Female was also arrested two days earlier for grand, petty theft in Pleasant Hill; male also arrested in 2017, 2022

By San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

San Francisco, CA – District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced today that Ahjanae Woods (23) and Terry Nichols (28), both of Antioch, have been charged in connection to the early morning smash and grab at Christian Dior in Union Square on October 12, 2023.

Ms. Woods and Mr. Nichols were arraigned on October 16, 2023, and each pled not guilty to one count of second-degree commercial burglary (PC 459), one count of grand theft (PC 487(a), one count of organized retail theft (PC 490.4(a)(1)), one count of conspiracy (PC 182(a)) and one count of resisting arrest (PC 148(a)(1)).

“The early morning smash and grab at Christian Dior is one more example of how brazen some thieves have become,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “This conduct is completely unacceptable and will be prosecuted vigorously. I would also like to thank the San Francisco Police Department for their swift action in responding to this incident and arresting these suspects. We will not let up on our efforts to improve public safety and demonstrate our resolve to those who choose to engage in criminal activity in our community.”

As listed in the overt acts of the conspiracy charge, it is alleged that at approximately 6:50AM on October 12, 2023, Ms. Woods and Mr. Nichols, along with other uncharged co-conspirators, arrived in three vehicles to the Union Square neighborhood and first tried to break into Fendi at 195 Grant Street. The group then broke the gate and doors at Christian Dior at 185 Post Street where they stole numerous handbags and other merchandise.

Ms. Woods and Mr. Nichol’s next court date is October 27, 2023, for the preliminary hearing in this matter. The District Attorney’s Office moved to detain Ms. Woods and Mr. Nichols pending trial because of the public safety risk they pose. The court granted the motion to detain Ms. Woods and Mr. Nichols without prejudice. The court will hear further arguments on the People’s motion to detain at the time of the preliminary hearing in this case.

Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.

According to localcrimenews.com Nichols was also arrested in 2017 and 2022 by Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department for changing, altering, removing and/or obliterating ID marks on a firearm and for addict in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

As previously reported by the Herald, Woods was among 11 individuals arrested in Pleasant Hill on Oct. 10, 2023, for grand theft and petty theft.

Court Number: Woods, 23016759, Nichols 23016752

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Beginning today, October 31, 2023, the Antioch Police Department will introduce a new technology to better serve our community needing police or emergency services. The Antioch Police Department will launch SPIDR Tech – a Versaterm Company – which is a fully automated system that provides callers pertinent information and updates about many incidents via text message or email.

When a community member requests police services from a SMS enabled phone, they should expect to receive a text message acknowledging their call for most incidents. In some cases, a delay may occur when a higher priority call comes in and the officer is diverted, or when the overall call volume creates delays. If the responding officer is delayed, an automated message will be sent to the caller letting them know.

After an incident is handled, the caller will receive a survey and can provide feedback on their experience with the call taker and officer. All automated messages and surveys will be available in both English and Spanish.

Additionally, callers can opt-in to receive news and updates from the Police Department about community events, road closures, and crime alerts. You can sign up to receive updates by texting (925) 568-7388 with the keyword APD.

Soon, the Antioch Police Department will enable additional features of SPIDR Tech which will allow crime victims to receive information on the status of their case.

About SPIDR Tech: SPIDR Tech, a Versaterm Public Safety company, was founded by former law enforcement officers to help police agencies leverage their own data to improve public perception and increase efficiency by providing excellent customer service. Following extensive market research, we designed and built the world’s first comprehensive customer service infrastructure for law enforcement with the goal of improving communication and transparency between agencies and communities. For more information, visit https://versaterm.com and https://www.spidrtech.com

By San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

On Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Delandro Belvine-Brown (22) of Antioch, and Sean Raquel Jevonce Simon, Jr. (24) of Richmond, were each sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty in San Francisco Superior Court to committing robbery in violation of Penal Code Section 211, in relation to a series of retail thefts occurring in San Francisco.

