Free crossings for eligible veterans begin Jan. 1, penalty-waiver program coming

Dec. 27, 2022 – The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Golden Gate Bridge District today announced two new bridge toll assistance programs that will benefit customers from lower-income households as well as eligible military veterans, beginning in 2023.

By July 1, 2023, BATA and the Golden Gate Bridge District will institute a policy for toll bridge customers whose household income is no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $55,000 for a family of four) to receive a waiver of any penalties assessed for late or missed payments of toll invoices and toll evasion notices incurred for toll bridge crossings between March 20, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2023. The waiver applies to the Golden Gate Bridge and to the state-owned Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The waiver will not apply to Express Lanes.

The Low-Income COVID Waiver program — created by Assembly Bill 2594, which was authored by San Francisco Assembly member Phil Ting and enacted earlier this year — will allow qualifying motorists to request from FasTrak^® a waiver of outstanding bridge toll violation penalties. Waiver recipients will be required to pay tolls and any fees charged by the Department of Motor Vehicles for vehicle registration holds due to the non-payment of penalties.

Another new state law — AB 2949, authored by Assembly member Alex Lee of San Jose — goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023, granting eligible veterans of the U.S. armed forces free tolls on California toll bridges. These include the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the state-owned Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The free-passage benefit does not apply to Express Lanes.

To be eligible for free travel across California toll bridges, vehicles registered to military veterans must have a license plate with one of the following designations: Congressional Medal of Honor, Disabled Veteran, Legion of Valor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-Prisoner of War, or Purple Heart.

Eligible veterans do not currently need to have a FasTrak electronic toll payment account to qualify for free passage, although a FasTrak-enrollment requirement will be instituted in the future. To avoid being charged a toll, veterans who already are FasTrak customers must place their FasTrak tag in a Mylar bag when traveling through bridge toll plazas. Customers may request a bag by logging into their FasTrak account, clicking ‘Vehicles and Tags’, and selecting ‘Request Toll Tag Supplies.’ Veterans also may request a Mylar bag by calling the FasTrak customer service center at 877-BAY-TOLL (877-229-8655). These bags are free of charge.

BATA administers all toll revenues from the San Francisco Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District owns and operates the Golden Gate Bridge.

Was with his cousin who was later arrested on unrelated charges

By Antioch Police Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Support Services Division

The Antioch Police Department has received additional inquiries about this incident and would like to provide the following update:

The victim of this tragic event was Thomas Smith, and he was 16 years old. He was identified by a family member who arrived on scene. He was from Mount Airy, Louisiana a community near New Orleans, and was in Antioch visiting family.

The 15-year-old juvenile that was detained in Walmart was an acquaintance of Mr. Smith’s and was arrested for charges unrelated to the homicide.

The homicide suspect remains outstanding, and this incident is still being investigated by our Investigations Bureau.

According to a report KTVU Fox 2 news report, Thomas, aka “Paulie” was Nakia Banks’ youngest child and only son. The family was visiting Banks’ sister in Antioch. The 15-year-old boy who was with Smith at the time of the shooting was his cousin.

As previously reported, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, at approximately 11:22 AM, the Antioch Police Department Dispatch Center started receiving numerous 9-1-1 calls reporting multiple gunshots being fired at Williamson Ranch Park, located at 5000 Lone Tree Way. (See related article)

As officers were responding to the scene, witnesses called to report a subject running from the park and entering the near-by Walmart. Additional officers immediately responded to the Walmart, and with the assistance of several citizens, were able to quickly locate and safely detain the subject. The subject was determined to be a juvenile and in possession of a loaded firearm.

When officers arrived at the park, they located one male juvenile victim near the parking lot suffering from several gunshot wounds. Evidence at the scene indicated the incident occurred outdoors in the east portion of the parking lot. Officers immediately began administering first aid and called for emergency fire department and AMR paramedics. The victim was transported to a local area hospital emergency room, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

Prior to police arrival, a dark colored sedan was seen leaving the parking lot of the park at a high rate of speed. During the preliminary investigation, it appears the victim, and the subject detained at the Walmart, arrived together on-foot, and met with the occupants of a dark colored sedan in the parking lot. Shortly afterwards, multiple shots were fired from, and/or around, the dark colored sedan.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department nonemergency line at (925)778-2441, or Detective Cox at 925-779-6866. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Lt. John Fortner and Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

By Antioch Police Department

Another illegal firearm off the streets due to our officers’ diligent work.

