A pursuit in Vallejo last week led to the recovery of three loaded firearms and two suspects booked into Solano County Jail.
On Wednesday at approximately 11:18 p.m., officers assigned to the Vallejo Police Department Patrol Division attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a black Toyota Camry due to its tinted front windows in the area of Sacramento Street and Alabama Street.
However, the driver failed to yield, initiating a vehicle pursuit, which ended in the 200 block of Wilson Avenue, when five occupants immediately exited the vehicle and fled on foot in different directions. Eventually, all five suspects were located and detained without injury after they were found hiding under parked vehicles, inside a full dumpster, and in nearby yards.
Three of the five detained suspects were later determined to be juveniles. One juvenile resided in Walnut Creek, and another resided in Corte Madera.
According to a news release by the Vallejo Police Department, officers recovered three loaded firearms, none of which were confirmed to be lawfully possessed by the individuals involved.
The vehicle, which was not reported stolen, was towed from the scene, and the firearms were booked into evidence.
Two of the three juveniles were transported to the Solano County Juvenile Detention Facility, while one juvenile was cited and released to a parent. All parents or guardians were contacted and informed of the situation. The two adult suspects were subsequently booked into the Solano County Jail.
Attorneys continued presentation of evidence to a judge in Solano County Superior Court Friday, part of arguments over whether a Martinez man charged in connection with two murders, committed months apart, in 2022 can be tried on both allegations at once, or whether the two shooting deaths should be tried separately.
The hearing on the allegations against Richard Raymond Klein, 54, and the motion to sever the two murder charges will resume on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the Fairfield courtroom of Judge John B. Ellis.
The 6-foot-7 Klein, clad in a striped jail jumpsuit, his head shaved, listened intently and chatted with his attorney on Friday as the prosecution played several recordings of phone conversations he had had with associates since being arrested and held in Solano County Jail.
In each of the recordings, Deputy District Attorney Barry Shapiro argued, Klein can be heard encouraging friends to contact certain witnesses. “The clips are all attempts by the defendant to prevent witnesses from testifying,” Shapiro argued.
Defense Attorney Dustin Gordon is challenging to sever the cases, arguing that witnesses and issues in each shooting incident are not cross-admissible and that there are issues of the identity of the actual shooters in the matters.
As previously reported, Klein, a previously convicted felon, was indicted for the killings by a Solano County grand jury in June 2023. The Solano County District Attorney’s Office then combined the murder charges into one case, with alleged special circumstances. Court records indicate that the case is no longer a capital case.
The indictment, which essentially replaced the preliminary hearing process, includes the two murder counts and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, committing murder while released on his own recognizance, and a special circumstance for committing multiple murders.
The indictment reflects allegations in the two previously filed criminal complaints that Klein allegedly committed murder on April 21, 2022, at a gathering on Manzanita Avenue in Fairfield, then allegedly again, on Dec 15, 2022, while out of custody on the initial murder charge, allegedly committed a second fatal shooting in Suisun City.
In the Fairfield case, Klein is charged with an enhancement for personally discharging a firearm, leading to the death of Anthony Fuimaono, 56.
Klein was initially scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the Fuimaono shooting on Oct. 28, 2022, and was held to answer as charged. Some two weeks later, and held without bail in Solano County Jail in Fairfield, he was formally arraigned. However, during the proceeding, Gordon asked the court to release his client and reduce bail, arguing two constitutional amendments, including the Eighth (excessive bail).
The prosecution objected, citing a risk to public safety, the risk to the safety of the victim’s family, the seriousness of the charge, Klein’s criminal history, his prior prison time, and that Klein was previously a validated member of the Nazi Low Riders, a White supremacist prison and criminal street gang with origins in the California Youth Authority. However, the court released Klein on a pretrial services contract.
Then, while Klein was out of custody, the Suisun City Police Department on Dec. 15, 2022, responded to a shots-fired call in the Potrero Circle area. When officers arrived, they found a man on the ground in front of 1244 Potrero Circle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving measures by officers and paramedics, Matthew Muller, 37, died.
After the second shooting, investigators were able to identify Klein as the suspect and locate him. He had fled across the Southern California border. He was taken into custody in Rosarito, Mexico, by U.S. Marshals and Mexican authorities some days after and returned to the United States. He was arrested Jan. 13, 2023, at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
If convicted at trial for the killings, Klein — who was convicted of a felony in 2006 in Contra Costa County — faces 50 years to life for the murders and likely more time for using firearms and being a previously convicted felon, among other enhancements.
