Suspect Ronald Benjamin Jackson, III was charged with homicide, kidnapping and criminal threats in the 2024 death of Raheem Coe. Photo: Antioch PD
Suspect Ronald Benjamin Jackson, III currently in San Quentin state prison on unrelated charges.
Previously arrested in 2022 for shooting, killing Antioch convenience store clerk, but DA Becton didn’t charge with murder
By Allen D. Payton
According to Antioch Police Lt. William Whitaker of the department’s Investigations Bureau, “after an extensive investigation, the Antioch Police Department has solved the homicide of Raheem Coe, a 48-year-old Antioch homeless resident who was found deceased on May 15, 2024, near medical office buildings in the Country Hills Drive area.”
As previously reported, at approximately 7:19 AM, on that date, Antioch police officers responded to the 2200 block of Country Hills Drive to assist Contra Costa Fire on a reported male down on the sidewalk possibly in need of medical attention.
When officers arrived, they located a deceased male. The cause of death was unknown at the time. The Antioch Police Department’s Investigations Bureau, consisting of Crime Scene Investigators and detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit took over the investigation. After an autopsy and further investigation, the death was determined to be a homicide. The victim frequented the area where he was discovered.
As previously reported, independent reports from two sources claimed Coe’s death was believed to be caused by blunt force trauma, including to his head and chest.
At the time, local homeless advocate Andrew Becker, who knew Coe and had several interactions with him, said, “Raheem Coe was on the street for the last couple of years, in the Lone Tree-Deer Valley area. He’s had several interactions with City staff including being swept multiple times by Public Works and Code Enforcement.”
“We had several conversations about shelter and services, and he was seeking shelter,” Becker continued. “He did have contact with his family who are also local.”
Through the processing of evidence, witness interviews, and the review of video surveillance, detectives identified 23-year-old Ronald Benjamin Jackson, III as the suspect in this homicide. Jackson is currently in custody at San Quentin State Prison on unrelated charges.
The case was presented to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, which has filed charges against Jackson for PC 187 – Homicide, PC 207(a) – Kidnapping, and PC 422 – Criminal Threats. Jackson will be transferred to the Martinez Detention Facility pending future court proceedings.
Jackson was previously arrested for robbing an Antioch gas station convenience store and killing the 36-year-old clerk in November 2022. (See related articles here and here)
However, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced the following week that her Office declined to file murder charges in the case, based on the clerk’s actions and “upon an established law that clearly states a person cannot pursue another to retrieve stolen property once the threat of bodily injury or harm to the victim has subsided.”
According to localcrimenews.com, Jackson was also arrested by Antioch Police on May 25, 2024, for kidnapping, battery on a spouse, cohabitant or former spouse and threats of violence, and on Oct. 26, 2022, for vandalism: paint, cruelty to an animal and carrying a loaded firearm when not the registered owner.
Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Antioch Police Detective John Cox at (925) 481-8147 or by email at jcox@antiochca.gov.
Investigate the operations of local government officers, departments and agencies
Application deadline: March 13, 2026
By Contra Costa County Grand Jurors Association
The Contra Costa County Superior Court is accepting applications for Civil Grand Jury Service for the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 term.
Contra Costa County’s Grand Jury consists of 19 citizens. A new Grand Jury is impaneled each year. Grand Jurors are officers of the Court, and function as an independent body under the guidance of a Superior Court Judge. Jurors are impaneled in June and are expected to attend a two-week training in June. Each term serves through June of the following calendar year.
Every year, in each of California’s 58 counties, a group of ordinary citizens takes an oath to serve as grand jurors. Its function is to investigate the operations of the various officers, departments and agencies of local government. Each Civil Grand Jury determines which officers, departments and agencies it will investigate during its term of office.
Apart from the investigations mandated by the California Penal Code, each County’s Grand Jury decides what it will investigate. Investigations may be initiated in response to letters from citizens, newspaper articles and personal knowledge.
If you are interested in applying, please complete the application and review the timeline below.
The City of Antioch is offering an interactive orientation webinar where local, small business owners will learn how to access FREE one-on-one mentorship through Pacific Community Ventures’ Business Advising program.
We’ll walk you through a demo of the platform, highlight key features like the mobile app, and show you how these tools can support your mentorship journey and help grow your business.
Pacific Community Ventures’ BusinessAdvising.org platform connects small business owners across America with free and confidential expert business advising to help them seize opportunities and overcome challenges.
