Ron Jewelers inside Somersville Towne Center was robbed by four suspects, Wed. morning, July 19, 2017. Photo by Allen Payton

One of the glass cases that was smashed by the thieves. Photos of cases by witness who chose not to be identified.

By Acting Sgt. Shawn Morin #5227, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau & Allen Payton, Publisher

On July 19, 2017 at approximately 11:20 a.m., Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to the Somersville Towne Center at 2550 Somersville Road for an unknown disturbance. Upon the Officers’ arrival, they learned that four male suspects entered the Ron Jewelers store located inside the east end of the mall,  near the Macy’s store, and smashed the glass cases with metal tools. The suspects were able to flee the store on foot with stolen jewelry and left the mall in a silver Infiniti sedan.

Two witnesses, who requested to not be identified, said they saw four men run to the east end of the mall, and out the south exit doors “toward the Smart & Final” store, located on the outside of the mall.

The value of the jewelry taken has yet to be determined. The four suspects were dressed in similar clothing.

“They had masks and dark glasses, and yellow construction-type, safety reflector clothing,” one witness said.

The same witness heard the sounds and ran to the jewelry store.

“I heard the cracking sound. So, I knew something was going on there,” the witness said. “I rushed down there and the people from that side were running here,” in the witness’ direction. “They had metal hammers and were smashing the glass cases. I saw them breaking the glass and stealing the jewelry,” the witness continued. “They had a gun. I think it was a toy, paper spray gun. But it looked real. I was afraid, so I ran away and called 9-11. I told my friend to call 9-11 from his store phone.”

Another smashed glass jewelry case.

Asked how long the suspects were in the store, the witness responded, “more than five minutes.”

“The police came very fast,” the witness added.

A store owner said the four suspects entered the mall through from the Macy’s store.

During the robbery, an employee was pepper sprayed and was later transported to an area hospital for treatment.

Somersville Towne Center Marketing Manager Shannon Skinner offered the following statement:

“Today around 11:30 am we had an incident occur inside a store in the mall. The incident is currently being investigated by the Antioch Police Department; therefore, we cannot comment any further. However, the mall remains open.”

But, the Ron Jewelers store was closed, with the glass cases covered, the glass had been cleaned up and a commercial size vacuum was sitting on the floor inside, at about 5:30 p.m. The store is expected to reopen by Friday, according to a man who works at one of the kiosks, nearby.

Somersville Towne Center is the only enclosed and air-conditioned mall in Eastern Contra Costa County.

Anyone who may have witnessed this incident is encouraged to contact the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2441.

Inside the Ron Jewelers store, late Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Allen Payton

By Captain S. Albanese, Pittsburg Police Department

On Wednesday, July 19th at 3:00 in the afternoon, Pittsburg Police Officers responded to the Baskin Robbins on Century Boulevard, in regards to a reported shooting. When Officers arrived on scene they located a 43-year-old male suffering from several gunshot wounds.  Pittsburg Police Officers immediately began performing CPR on the victim for life saving efforts.  The victim, a resident of Bethel Island, was transported to Sutter Delta Medical Center and succumbed to his injuries. The Investigations Division responded to the scene and took over the investigation.

Based on initial information, it appears the victim and suspect knew each other. Detectives are currently contacting witnesses and obtaining additional statements.

The Pittsburg Police Department asks anyone with additional information to please contact their Tip-Line at 925-252-4040.

Youth activities, health improvement, safety strategies, senior services, and beautification efforts in Antioch, Bay Point and Pittsburg benefited from the Keller Canyon Landfill Mitigation grants.

Over $1.3 million were awarded to community-based organizations and public agencies, including county departments, from the grant program administered by the District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover. The grants were approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, July 18.

“I’m inspired by the number of good people doing good work to enhance our community,” said Glover. “They sometimes get overlooked by the media, but they continue to work behind the scenes to help our young people, the elderly, the hungry and the sickly.”

The mitigation fund was negotiated by the County in the 1980’s to offset the impact of having the landfill in Keller Canyon, just south of Pittsburg and Bay Point off of Bailey Road. The amount of the fund is based on the tonnage of debris, waste and trash brought to the dumpsite.

Some of the programs receiving grants this year include:

•         Antioch Arts & Cultural Foundation;

•         Antioch Rivertown Jamboree;

•         Opportunity Junction job training and placement program, based in Antioch;

•         Crossing guards for Bay Point schools;

•         Feeding programs for senior citizens;

•         Code enforcement and beautification efforts;

•         Violence prevention programs; and

•         Tutoring programs for youth

“The programs and services offered by these agencies help improve the quality of life in our community,” said Glover.

For a complete list of the grants, click here.

Candidate Forum set for August 15

Friday, July 21, 2017, is the deadline to submit an application for the vacant position of District Attorney for Contra Costa County.  The June 14 resignation of Mark Peterson from the position of District Attorney created a vacancy that will extend until the current term of office expires on January 7, 2019.  The next election for the District Attorney will take place in June of 2018, with a potential runoff election in November of 2018.