A man who rammed a vehicle into the front of a Petaluma jewelry store Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, was attempting to thwart a robbery, according to police.
The robbery at Gold Rush Jewelers at 385 South McDowell Blvd. was reported about 4:46 p.m. Saturday to Petaluma police, the agency said. According to a preliminary investigation, six people wearing ski masks entered the store armed with hammers, pepper spray and at least one gun. One person held the four employees at gunpoint while the others smashed the display cases and removed jewelry.
A male bystander who happened upon the scene got into the suspects’ idling vehicle and slammed it into the business, damaging a roll-up door and some windows, Sgt. Ryan McGreevy said Tuesday. The man later told police that he had been trying to block the robbers inside.
McGreevy said the man’s method was “unorthodox,” but he is not suspected of any criminal charges.
The crash prompted the robbers to flee — four into the vehicle that had been rammed into the store and two on foot into a neighborhood across South McDowell Boulevard. One of the suspected robbers pepper-sprayed the bystander as he tried to get out of the car, police said.
With the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1, officers later found the men they said fled on foot. One was spotted jumping down from a rooftop and trying to hide under a vehicle while the other was later seen sitting in a backyard, police said.
William Clarance Butler of Pittsburg and Mosha’e Koron Howell of Antioch were arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail. On Monday, both of the 18-year-old men were charged in Sonoma County Superior Court with four counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy — all felonies. Both are being held without bail and set to appear Feb. 17 in court.
On Saturday, police also located a bag of jewelry between the store and the neighborhood where the two men had fled, McGreevy said Tuesday. The owner of the store is still determining how many pieces of jewelry were taken during the robbery and the value of those items.
The vehicle in which the other four robbers fled the jewelry store was found abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and authorities later determined it had been stolen in Brentwood. Authorities, including a K9 unit, searched for hours for the other four individuals to no avail. As of Tuesday, authorities have not identified the four robbers or located the gun used in the robbery.
None of the jewelry store employees were injured but told police they were emotionally shaken after the robbery.
Petaluma police are asking that anyone with information, including security camera footage, contact Detective Alyssa Hansen at 707-781-1291 or ahansen@cityofpetaluma.org.
You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi_smals.
OAKLAND — Three men were fatally shot Saturday morning after a fight broke out inside an East Oakland store, authorities said.
One of the men killed was 22 years old, another was 54 and police were trying to confirm the age and identity of the third man.
The shooting happened just after 3 a.m. Saturday inside Sky Market in the 8400 block of International Boulevard. According to initial police reports, there were about a dozen customers inside the store when an argument started that turned physical and at least one person produced a gun and started shooting.
Two of the men died in the shop. The 54-year-old man died later at a hospital. No store employees were injured.
No arrests have been announced and no suspect information has been released. The killings brought to five the number of homicides investigated by Oakland police this year.
At this juncture last year, Oakland police had investigated three homicides. The most recent triple homicide occurred in August 2022 when two men were shot dead on the 2800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and another man was killed when a car struck him near the scene.
Anyone with information may contact investigators at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950.
OAKLAND — Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson’s office formally asked a judge this week to dismiss the manslaughter case against the former San Leandro police officer accused of fatally shooting Steven Taylor during an April 2020 shoplifting call.
The request by Jones Dickson’s administration — which is expected to be argued at a hearing Friday morning — marks yet another twist in the case against Jason Fletcher, who was charged with manslaughter months after the killing but has yet to face trial amid a rotating cast of district attorneys. His case has since become a rallying cry by advocates pushing for greater accountability among law enforcement officers who use deadly force.
If granted, the dismissal would represent an abrupt end to the first police officer charged in an on-duty killing in Alameda County since BART Officer Johannes Mehserle was tried — and convicted — in the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant more than 15 years ago. Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July 2010, by a Los Angeles County jury after the case was moved south.
In a motion filed Tuesday, the district attorney’s office argued that Fletcher’s case “cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” nor that it’s entirely clear that Fletcher didn’t act out of self defense or the right to defend others inside the San Leandro Walmart where the shooting happened.
Taylor was fatally shot on April 18, 2020, while allegedly trying to steal an aluminum baseball bat and a tent from the Walmart. Only about 40 seconds passed between the time Fletcher encountered Taylor, 33, and when the fatal shot was fired, according to a lawsuit against the city of San Leandro by the slain man’s family.
