All photos by Leslie Reano.

By Leslie Reano and Antioch Police Department

“What a wonderful day today has been,” Lesli Reano an Instructional Aid for Special Needs with the Antioch Unified School District’s Community-Based Instruction program wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday, May 28, 2020. “Our AUSD CBI team had a parade for ALL our graduating young adults today. Our CBI teamed up and brought graduation signs, candy necklace and balloons to all 12 of our graduates. We then did a Graduation parade to each of their homes. The smiles that we saw from our students was priceless! We in CBI all want to thank our wonderful Police force for guiding us on our route to our kids’ homes! They went over and beyond! Thank you, Officer Calvin Prieto, Officer Andrea Rodriguez and Officer Ben Padilla you all were so fun, and your kindness will never be forgotten!! Thank you, Sergeant Smith for reaching out to Lieutenant Mendez and made this all happen. Shout out to our AUSD CBI Team!!!”

“Congratulations to our AUSD CBI graduates!!!” wrote the Antioch Police on their Facebook page. “APD was honored to be part of the graduation parade for the AUSD CBI program. The CBI Program, located on the Deer Valley High School campus, is a community-based instruction (CBI) program for 18- to 22-year-old students with special needs. The program is designed to assist students after earning their certificate of completion, transition into adult life, by helping them to become more independent within the community in the following four basic directions – Vocational Training, Community Access, Independent Living Skills, and Personal Development.

Please join us in congratulating these amazing graduates!”

The program also offers job coaching, Reano said.

Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

There’s a saying in police work – There’s no such thing as a “routine” traffic stop. Case and point yesterday, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at about 4:50 pm, an officer patrolling Lone Tree Way and Mokelumne Drive spotted a Toyota Camry with illegal tint on the front windows. The officer stopped the vehicle and learned the driver was on probation with a court-ordered condition allowing search by an officer for any reason. The officer searched the vehicle and found a gun underneath the seat. After checking the serial number, he learned the gun had been reported stolen from a burglary in Grants Pass, Oregon. The driver was sent to the County Jail for possession of the stolen gun plus probation violation and his vehicle was impounded.

As you have maybe seen from our previous posts, APD is working hard to take illegally possessed firearms from the wrong hands before they can be used to cause harm. One of the ways we do this is by conducting probation compliance checks on individuals we contact during the course of our day. These checks sometimes result in illegally possessed weapons, drugs, or other contraband.

If you are contacted during a traffic stop, please keep in mind that our officers are trained to never treat these encounters as “routine,” and to always be aware of hidden dangers. What can you do when you’re stopped?

1. Slow down and pull to the right when it is safe to do so.
2. Turn the motor off and do not exit your vehicle unless specifically asked to do so.
3. Roll down all of the windows and turn on the interior light at night.
4. Keep your hands on the steering wheel and avoid digging around for papers or your license until requested.

We get being pulled over can be stressful but, taking these steps will surely be appreciated by the officer, and help things run smoother.

#AntiochPD  #AntiochStrong

Screenshot of home security camera video and two suspects arrested or theft on Monday, May 25, 2020. Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

We are all familiar with the term “porch pirates” by now, unfortunately, as people who steal delivered packages off of other people’s porches. Generally, we see an uptick in these types of incidents around the holidays as several people will shop online for their gifts. In today’s shelter in place environment, several members of our community have also increased their online shopping while retail shopping is suspended.

On Monday, May 25, 2020, some would be “porch pirates” met their match when the ever-diligent citizens of Antioch continued to show they’re looking out for each other. This afternoon, we received several calls in the southeast end of town of a male subject stealing items off of unsuspecting residents’ porches. While officers circulated the area, they were able to locate the vehicle and two suspects responsible!

The suspects’ car and stolen goods recovered. Photos by APD.

Several items of stolen property and possible stolen mail were found and much of the property will be returned to the rightful owners. For their troubles, these two will be spending the rest of their holiday at county jail on theft, conspiracy and possession of stolen property charges. As always if you see something, say something!!! Thank you to all of the callers that helped us get this case resolved today!

By Corporal Brian Rose #4309, Antioch Police Field Services

On Monday morning, May 25, 2020, at approximately 12:58 AM, officers responded to the report of a shooting in the 2900 block Cashew Street. Upon arrival, officers located two males, 16 and 22 years old, suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers rendered first-aid until relieved by medical personnel. Both victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment and are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

While at the scene, officers learned of a third shooting victim who arrived at a local hospital. The third victim is 16 years old and his injuries were also considered non-life threatening.

