Chase Bank branch on Lone Tree Way. Photo courtesy of GoogleMaps.

By Sergeant James Stenger 3604, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Friday, April 6, 2018 at approximately 9:51 AM, a black male adult walked into the Chase Bank at 4300 Lone Tree Way in Antioch and gave a teller a demand note, for cash. The suspect indicated that he was armed with a gun, but no gun was seen. The male fled the bank on foot with an undetermined amount of cash. The suspect was not located, and this case is still being investigated at this time.

This preliminary information is made available by the Field Services Bureau. There will be no further information released regarding this case 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.

Inside Lauryn Jewelers. Photo from Yelp.

By Acting Lieutenant Rick Martin #3343, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On April 6, 2018, at approximately 10:41 a.m., the three males suspects were armed and attempted to rob the Lauryn  Jewelers store, located at 5887 Lone Tree Way in Antioch. As the suspects, a 16-year-old male from Pittsburg, and a 15-year-old male and 26-year-old male from Oakland, fled the store, the store clerk called 9-1-1 and provided a detailed description of the suspects and the vehicle they were driving.

An Antioch PD Officer located the vehicle on Highway 4 and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended when the suspect vehicle became disabled and stopped in the area of Highway 4 (bypass) and Fairview Avenue. The suspects fled on foot from the vehicle and into a nearby retirement community in the City of Brentwood. Antioch PD with the assistance of Brentwood PD and Pittsburg PD quickly established a perimeter in the neighborhood. All three suspects were located and taken into custody without further incident.

Anyone who may have information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the Antioch Police Department at 925-778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Guns seized in arrest by CASE Team included an AR-15. Photo by CCCSheriff

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

The CASE (Contra Costa County Anti-Violence Support Effort) Team last month launched an investigation into a person who was allegedly buying guns in Nevada (that were illegal in California), transporting them into California and selling them. Following the investigation, the CASE Team obtained an arrest warrant for 50-year-old Virgilio Salazar of Antioch and a search warrant for his home.

Salazar was arrested on March 27, 2018. During a search of his home, the CASE Team seized a .223 Colt AR-15 as-sault rifle, CZ 9mm semi-auto assault pistol, three large capacity rifle magazines, and two large capacity pistol magazines.

Salazar was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on the following charges: importing an assault rifle, possession of an assault rifle, and importing large capacity magazines. He is being held in lieu of $300,000 bail. He has since bailed out.

The CASE Team is a joint effort by the Office of the Sheriff, California Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Pittsburg Police Department, Walnut Creek Police Department, and Probation Officers from the Contra Costa County Probation Department. CASE was created in November 2011 as a collaborative effort to reduce violent crimes in Contra Costa, especially those related to illegal firearms.

Deadline Extended – Due April 18, 2018

Measure AA is expected to generate $25 million annually for San Francisco Bay restoration over the next 20 years. Funding from this voter-approved measure will allow for the restoration of thousands of acres of natural habitat for wildlife, support our local economy, improve access to public lands, address flooding issues, and create thousands of new jobs.

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority’s Governing Board seeks six individuals to serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee. The Committee has three main roles:

1. Annually review the Authority’s conformance with Measure AA.
2. Review the Authority’s audits and expenditure and financial reports.
3. Publish an annual report of its findings, which will be posted on the Authority’s website.

The Board seeks committee members from all four Bay Area regions (North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and West Bay) with special subject matter expertise. Each member of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee must possess expertise in one or more of the following:

• Water quality
• Pollution reduction
• Habitat restoration
• Flood protection
• Improvement of public access to the San Francisco Bay
• Financing of these objectives.

Ineligibility Factors for Membership

No person may serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee who:

• Is an elected official or government employee;
• Has had or could have a financial interest in a decision of the Authority; or
• Is affiliated with an organization associated with a member of the Governing Board.

Apply to serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee by April 18, 2018.

Application Submittal, Materials, and Deadline

Send your application to karen.mcdowell@sfestuary.org by April 18, 2018. Electronic signatures and scanned signatures will be accepted.