On Christmas, officers responded to Worrell Road for a dispute. While walking up to a residence associated to the incident, they noticed a male asleep in a vehicle outside the residence.

Officer Kawalya, who has been a police officer for less than six months, noticed the male was holding a firearm! Officer Kawalya and Officer Marques were able to wake the male safely and de-escalate the situation. The male put the firearm down and was safely detained.

The firearm was a “ghost” gun with no serial number and therefore could not be registered.

The situations officers face are often rapidly evolving and can be very dangerous. We commend Officers Kawalya and Marques for their good work and their dedication to keeping the citizens of Antioch safe.

 

Day after Christmas, suspect’s name is Jesus

By Antioch Police Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Support Services Division

On December 26, 2022, at 7:42 am, officers responded to the 3500 block of Clayburn Road for

the report of a fight. Prior to officers arriving, the caller advised someone had been stabbed.

When officers arrived, they located the victim who was suffering from multiple stab wounds to his upper body and head. He was transported to a local hospital and is expected to survive. The suspect, 20-year-old Jesus Martinez Perez of Antioch, was located by officers in the front yard of another residence on Clayburn Road.

Jesus Martinez Perez was suffering from a stab wound to his right hand and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He was in stable condition and will be booked into county jail for attempted homicide.

Through investigation, officers learned the suspect was related to the victim, whose name is currently being kept confidential, and this was an isolated incident. There is no threat to the public.

Zepeda’s election in Richmond council race also confirmed, Butt’s campaign files precursor to possible lawsuit but dropped it

By Chris Campos, Editor, ThePress.net

Republished with permission.

MARTINEZ—Tamisha Torres-Walker, running for re-election for the Antioch City Council District 1 seat, came ahead by 3 votes on Nov. 8 beating challenger Joy Motts. After a lengthy and expensive recount Torres-Walker’s lead increased by one vote, according to the county elections office.

Allen Payton, publisher of the Antioch Herald but “acting as a resident and voter in the city,” requested the recount on Motts’ behalf. It’s been a costly exercise. Asked what the final price was Motts responded, “about $30,000.”

She was glad she went through the process. “With just a three vote difference I think it makes sense to go forward and the community agreed. I had support to pay for this.”

The results of the recount were announced Friday by County Clerk Deborah Cooper. The total for Motts dropped by one vote while Torres-Walker’s vote total didn’t change.

Asked for her thoughts Torres-Walker said, “I’m just excited for this to finally be over and celebrate this win. I’ve just been waiting for this process.  I’m going to go home and celebrate the holidays with my family and look forward to serving Antioch on the city council for the next four years.”

Payton, publisher of the Antioch Herald, offered to help fundraising and help cover the costs of the recount. Motts stated earlier on her Facebook account, “We have found out today that unfortunately, the County is charging upwards of $38,500 for this recount, an exorbitant amount of money. Nevertheless, we are moving forward to try and raise the necessary funds. If you would like to support my efforts for a full recount, you can donate on my website at joymotts.org”

Payton said Friday, “about $20,000 total was raised by Mott’s campaign, most through her website, and spent as of today, including another $2,080 she paid today to the Contra Costa County Elections and $6,000 for elections attorney Chris Schweickert of Seto, Wood & Schweickert in Pleasant Hill for yesterday and today.”

On the first day of the recount 8 challenged vote-by-mail ballots and 4 challenged provisional ballots in the District 1 race were reviewed by Motts and Payton, who requested the recount on her behalf the previous week. It occurred at the Contra Costa County Clerk’s Office Elections Division office, with Deputy Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong, two elections office staff members as well as Torres-Walker and campaign consultant Melody Howe Weintraub monitoring the ballot count.

Of the ballots reviewed that day, two ballots were challenged by Motts and Payton for further review by Gong who allowed one to be counted and one was rejected.

A simultaneous recount is under way for the Andrew Butt campaign in Richmond’s District 2 race which ended in a tie and was broken last week by the drawing of an envelope out of a shopping bag. The results of the recount reduced Butt’s vote total by three and winner Cesar Zepeda’s vote count remaining the same.

As the challenge to those few ballots was transpiring, county elections staff were in the warehouse about a block away, retrieving 1,700 boxes of ballots in which the staff members have determined there are ballots for both the Antioch and Richmond elections. Those ballots were already put through the counting machines and included in the total vote count.

During a tour of the warehouse on Wednesday, Dec. 14, Elections Services Manager Travis Ebbert was asked if ballots could be stuck together and scanned through the machine. He responded it could happen, but there are checks and balances.