Pacific Community Ventures is a non-profit community investor that unlocks economic opportunity and climate resilience for small business owners and workers. Through access to affordable capital, pro bono business advising, ethical technology and AI, we partner with entrepreneurs to grow, hire, and prosper. For more information visit www.pacificcommunityventures.org.
Honoring Bay Area journalist’s legacy of connecting people to Nature
By EBRPD Public Affairs
East Bay Regional Park District staff are deeply saddened by the passing of Doug McConnell, beloved longtime host of OpenRoad with Doug McConnell on NBC. Doug’s storytelling helped raise public awareness of the value of parks, trails, and community conservation efforts across Northern California and beyond, making outdoor exploration accessible and meaningful to a wider audience.
Source: OpenRoad Facebook page
A post on the OpenRoad with Doug McConnell Facebook page on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, shares more details about his passing. It reads, “It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we share the news that Doug McConnell peacefully passed on the night of January 13th, 2026. Since his stroke in the fall of 2023 he had bravely struggled to regain his health, but a string of setbacks finally caught up with him. Doug was our friend, mentor, and a guiding light along our own life journeys. We will miss him dearly and wish his family peace in this difficult time.
Doug dedicated much of his life to telling stories about the world’s beautiful natural places and encouraged everyone to enjoy them and especially to protect them. He made friends wherever he went. He was the best road trip companion you could have, the biggest optimist we ever met, a human GPS with a steel trap memory, friendly to a fault, knowledgeable about most any subject, and filled the world with enthusiastic positivity. We affectionately described him as the human golden retriever.
No words in a social media post can adequately convey what Doug has meant to us. If he meant something to you. If his TV shows resonated with you. If you have a story about him you’d like to tell, please feel free to tell it here. We’d love to hear from you about what Doug meant to you.
We loved Doug and will miss him dearly.”
The Park District worked with Doug McConnell and his crew many times over the past three decades to showcase East Bay Regional Parks, first on Bay Area Backroads and followed by his most recent show, OpenRoad. Together, we helped educate viewers about the importance of spending time in nature and the role conservation plays in ensuring future generations have the same opportunity. He was a thoughtful journalist whose commitment to community, collaboration, and public service left a lasting impact on the East Bay. We are grateful for his dedication and the positive spirit he brought to his work.
Doug first began working with the Park District in 1993, and this creative collaboration has continued through present day. Through this work, he became an integral part of the Park District’s history, working closely with District staff on many projects. Doug was master of ceremonies at the District’s 65th and 75th anniversary events, Regional Parks Foundation signature events, and the Healthy Parks, Healthy People festival.
In a Jan. 14 statement issued by the OpenRoad team, his colleagues said, “Doug was grateful that his legacy continues, a legacy of joyfully encouraging everyone to explore and appreciate the beauty and diversity of our natural lands, and to celebrate the work so many of you are doing to restore and protect these natural places.” The Park District is honored to be included in Doug’s work and legacy.
Notable episodes featuring the Park District include:
This special episode filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic showed how the Park District responded to the crisis and how parks provided an essential service for physical health and mental well-being.
The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the nation, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and over 1,330 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and environmental education. The Park District receives an estimated 30 million visits annually throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Annual fundraiser to celebrate 25 years of granting wishes
By An Elderly Wish Foundation
SAVE THE DATE!! This will be our “Silver Jubilee of Wishes.”
Come join us as An Elderly Wish Foundation celebrates a monumental accomplishment of serving Contra Costa County residents. The foundation has been making wishes come true for 25 years.
Our goal is to grant wishes for our neighbors, friends and your family members who have serious, chronic or life threating illnesses. All recipients must be 50 years of age.
We are celebrating this wonderful event on February 28th, 2026, at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center in Antioch. Tickets are $80 per person and available on our website.
RSVP by Feb. 17th.
Sponsorships are being accepted now.
A fun evening is in store for all starting with a delicious dinner, followed by:
Mystery Envelopes
Card Raffle
Our Live Auction, and
Our Silent Auction
An Elderly Wish Foundation welcomes any donations for the Silent Auction and Live Auction. Gifts of cash, gift cards or gift baskets from individuals or businesses will be accepted. Remember they are tax deductible!
Proceeds from the benefit will help pay to grant wishes submitted to us.
Donations are always accepted. Please let foundation staff know if you can make a donation to help us grant our elderly with a special wish by calling (925) 978-1883 or emailing info@elderlywish.org.
If you know of anyone that would like a “Wish” please let us know.