At the August 1, 2017, Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board will review the applications and determine which applicants will continue in the process. The finalists will be invited to participate in a public forum to be held on August 15 at 6:00 p.m., with final candidate interviews by the County Board scheduled for September 12, 2017.

At the forum, a moderated discussion will take place, with questions solicited from the public in advance, as well as during the forum.  If you would like to offer a question, you can submit it online via the District Attorney recruitment section of our website. On that site, you can also offer public comment to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors and entered into the public record.  The forum will be open to the public, televised live and streamed live online.

Completed applications and a supplemental questionnaire must be returned to the County Human Resources Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 21.   Materials can be found online at: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/contracosta. A background investigation will be conducted on all finalists. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon the successful completion of a thorough background investigation, which will include fingerprinting; county, state, and national criminal records checks; Economic Disclosure Form 700; and civil filings.

Car on fire on the side of eastbound Highway 4 near Highway 160 offramp, Sunday, July 16, 2017. Photos by Allen Payton

By Allen Payton

A car caught fire on the side of eastbound Highway 4 just west of the Highway 160 onramp and interchange, Sunday, July 16, 2017 at approximately 6:00 p.m. The fire then jumped to the grass on the adjacent hillside and quickly spread up the hill. Fire crews were able to bring the fire under control, but not until it had consumed approximately 30 acres.

The fire jumped to the adjacent hillside.

Emergency crews arrived and began fighting the fire.

As crews battled the fire, it continued to quickly spread up the hill.

Screenshots from KRON4 News video of Highway 4 crash between Antioch and Brentwood, Sat., July 15, 2017.

Car stolen in Concord

By Brandon Correia, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa CHP

Saturday night, July 15, 2017 at about 8:07 p.m., Contra Costa CHP was advised of a head-on collision at HWY4 at Sand Creek Road in Brentwood, with the report of injuries. Upon CHP arrival, it was learned that multiple parties had suffered major injuries. It was determined that one of the vehicles involved was a reported stolen vehicle out of Concord from the same day, a 1994 gold Honda Accord – License#7RAE887 – and that …the gold Honda was traveling the wrong way on HWY4. Two parties had to be air-lifted to trauma centers.

A 2015 Honda Odyssey van with seven occupants was traveling westbound on HWY4, just west of Sand Creek Road. The stolen gold Honda Accord entered the westbound lanes of HWY4, traveling wrong way-eastbound in the westbound lanes-from Lone Tree Way. The suspect vehicle was reported at a high rate of speed and passing multiple vehicles in the wrong way direction until ultimately colliding head-on with the Honda Odyssey. HWY4 was briefly shut down for the investigation.

Injured people from the 2015 Honda Odyssey are listed as follows: The driver, a 30-year-old Asian male adult, out of San Francisco, sustained moderate injuries. Passengers: a 34yr old Asian female adult, out of San Francisco, sustained minor injuries. A female baby, 1yr old-out of San Francisco, just for precaution. A 61-year-old Asian Adult female, out of San Francisco, sustained major injuries but is in stable condition. A 2-year-old Asian Female baby, out of San Francisco, sustained minor injuries. A 72-year-old Asian Adult female, out of San Francisco, sustained minor injuries. A 10-year-old Asian female juvenile, out of San Francisco, sustained minor injuries. All injured parties from the minivan were taken to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.

The suspect vehicle’s passenger, a 22-year-old white male adult, out of Oakley, was transported to Eden hospital in Dublin with major injuries but is in stable condition.

The suspect driver, 24-year-old Rafael Duarte (DOB-11-16-92), out of Oakley, was transported to John Muir Walnut Creek for minor injuries. Upon his release from the hospital, Duarte was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility for the following charges; Felony DUI, possession and driving of a stolen vehicle, unlicensed drivers license, no vehicle insurance, and driving wrong way on the highway causing injury.

Asked about the victims of the collision, Brandon Correia, Public Information Officer for Contra Costa CHP said, “they’re all in stable condition. The passenger in the gold Honda had major injuries, but they’re not life threatening.”

This is an ongoing investigation and if anyone witnessed this collision or has information regarding it, please contact CHP-Contra Costa in Martinez at (925) 646-4980.

See video of the crash scene at KRON4.com.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Concord Councilman Ron Leone. Photo from his council campaign website RonaldLeone.net

Concord Councilman, former teacher and A.U.S.D. Director of Student Services

By John Crowder

Concord City Councilman and one-time mayor Ron Leone, a former vice principal at Antioch’s Deer Valley High School, confirmed today that he is running for the position of Contra Costa County School Superintendent in the June 2018 election. Incumbent Karen Sakata, serving in her first term, has not yet indicated if she will seek re-election.

