Victims asked residents if they could enter their homes but were refused

“There was blood all over the place.”

APD UPDATE: No evidence of a drive-by, shooters were on foot; at least two others had non-life-threatening gunshot wounds

By Allen D. Payton

A resident who lives on Prewett Ranch Drive shared what he witnessed and learned from neighbors during and following what was initially reported by Antioch Police as a drive-by shooting that wounded a woman in Antioch late Tuesday night. It ended in a gun battle between people in several cars and a car crashed on another neighbor’s lawn.

“The people who live at the house where the drive-by occurred left the house, engaged in a gun battle at Oneida and Prewett Ranch,” stated the neighbor who chose to remain anonymous. “I saw it on a neighbor’s surveillance video.”

“It shows two vehicles, a silver and a black, both sedans, leaving the house where the drive-by happened, after the drive-by,” he continued. “They got to the corner and the silver vehicle, as it proceeds around the corner it was engaged in a gun battle with a third vehicle – that you couldn’t make out what it was – that was going the opposite direction, westbound on Prewett toward the (Diablo Vista) elementary school on the corner.”

“I live on Prewett. At some point after I heard the gunfire, we heard a crash. I think it was the (unidentified) vehicle involved in the gun battle. Because the black sedan cut off the third vehicle involved in the gun battle. It crashed onto the lawn of another home on Prewett (in the 5100 block). Those people bailed out of the car claiming they’d been shot, males and females. I know this because I spoke with the residents of that home and neighbors.

“The residents could see the people were injured badly because there was blood all over the place. They asked if they could come in, but the residents closed the door.

“The vehicle’s occupants went to the house next door, banged on his door, he sees they’ve been shot, but he’s not letting anybody in.

“Police recovered a gun from underneath that guy’s truck in front of his house.

“There were 15 people at the house where the drive-by occurred. There were four cars. There were people running across the next-door neighbor’s lawn, checking out the house, making sure people were home, is my guess, then they went back and got into the cars then drove by and shot up the house.

“The silver and black sedans were parked in front of the house when the drive-by occurred. Then the residents ran out, got it in the cars and drove off. I can’t tell you how many people got it. The video I saw shows a few people going back and forth between the cars.

“That same, third car was coming back, and the black sedan forced it off the road and into the yard. The black sedan ran into garbage cans and ended up on the sidewalk across the street. Everybody in that vehicle, there were six to seven, I saw them, they bailed from that vehicle and ran. But they only hid across the street between parked cars and homes.

“The neighbors had floodlights and they were running back and forth to the car, trying to start it. Then they drove off and parked on the corner of Candlewood and Prewett, near Chaparral Park, waiting for the others to catch up and get in the car. Then they drove off.”

“The people who got shot up in that car, they got picked up by people in two other cars.

“There was a total of, easily six cars involved. There were four cars involved in the drive-by the neighbor told me.”

“Neighbors have been complaining about that house where the drive-by occurred for about two years. Antioch Police have been to that house before. Code Enforcement has been to that house. The owner lives in Antioch but won’t return the neighbors’ calls.”

“The house is Section 8, definitely,” he added.

Asked about what the neighbor shared regarding the house where the drive-by shooting occurred, Interim Police Chief Brian Addington said, “Yes, Antioch PD has had some calls about this house in the past.”

Asked about the gun battle and crash he stated, “We’re not going to share any additional information as it’s an open investigation. But we have some promising leads we’re following up on.”

APD UPDATE: Not a Drive-By, Shooters Were on Foot; At Least Two Others Had Non-Life-Threatening Gunshot Wounds

Later, in response to what the neighbor shared and a request for any additional details of the gun battle, Antioch Police Detective John Cox of the Investigations Bureau Violent Crime Unit-Robbery/Homicide offered additional information.

He wrote, “We are still sorting through surveillance video, speaking with witnesses, and identifying who was at the scene during the shooting. I cannot confirm how many people or vehicles were involved. The evidence so far indicates the people involved in the shooting were on foot, not shooting from their vehicles.