“There are ways that ballots get scanned and double scanned. The scanners are high speed. They go really fast,” Ebbert explained. “By the time the first ballot is processed the seventh ballot is being imaged. There are checks for that. There’s human intervention and a second person there.”

“There’s potential for human error out of the 1.5 million ballot pages (submitted in the county during the November election),” he continued. “In the 1% manual count there were no double scans. This was the smoothest scan with the least human intervention.”

Helen Nolan, the assistant registrar of Contra Costa County, said later, “Thank you to everyone who came to observe and be a part of the recount process today. I appreciate your patience; we know it’s not always exciting but it’s an important part of our democracy and protecting the vote!”

During an interview with a reporter for NBC Bay Area Motts said, “This was not the methodology my campaign asked for. We wanted them to look at all the ballots in all the boxes. But to do that would be an exorbitant amount of money. When they decided to do this targeted search we didn’t expect there would be much of a change.

“The costs were split with the Butt campaign, so the total was $60,000 for both recounts,” she continued. “I think with elections this close they should automatically do a recount. As we saw today some ballots were adjudicated. I think it’s important that the county elections (office) does that and we as citizens support that.”

On Thursday Butt’s campaign filed the required paperwork on Thursday for a potential lawsuit challenging the election results but chose to drop it.

“What I filed on Thursday was an election contest under election code,” Daniel said, “It’s been muted by this recount result. It challenges specifically the two votes in the marina precinct. You also have to show it will change the outcome of the election. Now that Cesar has won by three votes, we’re dropping it. I’m keeping the door open to sue the city because the district map fails all criteria. But it won’t overturn the results of this election.”

“Both these candidates did the right thing in spite of opposition. They fought the good fight. But it’s worth looking into reducing the costs for recounts and requiring automatic recounts in close races,” he added.

Contra Costa County Elections Division staff provided the following information Friday evening:

Recount Results:
Antioch City Council District 1 Recount ANTIOCH Final Results by Precinct O&U
Tamisha Torres-Walker 1,467
Joy Motts 1,463
Diane Gibson-Gray 1,338

Richmond City Council District 2 Recount RICHMOND Final Results by Precinct
Andrew Butt 1,918
Cesar Zepeda 1,921

“These close races should remind voters how important every single vote is. I have been working for the Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department for 33 years and recounts have been extremely rare.” said Cooper. “Our elections team once again performed above and beyond, by recounting not one, but two city council races over the course of the past week and a half. These recounts confirmed the integrity of the elections through a transparent audit process.”

The final official report for this election is posted on the Contra Costa County Elections website and can be found at www.contracostavote.gov.

Allen D. Payton contributed to the Richmond recount portion of this report.

$128 million in civil penalties

By California Department of Cannabis Control

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) announced on Dec. 6, 2022, that it has won a significant legal victory against participants in the illegal cannabis market. Represented by its partners in the Attorney General’s Office, DCC obtained a court order awarding more than $128 million in civil penalties—the maximum sought by DCC—against businesses and individuals that were engaged in unlicensed commercial cannabis activity.

“This ruling sends a strong message that the illegal cannabis market will not be tolerated in California,” said DCC Director Nicole Elliott. “DCC and our partners will do everything in our power to protect consumers and maintain the integrity of California’s legal cannabis market. We applaud the Court for its commitment to enforcing the rule of law in California’s cannabis industry.”

The ruling builds on longstanding efforts by state licensing authorities to protect consumers and combat the illegal market. In 2019 and 2020, state authorities conducted an investigation that revealed unlicensed cannabis manufacturing and distribution in Canoga Park, California.

The investigation further revealed that this unlicensed activity was tied to an operator—Vertical Bliss, Inc.—that held licenses for other commercial cannabis activity. State authorities swiftly revoked those licenses and then brought a civil action seeking additional financial penalties against Vertical Bliss and other participants in its unlawful scheme.

The complaint alleged that Vertical Bliss conducted unlicensed operations on an undisclosed premise in Canoga Park, California, and inverted illegally manufactured product back into the regulated market. On October 2, 2019, in response to tips about illegal manufacturing and distribution of cannabis goods, the Division of Investigation executed search warrants at the unlicensed Canoga Park location. The search revealed significant quantities of cannabis concentrates, edibles, vape cartridges and raw materials. Seized records document the production of more than 3.3 million Kushy Punch brand gummies during an 18-month period, with an estimated value of $64 million.

Vertical Bliss simultaneously held cannabis manufacturing and distribution licenses for a premises located in Chatsworth, California. These licenses were revoked, following the discovery of the unlicensed operations.

