Worked for former CA Attorney General Kamala Harris and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf

Interim Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton today, Friday, February 2, 2018 announced the hiring of Venus D. Johnson as Assistant District Attorney. Mrs. Johnson will help shape criminal justice policy for the office, in addition to overseeing the Family Violence Prosecution units, the Community Violence Reduction Unit, and the Homicide and Gang Units. Johnson will begin her new role on Monday.

Most recently, she served as the Director of Public Safety for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. In that role, she served as a policy advisor to the mayor and co-led the Oakland Police Department’s working group responsible for creating the curriculum and teaching the second phase of procedural justice training for all sworn and professional staff. Johnson also worked with the California Partnership for Safe Communities, the Oakland Police Department, and city and community leaders to support Ceasefire, Oakland’s data driven violence reduction strategy. She also worked closely with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth to promote those principles within the city, school district and criminal justice system.

Previously, Johnson served as the Associate Attorney General for California Attorney General, Kamala Harris. She managed the Attorney General’s executive team and served as a senior legal and policy advisor, focusing particularly on criminal justice, law enforcement, the interplay of technology and privacy as it relates to law enforcement, police and community relations, and criminal prosecutions, as well as criminal appeals, habeas proceedings, and cert petitions. Prior to that, Johnson was a Deputy Attorney General in the Attorney General’s Office of Legislative Affairs. As an expert in criminal law, she represented the Attorney General’s Office on a wide variety of matters before the California Legislature. Her duties included assisting in the development of the Attorney General’s legislative agenda and advising legislative staff and committee consultants on the technical and policy implications of proposed legislation.

Johnson began her legal career as a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in January 2006. She spent eight years as a deputy district attorney prosecuting a wide variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. She served as a member of both the Child Sexual Assault Unit, and the Strike Team — a two-person team charged with handling Oakland’s most violent and repeat offenders. Johnson also served as a member of the Officer Involved Shooting Team.

Prior to her departure from Alameda County, Johnson worked in the DNA Cold Case Unit, a two-person unit responsible for investigating and prosecuting unsolved homicide and sexual assault cases with the use of modern DNA technology. The unit was also tasked with working with local law enforcement agencies throughout Alameda County to reduce the backlog of untested sexual assault kits.

Johnson earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government from Loyola Marymount University in 2001, and her law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2005. She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for Holy Names High School in Oakland and is a past president of the Charles Houston Bar Association. Appointed by former Attorney General Harris, she currently serves as a member of the California Commission on Access to Justice, a state commission responsible for developing solutions to improve access to civil justice for low and moderate-income Californians.

“I am honored to join the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office,” Johnson said. “As prosecutors, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our communities, protecting victims of crime, and ensuring the scales of justice remain fair and balanced for everyone. I look forward to working side by side with local law enforcement and our community partners as we work toward creating safer communities and a more fair and just system.”

Learn more about ADA Johnson’s background on her LinkedIn profile and her Facebook page.

At the corner of happy, healthy and higher prices? Violations attributed to human error.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that its Consumer Protection Unit joined with the District Attorneys of Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties in a civil law enforcement action against Walgreen Co., the operator of more than 600 Walgreens stores in California. Walgreens, a nationwide corporation, has its headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois.

The civil action was based in part upon scanner inspections conducted by local Weights and Measures offices, including the office of Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture Division of Weights & Measures, Humberto Izquierdo Director. The District Attorneys alleged that Walgreens violated state law by charging customers more than the lowest posted or advertised price for items.

The alleged violations also included Walgreens’ failure to comply with laws prohibiting selling or offering to sell infant formula or baby food after the “use by” date and over-the-counter drugs after the expiration date has passed. These violations were discovered as a result of inspections by the County Environmental Health Services Divisions and District Attorney Investigation Units. The Santa Clara County Superior Court approved the Modified Stipulated Judgment on January 29, 2018.

“It seems that Walgreen’s couldn’t get their act together here, more than other counties,” said Deputy District Attorney Gary E. Koeppel of the Consumer Protection Unit. He was the lead Deputy DA from Contra Costa County, prepared much of the documentation and was the main contact for negotiations with Walgreens’ law firm in San Francisco. “We were having probably a larger problem here in Contra Costa.”