Shooting suspect Ryan Hardy in his DMV photo. Source: Antioch PD
Case filed with Contra Costa County DA’s Office
By Allen D. Payton
According to Antioch Police Lt. William Whitaker, Ryan Hardy, the 23-year-old suspect in the Antioch shooting of an 11-year-old girl on Jan. 5, 2025, has been charged with attempted homicide.
“The Antioch Police Department Investigations Bureau has continued to work diligently on this investigation over the past week,” Whitaker further shared. The case has been filed with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Charges are as follows: Attempted Homicide – PC 664/PC 187 (a) (Five Counts) and Negligent Discharge of a firearm – PC 246
As previously reported, on Monday January 5, 2026, at 12:38 PM, Antioch Police Department officers responded to a report of shots fired in the parking lot of the Delta View Apartment complex located at 3915 Delta Fair Boulevard. While officers were responding, they learned that an 11-year-old girl had sustained a gunshot wound to the head while inside a vehicle in the apartment complex parking lot. The girl was transported to Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Previously, Whitaker shared that “the bullet is lodged in her head and they’re trying to monitor to her to decide if they’re going to remove it or leave it.” As of Monday he said, “They are leaving it in for 90 days and will then reassess.”
As a result of the continued investigation, detectives have determined that the victim and her family were not involved in any criminal activity at the time of the shooting. The shooting appears to have occurred because of a misidentification of the intended target.
On Jan. 7th, police identified Hardy and encouraged him to peacefully surrender. On Monday, Jan. 12th, Ryan Hardy self-surrendered to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and, according to Detective John Cox, he was to be transported to Contra Costa County today.
Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact Antioch Police Detective John Cox at (925) 481-8147 or via email at jcox@antiochca.gov.
We will be holding a community meeting for City Council District 1 residents on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026, to provide updates as well as discuss any issues or concerns. The meeting will begin at 5:00 PM in the Antioch Police Department’s Community Room at 300 L Street.
According to Community Liaison Officer Joseph Amiri the meeting will include an open forum with Q&A. Some of the topics that will be covered are Neighborhood Watch and staffing updates, as well as additional resources such as CitizenRIMS, which stands for (Records Information Management System), and a discussion of See, Click, Fix.
Businesses, labor unions, civic foundations join effort for 5-county Nov. 2026 ballot measure to prevent threatened catastrophic transit service cuts, promote reliable, safe public transit
Includes Contra Costa; would generate about $1 billion per year
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — The Connect Bay Area Transit committee today announced that it has already raised nearly $3 million to support a region-wide effort to qualify Connect Bay Area, a voter-proposed regional transportation funding measure, for the November 2026 ballot. With strong early financial backing secured, the campaign will now begin signature gathering while continuing to fundraise to qualify and pass a five-county sales tax to save public transit.
The five counties that would be included in the tax measure vote. Source: Connect Bay Area
About the Tax Measure
The measure if adopted would increase the sales tax in Contra Costa, Alameda San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties by a half cent and one cent in San Francisco County for 14 years. As previously reported, the measure would generate approximately $980 million annually across the five counties.
Revenue from the tax measure will benefit multiple transit agencies in the region including Tri Delta Transit, County Connection and WestCat, as well as AC Transit and BART which serve Contra Costa County residents.
Following is a county-by-county breakdown of the County Specific Dollars. It does not include money going to BART, Muni, AC Transit and Caltrain, or to regional improvements that aren’t designated by county, such as coordinated fare programs and accessibility improvements.
County Agencies:
Contra Costa County Transportation Authority (2.5%, $26.51M)
Alameda County Transportation Commission (1%, $10.26M)
San Mateo County Transit District (4.7%, $50M)
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (25.1%, $264.07M)
Small Operators:
Contra Costa County small operators (1.5%, $15.75M)
Alameda County small operators (0.5%, $5.25M)
SF Bay Ferry (0.7%, $7M)
Golden Gate Transit (0.1%, $1M)
Without new and sustainable operations funding, the Bay Area will face a true emergency:
● BART: Could shut down two of its five lines, reducing service from 4,500 trains per week to just 500, with trains running only hourly and no weekend service.
● AC Transit: Would reduce service by 37%, bringing operations down to just half of pre-pandemic levels.
● Muni: Would face 50% cuts to all bus and Metro lines, including elimination of entire neighborhood routes and San Francisco’s iconic historic trolleys and cable cars.
