a prize. Deadline for submitting photos is Saturday, Dec. 30 at 12 Midnight.

So, go see the lights and send in a photo of your favorite!

BUFFET DINNER INCLUDED!

Opener

Jill Maragos developed her sense of humor and knack for story-telling as a survival tactic for growing up with a crazy family in Buffalo, NY.  With degrees in Broadcast Journalism & Mechanical Engineering, she made the natural progression into Stand-Up Comedy.

She has appeared on Laughs (FOX/Hulu) and The Office (NBC) and she performs all over the country.

Headliner

Marc Yaffee is an award-winning comedian featured on the Showtime special, Goin’ Native: The American Indian Comedy Slam. Marc has also been seen on the PBS special, Crossing the Line, SiTV’s The Latino Laugh Festival and Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.

Marc has been heard on Sirius XM Radio, Bob & Tom and NPR. Marc is a founding member of the Pow Wow Comedy Jam, who were honored as North American Indigenous Image Awards’ Comedians of the Year and the National Indian Gaming Association’s Entertainers of the Year.

Marc has performed five times overseas for the troops in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. He won the Ventura Comedy Festival’s Funniest Person Contest in 2012 and is a guest columnist for Indian Country Today Media Network. From clubs and colleges to casinos and corporate events, Marc leaves a trail of laughs that is funny not filthy.

The damage to the interior of the building that housed Paula’s Family Florist on A Street in Antioch. Herald file photo

Contra Costa County Fire Investigators have made an arson arrest in Antioch for several recent fires.

37-year-old José Luis Gomes, a transient living in Antioch, was arrested on December 22, 2017, and was charged yesterday, December 27, 2017, with one count of attempted arson, and four counts of arson to a structure. He is suspected of starting a fire at Paula’s Family Florist shop, and three churches, all in a small geographic area around the A Street corridor.

Other similar fires in the area are still under investigation.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

The Contra Costa Area office of the California Highway Patrol will be conducting a “Sobriety Checkpoint” starting on Thursday, December 28 in an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County.  This safety event will be conducted from 9PM to 3AM.  Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked, and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs can expect to be arrested.  In addition, officers will conduct driver’s license checks on motorists stopped at the checkpoint.

The event is part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.  Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition to this press release, we will use our CHP-Contra Costa Facebook and CHP-Contra Costa Twitter pages to provide messaging to encourage the use of occupant restraints, adherence to the speed limit, and sober driving.