I can confirm at least one vehicle was involved in a collision after the shooting occurred. We have located two other victims, one male and one female, who sought treatment for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds at an outside area hospital.

We are still asking for any witnesses or any residents with surveillance video who have not been contacted by police already, to contact me” at (925) 779-6866 or email: jcox@antiochca.gov.

However, what he shared contradicted the press release from APD about the incident which read, “Someone from inside the vehicle fired numerous shots at the residence, the female was struck, and the vehicle fled.”

Addington and Cox were then asked about the discrepancy and if the first shooting occurred from a vehicle and the subsequent shootings occurred while the suspects were on foot or were all the shootings done by suspects on foot.

Cox responded Monday morning with, “So far, we know of one shooting scene in the 5400 block of Oneida Wy. Evidence indicates the shooters were on foot. I do not have any evidence that shows anyone shot from a vehicle. There is no evidence of a second shooting scene. The accident scene was in the 5100 block of Prewett Ranch Dr and the accident occurred after the shooting.

That’s all I can release at this time.”

Police seek suspect(s)

By Allen D. Payton

Following reports of gunshots heard in a neighborhood off Prewett Ranch Road east of Deer Valley Road and south of Lone Tree Way, late Tuesday night, and information shared from Next Door by residents, Interim Antioch Police Chief Brian Addington, was asked for details Wednesday morning.

He responded Wednesday afternoon with the following information:

Last night, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at approximately 11 PM, Antioch officers responded to a residence on the 5000 block of Oneida Way for the report of a man with a gun.  As information was being taken by dispatch, officers began responding.  During this time additional reports were received that shots had been fired. 

When officers arrived, a female victim was found inside a residence suffering from a non-life threating gunshot wound.  The female was transported to an area hospital for treatment where she was determined to be in stable condition.

During the investigation it was learned that several people were inside and outside of the residence when a vehicle drove by. Someone from inside the vehicle fired numerous shots at the residence, the female was struck, and the vehicle fled.  It was also learned that this incident may have stemmed from an earlier argument between several people.

Numerous items determined to be evidence were collected at the scene.  This case is being investigated by our Violent Crimes Investigations Unit. Anyone with information is asked to Contact Detective Cox at (925) 779-6866 or email: jcox@antiochca.gov.

By Allen D. Payton

A two-vehicle crash in Antioch, Sunday afternoon, April 14, 2024, claimed the life of a man in his 30’s. According to his aunt he was from Pittsburg. The collision occurred in the intersection of Auto Center Drive and W. 10th Street, about 4:00 p.m.

Con Fire and Antioch Police personnel responded to the scene. According to Con Fire spokesman, Fire Prevention Captain Joe Ottolini, two other people were transported to local hospitals and at least one is in critical condition. He said there was one possible DOA. Interim Antioch Police Chief Brian Addington confirmed the fatality.

According to reports, the man was the driver of one of the cars and ran a red light causing the crash.

UPDATE: According to information provided by the Antioch Police Department, “This afternoon at 4:07 PM, the Antioch Police Dispatch Center began receiving multiple emergency calls reporting a major collision at the intersection of West 10th Street and Auto Center Drive.

Upon arrival, officers learned the driver of a blue Acura sedan was traveling northbound on Auto Center Drive, at a high rate of speed, approaching the intersection of West 10th Street. The Acura entered the intersection as a silver Lexus SUV was traveling westbound through the intersection (on West 10th Street), resulting in a “T-Bone” collision.

Police officers immediately administered first-aid at the scene to all the involved parties. Several fire engines from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District also responded and paramedics took over first-aid and life-saving efforts.

Unfortunately, the solo occupant and driver of the Acura sedan (a 30-year-old male) succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The driver and passenger in the SUV were removed from their vehicle and transported to a local area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Antioch Police Department Accident Investigators responded to the scene and took over the investigation, which is still ongoing. This investigation is in its preliminary stages and evidence and witness statements are being collected at this time. The names of the involved parties are not being released pending proper notifications.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department Traffic Unit at (925) 779-6864.”