The Medicinal and Adult-Use Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) establishes strict requirements for the cannabis market and products, including requiring a state license and local approval for every premises where commercial cannabis activity is conducted. Manufacturing, distributing or selling cannabis goods without a state license or at a location that is not licensed is a violation of state law. A person engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license is subject to civil penalties of up to three times the amount of the license fee for each day of operation.

The case is Department of Cannabis Control v. Vertical Bliss, Inc., et al., No. 20CHCV00560, in the Superior Court of California in and for the County of Los Angeles. In addition to the seven defendants covered by the summary judgment ruling, DCC continues to pursue a just and appropriate resolution against one remaining defendant, whose conduct was not at issue in that ruling. Final judgment has not yet been entered in the case.

To file a complaint regarding illegal cannabis activity, click here – Enforcement Online Services

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

 

Four homes raided, three on same street

By Allen D. Payton

Over $14.8 million worth of illegal marijuana was seized during a raid of four homes in Antioch on Wednesday. According to David Hafner, spokesman for the California Department of Cannabis Control  (DCC), “as a result of the four enforcement actions yesterday in Antioch, 16,614 plants, 674 pounds of processed flower, $14,818,650 – total estimated value of all the unlicensed cannabis products seized, and $11,725 of cash.”

“Four people were cited and released,” he shared including a man and a woman who were occupants of a home on Mammoth Way, one of the four raided. They include two other homes on Mammoth Way and one on another nearby street. The identities of those cited was requested but not provided as of publication time.

The raid was assisted by Antioch Police and Department of Fish and Wildlife officers, as well as Antioch Code Enforcement.

At the Mammoth Way home both Cannabis Control and Fish and Wildlife Officers could be seen carrying out trays of small plants from the garage and inside the house, and large bush-size plants from inside.

“Wow,” one of the Cannabis Control officers at the Mammoth Way home could be heard saying after seeing all the plants in the garage. “As far as the count goes it’s going to be a big number”.

Another Cannabis Control officer confirmed. Asked how many plants were being seized he responded, “Almost 11,000 plants in this one house.”

The door of the one Mammoth Way home was kicked in during the raid. Code Enforcement then red tagged the homes and cannot be occupied. Neighbors of the Mammoth Way home who were watching the raid said the occupants, a man and a woman, had lived there for two to three years. Asked if they thought something might be occurring at the house one of the neighbors said, “I could smell marijuana sometimes but since it’s legal wasn’t sure if it was someone smoking.”

This is the second raid on homes for illegal marijuana in Antioch, this year. In August and September, 17 warrants were served and 10,451 unlicensed indoor cannabis plants worth $7.3 million, $23,355 in cash and six guns were confiscated. (See related article)

The DCC is the California state agency that licenses and regulates cannabis businesses. DCC regulates the:

• Growing of cannabis plants
• Manufacture of cannabis products
• Transportation and tracking of cannabis goods throughout the state
• Sale of cannabis goods
• Events where cannabis is sold or used
• Labeling of goods sold at retail

Arrested for felony child endangerment; on probation at the time

By Merced Police Department

MERCED- Marvin Victor Thomas, aged 34 of Antioch, was arrested Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 for felony child endangerment. The child will make a full recovery.

On Sunday, Merced Police officers responded to Mercy Medical Center for a two-year-old child that tested positive for fentanyl. The parents transported the child to the emergency room after he experienced life-threatening symptoms consistent with a fentanyl exposure.

Medical personnel administered treatments and the child’s condition improved throughout the morning hours.

The parents were cooperative with investigating officers. Detectives established the father, Marvin Thomas, brought fentanyl-laced marijuana products into the home and the child experienced an exposure.

Officers served a search warrant at a residence near the 2300 block of Gabriel Drive and removed the substance from the residence.

Child Protective Services was involved in the investigation.

Thomas was arrested for felony child endangerment and was booked into custody at the Merced County Jail.

Case Number: 22-73023

According not recentlybooked.com, Thomas was on probation which was revoked as a result of his arrest.

Merced Police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to contact Detective Lupian at (209) 385-6905 or by email at lupianc@cityofmerced.org.

Other ways to contact us or report a crime include: For any emergency call or text 911; For non-emergency call 209-385-6912; Anonymous Tip Line (Non-Emergency) call 209-385-4725. Anonymous Tips online at http://www.mercedareacrimestoppers.org/index.html

Some crimes can be reported online through the Merced PD website https//www.cityofmerced.org/departments/police