On November 17 at 5:44 p.m. a 15 year old female was walking in the southbound lanes of traffic on Lone Tree Way near Clearbrook Drive when she was struck by a white Ford pick-up truck traveling southbound on Lone Tree Way.

The pick-up was driven by Jose Sandoval, 60, of Antioch. Sandoval fled the scene and went home. He left the truck at his residence and was given a ride to a local hotel where police eventually contacted him. Sandoval was subsequently arrested for felony drunk driving and felony hit and run and was booked into the county jail.

The victim was transported to an area hospital where she was being treated for significant injuries. The injuries do not appear to be life threatening at this time.

The accident is still under investigation. Anybody witnessing the accident or with information pertaining to this investigation is asked to contact Officer Johnsen at 779-6900 ext. 84265.

From Antioch Police:

This press release is an update to the previous arrests made by Concord PD in regards to the robbery spree that occurred in Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek over the past 2 months, 7 of which occurred in Antioch. Three teenage suspects were originally arrested by Concord PD on 11/2/11.

As a follow-up to this investigation, Antioch Police served search warrants at two Antioch residences on 11/8/11. Two additional arrests were made of suspects in these cases. One arrest occurred while the suspect was attending school in Antioch. This suspect was wearing one of the sweat shirts worn during some of the robberies. The second suspect turned himself into police later in the day at the Antioch Police Department. Both are 17 year old males, and both are Antioch residents.

Both suspects admitted their participations in multiple robberies during the spree, and were taken to Juvenile Hall in Martinez. Detectives from multiple agencies are meeting this morning to go over the evidence collected in order to present their cases to the District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Castillo at 779-6933.

On November 5 at 2:47 p.m., Antioch police received a call from a homeowner that he had just shot a male inside of his residence in the 200 block of West 17th Street in Antioch.

Upon police arrival, one deceased male was located inside the home, and the homeowner was cooperating with officers. Detectives were called to the scene and are currently continuing the investigation. At this time it appears the homeowner interrupted a burglary of one of his vacant homes and defended himself by shooting the burglar after threats were made toward him.

This particular home has been the victim of several burglaries, and it was apparent that at the time of this incident copper piping and wires were being removed from the home. Once again, the homeowner has cooperated fully to this point and has not been placed under arrest as this investigation continues. The identity of the deceased male has not yet been determined.

On August 20 a group of documented gang members showed up, uninvited, to a birthday party in the 2800 block of Seville Circle in Antioch. There, Jessica Juarez, 18, of Brentwood, came into contact with her ex-boyfriend, a 16-year-old Oakley resident. He associated with a rival gang of her current boyfriend, Carlos Guzman, 18, of Antioch.

A verbal argument escalated into a physical fight, and several shots were fired at the Oakley teen. Officers along with medical personnel arrived and began life-saving efforts. He was transported to Sutter Delta Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds.

A 17-year-old Antioch female was also shot and injured while fleeing the party. She was driven to the hospital by a friend, suffering from a single gunshot wound, for which she was treated and later released.

Guzman was not at the party at the time of the murder, but telephone records indicated he was on his way and intended to kill the victim. Because he could not get there in a timely manner, he ordered his fellow gang members to take action for him. Guzman is still outstanding and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Tony Martin, 19, of Antioch and Concord, has also been charged with shooting the 17-year-old girl who was fleeing the party. Martin was already in custody and charged with a separate gang-related murder in the city of Concord that occurred 8 days later.

On October 28 the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office filed felony murder charges with gang enhancements against:

Leon Moreno (5/19/1992), Antioch resident – In custody
Ricky Mendoza (12/10/1992), Antioch resident – In custody
Tony Martin (7/31/1992), Antioch/Concord resident – In custody
Christopher Donaldson (2/1/1990), Antioch resident – In custody
Carlos Guzman (10/6/1993), Antioch resident – Still outstanding

Also charged with conspiracy to commit murder was:
Jessica Juarez (09/07/93) Brentwood resident – In custody

Awaiting charges:
George Hellums (09/18/1992), Antioch resident – In custody

Anyone with information is asked to call APD dispatch at 778-2441 or Detective Desmond Bittner at 779-6939.