Process continues, expected to conclude next week

“…some officers have returned to work or will be returning, although some have been terminated.” – APOA attorney Mike Rains

UPDATE: As of Friday, April 12, 2024, APD has 77 current sworn officers of which 50 are on full duty status.

By Allen D.  Payton

Following up on a February Herald article about the Antioch Police Officers still on paid leave for the investigation into the racist text scandal since last March, questions were emailed on Thursday evening, Feb. 8, 2024, to City Attorney Thomas L. Smith, Acting City Manager Kwame Reed and Human Resources Director Ana Chavez asking:

“How long can police officers or any city employee remain on paid administrative leave?

Since most of the officers merely received but didn’t send any of the text messages, what possible disciplinary actions can be taken against them? 

When will the officers who merely received but didn’t send any text messages return to work? Have any of them, yet? If so, how many?

Can the investigation just go on indefinitely and the taxpayers continue to pay the officers on leave to not do their jobs?

Can’t the officers return to work as each one is deemed to have not committed any fireable offense?

Or do all of them have to wait to return to work until after the entire investigation has been completed?

Have any disciplinary actions been taken against any of the officers, yet? If so, how many? What did they include?

Have any of you been approached or pressured by any of the council members to keep the investigation open and not allow the officers to return to work – other than the public statements by the mayor and Councilwoman Torres-Walker that they want all of them fired?”  (See related articles here and here)

No responses to those questions were received from the three city staff members.

At that time, out of 81 sworn officers on the Antioch police force, 31 were on some form of leave, most for the text investigation, leaving only 50 sworn officers actively working. As previously reported, most of the officers caught up in the scandal only received some of the text messages but didn’t send any. (See related articles here and here)

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in response to a resident claiming none of the officers were still on leave due to the text scandal, questions were sent to Reed, Interim Police Chief Brian Addington and Mike Rains, attorney for the Antioch Police Officers Association.

They were asked if that statement was correct, if all the officers had returned to work and if any of them had been terminated.

Reed responded simply, “The process is still ongoing.”

Addington wrote, “That is incorrect, but I can’t comment further.”

However, Rains shared more details. He wrote, “We have not resolved all the cases. Some are resolved, and some officers have returned to work or will be returning, although some have been terminated.”

“I won’t discuss the outcome of administrative cases until all are concluded, probably in a week – 10 days,” he added.

According to a post by Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe on his official Facebook page on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, entitled, “April Police Staffing Update”, of the 115 sworn officer positions approved in the city budget, there are currently 89 sworn officers on the force, including nine Community Service Officers. Of that amount 39 are patrol officers. His report also shares that there are six officer candidates currently in the Police Academy and seven more are preparing to enter the academy this month.

But it doesn’t mention how many sworn officers are currently active. A question was emailed early Thursday afternoon to both Reed and Addington asking how many of the 80 non-CSO sworn officers are currently active.

UPDATE #1: They did not respond before end-of-business hours on Thursday. However, when asked if he had any comment, APOA Vice President Sgt. Loren Bledsoe responded, “The APOA cannot comment on personnel matters; however, we look forward to the conclusion of the investigation so we can focus on rebuilding.”

UPDATE #2: On Friday, Interim Chief Addington provided the following department staffing details, writing, “As you may be aware, staffing levels can change daily. With that said, as of today, APD staffing levels are as follows: 

115 – Authorized sworn staff

77 – Current sworn staff

5 – Modified duty (working but not able to work at full capacity)

22 – On some form of leave

50 – Full Duty Status

39 – Assigned to Patrol – 33 officers, 4 sergeants, 2 watch commanders

7 – Assigned to Investigations – 1 lieutenant 

4 – Command Staff

7 – Community Services Officers (4 vacancies).”

Held on $1.35 million bail, has history of arrests

36-year-old victim identified as Frank James

By Acting Lt. Matthew Koch #3018, Antioch Police Department Investigations Bureau

Antioch Police Department detectives have worked diligently on this homicide investigation. Hi-tech tools and City cameras were instrumental in identifying 29-year-old Jacob Lamaar Crooks (born 5//24/94) as the suspect in the homicide that occurred on March 27, 2024. Antioch detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Crooks which was shared with neighboring law enforcement agencies.

