CHP, Sheriff’s Office assist

By Antioch Police Department

On Tuesday morning, Nov. 21, 2023, at approximately 8:50 am, we began getting calls from employees reporting suspicious subjects wearing masks and looking into vehicles in the parking lot of 4041 Lone Tree Way in the Bluerock Center. As our patrol officers were driving to check them out, we got a call from a victim of an armed carjacking. The suspects were armed with a gun and took the victim’s Honda Accord.

Our dispatch center quickly began calling neighboring agencies and our patrol teams began searching the area. The vehicle and subjects were soon located in nearby Discovery Bay.

11/24/23 UPDATE: According to Antioch Police spokesman Sgt. Price Kendall, the suspects were both 18-year-old males and booked into the Martinez Detention facility. “That is all we will be releasing,” he added.

We would like to thank all of the witnesses to this incident for quickly calling and to thank both CHP and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance leading to the quick arrests of these suspects. This is a great example of our community and neighboring agencies collaborating with us!

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

The Antioch Police Department had been awarded a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety for Traffic

Enforcement Program to increase safety on the roads. The Antioch Police Department was awarded a $60,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant will support our ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads.

The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.

• High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.

• Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.

• Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.

• Community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety.

• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.

• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community, and we will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding.

The grant program will run through September 2024.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Any questions please contact: Sgt. Rob Green, rgreen@ci.antioch.ca.us, 925-778-6864

By Antioch Police Department

Within only ten minutes, yesterday evening there were three armed robberies in residential neighborhoods of Antioch where the victims were all arriving home from work. Responding APD officers quickly linked the three robberies based on time element, along with the matching suspect and getaway vehicle descriptions. The suspects were reportedly armed with a handgun and rifle at the time of the robberies.

Later that evening, Officer Desiderio located a matching vehicle and conducted an enforcement stop. A search of the vehicle revealed stolen property from each of the three robberies. The five occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and two of the five provided false identification to officers. The true identities of these two were learned and they were found to have outstanding warrants for their arrest. All five were booked at the County Jail in Martinez.

11/24/23 UPDATE: According to Antioch Police spokesman Sgt. Price Kendall, “Of the five males arrested, three were 19 years old, one was 20, and one was 23. All five males were from Antioch and Brentwood. That is all we will be releasing.”

Officers wish to thank the victims and witnesses who came forward and gave an excellent description of the vehicle and suspects! Officers would also like to thank our hardworking APD dispatchers for the work they do in getting the information out quickly.

Want to join Officer Desiderio and his team to help keep Antioch safe? We are hiring entry-level, academy graduates, and lateral police officers, with academies starting in January and March of 2024. We offer an excellent pay and benefits package, CalPERS retirement pension, and a $30,000 signing bonus (amongst many other incentives). We are also hiring dispatchers now! Visit www.JoinAntiochPD.com for more information and be part of the change!

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

By Lt. Rick Martin, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

At approximately 2:03 p.m. on November 15, 2023, Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to the railroad tracks between A Street and Cavallo Road on a report of a possible deceased subject. Officers and paramedics arrived and located a 43-year-old male subject from Antioch with a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced the male deceased a short time later.

Antioch Police Detectives arrived on scene and are conducting the investigation. We are withholding the name of the decedent until proper family notification has been made. No further information will be provided at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Gragg at (925) 779-6889 or the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441.

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.”