By Rio Vista Police Department

At around 1:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon RVPD officers responded to a report of an armed robbery that occurred in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store on Highway 12.  The victims had agreed to meet the suspect to sell him a cellular phone. The suspect used a handgun to rob the victims of an Apple iPhone.

Earlier in the morning the suspect, Vandrick Jones, age 22, from Antioch, a parolee with a lengthy history of robbery and gun charges forced a female he met online to drive him around the Bay Area at gunpoint where we know he committed at least one other armed robbery in El Cerrito.

As the suspect and his victim attempted to flee Rio Vista, they were spotted on Highway 12 by Chief Dailey.  A pursuit ensued through downtown with Jones forcing the female to keep driving until they hit a dead end in the school bus corporation yard.  The female was rescued unharmed and evaluated by Rio Vista Fire and Medic Ambulance.  Jones jumped fences and hid in a back yard on Tahoe Drive.  RVPD worked with the Rio Vista High School and a lockdown was implemented to insure the safety of the students due to the proximity to the school.  The Alert system work very well.

Solano County Sheriff’s K9 and patrol deputies showed up in force along with a CHP helicopter to assist RVPD and a perimeter was secured, keeping the suspect confined until the Sheriff’s K9 team found him hiding under a children’s swimming pool.  Jones was taken into custody and booked for kidnapping, armed robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition and a parole hold.  The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force in Solano County will be joining our investigation.

RVPD wishes to give our thanks to Solano County for their assistance today!  The teamwork between both agencies was outstanding.

Other two from Concord, Pittsburg

By CHP-Contra Costa

Recently, three HWY-4 shooting suspects from 2016, were found guilty in a Contra Costa County Courtroom; two suspects received 13 years and the third received 12 years and 8 months in state prison. These were the results after a long and thorough investigation process and additionally long and thorough judicial process until final adjudication.

It takes quite a while for these shooting suspects to be brought to justice and finally sentenced but the effort and long hours are worth it, for the public to know that these criminals were tried and convicted and also for the families of the victims of these freeway shootings.

This specific case occurred on Feb. 1, 2016 and involved the three suspects traveling in a Nissan sedan on westbound HWY-4 when they shot their firearm out of their moving vehicle at the victim’s vehicle, which was all witnessed by an off-duty police officer. Then the suspects’ vehicle drove at a high rate of speed off the freeway to the Port Chicago Hwy off-ramp and subsequently was involved in a major collision within the intersection and caused injuries to all parties involved.

All three suspects were charged and convicted of the following:

-246 PC – Shooting at an occupied vehicle.

-186.22(a) PC – Participation in Criminal Street Gang

-29800 PC – Possession of Firearm by a Felon. (Oscar Torres)

– 11359 H&S – Possession for Sale of Marijuana

SENTENCES
-Zachery Paul Lopez (24 years old from Concord) was sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in State Prison.

-Oscar Osbaldo Torres (25 years old from Pittsburg) was sentenced to 13 years in State Prison.

-Antonio Ramirez Navarro (22 years old from Antioch) was also sentenced to 13 years in State Prison.

Public Safety and the preservation of life is always our #1 goal and although we cannot predict when criminals are going to commit these heinous crimes, what we can do is put together our very best investigation that will bring these criminals to justice and have them answer for their crimes.

Dupree Straughter from his Facebook page posted April 11, 2018.

By Sgt. Rick Smith, Antioch Police Field Services – Patrol

On Monday, March 18, 2019, at 8:44 A.M. an Antioch Officer located an occupied reported stolen vehicle parked in an apartment complex near Cavallo Road and East 18th Street. As the officer was approaching the vehicle, the driver fled on foot through the back of the complex and into an adjacent field. The subject was last seen entering a nearby business, but never seen exiting. It was determined he was hiding on the roof of the business. Officers in the area were quick to setup up a perimeter.

A loaded handgun was recovered from the vehicle the subject had fled from. Officers were able to identify the subject as 34-year-old Dupree Straughter. Straughter is known to Antioch PD for prior weapons arrests and had an active Felony Warrant for his arrest. A witness in the business believed he had seen Straughter holding a possible weapon in his hand. Due to this, officers evacuated and secured the business.

Officers were able to get a visual of Straughter on the roof and after a short time, he surrendered peacefully. Straughter climbed down and was taken into custody without incident. A search of the roof and the suspect did not locate any additional weapons. Straughter was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on his warrant and other Felony Charges. No one was injured during this incident.

This preliminary information is made available by the Community Policing 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.

Destinee Hillery from her Facebook page posted on June 8, 2017.

By CHP-Golden Gate Division

At approximately 2:25 PM on Saturday, March 16, 2019, CHP – Contra Costa Area was advised of a silver Honda that collided into the guard rail on Highway 4 eastbound at Port Chicago Highway. While units were in route another caller advised the vehicle ended up on the Willow Pass Road off-ramp from eastbound Highway 4.

Upon emergency personnel and CHP arrival, it was determined the vehicle drove off the roadway and collided with the guardrail. The solo 25-year-old female driver, Destinee Shaharisha – Jenae Hillery, a resident of Antioch was pronounced deceased on scene.

While units were investigating the scene, bullet holes were located on the driver side door. This investigation is ongoing, any further details will be released at a later time.

