By Sergeant Rick Martin #3343, Antioch Police Traffic Division

On March 25,2020, at 9:45 pm, Antioch Police Officers responded to the intersection of Contra Loma Boulevard and the eastbound Highway 4 offramp on a report of a vehicle collision. Upon arrival officers located two vehicles involved in a collision. A 52-year-old male from Oakley was pronounced deceased at the scene. His two passengers were treated and released at the scene. The other driver, 18-year-old male from Antioch, was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It was determined the male driver from Oakley had exited the eastbound Highway 4 offramp at Contra Loma Blvd., failed to stop at the red signal light and broadsided the male driver from Antioch who was travelling southbound on Contra Loma Blvd.

Names of the drivers are being withheld at this time until proper notifications are made to the next of kin.

No further information will be released at this time. This preliminary information is made available by the Traffic Division.

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.

Antioch and Pittsburg Police on scene of the burglary at Wells Fargo Bank branch at 18th and A Streets in Antioch early Saturday morning. Photos by APD.

Burglary suspect in the back of an Antioch Police car.

Axe, skeleton mask, and a replica handgun found inside suspect’s car

By Antioch Police Department

As all of our fans already know, we aren’t standing down, and instead are standing UP to all crooks who think they can roll the dice against YOUR POLICE!

Cue last night’s bank bandit – this hapless lawbreaker thought he could smash his way into the Wells Fargo at 18th and A Streets to see what he could get from inside (at 2:43 AM, Saturday morning, according to Chief of Police Tammany Brooks). Our night shift rapid response team raced over and helped him on his way out the door into a set of custom bracelets. These astute officers tracked down his getaway vehicle (which was parked in-front-of the bank with the engine running) and found an axe, skeleton mask, and a replica handgun inside. Look closely at the airsoft gun and tell us whether you could distinguish the difference at night from afar? We were helped by our best buds at Pittsburg PD, who sent us an amazing dog to help clear the bank safely in a search for other bandits (you rock, PPD!).

You may have read our Chief’s message yesterday about the efforts we are taking to KEEP ANTIOCH SAFE. Those efforts include a series of modified responses to certain incidents, and the intent of that is actually two-fold. First, we have to keep ourselves healthy so we can operate at 100%. Did you know we disinfect our mobile offices at the start and end of each shift?! We are loaded up with gloves, hand sanitizers and masks. Our coppers are washing, rinsing and repeating (it says it on the bottle!).

Inside the suspect’s vehicle.

Second, we are doubling-down on providing high-visibility patrol to our town. Don’t be alarmed if you see a black and white patrolling your neighborhood or business with the flood lights on (please from a social distance). Our ultimate goal with all of this is to PROTECT YOU and we hope you notice and feel a little safer while you’re doing your part to stop the virus.

As always, we have your back because you have ours! If you see anything out of the ordinary, give us a shout (not too loud, our ears are sensitive) at (925) 778-2441 or 9-1-1 if you think it’s an emergency.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Antioch Police Chief Tammany “T” Brooks. Photo by APD.

All officers reporting for duty are healthy

Message from Chief T. Brooks:

Hey everyone! First and foremost…how about a shout out to our social media team and the amazing way they can tell a story (see last post)! Not only was that some great police work, but the creative storytelling makes it fun to read! I’m so proud of the men and women of this organization!

I hate following up that story with my boring style of writing, and hope I don’t put you to sleep. But I felt this was important.

Scene of car crash following police chase, and suspect in custody early Friday morning. Photos by APD.

Suspect had multiple outstanding warrants

By Antioch Police Department

While our residents were heeding public health warnings to stay at-home, your APD night shift officers were diligently patrolling the town, to make sure things stay safe around here.

After washing his hands thoroughly an alert officer spotted a Toyota stolen from Oakland in the area of Somersville Road and the freeway. The officer tried to halt the driver of the Toyota, but he decided to put the pedal to the metal and lead us on a chase down Buchanan Road. Luckily, the streets have been empty, because our townspeople are fighting back against COVID-19 and staying inside. We chased him for a bit, but decided to pull back and use teamwork to keep a glaring eye on the only vehicle driving around at 1:00 am.

This particularly bad driver, a 28-year-old resident of Oakland, lost control of the vehicle near the Post Office on West Tregallas Road, but quite fortunately, his only victim was a street sign. Instead of calling it quits, he decided to try his luck at a game of cat and mouse by running into an adjacent neighborhood. He sunk to a new low, when he snatched a bicycle belonging to one of our younger residents and tried to pedal away, but a clever officer found the man drenched in sweat with a bad story about how he got there in the first place. Thanks to cooperation from our AWESOME residents (who pulled some video surveillance) we were able to trace this unlucky fella back to the scene of the crime.