On Monday, April 8th, the Walnut Creek Police Department contacted Crooks during a traffic enforcement stop where he was taken into custody. Crooks was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility for the murder of 36-year-old Frank James. This case will be presented to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for review.

As previously reported, on Thursday, March 27, 2024, at approximately 5:22 AM, Antioch police officers responded to the 600 block of E.18th Street, near the Dairy Queen, at the request of Con Fire for a male who was found deceased with an apparent gunshot wound. (See video of police at scene)

When officers arrived, they located a 36-year-old male deceased inside a parked vehicle suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The Antioch Police Department’s Investigations Bureau, consisting of Crime Scene Investigators and detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit took over the investigation.

According to Detective Becerra the crime scene included the area on the street in front of Opportunity Village (homeless hotel) and the Golden Hills Community Outreach Center where multiple bullet casings were located. The victim walked to the Dairy Queen.

According to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, the six-foot tall, 200-pound Crooks is listed as non-Hispanic and being held on $1.35 million bail. However, the Vinelink website lists him as Black.

According to localcrimenews.com, Crooks has a history of arrests, is currently from Antioch and was also arrested by Antioch Police last November for assault with a semiautomatic firearm and attempted willful, deliberate or premeditated murder. He was arrested twice in 2021, first by San Pablo Police while a resident of that city, for similar charges and then by Antioch PD for gun and drug charges, including possession of an assault weapon. In January 2023, Antioch PD arrested Crooks again on other gun charges and revocation of probation.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Charged with access device fraud in multi-district operation

California has reported loss of over $22 million due to EBT theft in first quarter of 2024, robbing low-income families of funds to buy food

By U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California

OAKLAND – Three individuals were charged with the use of unauthorized access devices were filed this week, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and United States Secret Service (“USSS”) – San Francisco Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet.

The three defendants—Petrica Mosneagu, 44; Ionut Sopirla, 38; and Virgil Tudorascu, 42, all of Romania—were charged with stealing Electronic Benefit Transfer (“EBT”) account information and making fraudulent cash withdrawals at ATMs using that stolen EBT information in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(2). The defendants were arrested in a multi-district, USSS-led operation, which resulted in several arrests this week, including in the Southern District of California.

According to the public criminal complaints, law enforcement agencies have been investigating EBT theft across California for the past fourteen months. The complaints allege that the California Department of Social Services has identified that approximately $22.8 million has been stolen from victim EBT card beneficiaries from January to March 2024 in California, including in the Northern District of California. Most of these stolen funds have been obtained by unauthorized ATM withdrawals. Furthermore, the complaints allege that victims of the scheme are largely low-income families who depend on EBT benefits to buy food and other household necessities.

The complaints allege that the defendants fraudulently withdrew cash with “cloned” cards, which are debit cards, gift cards, or other devices with magnetic strips that have been encoded with information from legitimate EBT cards. The account holders’ account information was primarily “skimmed” at ATMs or point-of-sale terminals. Skimming devices recorded victim account holder account information on the magnetic strips and log their PINs through keypad overlays. Once skimmed, the victim account holders’ account information was then loaded onto blank or repurposed debit cards, which the defendants then used to withdraw cash or make purchases.

If convicted, each defendant face a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison on each charge. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Defendants Mosneagu and Sopirla made their initial appearances Tuesday morning in Oakland and will appear for their detention hearings on April 10, 2024, before the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore. Defendant Tudorascu made his initial appearance Thursday morning and will also appear for his detention hearing on April 10, 2024.

Criminal complaints only allege that crimes have been committed, and each defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis James and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Glimcher are prosecuting these cases, with the help of Katie Turner and Kay Konopaske. These prosecutions are the result of an investigation by the USSS, California Department of Social Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), San Francisco Human Services Agency – Special Investigations Unit, Pleasant Hill PD, Richmond PD, Oakland PD, Berkeley PD, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Romanian National Police, and U.S. Secret Service Bucharest.

