Had a criminal record, released from jail last year, was selling real estate but relapsed on drugs, committing “white collar crimes”, wanted by federal marshals

By Allen Payton

The man an Antioch Police officer shot Thursday night has died and was identified Friday morning by his girlfriend of 10 years, Antioch resident Jennifer Crackel, as Lloyd Joseph “Joe” Harris of Antioch. He was also known as “Bucky Joe” and “Buck” having been given those nicknames for his bucked teeth he had as a child.

She shared what she knew of Harris and what transpired, as she choked back tears.

“What the Antioch police did was really wrong,” Crackel said. “They didn’t say he was resisting arrest or pulled a gun. I was with him, yesterday morning. It was an airsoft gun. He would not have pulled it. I know this man. He was scared they were going to kill him. They straight up killed him in cold blood.”

She shared about Harris’ criminal past and current activities.

“He got out of jail, last year,” Crackel stated. “He was in jail in Solano County for three years and some change. I was with him (when he was arrested). He got into a high-speed chase, we never hit any other cars or any cops. No one ever got hurt. A Vallejo cop said Joe tried to ram him, but that wasn’t true.” (See related article by CBSLocal).

“His parents were finally able to make bail of $995,000, last year and he was still trying to fight his case,” she continued.”

“For about a year he was really doing well. He’s very smart,” said Crackel. “In September he relapsed on methamphetamines. He was definitely going the wrong direction. The police were already looking for him.”

“He didn’t sell drugs. He does real estate. He owns homes. He liked money. He wasn’t doing anything to harm anyone,” she continued. “He wasn’t robbing. He was doing, you know white collar crimes. Identity theft he was definitely involved with. He wasn’t doing it. He was orchestrating it. He had people doing it for him.”

Crackel then shared other reasons he was wanted by multiple agencies, as stated in the press release by Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks, following the shooting.

“He violated his probation. He didn’t show up for testing. He had a couple domestic violence abuse cases, with me. A couple bad ones,” she stated. “The federal marshals were looking for him. There was a federal warrant out for his arrest for selling large amounts of drugs across state lines. That was about 10 to 12 years ago.”

“I don’t know exactly why the Antioch Police were looking for him so hard.  He didn’t deserve death,” Crackel said.

“One of the officers said to me, some time ago, ‘Tell Buck what I always tell him, the time limit on my murder charge never goes away.’”

Asked if he was wanted for murder, Crackel responded, “They were trying to say that. But it was b…s… It was going on for years. They had a vendetta against him. They straight up killed.”

“What was the reason for them to open fire on him, like that?” she asked. “One shot. They were aiming to kill him. He was dead before he got to the hospital.”

When asked how she knew that, Crackel replied, “I called the hospital and I could just tell by the way they talked. They couldn’t tell me anything.”

Asked if she has spoken to the police, she said, “I haven’t. But, his parents have. The District Attorney and Chief of Police came to their house about 10 or 11 last night in Antioch…they’ve been living here in Antioch their entire life. They’re good people. The best I’ve ever met in my life.”

“They started asking Joe’s parents, if he was violent, if he was carrying around a gun. Interrogating them,” Crackel continued. “They (his parents) started getting offended. They wanted to know if he was still alive. His dad got really mad. He said ‘I want to know what’s going on.’ They said, ‘he’s dead. He’s gone.’ So cold hearted.”

Asked if she was there at the time, she replied, “No, I was not there. I called his dad and he told me right after. He was so p—ed off about it. They know how much I loved him.”

“His mother is just beside herself. That was her only child,” Crackel shared. “He would have been 41 in April.”

However, when asked about Crackel’s claims, Chief Brooks responded, “While I cannot at this time confirm the name of the person involved in the incident last night, I can assure you neither myself or the district attorney are directly involved in the investigation, and neither of us were part of, or present at, any interviews.”

Harris had also been arrested by Pittsburg Police in 2010 for evading police and attempting three carjackings during a chase. See related article by the Contra Costa Times.

Please check back later for any updates and more details.

By Tammany Brooks, Antioch Chief of Police

Thursday afternoon, Feb. 8 shortly after 5:00 p.m, Antioch Officers located a dangerous fugitive wanted by multiple agencies and attempted to take him into custody. During the contact, at least one officer fired his duty weapon, striking the subject. A firearm was recovered at the scene near the 76 gas station at Golf Course Road and Lone Tree Way.

The subject was taken to an area hospital and his condition is unknown at this time. None of the involved officers were injured during this incident.

This case is being jointly investigated along with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

No further information is available at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Antioch Police at (925) 778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

 

Tall Ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, official ambassadors of Washington state, will visit Antioch from March 27th – 31st and offer exciting Adventure Sails, Battle Sails and Vessel Tours from the dock. Vessel Tours open the ships to the public for a suggested donation of $5 per person. Come check out the ship and meet her crew!

Sailing guests will embark on a two or three-hour experience. Adventure Sails feature sailing as it was done for hundreds of years. Join in a sea shanty, enjoy breathtaking views, and meet the modern-day crew that travels the west coast. Battle Sails feature fast-paced maneuvering and live black powder cannon fire as the ships vie to win the battle.

A ticket is required for all sailing passengers, including babies. Children 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Refreshments are not provided, but guests are welcome to bring their own (no glass containers, please). Accessibility is addressed on a case-by-case basis, so please talk to us ahead of time to be sure we can accommodate your needs.

Call 1-800-200-5239 for tickets and information or click here. A ticket is not required for Vessel Tours.