“Retail theft continues to have a major impact on San Francisco’s business community and the city’s economic livelihood. These crimes demand accountability and we need to send the message to others involved in this criminal enterprise that, with the support of our local law enforcement partners, our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “With San Francisco Police Department receiving $15.3 million dollars and our office receiving $2 million from the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program, law enforcement agencies in San Francisco will continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute all levels of this criminal enterprise.”

In this case, the People alleged that Mr. Belvine-Brown and Mr. Simon were a part of an organized group which committed a series of snatch-and-grab thefts and robberies from Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, and Veo Optics stores in San Francisco from November 1, 2021, through July 1, 2022. By employing a consistent brazen theft strategy, Mr. Belvine-Brown, Mr. Simon, and others entered the store as a group, rapidly grabbed numerous expensive sunglasses from display shelves, and quickly exited the store and got in an awaiting car. Investigators from SFPD and Brentwood Police Department conducted a joint investigation as there were similar thefts that occurred in Contra Costa County. Investigators from both agencies examined evidence from multiple sources, including store surveillance videos, social media posts, and mobile phone records to identify the Defendants and their criminal activities.

The case against Mr. Belvine-Brown and Mr. Simon was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Conrad Del Rosario with support and assistance from District Attorney Inspector Lessa Vivian and Paralegal Chloe Mosqueda. This case was investigated by the San Francisco Police Department’s Burglary Unit and the Brentwood Police Department’s Investigation Division.

“Individuals who openly commit egregious and brazen retail crimes impact not only the store’s viability to stay open for their community, but also have long lasting effects on store employees and customers who are subjected to this blatant disregard for the law,” said Assistant District Attorney del Rosario. “These cases should serve as notice to those would-be thieves that law enforcement will aggressively investigate and prosecute their criminal activity in San Francisco.”

Belvine-Brown and Simon are currently in custody and will be transported to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s custody to begin serving their state prison sentences.

Court Number: Belvine-Brown, 22011459, Simon, 23003591

By Danielle Navarro, Oakley Assistant City Manager

Oakley, CA – 4:49 PM – The homicide of a 16-year-old male, and the shooting of three other teenagers that occurred on October 21st in the 400 block of Shannon Way has been the top priority of the Oakley Police Department since it occurred. The investigators of the Oakley Police Department have worked tirelessly and continuously on this case over the past week. The Department has processed a large amount of electronic and digital evidence and spoken to many people in relation to the investigation. (See related articles here and here)

On October 25, 2023, the Oakley Police Department arrested Jason Walizada (18, Antioch) in connection with these heinous crimes. Walizada was booked into the Main Detention Facility in Martinez for a warrant, which was obtained by Oakley PD.

This case continues to be an ongoing and very active investigation. With this being the situation, we are unable to speak about the details of the case or what we have uncovered so far. Walizada will be released from custody later today pending further developments in our investigation. This latest development is always considered to be a possibility in major cases like ours where there are large amounts of evidence to process and sort through. 

“This case represents the largest, most violent and deadly mass-shooting involving youth in the history of Oakley,” said Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard. “We are not done in our pursuit of justice in this killing and it is our end goal to remove all responsible parties from free society and incarcerate them. I previously stated our work is not done – we will not rest until we have successfully achieved the end goal in this case.

As always, if there are any further developments or updates in this case, I will be sure to share them.”

Torres-Walker, Wilson concerned about punishing bystanders, more concerned with single car “spinouts”

“…when we can’t even trust them, not all but some, to do their current job without bias, I just don’t know if this is the particular right direction to go in.” – Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker.

By Allen D. Payton

After hearing from a few speakers during public comments the Antioch City Council discussed developing an ordinance to ban bystanders at sideshows, during their meeting on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. The mayor and two council members support moving forward, while two were concerned with criminalizing spectators. (See 3:03:40 mark of council meeting video)

Speaking to one resident who suggested prevention over punishment Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said, “This has been an amazing night. People in this city continue to surprise me. I totally agree with a lot of your comments. There are already traffic laws that need to be enforced that aren’t being enforced and we all know why but we won’t go there.”

“Spinouts are not large-scale sideshows with 100 or 200 spectators,” she continued. “That is the daily experience in this city for the majority of residents, not large-scale sideshows. What are we going to do about that?”