Alameda County prosecutors had previously argued that Fletcher did not try to de-escalate the confrontation before fatally shooting Taylor once in the chest after using a Taser on him multiple times. A judge later called the case “a battle of the experts,” given the vast amount of testimony at an evidentiary hearing from police use-of-force experts.
Those experts became the subject of a recent bid by Fletcher’s attorneys — largely backed by the work of Jones Dickson’s own team — to dismiss the case on the grounds of “outrageous government conduct.” The officer’s attorneys argued that previous prosecutors in the case — each overseen by former District Attorney Pamela Price — acted unethically while seeking experts to testify on the prosecution’s behalf.
In ruling from the bench last month, Alameda County Judge Thomas Reardon said he found no evidence that those former prosecutors tainted the case by allegedly hiding evidence from defense attorneys.
The district attorney’s dismissal motion this week again took direct aim at Price’s administration, claiming that her strategy was nothing more than “a desperate de-evolution into violations of both ethics and the law around these experts.”
“The effort made to conceal expert opinions from the defense in violation of Supreme Court case law that requires transparency of this type of evidence only created more hurdles to the prosecution of Fletcher,” the motion added.
The motion appears to have been authored by Darby Williams, a relative newcomer to Jones Dickson’s staff who previously spent time as a prosecutor in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, as well as a public defender in Los Angeles, according to her LinkedIn account. The site shows her having joined the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in July.
The request by Jones Dickson’s team continues a trend by the former Alameda County prosecutor and judge, who has worked to unwind the legacy of Price, who voters recalled last year. That includes dismissing numerous cases filed by Price’s administration, including several against law enforcement officers related to the deaths of inmates at Santa Rita Jail.
Price has since announced a campaign to once again seek election as the county’s district attorney, roughly a year after voters removed her from office by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. So far, Price and Jones Dickson are the only people known to be vying for the post.
The wave of dismissals had led to fears by Taylor’s family that Fletcher’s case could be next.
Reached Wednesday morning, Taylor’s grandmother, Addie Kitchen, slammed the decision.
“I’m shocked,” said Kitchen, noting how the request to end the case came not from Fletcher’s attorneys, but from Jones Dickson’s office. “How do you think it feels? Five and a half years — the biggest slap in the face by the district attorney.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta spent $468,000 of his campaign cash on lawyers while reportedly being interviewed by federal authorities investigating Oakland’s former mayor and others in a sprawling federal bribery and corruption inquiry.
The longtime East Bay politician’s senior adviser, Dan Newman, told this news organization Wednesday that Bonta’s legal bills were for the sole purpose of “providing information that could be helpful to the investigation of those implicated” in the ongoing criminal probe.
Bonta — who lives in Alameda and has worked his way from city councilman to the state’s top prosecutor — was never a target of the investigation, Newman said.
“The AG’s involvement is over,” Newman added. “But this is an ongoing legal proceeding that we don’t want to hinder — with no relation to or involvement of the AG — so unable to provide further information.” He said the work required of those attorneys ended in 2024, the adviser said.
Newman initially told the KCRA this week that the attorney general used the campaign funds “to help his law enforcement partners pursue justice” in the East Bay corruption probe. The Sacramento station was the first to report Bonta’s legal spending.
Newman later changed that stance, claiming in a subsequent interview with KCRA that Bonta spent the money on attorneys for himself while being questioned by federal investigators. The adviser stressed Bonta was never a target of the investigation, and the funds were needed “because of the nature of the charges against the people implicated,” the station reported.
The size of Bonta’s legal bills appear historically large, and they reflect the fact that Bonta retained one of the premier law firms in Silicon Valley — Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati — which routinely charges four figures an hour for its work, said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political science professor. That also highlights the stakes Bonta faces as a politically ambitious state attorney general, particularly one who has taken a leading stand against the current White House administration by filing dozens of lawsuits against it, the professor said.
“His problems are the appearance of impropriety when he is the poster child against Donald Trump and the administration,” McCuan said. “So if he has an image problem that is created by this expenditure, then that is a problem for him.”
McCuan added that California campaign finance law is considered “murky” when it comes to when candidates can use campaign cash for legal help.