As it turns out, the crook had several outstanding warrants for auto theft, in addition to a parole violation for robbery. We had no hard feelings over the matter, and instead provided free shuttle service to the County Jail for one individual who should’ve listened to all warnings to stay at home, and not commit crimes in Antioch!

We know during this difficult time, many of our residents are concerned about what the future might hold. YOUR APD officers are committed to protecting OUR CITY and will do all that it takes to keep YOU SAFE!

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson of the Northern District of California today urged the public to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or to the NCDF e-mail address disaster@leo.gov.

In coordination with the Department of Justice, Attorney General William Barr has directed U.S. Attorneys to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of Coronavirus fraud schemes. The NCDF Hotline can receive and enter complaints into a centralized system that can be accessed by all U.S. Attorneys, as well as Justice Department litigating and law enforcement components to identify, investigate and prosecute fraud schemes.

“Unfortunately, there are fraudsters out there who will try to use this public health emergency to scam the public and profit on the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson. “As communities throughout Northern California take steps to limit the spread of COVID-19, we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to guard against fraud and bring swift justice to those who try to ply their scams in our district.”

Some examples of these schemes include:

• Individuals and businesses selling fake cures for COVID-19 online and engaging in other forms of fraud.
• Phishing emails from entities posing as the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Malicious websites and apps that appear to share Coronavirus-related information to gain and lock access to your devices until payment is received.
• Seeking donations fraudulently for illegitimate or non-existent charitable organizations.
• Medical providers obtaining patient information for COVID-19 testing and then using that information to fraudulently bill for other tests and procedures.

In a memorandum to U.S. Attorneys issued March 19, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen also directed each U.S. Attorney to appoint a Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator to serve as the legal counsel for the federal judicial district on matters relating to the Coronavirus, direct the prosecution of Coronavirus-related crimes, and to conduct outreach and awareness activities.   The Northern District of California has appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney to be a Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator who can be reached at 415-436-7200.

The NCDF can receive and enter complaints into a centralized system that can be accessed by all U.S. Attorneys, as well as Justice Department litigating and law enforcement components to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud schemes.  The NCDF coordinates complaints with 16 additional federal law enforcement agencies, as well as state Attorneys General and local authorities.

To find more about Department of Justice resources and information, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Violators can face one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County District Attorney

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office wants to remind all residents that price gouging is illegal while our community is under a State of Emergency from the emergence of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19.

Price gouging is when a retailer or seller is attempting to take unfair advantage of the public during an emergency by increasing prices in an unreasonable manner for essential consumer goods and services. California’s anti-price gouging statute, Penal Code Section 396, prohibits raising the price of many consumer goods and services by more than 10 percent after an emergency has been declared.

Members of the public are encouraged to report any instances of gouging to our Consumer Protection Unit by email at DA-ReportFraud@contracostada.org. Individuals may also fill out a consumer complaint form on our website. Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. The DA’s Office is charged with enforcing this statute. Additional civil enforcement action may also be taken by our Office to protect consumers. The California Attorney General’s Office also issued information on price gouging during this emergency.

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County District Attorney

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, Human Trafficking Unit, is seeking the identity of the pictured subject related to an ongoing Human Trafficking investigation. Anyone with information regarding the identity of this subject is requested to contact Sr. Inspector Kevin Coelho at (925) 957-8629.

CHP had Highway 4 blocked in each direction backing up traffic on to Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch following a shooting in Antioch Wednesday afternoon. Photo by John Passur taken from the G Street overpass.

By CHP – Contra Costa

Today, Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at approximately 3:18pm, CHP was advised of a possible freeway shooting that occurred on HWY-4 westbound at L Street in Antioch. Upon CHP and emergency personnel arrival, the victim vehicle, a grey Volkswagen sedan, appeared to have bullet holes in it. The solo male victim from the Volkswagen was not injured and remained on scene. The suspect vehicle fled the area. Traffic backed up to Hillcrest Avenue as HWY-4 westbound was temporarily shut down and for the investigation and all traffic is being diverted off HWY-4 at L Street.

All lanes were reopened as of 5 pm.

This incident is still under investigation and we do not have any further details or information to release. If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at 925-646-4980.