The Bidwell High Class of 2019 graduates turn their tassels at the end of the ceremonies, Wed., June 5, 2019. Photos by Allen Payton.

Bidwell grad Kearve Williams speaks while Antioch School Board President Gary Hacks looks on.

By Allen Payton

The 49 graduates of one of Antioch’s two continuation high schools, Bidwell High School, and their families and friends celebrated the accomplishment during ceremonies, Wednesday evening, June 5. The event was held at the Deer Valley High School theater under the leadership of Principal Carol Lowart.

Student speakers included Kearve Williams and Jennifer Ramos. He thanked his teachers and school staff for helping the students overcome their challenges and reach their goals.

Ramos thanked her teachers “for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” offering her speech in both English and Spanish.

“You owe me money if you bet I wouldn’t be here,” she said jokingly, but then got serious. “We’re all destined for something greater. We were given a second chance and we won’t take that for granted.”

Bidwell High grad Jennifer Ramos speaks during commencement ceremonies.

Awards were given to a variety of the graduates: the Principal’s Award went to Kiave Williams; the Academic Achievement Awards were given to Mahogany Oliver and Jose Viveros; Most Improved award was presented to Lataevia Beverly; the Citizen Award was given to Joselin Silva Castro; the Perseverance Award was presented to Kimore Brown; the Spirit Award was given to Irving Castenda, and the Knights of Columbus $500 Scholarship was awarded to Zamalah Shook.

“It was a memorable year,” said Principal Lowart. “These students worked very hard. We are extremely proud of you and look forward to what you will do in the future.”

Antioch Superintendent Stephanie Anello accepted the school’s Class of 2019, having met all the requirements to graduate. School Board President Gary Hack and Trustees Diane Gibson Gray, Mary Rocha and Ellie Householder handed the graduates their diplomas. Trustee Crystal Sawyer-White was not in attendance.

By Sergeant Ted Chang #4362, Antioch Police Field Services

On Tues., June 4, 2019 at approximately 6:00 pm, a 24-year-old male victim walked into the emergency room of an area hospital with multiple stab wounds. The victim was in critical condition and provided very limited information at the time. He was transported to a local trauma center where his injuries were determined to be non-life threatening.

It was determined the assault occurred on the street in the 1200 block of Prewett Ranch Drive. Officers are currently following up on investigative leads. No further information is being released at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call 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.

Gus Kramer from the County Assessor’s webpage.

Kramer welcomes opportunity to face his accusers

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa District Attorney

Today, Wed., June 5, 2019 the Contra Costa County District Attorney Office’s filed a Grand Jury Accusation against Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer for “willful or corrupt” misconduct while serving as the county’s elected assessor (Government Code §§ 3060 et seq). Contra Costa County’s Civil Grand Jury asserts that the defendant violated state law in creating a hostile work environment for multiple employees in the Assessor’s Office. Due to state law, our Office must accept, serve and file the accusation against the defendant. If a jury finds Mr. Kramer violated the law and if he is convicted, he will be removed from his position as the county’s elected assessor.

The Accusation alleges misconduct by Kramer which occurred from December 2013 through 2019. The Grand Jury Accusation alleges that Mr. Kramer made sexual comments towards female employees and his disparaging remarks targeted one of the victim’s ethnicity. The Civil Grand Jury found this alleged conduct was “hostile or abusive” against four employees. As a result, the Civil Grand Jury through its investigation found that this conduct by Mr. Kramer created a hostile work environment for his employees and is therefore a violation of the Fair Housing and Employment Act.

Due to the sensitive nature of the allegations and to protect the privacy of the victims we will not be releasing any of their names.

Earlier this morning Senior Deputy District Attorney Christopher Walpole presented the filing before Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Theresa Canepa in Department 35. Our Office was not involved and did not participate in the investigation by the Civil Grand Jury. The District Attorney requested a judicial hearing to determine if the Office will be recused from the remainder of this proceeding.

The foreperson for the 2018-2019 Grand Jury is Richard S. Nakano. State law lists the requirements for the Civil Grand Jury and District Attorney’s Office to process an accusation against a public official.

UPDATE: When reached for comment Kramer stated, “I welcome the opportunity to face my accusers after all these years of these behind doors accusations. When the facts come out, I have had not one, I have had not two, but I have had three independent investigations done by the county and I have been exonerated for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation.”

“The sad part in all of this, the Grand Jury Foreman refused to hear my witnesses who would have refuted their claims. Worse he refused to give me the time I requested to present my side. They gave me two hours. I requested eight hours. The other side had more than 10 hours. Nor did he share all the information I provided him” he continued.” “The Grand Jury Foreman is guilty of obstruction of justice.”

When this is all over, the East Bay Times, the Board of Supervisors and their appointees on the Grand Jury are going to be ashamed of themselves for the unwarranted prosecution and persecution of the County Assessor,” Kramer stated. “The saddest part of this is corruption in government is alive and well on our Board of Supervisors.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

District Attorney Diana Becton announced recently that she has created the first ever standalone Conviction Integrity Unit for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. The unit will investigate wrongful conviction claims of actual innocence based on new evidence and information, and cases where there is evidence involving significant integrity issues. Interested parties can submit a claim using the forms on the district attorney’s website to the Conviction Integrity Unit through the District Attorney’s Office.