• Call for Applications
• Application Form
• Guidelines for the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee

For more information, visit the SF Bay Restoration Authority’s website or contact Karen McDowell, Project Manager, SF Bay Restoration Authority or 415-778-6685.

From CHP-Contra Costa Facebook Page

Monday night, at approximately 10:00 PM, a shooting occurred on westbound Highway 4 at Bailey Road. While the victim’s vehicle was struck several times, the solo occupant was not injured.

CHP – Contra Costa is actively investigating this shooting with the assistance of Golden Gate Division – Investigative Services Unit.

If you have any information or may have witnessed this event call 1-800-TELL-CHP. We wish to thank the public for contacting us with information in tragic cases such as this.

By Sergeant Matthew Koch, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 9:31 pm, Antioch Police officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of L Street on a report of gun shots heard in the area. Upon the officers’ arrival, they located a 28-year-old male suffering from several gunshot wounds in the 2100 block of Peppertree Way. It was discovered the responsible(s) fled the area prior to police arrival. The victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment where he was listed in stable condition.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH

This preliminary information is made available by the Field Services Bureau. There will be no further information released regarding this case at this time.

New Antioch Police Officer Nicholas Shipilov with Chief Tammany Brooks on Monday, April 2, 2018. Photo by APD

From APD Facebook page

On Monday, we welcomed lateral officer, Nicholas Shipilov. Nick was born and raised in San Jose, CA, and attended San Jose University. There, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. Nick then attended the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office academy and graduated in 2006.

Prior to joining us at Antioch PD, Nick worked for Brentwood Police Department. He has worked in patrol, as a field training officer, K9 handler and SWAT team member.

In his free time, Nick enjoys riding motorcycles, playing softball, and playing golf.

A fun fact about Nick is that his first job was at Great America. When the park would close, he would go fishing in the Top Gun pond.

Welcome aboard, Nick. We are excited to have you as part of our team!

From the DVHS Facebook page

On March 17-18, Deer Valley High School’s Virtual Enterprise team participated in its final competition of the year where it took home prizes in three categories.

In total, there were 79-Virtual Enterprise firms and 1,112 students in attendance from not only California, but across the United States, including one team from Germany.

• Elijah Minyard – 1st place for the One Minute Elevator pitch
• Marc Bates, Pedro Molina, Saafir Farrell, and Dominic Smith – 3rd place for company branding and logo
• Connor Landrum – Honorable mention (a top 10 finalists) for his video commercial

According to Kristofer Freeman, Business Technology Academy Lead at Deer Valley High School, it was their highest scoring year thus far.

Deer Valley High Robotics Team. Courtesy of AUSD.

Minyard, who serves as the class CEO, explained that they came up with the idea of Claws and Paws Paradise, a luxury resort for dogs and cats, after a fellow student shared their passion about animals with them.

Marc Bates highlighted that just by doing a lot of the work associated with this business, it opened his eyes to what its like to run a business and what options are available to him.

“The biggest thing I learned is you need to be informed about a lot of things such as the human mind because you have to know how people perceive things. Like with graphics and IT, we had to learn colors and certain positions of items on layouts because it would change people’s opinions,” explained Bates.

“For example, the blue we chose was calm and a refreshing vibe so when people leave their pets here it gives off a calm and relaxed feeling.”

Minyard added that he believed the great thing about Virtual Enterprise was how accommodating it was for everyone; it allowed people to use all their skill sets to help the business. “People have different styles and ideas of how to pursue things, because we have different interest in things, there are different departments that cater to student’s interests and skill set,” explained Minyard. “The great thing is you get to develop your communication skills as well as social skills, so you learn to have clear communication with other departments with all the other employees. It also helps you learn how to promote yourself when you go into business because your communication skills are that much better.”

In total, six AUSD students completed in the competition at the Oakland Convention Center on behalf of the roughly 30-student class.

“We got to go into the competition and represent our classroom and share how much work the class did and hopefully do well,” said Maynard. “It was thrilling.”

Freeman explained that the students scored in the top 10% of the United States for Virtual Enterprises which is an international organization. The students’ business plan also scored in the top 42 for California.