Antioch police officers used de-escalation tactics to take him into custody

Held on $180,000 bail; arrested last year for vehicle theft, DUI

By Lt. Joe Njoroge #7052, Antioch Police Field Services Division

On February 23, just before 4:00 a.m., Antioch police responded to the 3000 Block of Ash Street on a call from a woman who reported that a man fired shots at her. The 30-year-old victim was unharmed and was able to flee the scene. Additional calls were received by Antioch Police Dispatch regarding gunshots heard in the same area. Upon further investigation, the victim informed officers that the man, 30-year-old Melvin Jewel Savoy, III, (born 5-5-1994), had gone back into the home, which was occupied by several individuals, including four children.

Officers arrived at the scene and located the victim nearby. A perimeter was established, and officers made announcements for Savoy to exit the residence. Initially, he refused to cooperate with officers’ requests and did not exit. Eventually Savoy exited the residence, however he did not comply with officers’ instructions. After several minutes of de-escalation efforts, Savoy was taken into custody without incident.

Officers checked on all occupants inside the home, including the children, and found they were unharmed during the incident.

Savoy was later transported to the Martinez Detention Facility, where he was booked on the following charges:
PC 245(a)(2) – Assault with a Firearm on a Person
PC 243(e )(1) – Domestic Battery
PC 148(a)(1) – Resist Arrest
PC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm
PC 25850(a) – Possession of a Loaded Firearm in Public
PC 30305(a) – Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition

According to localcrimenews.com, he is Black and was also arrested last year on July 18 by Contra Costa CHP for petty theft, receiving stolen property – motor vehicle, vehicle theft and DUI, alcohol and drugs, as well as in 2014 by San Leandro PD for forgery of a credit card.

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, the five-feet, eleven-inch tall, 195 lb. Savoy is being held in the West County Detention Center on $180,000 bail.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

U.S. Marshals assist

27-year-old held on $3.14 million bail, has a history of arrests dating back to 2015.

By Acting Lt. Whitaker # 6155, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

As previously reported, on February 12th at approximately 10:24 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to the area of Hillcrest Avenue and Larkspur Drive for reports of shots fired in the area. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a victim who had been shot at least once. Antioch police officers provided aid to the victim who was transported to a local hospital. The 23-year-old victim later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He was identified by Contra Costa Deputy Coroner Livingston and APD as Jacob Frank Hernandez.

On Thursday, February 20, the United States Marshal Service and Antioch Police Department executed a search warrant at an undisclosed address in Antioch. The suspect, 27-year-old Demundre Rashey Walton (born 04-10-1997), was arrested without incident for homicide. Evidence from the home was collected, as well as the vehicle used during the commission of the crime.

On 02-24-2025 The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office filed the case for charges:

1. PC187 (a) – Murder
2. PC29900 (a)(1) – Felon in possession of a firearm

This is still an active investigation, and no further information will be released at this time. Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Investigations Bureau.
Any tips or other information can be directed to Antioch Police Detective Cox at (925) 481-8147
or by email jcox@antiochca.gov.

According to Walton’s Facebook page, he is married and lives in Antioch.

According to localcrimenews.com, Walton is Black and has a history of arrests dating back to 2015 by multiple agencies including Antioch, Concord and Berkeley PDs, and the Sheriff’s Departments of Alameda, San Francisco, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, for crimes such as: a variety of gun charges, robbery (six times), burglary and possession of burglar’s tools, child endangerment, resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer and conspiracy to commit a crime (four times).

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, the five-feet, eight-inch tall, 157 lb. suspect is being held in the Martinz Detention Facility on $3,140,000 bail.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

By Antioch Police Department

Last week patrol officers responded to reports of a shooting on Cache Peak Drive in Antioch. During the investigation it was learned that an argument over a cell phone between a trigger-happy male and his ex-girlfriend resulted in shots fired at the female in the street. She was uninjured thankfully as the shooters aim was worse than his communication skills.

The male fled the scene and went into hiding. Investigators authored an arrest warrant for the male and search warrant for the residence. Later in the week the male was spotted in the area and after a brief foot pursuit he was placed under arrest. The residence was searched, and evidence was collected.

To the criminals in our city, can you hear us now? Good!

Lonnie Ray Decker and Steven Robert Kelly convicted of the January 2024 murder of Roberto Gonzalez-Lamas and the attempted murder of Richard O’Mary

By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office

Martinez, CA – Separate juries in Contra Costa County returned guilty verdicts in three murder trials this week.

On February 18th, a jury convicted Lonnie Ray Decker and Steven Robert Kelly of the murder of Roberto Gonzalez-Lamas and the attempted murder of Richard O’Mary. The shooting occurred on January 23, 2024, in Antioch.