Antioch City Marina

5 Marina Plaza, Antioch

March 27 to March 31, 2018

Schedule

March 27-29 
Closed for crew training

March 30 (Friday)
Vessel Tours: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ($5 donation)
Evening Sail: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ($42-$49)

March 31 (Saturday)
Vessel Tours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($5 donation)
Adventure Sail: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($42-$49) Sailing on Hawaiian Chieftain
Battle Sail: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. ($42-$79)

April 1 (Sunday)
Boats depart Antioch to Crescent City

By BART Board Member Joel Keller

At age 17, after interviewing hundreds of renowned thinkers, Nikhil Goyal wrote a book called, One Size Does Not Fit All.  It offers a prescription to transform the American educational system.

I don’t claim to be as smart as that young man. But I’d like to borrow the title to his book and apply it to BART parking.  Here’s why.

As a BART Director in Contra Costa County, most of my constituents depend on their cars.  They have a very different commute experience than my colleagues whose constituents live in more transit and pedestrian friendly areas.  Consequently, the solutions to help my constituents connect with BART may be different than those of some of my colleagues.

In January, BART staff made a presentation to the Board entitled “BART’s Parking Program: Update and Discussion.”

We board members learned that BART’s revenue from parking has increased from under $5 million in 2003 to $35 million in 2017. BART has a total of 48,000 parking spaces at 34 parking facilities. We have a systemwide waitlist total of 38,000 customers.   Staff presented some possible solutions to dealing with easing the overcrowding in our existing lots.  Those ideas included demand based pricing and variable pricing.  These are fine ideas for consideration, but what about parking expansion?

So, I decided to do what young Nikhil did and speak with some pretty smart thinkers in my district.  I contacted several local business owners about parking at BART.  They asked, “Why is BART just trying to manage the overcrowding, and not capturing the revenue that could be generated by creatively accommodating the people whose names are on the waitlist?”

As a director who represents auto dependent riders, I think they are right. Let’s assume that the 38,000 names on the waitlist contains duplications, and that there are, say, 16,000 potential riders who are willing to pay parking fees to get a spot. That could increase our parking revenue to as high as $54 million, or a $19 million/year increase.

So why aren’t we looking at solutions to find more places to park and charging for those additional spots along with better managing the existing spots that we have now?  Why not create satellite parking lots served by free shuttle buses?  Why not partner with area businesses, local governmental agencies and others to use adjacent and existing parking more efficiently?

I believe each of these ideas merits further discussion and I look forward to a robust exchange of ideas when this item returns to the Board. I am sure that there are other ideas that we should explore, but as I said at the Board meeting, the solution to overcrowded parking cannot be a “one size fits all.”

The needs of auto dependent stations are different than the needs of stations in more urbanized parts of the District. While the solutions may be different, the differences should be respected.

Director Keller represents the BART District 2, which includes Antioch, Brentwood, Concord (partial), Oakley, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Byron, Knightsen, Bethel Island, and Discovery Bay.

From APD Facebook page

You all maybe noticed a marked increase in the number of officers on the streets of Antioch on Monday, and this is why. Officers not only conducted a traffic enforcement detail during the morning hours, but then in the late afternoon/early evening hours, a number of officers also participated in proactive enforcement detail in which they focused their efforts on locating criminal offenders as well.

During the traffic enforcement portion of the day’s activities, officers issued 54 citations for a variety of violations that are among the common causes of vehicle collisions in our city. During this time, two of the drivers were arrested for outstanding warrants they had, as well as one of the vehicles stopped being towed.

Later that same afternoon, the officers participating in the second part of the day’s enforcement efforts were able to take advantage of their numbers and got to take some extra time to meet with community members along the W. 2nd and G Streets business corridor, as well as the Somersville Towne Center.

As for their enforcement efforts, an occupied stolen vehicle was located in the area of Somersville Road and Highway 4 in which the driver was safely stopped and detained without incident and the case is still under investigation. Later, a man on a bicycle attempted to flee from officers in the area of W. 8th and J Streets. During his brief attempt to elude officers, he discarded a handgun before being arrested. He was sent to county jail on multiple weapons charges.

We are happy to see these efforts continuing and be able to incorporate some of the day’s activities into meeting with the community, as well as being able to conduct enforcement efforts we know are important to everyone.

See more photos of the day’s activities on the Antioch Police Department Facebook page.

Contra Costa County voters will see an additional language on their voting materials starting this year, as the Contra Costa Elections Division adds Chinese to the current English and Spanish. This means that the official ballot and Voter Information Guide will appear in all three languages.

Voters in the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and the Diablo Community Services District have a special vote-by-mail election on March 6 and will be the first to see the trilingual materials when they receive their ballots in the mail next week. incorporation of Chinese will appear on all voting materials beginning in June.

Written material will be in traditional Chinese and the Elections Division will provide audio language assistance in Cantonese and Mandarin.

The addition of Chinese comes as a result of the county’s population growth and corresponding shift in demographics. As the population changes, so do the language needs of local voters. When 10,000 voters or 5 percent of the county’s voting age citizens speak a specific language, the Federal Voting Rights Act requires that language be included on all election materials. At the end of 2016, the Department of Justice informed us that we crossed that threshold for Chinese.

“We look forward to meeting the needs of all of our voters,” said Joe Canciamilla, Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters.

The Contra Costa Elections Division continues to engage with local community groups to ensure language access for all voters. For more information, visit our website at www.cocovote.us.