On October 24 at 5:50 p.m. Antioch Officers responded to 2409 Lemontree Court upon the report of a fugitive, a 33-year-old Antioch man who was wanted on two arrest warrants. One warrant charged burglary and the second was for violation of probation on the charge of possession for sale of a controlled substance.

Officers confronted the fugitive in a carport and discovered he was armed with a handgun. During this interaction, multiple officers fired their weapons at the fugitive. The man was pronounced deceased at the scene. No officers were injured in the confrontation.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, the Contra Costa County Crime Lab and Antioch Police are investigating the circumstances of this shooting, which is the normal protocol in this county. Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact Det. Mellone at (925) 779-6930.

Larry Wallace, one of California’s top law enforcement officials will be delivering the keynote speech at the Peace In The Streets Forum on Oct. 29 at Pittsburg High School.

Wallace, a resident of eastern Contra Costa County, was appointed in June by Attorney General Kamala Harris as the first African-American to be named director of the Division of Law Enforcement.

Wallace, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, worked with Harris as the former San Francisco district attorney’s deputy chief of the bureau of investigations. He started his career with the Berkeley Police Department and spent a decade with the San Francisco Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

Wallace, who grew up in Oakland, has day-to-day oversight of the department’s $238 million budget, 437 special agents, 281 criminalists, and 693 non-sworn personnel.

“We have to be creative and innovative and think outside of the box,” said Wallace, “it’s very important to collaborate with other entities to make sure that you’re getting the work done.”

Supervisor Federal Glover and the East County Gang Task Force sponsor the Peace In The Streets Forum. The goal of the forum is to make the community more aware of the resources and strategies available to counter the perception of rising violence and criminality in East County.

Police suspect gunmen were targeting a guest when they shot up a 3-year-old’s birthday party recently in Pittsburg wounding four victims.

“Shootings and stabbings are occurring much too often,” said Glover. “The situation has gotten out of hand. It is to the point where a 3-year-old child can’t have a birthday party in peace. It is time to act! It is time to be part of the solution. It is time we stop the violence.”

The Peace in the Streets Forum starts at 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Pittsburg High School. For more information, call 925-427-8138

On October 21 at 5:33 a.m. Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to the Chevron gas station located at 3400 Hillcrest Avenue on a report of an armed robbery that just occurred.

Officers obtained both a suspect and suspect vehicle description and broadcasted the information to surrounding law enforcement agencies. Within moments of the broadcast, Antioch officers located the vehicle and attempted to conduct an enforcement stop. The vehicle failed to yield to the officers and a lengthy vehicle pursuit ensued.

The pursuit took officers onto Highway 4 several times (in both directions) as well as surface streets in both Antioch and Oakley. Once in Oakley, Oakley PD officers assisted in the pursuit and began to follow the vehicle on to Big Break. While on Big Break, the suspect vehicle attempted to intentionally ram both Oakley and Antioch Police Vehicles.

One Oakley PD vehicle was struck by the suspect vehicle while one Antioch PD vehicle was run off the road. The pursuit culminated with the suspect vehicle losing control as it attempted to go off road and overturned. The suspected exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot but was quickly apprehended by an Antioch officer.

The suspect, a white male adult, 27, was transported to a local area hospital with what was described by medical personnel as serious but not life threatening injuries. Upon being medically cleared he will be booked into the county jail on several felony charges. No citizens or officers were injured during this incident.

The name of the suspect, as well as the property taken during the robbery, are not being disclosed at this time so as to preserve the integrity of the investigation. It should be noted that during the pursuit officers were able to determine that the suspect vehicle had in fact been reported as stolen several days earlier out of Antioch.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The City Council and community were given some good news at the September 13 council meeting when Chief of Police Allan Cantando announced violent crime is down by 19.7% for the first six months of this year, compared to last year.

In spite of a 30% vacancy in sworn police officer positions, murders, rapes, assaults and robberies, known as Part 1 crimes, were all down when compared to the first six months of 2010.

In his report to the council, Cantando shared that there was a 12.6% decline in total arrests from 2,797 to 2,444.

The only part-one crime to increase was burglary, which Cantando attributed to youths out of school for summer break. That figure drops when they return to school.

Cantando also praised the Volunteers In Public Safety (VIPS) for contributing almost 3,700 volunteer hours, helping save the department $86,000.
Council members thanked the Chief and the police department for their good work in the face of limited resources.