Without admitting wrongdoing, Walgreens agreed to pay $2,250,000 in civil penalties and costs. The judgment also prohibits violating applicable laws and requires Walgreens to institute a compliance program. That program includes procedures to ensure the removal of infant formula, baby food and over-the counter drugs prior to the “use by” or “expiration” dates. The program also requires procedures to ensure that consumers are charged accurate prices, such as removal of shelf tags from store shelves prior to expiration and adjusting charges at point of sale to reflect the lowest advertised, posted or quoted price on the sales floor for in-store purchases.

The present Modified Stipulated Final Judgment “superseded” or replaced a 2013 pricing violations judgment against Walgreens, by adding new injunctive, compliance and civil penalty and costs provisions to address the new pricing and expired product violations. Walgreens cooperated with prosecutors during the investigation and the resolution of this case.

District Attorneys work with Departments of Weights & Measures to protect consumers from pricing errors and with Environmental Health Divisions to enforce laws prohibiting the sale of certain expired products. Consumers should always check receipts to verify that they are charged the correct price and make sure that the products they purchase are not beyond their expiration dates.

“If there’s a tag on the shelf that indicates a price and when scanned it indicates a higher price, it’s a violation,” Koeppel said. “The provisions in the state Business and Professions Code are clear. You have to sell it at the lowest, advertised price, even if it has expired. If it’s still on the shelf at the lower price with a tag in black and white, they have to sell at the expired price.”

“The County Agriculture Department’s County Weights and Measures are responsible for this, including gas stations,” he added.

“During the course of our negotiations over the scanner violations we did an undercover operation with our health departments throughout the state and we came up with about 33% of the stores that came back with over the counter pain medication and baby formula that had expired dates,” he stated.

Part of the injunction includes the requirement that at least 90 days before the expiration on pain medication and 30 days for baby formula Walgreens must remove those items from the shelves,” Koeppel explained, “Then other requirements such as posting of conspicuous signs.”

“Regarding the scanner violations, we’ve had this term placed in other injunctions with other big box stores, requiring managers have to walk through the aisles once a week and pull expired tags,” he continued. “Plus, they’re required to keep records whenever customers complain any time prices are higher and enter that data into a system that keeps track of scanner price modifications, when the shelf price was lower than the scanned price.”

Asked if the stores are required to provide a period report, Koeppel replied, “No. But, Weights & Measures has the right to go in any time and request a copy of the report.”

He wanted to point out that “Walgreens has been very cooperative and primarily blame the violations on human error,” due to “the turnover in employees and difficulty training them. Nothing constitutes an intentional violation. For clarity, they’re not alone. I’m not going to name other stores. But, scanner violations are very common in big box situations. It’s been pretty rampant, over the years. Unintentionally, for the most part.”

Asked about the liability the stores face, Koeppel responded, “It’s a big, potential liability issue with the baby formula and pain medication if someone got sick. But, from our discussions with experts, the best would be weaker potency, not greater health risks.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Second Cardoza daughter dies; Bail for suspect increased to $2,130,000

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has filed an additional murder charge against 23-year-old Noe Saucedo of Pittsburg.

On Friday the DA’s Office filed formal charges against Saucedo. He was charged with murder, felony evading, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of heroin.

Saucedo remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. He is being held in lieu of $2,130,000 bail.

We are saddened to report that 2-year-old Camila Cardoza was officially pronounced deceased at the hospital. Camila was a passenger, along with her sister Lenexy, in a vehicle that was struck by a stolen pick-up truck driven by Noe Saucedo on Wednesday on Somersville Road in Antioch. Lenexy was killed in the collision.

The investigation into the collision is ongoing by the Contra Costa County D.A.’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Antioch Police Department and the Office of the Sheriff per the officer-involved protocol. Investigators are trying to determine why suspect Saucedo stole the Ford F-250 pick-up truck in Pittsburg, why he accelerated away from a Deputy Sheriff who was following him, and why he ran through a red light at the intersection of Somersville Road and the eastbound Highway 4 off-ramp before colliding into another vehicle. In addition, tests are being conducted to determine if Saucedo was impaired in any way.

Anyone with any information on this incident or who may have witnessed it is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

For further news about this case on ABC7 News, click here.