“Our Office is ethically bound to consider any legal wrongs committed during a prosecution of an individual. With this new unit, the public can be assured we have resources now at our disposal to investigate prior convictions and seek justice for the wrongly convicted. We have a duty as prosecutors to uphold the law and administer fair justice for all. Our Office now joins over 30 jurisdictions across the country in a growing movement to establish Conviction Integrity Units,” said Becton.

The Conviction Integrity Unit will also assist in reviewing and developing practices and policies related to training, case assessment, investigations, and disclosure obligations with the goal of preventing wrongful convictions in the first place. The unit is supervised by Deputy District Attorney Brian Feinberg and overseen by Assistant District Attorney Venus D. Johnson.

Multiple national and local criminal justice organizations such as the Innocence Project, Fair and Just Prosecution, and Immigration Legal Resource Center support DA Becton’s move to create the Conviction Integrity Unit.

In a support letter, Fair and Just Prosecution’s Miriam Aroni Krinsky wrote: “Having a process for review of convictions through a CIU is a recognized best practice around the nation. Establishing these protocols in Contra Costa County will protect the integrity of the criminal justice process and promote public safety by bolstering trust and confidence in local law enforcement and the justice system as a whole.”

Rose Cahn, a Criminal and Immigrant Justice Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s said: “We applaud the CCCDA’s leadership and its commitment to ensuring that innocent people do not face continued punishment, from inside or outside the criminal justice system.”

Northern California Innocence Project’s Executive Director, Linda Starr, also supports the creation of a standalone Conviction Integrity Unit as our Office’s new unit “includes all of the best practices — neutral, expansive, and collaborative review — which will lead to just results.”

Henry Cordon in photos from his Facebook page, left and his booking photo on the day of his arrest, courtesy of CCCDA.

An Antioch man has been indicted on federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, including a picture he took of himself sexually abusing a toddler, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, David Anderson said Friday.

Authorities arrested Henry Obdulio Cordon at his L Street home on May 16 following an investigation by Darryl Holcombe, a senior inspector with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and a task force officer with Homeland Security Investigations.

The investigation began in April when Yahoo! allegedly found child pornography in email accounts controlled by Cordon and alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to an affidavit filed in connection with a criminal complaint.

The complaint alleges Cordon also emailed himself images of men sexually abusing young children. In addition, Cordon also admitted to taking a photo of himself sexually abusing a friend’s 2- or 3-year-old daughter in the Middle District of Florida in 2011, according to the affidavit.

Filed on Thursday, May 30, 2019 the indictment charges Cordon with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Cordon waived a detention hearing Friday and remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. He is scheduled to return to court for a status conference at 1 p.m. on June 11.

Anyone with information related to the case can contact the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office at 925-957-2200.

According to police records, Clay County Florida Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Cordon (age 29 at the time) at 9:13 P.M. on June 05, 2015 in the 100 block of Arora Blvd. in Orange Park, for driving with a suspended license. It was his second such offense.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

The Contra Costa County Public Works Department will repair guardrails on Vasco Road from Camino Diablo Road to the Alameda County line. The work will occur from June 3rd – June 6th between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The work may be rescheduled based on weather conditions. Electronic message boards will alert drivers of the scheduled work. There will be traffic control through the work area and drivers can expect delays.

Contra Costa County Public Works will begin construction on the Byron Highway Traffic Safety Improvements Project. The project consists of an asphalt overlay on Byron Highway between Byron Hot Springs Road and the Alameda County line, restriping the centerline to feature double yellow no-passing lines and a centerline rumble strip, and replacing striping and pavement markings. Additionally, all signs along Byron Highway will be replaced to meet new reflectivity standards. The total project length is approximately 3.8 miles.

Construction will begin on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, with completion in late July 2019, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work hours will generally be in the evening from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am to minimize impacts to commute traffic. Drivers can expect delays of up to 15 minutes during construction.

Funding for this project is provided by the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and gas tax revenues provided by the SB1 Road Repair and Accountability Act. More information for this project can be found at http://www.cccounty.us/pwdmap.

More than 1,300 students took part in UC Merced’s Spring Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19. Students receiving their bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees were honored together, with Chancellor Dorothy Leland delivering the keynote addresses in her final commencement as chancellor of UC Merced.

Graduates from Antioch include:

Adebowale Adedeji — B.S. Biological Sciences

Tanvi Sareen — B.S. Cognitive Science

David Satyadi — B.S. Bioengineering

Ashley Tejada — B.S. Biological Sciences

Dominique Unubun — B.A. Psychology

Ryanjit Virk — B.S. Biological Sciences (graduated with high honors)

Members of the 2009 graduating class — the first graduating class in UC Merced’s history — took part in the ceremonies. This year’s graduating class is the largest in UC Merced history.

UC Merced opened in 2005 as the newest member of the University of California system, and is the youngest university to earn a Carnegie research classification. The fastest-growing public university in the nation, UC Merced enjoys a special connection with nearby Yosemite National Park, is on the cutting edge of sustainability in campus construction and design, and supports high-achieving and dedicated students from the underserved San Joaquin Valley and throughout California. The Merced 2020 Project, a $1.3 billion public-private partnership that is unprecedented in higher education, will nearly double the physical capacity of the campus and support enrollment growth to 10,000 students.