Leone, who is also a former Teacher of the Year and was the Director of Student Services for the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), has been involved in education for over forty years.  In an interview with this reporter, Leone said he is running because, “education is my passion.  Everything I’ve done over my career has led me to this point, and I want to use my experience to ensure our students achieve academic success.”

According to his bio on the City of Concord’s website, “Ron Leone, a resident of Concord since 1978, was elected to the City Council in 2010, re-elected in 2014. He served as Mayor in 2012 and Vice Mayor in 2014 and 2016. Leone served 35 years in education as a high school teacher and principal. He was the teacher of the year in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and teachers’ association president. He coached high school baseball, and several championship mock trial and constitutional academic teams.”

“I believe that I have the vision our schools need now,” he continued.  “In many ways, our schools throughout the county need help.  For example, last year the Grand Jury delivered a report on truancy that was very troubling.  Our county is one of the worst in the state for truancy, but I know first-hand that we can turn this around.  I served as the Director of Child Welfare and Attendance in Antioch some years ago, and was the first to conduct truancy sweeps, coordinating with local law enforcement.  Students who were truant were given Saturday school, and phone calls went home to parents.  In subsequent sweeps, we found that, by having real consequences for the students who skipped school, we dramatically reduced the number of repeat offenders.”

Leone also mentioned the financial challenges he plans to address.

“Another potentially serious problem is the County Office of Education’s unfunded liabilities,” he stated. “They continue to grow, and this will undoubtedly impact our ability to keep dollars in the classroom, if it continues.  We faced the same issue in Concord, but by exercising the leadership needed to tackle the matter, we were able to pay down the debt and create a $30 million reserve.”

Vocational training is strongly advocated by Leone. He described a Regional Occupation Program (ROP) his students used during his tenure in Fremont.

“The Mission Valley ROP Center that was developed was part of a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with three school districts,” he said.  “I believe this approach would work for our County, as well.  I’m proposing a vocational training center in Central Contra Costa County.  Students from several school districts would be able to attend after school hours.”

Leone wants to work closely with the local school districts in the County. As of today, he’s already met with twelve of the County’s local school district superintendents.

“One of the things that I’m seeing is that the County Office of Education can help our local districts through expanded support of teacher training,” he said. “In addition, we want to encourage school districts to implement programs that advance academic achievement, and to help engage parents in their students’ success.”

Prior to being elected to the Concord City Council, Leone served for 16 years as an elected member of the Mt. Diablo Hospital District Board, as well as Chairman of the Board of the John Muir Hospitals, and the City’s Planning Commission.

Leone invites anyone interested in learning more to contact him at RonaldLeone@comcast.net.

Contra Costa’s annual survey to document people experiencing homelessness showed a 7 percent drop overall in 2017 compared to last year, but a substantial rise in Central County, according to a report released by Contra Costa Health Services’ Division of Health, Housing and Homeless Services (H3).

H3 and its community partners, including many volunteers, surveyed county residents living in emergency shelters or outdoors on Jan. 25 and released detailed findings this week in the 2017 Point in Time Count report, available at ccheath.org/h3

The report shows that 1,607 people without housing during that 24-hour period were counted, including 911 who were living outside. About 1,100 were documented living outside in 2016.

“We are glad that we found fewer people experiencing homelessness. But there is a great deal more work to be done, and the housing market makes it more difficult,” H3 Director Lavonna Martin said. “It’s not surprising that 80 percent of those we surveyed lost their housing right here in Contra Costa County.”

Substantially more people were counted this year in central Contra Costa – 331 living outdoors without shelter – after an atypically low count in 2016. Numbers did decline elsewhere, including East County, which had experienced a 30 percent increase from 2015 to 2016.

Since the count, H3 and the Contra Costa Council on Homelessness have launched Coordinated Entry, a new initiative to streamline service delivery and enhance collaboration among the county’s network of nonprofit, faith-based and government providers of homeless services.

Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek all joined the effort this spring. Martinez and Pleasant Hill split the cost of a full-time, county-operated outreach team to connect homeless residents within their borders with shelter and services. Concord and Walnut Creek are splitting the cost of a second team, and Contra Costa’s Public Works Department also funds a team for the county’s creeks and waterways.

Those city-specific Coordinated Outreach, Referral and Engagement (CORE) teams join three other CORE teams that operate elsewhere in the county. Other elements of Coordinated Entry include:

• Regional service centers connecting clients to shelter, medical and mental health care, case managers, substance use disorder treatment and services, benefit counselors, and long-term housing;

• Overnight warming centers that supplement existing emergency shelters;

• A universal, web-based information management system used by all providers of homeless services in the county to maximize use of their collective resources;

• A standardized intake and assessment system that streamlines delivery of housing and other services to the most vulnerable clients.

Coordinated Entry is funded in part through $1.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Contra Costa’s point-in-time count also fulfills a HUD requirement to document the extent of homelessness within jurisdictions receiving its funding.

Visit cchealth.org/h3 to read the 2017 Point-in-Time Count report.