Bail set at $1,130,000 for Pittsburg resident Noe Saucedo

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office this afternoon filed formal charges against Noe Saucedo, the suspect who drove a stolen pick-up truck on Wednesday that crashed into another vehicle on Somersville Road in Antioch. He is being charged with murder, felony evading, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of hero-in. 23-year-old Saucedo of Pittsburg remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. He is being held in lieu of $1,130,000 bail.

The investigation into the collision is ongoing by the Contra Costa County D.A.’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Antioch Police Department and the Office of the Sheriff per the officer-involved protocol. Investigators are trying to determine why suspect Saucedo stole the Ford F-250 pick-up truck in Pittsburg, why he accelerated away from a Deputy Sheriff who was following him, and why he ran through a red light at the intersection of Somersville Road and the eastbound Highway 4 off-ramp before colliding into another vehicle. In addition, tests are being conducted to determine if Saucedo was impaired in any way.

Yesterday, the four-year-old girl who was killed in the vehicle collision was identified as Lenexy Cordoza. Her two-year-old sister and mother remain at the hospital.

“Clearly, suspect Saucedo took a series of actions that led to this tragedy,” said Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston. “We are saddened by the loss of life and offer our deepest sympathies to the family.”

Anyone with any information on this incident or who may have witnessed it is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Today, Friday, January 12, 2018, Patrick Vanier, Supervising Prosecutor in Santa Clara County, and a candidate for Contra Costa County District Attorney issued the following statement:

“When I announced my candidacy for District Attorney last spring, I made it clear that my candidacy was not about me, but about bringing real reform to the office of District Attorney and instituting best practices to bring Contra Costa County’s criminal justice system into the 21st Century.  I was the first to declare my candidacy to challenge former DA Mark Peterson and I am proud to have started the dialogue for change.

A little more than a month later, Mark Peterson resigned from office.  Upon his resignation, the County initiated an appointment process to fill the vacancy. I was honored to be selected by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors as a finalist in that process.

During the appointment process in the summer and fall, I again made it clear that if a person was appointed who can bring progressive leadership to the office of District Attorney and will modernize and standardize how cases are prosecuted, I may not seek election.

Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors voted to appoint retired Judge Diana Becton to be District Attorney. (See related article) Although I was disappointed in not receiving the appointment, I respected the Supervisors’ decision as they recognized the importance of selecting a candidate from outside the dysfunction of the current office. While I was in this race to win, as I felt that I possess the skills this County needs, I also realize the importance of ensuring that change does indeed occur.

Over the past several months I have been following the developments within the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office under District Attorney Diana Becton.  I believe she has undertaken a course of action to run the department in an honest and ethical manner and will utilize the latest technologies, data analytics, and community prosecution models to prevent crime and prosecute cases. I want this County to be focused on ensuring that change continues.

For these reasons, I have decided to withdraw from the race for Contra Costa County District Attorney and fully support and endorse Diana Becton.

I want to thank my supporters for their unflagging support and encouragement and I will be urging them to support Diana Becton.”

On his campaign website, Vanier said he offered “progressive leadership” to the people of Contra Costa County. With him out of the race the remaining candidates, currently are the appointed incumbent, Interim Contra Costa DA Becton and Contra Costa Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Graves, who entered the race last spring to take on Peterson, prior to his resignation and has the support of most law enforcement organizations in the county. If no other candidates enter the race the winner of the Primary Election in June will be elected. According to the County Elections Office website, the filing period for the election begins February 12 and ends March 9.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Arrested on Oct. 27th

By Allen Payton

FBI Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the Northern California District office and Interim Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced on Wednesday the Oct. 27th arrests of eight East County gang members on murder, conspiracy to commit murder, pimping and firearms charges.

Bennett and Becton were joined by Pittsburg Police Chief Brian Addington and representatives from the Richmond Police Department, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, San Francisco SWAT, El Cerrito Police Department, Contra Costa County Probation Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, San Pablo Police Department, Concord Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.

Known as Operation Klap It Out, the joint effort resulted in the arrests of the suspects and the seizure of a variety of firearms during the search warrants, according to FBI Public Information Officer Cameron Polan.

Seven suspects and alleged members of the Klap Sh**/Broad Day gang from Antioch and Pittsburg were identified as Darnell Keyon Lash age 24, D’Vance Jaquez Sumblin age 20, Javelle Cooksey age 19, Lester Gene Curry age 21 (as of Tuesday), Ezell Tommy Jenkins age 19, Dasheid Keyonta Lash age 21, and Larry Darnell Goines, Jr. age 32. An eighth suspect gang member, Giovante Boyd was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for murder, but was not included in the complaint filed by the DA’s office against the other seven.