The District 1 councilwoman then shared concerns about banning spectators and the police response.

“Even passing a policy that will criminalize the simple spectator, give the authority to someone in law enforcement to decide who’s a spectator and who’s not spectator when we can’t even trust them, not all but some, to do their current job without bias, I just don’t know if this is the particular right direction to go in,” said Torres-Walker.

District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica then said in response to a public comment, “First off, Bots Dots do not work. If you want proof of that…go to Blue Rock and Lone Tree. They do not work. Also go to James Donlon and Somersville. All the Bots Dots are literally covered in rubber. In District 2 we have, it seems almost a weekly event, now. Two weeks ago, they actually destroyed city signage, there. There was so much debris in the roadway that cars couldn’t drive through there. It took two city workers almost two hours to clean it up.”

“Most of this is occurring from people coming to the city from outside the city creating the issues then leaving our city,” he continued.

In response to a few residents who suggested providing a safe space for sideshows Barbanica stated, “I’m not really interested in saying as Antioch taxpayers why don’t we go ahead and develop a site for out-of-town people. It’s ludicrous.”

In response to Torres-Walker’s concerns he said, “Police officers are paid all day long to make determinations all day long. We’re issuing an infraction citation, here. We have been doing a lot of work trying to identify where these events occur. We’ve tried to prevent them. We’ve tried to cite people. A local business tried to do one and it ended in a shooting.

“I’m all for this ordinance,” he concluded.

“I too am for this ordinance,” District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock said. “I’m not sure about the spectator side. I’ve had several residents call and they were afraid for their lives as they were stuck in them.”

She then mentioned a sideshow that she witnessed.

“I think it is a safety issue and I’d like to see this going forward,” Ogorchock concluded.

District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson said, “How do we tell who is a bystander and who isn’t? I see more burnouts. We need to work on this more. But I would like to see some type of ordinance. It’s like a cat and mouse. The bystander ordinance gives me great pause.”

“Thank you, Councilwoman Ogorchock for describing a spectator, because at that point, you were,” Torres-Walker said. “When we say, ‘all these people are not from Antioch’ is just not true. If you’re in your city, you probably organized it…people who navigate the city. When these events break up how do they know which way to go…to get to the freeway.

“This isn’t a race issue, because most likely when you go to one of these events most of the people probably look like Councilman Barbanica and Councilwoman Ogorchock,” Torres-Walker continued.

She spoke about prevention and again asked what to do about spinouts saying, “I see my neighbors do it before they pull in their driveway.”

Mayor Lamar Thorpe then weighed in saying, “We can certainly bring back the burnouts at a later time. I specifically asked if we can do roundabouts…and it didn’t go anywhere and what we got was a recommendation from staff for dots…and we went along with it.”

“I’m for this,” he continued. “I am for prevention. We’ve done a great job on prevention. But our traffic division has been decimated due to the racist text scandal. Second, there have been places that have hosted sideshows that have been fairly successful. But we did have the one…that ended on Cavallo. They’re still doing some and it seems to be controlled, so it’s working. I wish the fairgrounds would get involved with the racetrack but that’s not our jurisdiction.”

“I’m for this and I don’t have a problem with spectators,” Thorpe shared. “The police are doing a good job using cameras. I hear those concerns, but I think we should use all aspects.”

“It appears we have consensus,” Barbanica stated.

“There are a lot of things you can do to determine who is a spectator,” said City Attorney Thomas L. Smith. “But you guys can determine what is the right way to handle the bystander situation.”

U.S. Marshals assist in apprehension

By Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard

Oakley, CA – The senseless homicide of a 16-year-old male, and the shooting of three other teenagers that occurred on Saturday, October 21st in the 400 block of Shannon Way has been the top priority of the Oakley Police Department since it occurred. (See related article)

Today, October 25, 2023, at 4:30 PM the Oakley Police Department, in partnership with the United States Marshals Service, arrested Jason Walizada (18, Antioch) in connection with these heinous crimes. The arrest occurred in the 2600 block of Orange Way, Antioch. Walizada was booked into the Main Detention Facility in Martinez with a $3,500,000 bail (homicide warrant).