A 26-year-old male was arrested near the scene in connection with the shooting. Additionally, officers located the firearm that was suspected to have been used as well as clothing discarded by the suspect when he fled the scene on foot immediately after the incident.

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.

Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

On Sunday afternoon, May 24, 2020 one of our officers attempted to make contact with a subject in the area of Buchanan Road and Gentrytown Drive. For unknown reasons, this person decided they didn’t want to talk to us and fled on foot. When our officer caught up to them, they quickly found out that the 60+ prescription pills the person had in their possession may have been the reason they didn’t want to stick around, as well as the fact they were on juvenile probation.

We then paid a house call to conduct a probation search to make sure there wasn’t anything else going on that he shouldn’t be doing. To our surprise, we not only found metal knuckles in his bedroom, but also found a loaded AR-15 rifle. We were fortunate to find this firearm in the fashion in which we did and while it was unfortunate it was in the hands of a juvenile, we are happy to have taken it off the streets before it could be used in any sort of violent crime!

For his troubles, he was eventually given a ride to juvenile hall by our jailer for multiple weapons charges and probation violations.

Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

Good morning Antioch and fans of APD!!! We wanted to let you know about another proactive gun arrest:

Friday, May 22, 2020 at about 2 pm, an #APDDayShift officer patrolling Sycamore Drive and Spanos Street spotted a 17-year-old juvenile he knew had two active warrants. The juvenile was placed under arrest and found to have a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his waistband, with 14 rounds in the magazine. Things didn’t end there, because a gold necklace the juvenile was wearing was traced back to a previously reported theft. He was brought to Juvenile Hall for his warrants, along with the firearm and stolen property possession charges.

APD remains committed to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods through proactive patrols, instead of sitting back and waiting for bad things to happen. This gun will NEVER be used to harm anyone and we hope this young offender will learn that crime doesn’t pay!

#AntiochPD #AntiochStrong #ProactivePolicing

Police stop “donut” car driver in Antioch Thursday evening, May 21, 2020. Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

#TestDriveFail

Yesterday, at about 7 pm, a diligent #APDSwingShift officer was in the area of West 8th and K Streets in response to numerous complaints of vehicles doing burnouts. He spotted the driver of this Infinity doing his best to appeal to a cop’s love of donuts. Problem was, it was the wrong kind of donut, and the officer wasn’t amused, so he stopped the car and found out the driver was just doing a little “test drive.”

What happened to the car? You already know what happened – it was brought to #CarJail for 30 days and the driver received a future appointment with a judge to answer for his reckless driving. We appreciate all of your posts on this topic and will continue to address the problem with your help. Thanks for helping us keep Antioch safe!

#AntiochPD   #AntiochStrong #CVC23103 #CVC23109

Jewelry recovered and thief arrested on Friday, May 22, 2020. Photos by APD

By Antioch Police Department

Friday morning, May 22, 2020, at about 6:05 am, we received a call of a silent alarm at J.C. Penney in Slatten Ranch Shopping Center. While officers were responding, our Dispatch Center received reports of several more activations, with the alarm company advising the surveillance cameras were being taken offline from inside the building.

The first arriving officer located an open door, and upon checking it, a suspect quickly pulled it shut from inside. A containment perimeter was established on the building, and a search team was formed to include Canine Officer Smith and his partner Kona. After an hours long search, a suspect was found hiding behind a small wall above the ceiling tiles. He was arrested and found to be in possession of several articles of jewelry from inside the store.

Antioch Police surround the building, investigate inside with K-9 Kona.

Further investigation revealed at least two additional suspects entered, smashed the jewelry cases, and attempted to steal approximately $50,000 worth of jewelry. APD officers were able to find all of the stolen jewelry concealed in duffel bag inside the store. The two additional suspects were able to escape, but officers are continuing to investigate, and have good leads on their identities.

We would like to thank our friends at the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, who assisted us with thermal imaging cameras while we performed our exhaustive search of the interior. We would also like to thank our residents for equipping us with several pieces of technology we were able to use to search the building, including our UAV (“drones”) and pole cameras. This technology makes our jobs easier and much safer.

#AntiochPD #ConFire #AntiochPDK9 #CanineKona #AntiochStrong