According to the complaint they were charged with the following eight counts: conspiracy to commit a crime – murder, carrying a loaded firearm/street gang, possession of firearm by a felon – prior(s), dissuading a witness by force or threat, conspiracy to commit a crime – second degree burglary, carrying a loaded firearm/street gang, conspiracy to commit a crime – pimping, and street terrorism.

“All eight are currently in a preliminary hearing which has been ongoing since Monday,” Polan added.

12/21/17 UPDATE: Asked about the delay in announcing the arrests she replied, “The delayed announcement was due to new leads that were presented as a result of the search warrants executed. The investigators did not want to jeopardize the new information with a public announcement.”

See the charges filed against the seven suspects, here: Charges filed vs Operation Klap It Out gang suspects

“Justice for Suzanne” means “Antioch is safer, tonight”

By Allen Payton

At around 5:00 p.m. Monday evening, the family of Suzanne Bombardier whose kidnapping, rape and murder had gone unsolved for 37 years, finally had closure when Antioch police arrested 63-year-old Mitchell Lynn Bacom at his home in Antioch. During a press conference Monday night, Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks announced the arrest saying he was “ecstatic” and credited retired Captain Leonard Orman, DNA testing by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Lab and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

Bacom, an Antioch resident, was arrested without incident in front of his house in the 300 block of West Madill.

“This closes the oldest, open cold case homicide on record with the Antioch Police Department,” Brooks stated, and then thanked “Suzanne Bombardier’s family for not giving up hope,” although “it would not bring Suzanne back.” He further said it was solved through “patience and persistence.”

Orman was brought back to work on the case, earlier this year after the DNA was sent to the crime lab two years ago and got a hit by CODIS, the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, in May. Interim DA Diana Becton gave credit to Paul Holes, her office’s Cold Case Investigator and Chief of Forensic and the Safe Streets Task Force.

“Justice may not have come as swiftly as we would like,” she stated, and said her office will be filing charges against Bacom tomorrow of “murder with use of a deadly weapon and additional charges, as well.”

Bombardier was taken in the middle of the night from her sister’s home at 3421 Hudson Court in Antioch while babysitting. She was missing for approximately five days and eventually found deceased in the San Joaquin River near the Antioch Bridge. Her cause of death was determined to be one stab wound to the chest which penetrated her heart. Evidence at the time indicated she had been sexually assaulted.

Numerous suspects and persons of interest were developed and investigated over the years. Some were eliminated while others remained unresolved until recently. Bacom was one of the original suspects in the case, “the prime suspect” according to former Antioch Detective Greg Glod who worked the case, along with retired Detective Ron Rackley who first took the report that initiated the investigation in 1980.

Two years ago, during the 35th anniversary of the murder, they and retired Antioch Sgt. Larry Hopwood asked then Chief Allan Cantando to reopen the case and offered to serve as a volunteer cold case squad. They launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the cold case. (See related article). Later that year the DNA was sent to the crime lab for testing.

Through that DNA testing, one of the suspects, 63-year-old Mitchell Lynn Bacom of Antioch, has been determined to be responsible for these heinous crimes. He is currently being held on the charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and oral copulation.

“He was never off the suspect list,” Brooks stated, and that “he was known to Suzanne and the family.”

“That’s who we always suspected,” Rackley stated, when reached for comment following the press conference. “We can finally sleep again.”

“I knew this all along,” Glod said when reached at his home in the Washington, D.C. area, where he now works for the U.S. Secret Service as an instructor at their academy. “He was clearly the prime suspect, clearly in my mind, from the beginning.”

Suspect Had History of Violent Crime

In 1973, Bacom was arrested in Mountain View, California for rape, robbery, assault with intent to commit murder and oral copulation. As a result of that investigation, he was convicted in 1974 of first and second-degree burglary, assault with intent to murder and sodomy. He was sentenced to five years to life.

In February of 1981, Bacom was arrested for robbery and rape in Isleton, California. As a result of that case, he was convicted of first degree burglary, robbery, rape and sodomy. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

In 2002, Bacom was convicted in Contra Costa County of failing to properly register as a sex offender and sentenced to four years in prison. This conviction was the result of a Pittsburg Police Department investigation.