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Adult male victim’s car recovered by police

By Allen D. Payton

An email from the “Kaiser Permanente Antioch Leadership Team” on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, alerted employees of a carjacking in one of the parking lots Tuesday afternoon. It was reported by an individual who chose to remain anonymous that the carjackers were armed and that “someone from administration said it was two high school kids and they caught them.” But that has not yet been confirmed by Antioch Police or Kaiser personnel.

UPDATE #1: However, according to Interim Police Chief Brian Addington, the suspects were not armed, as of 4:40 PM they have not been apprehended and APD will provide further information via a press release, later.

The email reads, “You may have seen or heard about some Security activity in and around parking lot C yesterday afternoon. We want to provide you with an update surrounding that activity for your awareness.

On Tuesday, April 2, at approximately 2 p.m., an employee went to their vehicle to go to lunch. Upon approaching their vehicle, the employee found the hazard lights on, and sunroof broken. Two nearby suspects directed the employee to move away from the vehicle. As the employee moved away from the vehicle, one of the suspects entered the vehicle and both cars drove away from campus. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.

The Antioch Police Department were onsite within minutes and, along with AMC Security, are actively investigating the incident.

As a reminder, the safety of everyone who work in and visit our medical center is paramount. While we understand that hearing this story can be unnerving, we felt it important to share with our AMC community for transparency and collective learning.

We also understand this incident can be unsettling. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your manager or you may also contact Employee and Physician Assistance (EAP) directly at 877-801-5751.”

UPDATE #2: According to an Antioch Police press release issued at 5:58 PM by Acting Captain Desmond Bittner of the Community Policing Bureau, “On April 2, 2024, at approximately 1:13 PM, Antioch Police Officers responded to 4501 Sand Creek Road (Kaiser Antioch) for a reported carjacking that had just occurred. When officers arrived, they learned the victim, (an adult male), had interrupted several suspects in the process of stealing his vehicle. One suspect confronted the victim, causing the victim to fear for his safety.

The suspects left in the victim’s vehicle towards Sand Creek Road. Antioch Police Officers later recovered the victim’s vehicle in a nearby neighborhood, unoccupied. Through the initial investigation several investigative leads were obtained. The investigation was forwarded to the Antioch Police Department’s Investigations Bureau.

This preliminary information is made available by the Community Policing Bureau. Any further information or additional inquiries can be directed to Detective Cole Shaffer at 925-779-6944 or by emailing cshaffer@antiochca.gov.”

Wanted by Pittsburg Police, has history of arrests

By Allen D. Payton

On Wednesday morning, March 27, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service with the help of Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a wanted fugitive, Timothy Demetrius Jeffrey of Antioch, on Almondwood Drive in Antioch for escaping federal custody. According to a resident who lives in the neighborhood officers could be heard yelling through a loudspeaker, “You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up.”

According to Abigail Meyer of the United States Marshals Service Office of Public Affairs, “The Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF) arrested Timothy Jeffrey, 43, on both his federal Supervised Release Violation warrant and Pittsburg PD Failure to Appear (FTA) warrant, the original charges for both were distribution of dangerous drugs. In addition, his FTA included charges for felon in possession of a firearm, possession of large capacity magazine, and resisting arrest. 

The PSWRFTF requested assistance from local law enforcement and a Contra Costa Sheriff’s K9 officer assisted with the rear perimeter.”

According to localcrimenews.com, Jeffrey was arrested by Pittsburg Police on April 25, 2023 for the aforementioned charges. He had previously been arrested on Feb. 29, 2016, by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department for federal (21 U.S. Code Section 846) attempt  and conspiracy charges. Jeffrey was also arrested in Jan. 2010 by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department for vehicle theft.

According to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, the five-foot, 11-inch, 200-pound suspect who is Black, (born 4/24/80) is being held in Santa Rita County Jail in Dublin on no bail.