Over the past few days all investigators of the Oakley Police Department have spoken to dozens of potential witnesses, and they have processed a large amount of electronic/digital evidence. The arrest of Walizada does not represent the sole focus of our investigation because we will continue to investigate every lead in this case. 

“This case has absolutely shattered the lives of family, friends and loved ones of the victims in this case, especially the deceased child. I am hoping we will see full measures of accountability achieved in this case.

Our work is not done, but I appreciate my investigators for all of the diligent work they have put in so far to identify a responsible in this case and to get him into custody. I appreciate all of the support from all of the allied agencies that assisted us during this investigation, particularly the United States Marshals Service.      

As I previously said this youth violence does not belong anywhere- ever!

If there are any further developments or updates in this case I will be sure to provide updates.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Send joint letter to Governor seeking aid in addressing public safety crisis amid ongoing police scandal

Follows on Councilman Barbanica’s requests of county police chiefs, CHP, Sheriff’s for assistance

By Allen D. Payton

In early August, Antioch District 2 City Councilman Mike Barbanica asked the City of Antioch to look into getting more help from both the CHP and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office after sideshows got out of hand. 

Earlier this month, Barbanica, Acting City Manager Kwame Reed, Acting Police Chief Joe Vigil and two other police chiefs from the county held a meeting but “Vigil said, ‘we don’t need anything’,” the councilman stated.

“Grayson’s office offered help. The chiefs told Vigil you don’t have enough staffing,” Barbanica continued. “I spoke to the city manager. We have a commitment from the county police chiefs that they are ready to assist and provide personnel. The city manager is putting together a plan, and the police department will get assistance for traffic enforcement.”

“I personally met with the Chiefs of El Cerrito and San Pablo, who are the president and VP of the county chiefs association and they are working with Acting Chief Vigil who has assigned Sgt. Rob Green to work with surrounding agencies and traffic enforcement. I had two meetings with Assemblyman Grayson that were very productive. He has assured any help we need out of Sacramento, cutting red tape, he’ll be happy to help with.”

Following up on Barbanica’s request, according to a press release from State Senator Steve Glazer’s office, he and Assemblymember Tim Grayson sent a joint letter to Governor Gavin Newsom today, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, seeking assistance for the city of Antioch’s police force, decimated by years of FBI and local investigations.

The investigations into Antioch’s police ranks have eroded local officers’ ability to maintain public safety in the city, according to Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe in an interview on Senator Glazer’s Podcast, Table Talk. 

Senator Glazer also spoke with California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee about the public safety crisis and the request. 

“The City of Antioch is struggling with public safety right now, and the CHP can help,” Senator Glazer said. 

According to the press release by Vivian Bossieux-Skinner, Glazer’s Press Secretary, Mayor Thorpe, a guest on Senator Glazer’s latest episode on his podcast, Table Talk, said, “we have about four or five officers at any given moment patrolling our streets,” in a city of 120,000 people. 

Mayor Thorpe said the low numbers of police officers on duty at any given time means police response times can be excessively long depending on the crime being reported. Thorpe said more than half of the 87 city-authorized officers are on leave because of the investigations into the force, leaving just over 40 officers to patrol the city.

“We can use the help because it would drastically reduce time in which an officer can respond to a crime,” said Mayor Thorpe on Table Talk.

These safety concerns were echoed by Mayor Thorpe on Senator Glazer’s Table Talk; the two areas that were decimated as a result of the racist text messaging scandal were traffic and investigations. “And so, it has had real impacts on the community in terms of keeping them safe,” Thorpe said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has already assigned CHP officers this year to cities that request the help; the City of San Francisco has had CHP assistance in dealing with the Fentanyl crisis since May and Oakland has had CHP help since August in dealing with road-related incidents to give City police officers more time to focus on solving violent crime.

Family of man shot by Antioch police claim he didn’t fire his gun, was shot in back 9 times

Video screenshot shows suspect with gun in his hand

By Allen D. Payton

Following the officer involved shooting on Oct. 1, 2023 and the Antioch Police update on Friday, Oct. 20th, a family member of the suspect, Daniel Mackin, posted a video of the shooting on the Antioch Herald Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 21st. (See related articles here and here)

That day, the Herald asked APD if they would soon be releasing body cam video footage from the four officers involved in the shooting and if not, then for them to consider it a Public Records Act request for the videos.