Police responded to multiple gunshots on Bryan Avenue, where both victims were shot several times. Gonzalez-Lamas later died at a hospital, while O’Mary sustained severe injuries but survived. (See related article)

Both defendants will remain in custody without bail. They will be sentenced by Judge Christopher Bowen in Martinez on June 6th, 2025.

In The People v. Phuc Hong Vo, jurors convicted Vo of the first-degree murder of his 75-year-old mother-in-law, Que Thi Tran, and the second-degree murder of his wife, 40-year-old Tho Ngoc Ly. The verdict was reached on February 18th.

The victims were murdered by Vo on or about September 5th, 2023, in Contra Costa County.

While the body of Ms. Tran was recovered in the Oakland estuary on September 30th, police have been unable to locate Ms. Ly. Initially, Vo reported to San Pablo Police that his wife and mother-in-law had willingly left their home after he and Ly argued over family finances.

San Pablo Police became suspicious of Vo after receiving information that the disappearance was likely a double homicide. Moreover, actions by Vo like remodeling his home, hiding his wife’s car, lying to the police, and leaving the United States for Vietnam to meet a woman he had been seeing and wanted to marry, added to the circumstantial evidence that Vo was the only suspect in this case.

Vo will be sentenced at a future date by Judge Charles Burch in Martinez. He faces a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for the double murders.

On February 19th, in The People v. Lawyer Dushan McBride, a jury found McBride guilty of murdering Rashanda Franklin in 2017.

McBride, then 43, was waiting for Franklin, 30, in the church’s parking lot where she took her children to school. He had been following her and harassing her for weeks after she ended their 2-year relationship. Concerned for her safety, she called 911 as she fled the parking lot with her children. As both vehicles approached 29th Street and Rheem Avenue, McBride blocked Franklin’s car, exited his vehicle, and confronted her. The 911 recording captured Franklin pleading, “I’ve got my kids in the car.” McBride responded, “I ain’t playing with you,” before fatally shooting her.

In addition to the murder conviction, the jury found McBride guilty of shooting into an occupied vehicle, stalking, personally using a firearm to cause death, and inflicting great bodily injury in circumstances involving domestic violence.

Judge Mary Ann O’Malley will sentence McBride in Martinez at a date and time determined by the court.

Two of these homicide trials involved family violence. For anyone experiencing domestic violence or elder abuse, help is available at Contra Costa’s Family Justice Centers www.cocofamilyjustice.org or 24-7 through the crisis line at STAND! for Families free from Violence 1-888-215-5555.

Has history of arrests dating to 2017 and twice last year, including for child endangerment and cruelty to a child

“After conducting several tests, Con Fire HAZMAT determined the home to be uninhabitable.”

By Allen D. Payton

Four children were found unconscious in an Antioch home on Thursday, February 20, 2025, after a call came in from a passerby at 4:51 p.m. who stopped to check on them, and their mother was later arrested for child abuse. The children, ages 2, 2, 5 and 8, have been placed in the custody of Child and Family Services.

“We got a call from someone driving by who stopped and checked on the kids,” said Antioch Police Lt. Njoroge while at the scene. “When we got here, we checked on the welfare of the children. We’ve contacted the parents.”

Contra Costa Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Bob Atlas said, “We got the call about 5:15 pm that there were four children unconscious in the home. We arrived on scene, Antioch PD retrieved all the children and brought them outside. Con Fire provided medical care and transported all four children to area hospitals for evaluation. No adults were in the home.”

“We don’t know what it was. But we know a lot of things it wasn’t,” he explained. “When it’s a mystery like this we start by ruling out what it isn’t.”

At about 6:30 p.m. Con Fire placed a blower outside the home facing the open front door. “We are currently blowing out the environment for anything that could be potentially harmful,” Atlas added.

The following press release with additional details about the incident was issued Friday afternoon:

According to. Lt. Njoroge of the Field Services Division, “just before 5:00 p.m., officers responded to a welfare check regarding a 2-year-old child who was found alone and outside a home on the 2100 block of Spruce Way by a passerby. Upon arrival, officers discovered the front door of the residence was unsecured. Officers knocked and announced themselves, however nobody responded.

To ensure the child’s safety, officers entered the home and found three additional young children, with no adults present. The children appeared to require medical attention, and Con Fire, along with paramedics, was requested to the scene. All four children were transported to nearby hospitals for further evaluation.

UPDATE: To clarify matters, Lt. Njoroge later said, “Three of the four children were unconscious. The two-year-old seen outside was back in the house by the time officers arrived. But I can’t say which of the four was not unconscious.”

The children’s mother, 36-year-old Shante Alberty, later arrived at the residence and was placed under arrest on child abuse-related charges. She was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.

