One of the Target shoplifters arrested by Antioch Police and some of the merchandise stolen or attempted to be stolen on May 9, 2024. Photos: APD
Almost $1,700 of merchandise
By Antioch Police Department
Antioch police officers target would-be thieves in the Target store at 5769 Lone Tree Way. On May 9th, Officer Lara and worked with Loss Prevention Officers to arrest a man who has shoplifted several times from the store. The man stole video games and other merchandise worth nearly $1,000. Later that day, Officer Carpenter stopped another individual attempting to leave the store with more than $700 worth of merchandise.
We are proud of the collaboration between our officers and Loss Prevention to deter shoplifters. Would you like to join Officers Lara and Carpenter in keeping Antioch safe? Visit joinantiochpd.com to learn about our excellent pay, benefits, and hiring incentives. Together, we can make a difference.
Terryonn Deshawn Pugh, Trent Allen, Eric James Windom and Keyshawn Malik McGee were among 48 gang members and associates arrested and/or contacted by Antioch and Oakland Police Departments during Operation Windstar in 2021. Source: APD
Case at the center of Racial Justice Act Violations from police text messages
Defendants receive sentences of 13 years, 8 months to 20 years in prison
By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office
Martinez, California – On May 6th, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office reached a resolution in the 2021 murder of Arnold Marcel Hawkins and the attempted murder of Aaron Patterson. This murder was a seminal case in Contra Costa County regarding the California Racial Justice Act.
The defendants, 23-year-old Terryonn Deshawn Pugh, 25-year-old Eric James Windom, 25-year-old Keyshawn Malik McGee, and 23-year-old Trent Allen, were charged by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office on a six-count felony complaint with enhancements in November 2021 (People v. Pugh, Windom, McGee, and Allen).
On March 9th, 2021, the four defendants engaged in a shooting in the City of Antioch wherein they discharged firearms at a vehicle in a residential neighborhood. The barrage of bullets killed Arnold Hawkins and injured another person. (See related article)
As previously reported, on March 31, 2021, Windom was arrested in Merced, and McGee was arrested in Los Angeles, for the attempted murder and drive-by shooting perpetrated on Aspen Way in Antioch.
Later that morning, in Antioch, a fugitive apprehension team consisting of the Antioch Problem Oriented Policing Team and undercover detectives, attempted to contact Trent Allen as a passenger in a vehicle. Allen fled on-foot through a business parking lot and was chased through a residential neighborhood. The fugitive apprehension team caught Allen and took him into custody for his role in the attempted murder and drive-by shooting on Aspen Way.
Later the same day, the Antioch fugitive apprehension team located Terryonn and Armonie Pugh, both parolees-at-large, hiding out in an apartment complex in American Canyon, between Vallejo and Napa. With the assistance of American Canyon PD, and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, Terryonn Pugh was taken into custody as he tried to flee to a waiting vehicle. Armonie Pugh was taken into custody, without incident, pursuant to a search warrant for the location. During the search, a firearm and a large amount of cash were seized. Terryonn Pugh was additionally arrested for the attempted murder at the Lone Tree Way gas station, and for his part in the attempted murder and drive-by shooting on Aspen Way. (See related article)
Also, as previously reported, the four were part of the arrests of 48 gang members and associates during a complex, six-month investigation involving 24 agencies, for murder, attempted murder and illegal guns. The effort removed 40 firearms, including 15 “ghost guns” off the streets and over $100,000 in cash. (See related article)
Unrelated to the shooting that killed Arnold Hawkins, a joint District Attorney’s Office/FBI investigation was initiated into allegations of police misconduct by officers in the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments. During that separate investigation in early 2023, investigators found a trove of racist text messages exchanged by Antioch police officers. These messages revealed that while investigating the murder suspects that took the life of Arnold Hawkins, the officers were sending and receiving messages about the murder suspects that included racist slurs, images, and written descriptions. The text messages violated the California Racial Justice Act (RJA) — a law that prohibits bias, animus, and racially discriminatory language based on race, ethnicity, or national origin in charges, convictions, and sentences. (See related articles here and here)
In March 2023, the District Attorney’s Office notified the court and the defense bar of the potential RJA violations as it related to open and adjudicated cases. Moreover, as part of the discovery process, the District Attorney’s Office disclosed investigative reports detailing incidents of racial bias and animus in the text messages sent and received by some members of the Antioch Police Department. (See related article)
Having already filed a motion challenging disproportionate filings in murder cases under the RJA, the defendants filed a second challenge predicated upon the racial bias exhibited by the Antioch police officers investigating the murder case. After multiple hearings, the court dismissed the special circumstance allegations, as well as the gang and firearm enhancements on February 5th, 2024. The case was set for trial when a resolution was reached between the District Attorney’s Office and the defendants.