● Caltrain: Trains would run only once per hour, end service by 9 p.m. on weekdays, and eliminate all weekend service.
Transit agencies that will benefit by the revenue from the tax measure. Source: Connect Bay Area
The Connect Bay Area measure will support the future of public transportation in the Bay Area:
● Protect and improve service on BART, Muni, Caltrain, SamTrans, VTA and AC Transit
● Prevent catastrophic service cuts that could devastate the Bay Area
● Keep traffic and emissions down, preventing gridlock and protecting climate progress;
● Support the Bay Area’s economy, ensuring that downtown recovery and regional mobility remain strong.
The Connect Bay Area Transit measure will include strong accountability provisions. This ensures new funding delivers real improvements, not just short-term fixes. Transit agencies must:
● Independent financial review and cost-efficiency: Operators will undergo a third-party financial review and be required to improve financial efficiency and use public funds wisely
● Better regional coordination to benefit riders: Operators will be required to comply with MTC’s Regional Network Management Policies to coordinate across systems and simplify fares and signage to create a more seamless experience for riders.
● Oversight Committee: An oversight committee will ensure that the expenditure plan is adhered to and hold MTC and operators accountable to all provisions of SB63.
About the Campaign
The campaign’s initial fundraising success reflects broad alignment across business, labor, philanthropy, and community leaders that a reliable, safe, and efficient public transportation system is vital to the future of the Bay Area. Major early donors include Chris Larsen, Herzog Contracting Corporation, Genentech, HNTB Corporation, Meta, and SEIU 1021. For a full list of donors, see below.
“Public transportation connects everyone. We are proud of the broad coalition uniting to prevent catastrophic service cuts and to build an affordable, safe, and efficient public transportation system,” said Jeff Cretan, a spokesperson for the Connect Bay Area Transit Committee. “The commitments we are seeing from business, labor, and civic leaders shows that everyone is ready to get this measure across the finish line in November.”
Connect Bay Area is a five-county regional tax measure designed to prevent catastrophic transit service cuts and provide reliable operating funding for major transit systems and local bus operators throughout the region. The measure also funds improvements to transit systems, capital projects within counties, and targeted road improvements. The measure is critical to supporting the Bay Area’s economy, promoting an affordable region, reducing traffic congestion, and ensuring access to jobs, schools, and healthcare.
Early financial support for the campaign includes commitments from:
Chris Larsen
Herzog Contracting Corporation
Genentech
HNTB Corporation
Meta
SEIU 1021
Jacobs
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
ATU Local 1555
PG&E
San Francisco Foundation
WSP
Golden State Warriors
AFSCME Local 3993
Boston Properties
Visa
AFSCME Council 57
T.Y. Lin
GILLIG
HDR, Inc.
Fehr & Peers
AFSCME 3916
Arup North America
Olson Remcho
Additional major employers, labor organizations, and philanthropic partners have indicated commitments that are expected to be finalized as the campaign continues to build momentum.
With signature gathering starting, the Connect Bay Area campaign will focus on qualifying the measure for the ballot while continuing to expand its coalition across the region. The Campaign must secure over 186,000 signatures from the five counties by June 6, 2026 to qualify for the November ballot.
The campaign’s early momentum comes as Bay Area transit agencies face an unprecedented funding crisis. Without a sustainable solution, public transportation in the the region could see devastating impacts, including:
BART could eliminate 2 full lines, stop service at 9pm on weekdays, and eliminate all weekend service.
Muni could eliminate entire routes, make 50% cuts to major bus and metro lines, gut historic train and cable car service.
Caltrain could cut weekday service to once an hour, stop service at 9pm on weekdays, and eliminate all weekend service.
AC Transit could cut up to 37% of overall service.
Recent polling on the proposed Connect Bay Area measure shows a clear path to passage, with strong support across counties and voter demographics. A survey conducted by EMC Research for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission found that 59% of Bay Area voters would support a proposed regional sales tax measure for public transportation. The threshold for passage for a signature-gathering initiative is 50%+1.
The Connect Bay Area Transit Committee is led by labor, business, and transit supporters, including the Bay Area Council, SEIU 1021, ATU 1555, SPUR, SAMCEDA, among others, as well as a broad advocacy council. The advocacy council includes more than 20 organizations including transit advocates, housing advocates, safe streets advocates, senior and disability advocates, and environmentalists. The Committee is focused on delivering a successful 2026 ballot measure that will strengthen public transportation to keep the Bay Area affordable for residents and support critical economic growth and climate resilience.