If anyone has information regarding this incident or witnessed it take place, they are encouraged to contact CHP investigators at 707-917-449.

Illegal guns confiscated from suspect. Photo by APD

By Lieutenant Powell Meads #3917, Antioch Police Department Field Services

On March 16, 2019 at approximately 6:00 AM, the Antioch Police Department served a search warrant in the 200 block of J Street. The search warrant was related to an investigation into a subject named Terry Ferguson, who was suspected of possessing, manufacturing, and selling illegal firearms from the location. The Antioch Police Department SWAT Team assisted in serving the search warrant due to the nature of the investigation.

During the service of the search warrant, several subjects, including Ferguson were detained at the residence. Detectives conducted a search of the residence and Ferguson’s bedroom, where they located the various firearms pictured below. Detectives located additional evidence indicating Ferguson was manufacturing unregistered, fully automatic handguns and rifles.

Ferguson is a convicted felon, currently on CDC parole for robbery, and on county probation for possession of narcotics while armed with a firearm. Additionally, Ferguson had a felony warrant for his arrest. Ferguson was booked at County Jail for a variety of weapons related charges including being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession of prohibited firearms, and illegally manufacturing and selling firearms.

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.

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

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, District Attorney Diana Becton and staff attended an event in New York City to announce the end of the backlog of untested sexual assault kits in Contra Costa County. These results come from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office participation in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Elimination Grant Program, a three-year grant program to test sexual assault kits.

Our Office was one of 32 grantees funded, totaling $1,841,535 to test 1,246 kits since 2015. The testing of these kits allowed for DNA evidence to be uploaded to the national DNA databank to assist in investigations and identify offenders.

“We partnered with 24 law enforcement agencies in our community to erase the backlog of sexual assault kits in Contra Costa County,” said Becton. “I want to express my gratitude for our partners working with our office to end the backlog. Testing these kits can help bring closure and justice to sexual assault victims. We are going to continue working on this issue to ensure we never have a backlog in our community again.”

To ease the burden of testing these kits, through this grant our Office collected the untested kits from participating agencies and sent the kits to Sorenson Forensics in Utah. The collaboration between Sorenson Forensics, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Crime Lab and our Office allowed for a more efficient process of testing these kits.

Due to state law in California, law enforcement agencies have mandated reporting timeframes to test these kits. If an agency chooses not to test, they have to substantiate their reasons to the California Department of Justice. Our Office will continue to monitor the progress of all agencies in Contra Costa County to ensure state law is followed and no kits remain untested.

Overall, the Manhattan District Attorney’s program tested 55,242 kits and resulted in 18,803 DNA profiles uploaded into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Locally, the results here for our kits were:

• 1,246 kits DNA tested (1978 to 2016)
• 182 DNA profiles entered into CODIS
• 122 Confirmatory hits
• 51 Offender hits
• 8 Cases reopened for further review by law enforcement agencies
• Full compliance of all participating agencies

By Lieutenant J. Fortner, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Saturday, March 9, 2019 at approximately 9:12 pm, Antioch police officers responded to West 19th Street near “D” Street on the report of several gunshots in the area. While officers were responding, dispatchers received information that two subjects had been shot. When officers arrived at the scene, they located a 25-year-old male gunshot victim in the street, and a 20-year-old male gunshot victim near the front of a residence.

Officers immediately provided first aid to the victims until ambulance and Contra Costa County Fire paramedics arrived. Paramedics transported both victims to a local area trauma center. The 25-year-old victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and the 20-year-old victim ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect fled the area prior to police arrival and was not located. Currently, this homicide is under investigation and evidence is being collected.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441, or Detective Bledsoe at 925-779-6884. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Herald file photo.

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

On March 4, a Contra Costa County jury found defendant Kamani Stelly of Antioch guilty of five felonies, including the attempted murder of four victims and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle that contained innocent passersby, all stemming from a shooting committed by Stelly in broad daylight in December 2016. (See related article).

In the late morning of December 19, 2016, Stelly opened fire on a group of men at the corner of Cavallo Road and East 18th Street in Antioch. Stelly fired 18 shots from a semi-automatic pistol at the group of men as he paced from Cavallo Road towards the men at a nearby Little Caesar’s Pizza. One member of the targeted group was injured from Stelly’s shooting.

The busy intersection in Antioch is surrounded by local businesses and homes. One of Stelly’s bullets hit an innocent victim while she rode as a passenger in a moving car. As a result of the shooting, this young woman lost an eye and will use a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Stelly now faces a maximum sentence of 160 years to life in state prison. Sentencing will occur on April 12, 2019 in front of the Honorable Nancy Stark – Department 20 of the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Richard Ewenstein prosecuted the case on behalf of the People. The case originated in the Office’s Community Violence Reduction Unit.

“The defendant’s decision to resolve an argument with gunfire gravely wounded two people and endangered countless others. We are grateful to the members of the jury for their service and attention to this case and to the victims and witnesses of this crime for their courage in testifying,” stated DDA Ewenstein.

Stelly’s half-brother, Ronvell Scheneck pleaded no contest last year to being an accessory after the fact to the shooting and was sentenced to two years in prison. Another co-defendant, Cody Moss, will be sentenced to 12 years in state prison for his role in the attack.

Case information: People v. Kamani Stelly, Docket Number 05-171136-5