The video, which appears to have been taken by someone from the apartment complex on W. 3rd Street, shows Mackin running from police across then eastbound on W. 2nd Street, a gunshot could be heard while he was obscured by trees, then more shots can be seen being fired by police while Mackin was no longer in view. On Monday, Oct. 23rd, the video was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by civil rights attorney Melissa Nold and later by KTVU FOX 2 News reporter Henry Lee. When reached for comment, Nold said she was not representing Mackin, but might if a civil rights lawsuit was filed. She said he is being represented by a public defender. Nord also said the family is claiming Mackin was shot in the back nine times and that he didn’t discharge his gun.

In response to the Herald’s PRA request Lt. Mike Melone responded today, on Tuesday, Oct. 24 with, “We are preparing the body-camera footage for release and intend to so within statutory guidelines.”

He, Acting Chief Joe Vigil and two others with the APD were informed of the video shared by the family member and Nold and asked if they could confirm the details of who shot first and if Mackin fired his gun. They were also asked how many total shots were fired by him and officers.

Mellone responded, “the incident is still being investigated by APD and the DA, therefore, additional information will be provided when it is prudent to do so.”

In addition, the Antioch Police Department issued the following press release by Lt. Rick Martin of the Antioch Police Investigations Bureau, Tuesday evening, Oct. 24:

“On October 23, 2023, a civilian cell phone video was made public depicting a recent shooting incident involving Daniel Mackin and officers of the Antioch Police Department. This video footage was not provided to the Antioch Police Department and is from an unknown source. Due to the angle and perspective at which the video was recorded, it does not depict everything that occurred.

A cell phone video recorded by a civilian of a police incident may present a limited perspective, failing to capture all angles and the entirety of the incident, potentially leading to a lack of context and incomplete information. This can hinder a comprehensive understanding of the situation and may contribute to misinterpretation or incomplete narratives.

The Antioch Police Department conducts exhaustive investigations following any officer involved shooting. The investigation related to this incident is still ongoing and could take a significant amount of time to complete. With that in mind, we withhold judgment and do not draw any conclusions about whether or not our officers acted within our policies and in accordance with the law, until after all the facts are known and the investigations are complete.

In the City of Antioch, when a critical incident such as an officer involved shooting occurs, several investigations are immediately initiated. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office conducts an independent investigation to determine whether the involved officers’ actions were within the law. The Antioch Police Department’s Detective Bureau investigates criminal conduct of any potential suspects prior to or during the incident. Finally, our Internal Affairs Division examines any areas where improvement can be made and determines whether the actions of the involved officers were within policy and consistent with our training.

If you would like more information on the Antioch Police Department’s use of force policy, please click on the following link: https://www.antiochca.gov/fc/police/apd-policy-manual.pd

The Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office are committed to transparency, and this is still an active investigation. Below are three screenshots obtained from officers’ body camera footage. The first image is of Mr. Mackin initially running and turning towards officers with a weapon in his hand. The second image is Mr. Makin pointing a handgun at officers. The third image is a crime scene photograph of the weapon Mr. Mackin was holding at the time of the shooting. The weapon was loaded at the time of this incident.

Additional information to include the involved officers’ body worn camera footage will be provided in accordance with state laws. All Antioch Police patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. Per Antioch Police Department Policy, all body-worn cameras must be worn in a forward-facing position that facilitates comprehensive recordings of the contacts and/or incidents.

It is important to keep in mind that body worn cameras are an investigative tool, and like any device, they have limitations. Body worn cameras do not necessarily capture everything an officer sees — just like a body worn camera may capture something an officer does not see. Further, body worn cameras do not have the ability to depict what an officer is feeling or experiencing during a given incident.

The APD would like to thank our community for their patience and assistance with this investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Duffy at (925) 779-6884 or 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.”

However, APD did not say if Mackin had fired his weapon nor how many bullets were fired.