In resolving the case, the four defendants have entered pleas of no contest to the following:
Terryonn Pugh: No contest on two counts of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter – with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will be sentenced in Martinez on May 8th, 2024, to 20 years in state prison.
Eric Windom: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will also serve a concurrent term for a robbery that is unrelated to this case. Windom will be sentenced in Martinez on May 8th, 2024, to 19 years in state prison.
Trent Allen: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm. He will also serve a concurrent term for an unrelated robbery. Allen will be sentenced in Martinez on May 10th, 2024, to 19 years in state prison.
Keyshawn McGee: No contest on one count of attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter — with an additional punishment for the use of a firearm in both the murder and voluntary manslaughter charges. McGee will be sentenced in Martinez on May 10th, 2024, to 13 years, 8 months in state prison.
“Seeking justice for these serious offenses was complicated by violations to the Racial Justice Act,” said District Attorney Diana Becton. These lengthy prison sentences ensure accountability and promote community safety. Hopefully, the outcome will help to heal the loss the victims and survivors experienced.”
Case No. 01001976380 | The People of the State of California v. Pugh, Windom, McGee, and Allen
While speeding on Balfour Road; bonded out of custody; police seek witnesses
By Lt. Miguel Aguiar, Brentwood Police Department
On April 30, 2024, at around 9:26 PM, Brentwood officers responded to the report of a traffic collision involving multiple vehicles on westbound Balfour Road at McViking Way, between the two shopping centers along Fairview Way. Preliminary investigation revealed, the driver of a Chevy Silverado, identified as Zachary Alan Frances Rau, a 26-year-old male from Antioch, was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed, westbound Balfour Road before colliding with a Toyota RAV-4, driven by a 31-year-old male from Brentwood. The Toyota then collided with a Honda HR-V, driven by a 37-year-old male from Brentwood.
A passenger in Rau’s vehicle, a 26-year-old male from Antioch, sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.
The driver of the Toyota RAV-4 was unconscious and unresponsive when officers arrived on scene. He sustained major injuries and required extrication from the vehicle before being airlifted to a local hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries and remains unstable.
The driver of the Honda HR-V was not injured.
Rau was treated a local hospital for minor injuries and subsequently arrested and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing injury.
The names of all others involved, and any additional information are being withheld at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with further information or if you witnessed the collision and have not already been interviewed, please contact the Brentwood Police Department Traffic Safety Unit at (925) 634-6911.
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.
Post by Antioch residents on Next Door about the shooting Tuesday night, April 16, 2024. Courtesy of a resident who chose to remain anonymous.
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.
Emergency personnel respond to the same of a fatal collision in Antioch on Sunday, April 14, 2024. Photo by a resident who chose to remain anonymous. The car of the deceased 30-year-old male driver from Pittsburg. Photo: Art Ray, Bay News Video.
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.”
“…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)
Bullet casing markers in front of the Opportunity Village homeless hotel and crime scene tape there and at the Dairy Queen next to the Golden Hills Community Outreach Center could be seen at the fatal shooting scene on E. 18th Street in Antioch on March 27, 2024. Video screenshots.
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 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.