After conducting several tests, Con Fire HAZMAT determined the home to be uninhabitable. All four children were medically cleared and placed into the custody of Child and Family Services (CFS).

This information was made available by the Field Services Bureau. Any further inquiries into the status of this case should be done via the Media Access Telephone Line 925-779-6874. Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Investigations Bureau.”

According to localcrimenews.com, Alberty has a history of arrests dating back to 2017 including twice last year by Antioch PD and San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department for crimes including battery on a spouse, cohabitant or former spouse, and on Sept. 5, 2024, for possession of a narcotic controlled substance, child endangerment and cruelty to a child by inflicting injury.

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, she is Black. Also, according to the Sheriff’s Office, the five-foot, eight-inch tall, 175 lb. Alberty was born on March 22, 1988, and is being held on $425,000 bail. She’s being held in the West County Detention Facility.

See exclusive Antioch Herald video of the scene, here.

Has history of arrests; APD Drone Team, CHP Air Support, Oakley Police K-9 assist

By Lt. Joe Njoroge #7052, Antioch Police Field Services Division

On February 20, 2025, just after 9:00 a.m., officers were around E. 18th Street and Cavallo Road performing proactive patrols during their shift. Their attention was drawn to an Infiniti on the roadway with several vehicle code violations. An officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle. As soon as the officer stepped out of his patrol vehicle, the Infiniti, driven by 40-year-old Terrance Lee Benjamin (born 11/6/1984), sped off southbound on Cavallo Road.

Due to public safety concerns, officers did not pursue the Infiniti. In the area of Garrow Drive and E. Tregallas Road, the Infiniti lost control and collided into an occupied home. Benjamin ran through several neighboring yards. After an extensive search of the neighborhood with resources from the APD Drone Team, CHP Air Support, and Oakley Police K-9, Benjamin was located in a nearby yard and taken into custody by patrol officers.

No one was injured inside the home that was struck. Con Fire, Antioch Code Enforcement, and representatives from the Antioch Public Works Department responded to evaluate the structural integrity of the residence that was struck.

Benjamin was transported to an area hospital where he was treated and later booked into MDF for the arrest warrant and the following additional charges:
CVC 2800.2(a) – Reckless Evading a Police Officer
PC 29800(a) – Felon In Possession of a Firearm
PC 25850(a) – Possession of a Loaded Firearm in Public
PC 25400(a) – Concealed Carry of a Firearm in Vehicle
PC 30305(a) – Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition
CVC 20002(a) – Hit and Run

According to localcrimenews.com, Benjamin has a history of arrests dating to 2019 by Antioch PD and the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department for crimes including vehicle theft, receiving/etc. known stolen property over $200, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge.

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, the five-foot, 11-inch suspect is Black and being held in the Martinez Detention Facility on no bail. Benjamin’s next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m. in Superior Court in Martinez.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Already out of custody

By Brentwood Police Department

Last Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, around midnight, a Brentwood officer conducted a traffic stop near Lone Tree Way and Williamson Ranch for expired registration.

The driver, 33-year-old Deontae Markell Alexander of Antioch, was found to be unlicensed. Further investigation revealed that Alexander, a convicted felon, was in possession of a loaded firearm, which he is legally prohibited from owning or carrying. Officers also determined the firearm had been reported stolen.

This marks the officer’s fourth gun-related arrest this year, reinforcing the department’s commitment to keeping illegal firearms out of the community.

According to localcrimenews.com, Alexander was charged with Receiving or Concealing Stolen Property, Addict in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Ammunition, Carrying a Loaded Firearm on Person or in Vehicle while in a Public Place, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon in a Vehicle. He also has a history of arrests dating back to before 2014 by multiple agencies including Antioch PD and Oakland PD for crimes including vehicle theft, possession of marijuana over 28.5 grams, DUI alcohol with BAC over .08 and battery on a spouse, cohabitant or former spouse.

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, as of Friday, Feb. 14, he is out of custody and on his own recognizance.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

City’s second fatal shooting this year

By Antioch Police Department

On February 12, 2025, at approximately 10:24 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to the area of Hillcrest Avenue and Larkspur Drive for reports of shots fired in the area. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a victim who had been shot at least once. Antioch police officers provided aid to the victim who was transported to a local hospital.

The 22-year-old male victim later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

The Antioch Police Department’s Investigations Bureau, consisting of Crime Scene Investigators and detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit responded to take over the investigation. This is an active investigation, and no further information will be released at this time.

Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Investigations Bureau. Any tips or other information can be directed to Antioch Police Detective Cox at (925) 481-8147 or by email at jcox@antiochca.gov.

It was the second fatal shooting in Antioch this year.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.