When the biological evidence was originally collected in this case, DNA testing did not exist as a method of determining guilt in our justice system. Over the years, the Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office have monitored developments in DNA testing in the hopes that advancements would be made allowing this evidence to be processed and a DNA profile developed. In 2015, the decision was made to submit the biological evidence to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Laboratory in an effort to develop a DNA profile. This lab was equipped to conduct some of the most advanced available DNA testing. In early 2017, the department was notified that a CODIS hit was made tentatively identifying Mitchell Lynn Bacom as the perpetrator. Additional testing was required in order to confirm the identification.

Glod spoke about Bacom’s history of crime, saying, “I’m amazed how he got out of prison on the first one” and that “he was on parole when this took place,” referring to the Bombardier murder.

He gave credit to former Antioch Detective Guy Worth, who is currently battling cancer, and “is probably dancing, right now. He was instrumental…he did all he could to keep this case alive, in spite of all he’s going through.”

Glod also thanked the media for their articles and TV news segments in 2015 and 2016.

“I appreciate people like you (referring to the Herald), Henry Lee from KTVU, the Contra Costa Times and Jennifer Gibbbons, the author who wouldn’t let this go,” he stated.

“Although we are ecstatic an arrest has been made in this case it will not bring Suzanne back into her family’s lives,” Brooks said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Suzanne Bombardier’s family and we hope this mystery being solved offers some level of comfort for them.”

“Although in recent years there was some question relative to our commitment regarding this investigation, we never gave up on bringing this case to a resolution,” he shared. “The reality was that science had to make advances in order for a positive identification of the killer to be made. It was through patience, persistence, networking, modern investigative techniques and scientific advances that this case was solved.”

“I’m glad that people didn’t forget, the Antioch Police Department and District Attorney’s Office,” Glod said. “They were instrumental in solving this. It’s a good day for Antioch. Antioch did not forget their citizen. It’s great news for the family and all the friends who have been traumatized by this. We finally got some justice for Suzanne Bombardier.”

“It’s bringing some closure for me in my life,” he added. “This is a great moment for me. I’m glad to see it was him they arrested. This is big news.”

More Work Still To Be Done

When reached for comment, Orman said, “It was good to see it to this point,” knowing that there is still more work to be done following the arrest. “Antioch is safer tonight and that’s what matters,” he added.

“This does not constitute the end,” Brooks confirmed during his first press conference since becoming Chief in May, stating that the department needed to determine if Bacom has been involved in any other crimes.

As such, the Antioch Police Department will be networking with other law enforcement agencies in an effort to determine if Mitchell Lynn Bacom has been involved in other murders and/or sexual assaults. We encourage anyone with information regarding this case to contact the Antioch Police Department. Additionally, we are hoping to hear from any of Mitchell Lynn Bacom’s past victims, including those who may have never made reports to law enforcement.

Anyone wanting to provide information relative to Mitchell Lynn Bacom’s criminal conduct may contact Detective Leonard Orman at (925) 779-6918. Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Lt. Tarra Mendes at (925) 779-6946. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Today, Wednesday, December 6, 2017, District Attorney Diana Becton issued the following statement:

“It’s official: today, I filed my papers to run for District Attorney of Contra Costa County.

“I was selected as District Attorney by the Board of Supervisors to restore faith and trust in the District Attorney’s Office in the wake of scandal. I have rolled up my sleeves and I am hard at work. I am committing to restoring integrity to the office. I am confident that I will succeed. I am a collaborative leader who knows how to get things done.

“We cannot continue to look at the criminal justice system in a vacuum. We need a broad, universal approach to how we prevent crime, make our communities safe, and treat everyone fairly.

“As a longtime judge of the Superior Court in Contra Costa County, I am proud of my reputation for hard work, fairness, and integrity. I will bring these qualities to the campaign trail – and to the job.”

In September, Becton was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill the position made vacant by the resignation of Mark Peterson. She joins Contra Costa County Senior Assistant District Attorney Paul Graves and Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Patrick Vanier who announced their campaigns and entered the race prior to Peterson’s resignation. The Primary Election will be held June 4, 2018. If no candidate receives a majority of vote, the top two candidates will face off in the General Election in November.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.