In general, campaign funding can only be used “if the litigation is directly related to activities of the committee that are consistent with its primary objectives,” said Shery Yang, a spokesperson for the Fair Political Practices Commission, in an email. While she said she couldn’t speak specifically to this case, instances where that money can be used include defending against claims that a candidate violated election laws, or ensuring compliance with state campaign disclosure reports.
The five payments to Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati were made two days before Bonta announced he would not run for governor and seek reelection as attorney general in February, the records show.
It all casts a fresh spotlight on Bonta’s ties to many of the main players charged in the ongoing bribery and pay-to-play probe that has roiled the East Bay’s political scene, including former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Andy Duong, who helps run a recycling company contracted by the city of Oakland.
In charges unsealed in January, federal prosecutors accused former Thao of accepting bribes from Andy Duong and his father, David, in the form of political favors and a $95,000 no-show job for Thao’s romantic partner, Andre Jones. In return, prosecutors claimed Thao promised to secure lucrative city contracts for a fledgling housing company co-founded by David Duong, as well as for Duongs recycling business, California Waste Solutions.
Thao, Jones and David and Andy Duong have all pleaded not guilty and could face trial by next year.
Bonta has known Andy Duong for years, even becoming a frequent presence on his Instagram page before federal agents raided the businessman’s house in June 2024.
In an August 2021 social media post, Bonta was seen standing alongside Andy Duong and the famed Filipino boxer and retired politician Manny Pacquiao, each of them giving a “thumbs up” to the camera. In another, Bonta appeared to be sitting in a limousine, smiling at the camera with one arm around Andy Duong and another around his wife, California Assemblymember Mia Bonta.
“Cannot wait to see what else the future has to offer to you,” wrote Andy Duong, calling the state’s top prosecutor a “brother” while recounting his rise from “Vice Mayor to State Assembly and now CA Attorney General.” The post included no less than nine other photos of the two together over the years, often at campaign events or, in one instance, together at a Golden State Warriors game.
Rob Bonta has since sought to distance himself from the Duongs. Shortly after the FBI and other federal authorities raided the family’s Oakland hills houses on June 20, 2024, Bonta said he planned to give back $155,000 in political contributions that he had previously received from the Duong family.
The political fortunes of Thao and Mia Bonta also nearly collided several years ago. Before running for mayor, Thao briefly considered campaigning for the state assembly seat once held by Rob Bonta before he became the state’s attorney general. Instead, Thao opted to run for the mayor of Oakland, while Mia Bonta ran and filled her husband’s post in Sacramento.
Bonta ties to people investigated in the corruption probe extend to an unnamed co-conspirator widely believed to be longtime Oakland political operative Mario Juarez. Bonta and Juarez enjoyed “close financial and political ties,” such as when Bonta helped secure a $3.4 million grant in 2017 from the California Energy Commission for a company that Juarez co-owned, according to a filing late last year by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
“They have publicly endorsed each other and have used the same office for their business dealings,” said the filing, adding that Juarez and the Bontas’ “extensive intertwined political and business dealings are widely known.”
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
A Sonoma County judge allowed Asia Lozano Morton to await trial outside jail under strict supervision and set her next court date for Dec. 4, according to court records.
Morton must wear a GPS ankle monitor, surrender her passport and get permission from the court before leaving California. She’s also barred from owning guns or using drugs and from contacting her boyfriend, Richard Lund.
Tuesday’s hearing was Morton’s first court appearance since her arrest Friday in the Oct. 3 shooting death of Mark Calcagni.
Lund, 43, remains in custody without bail. Police say he’s accused of shooting Calcagni five times near Calcagni’s home on Brookwood Avenue before driving off in a Toyota RAV4.
Investigators believe the killing was planned and may be connected to Calcagni’s decision to fire Lund and Morton from their jobs at the Condor Club, a North Beach landmark known as the nation’s first topless bar.
Police arrested Lund at his home in Dublin. Morton was taken into custody at San Francisco International Airport when she returned from a trip to Spain.
Police said Calcagni had returned home from work around 5 a.m. when he was shot. A passerby found his body on a nearby sidewalk about 90 minutes later.
OAKLAND — Retired NFL star Doug Martin spent his final moments alive Saturday morning wandering in the dark through the backyards and banging on the front doors of his neighbors’ houses in the Oakland hills, sources told the Bay Area News Group.
Martin’s subsequent death — after what police described as a “brief struggle” with officers inside one of those homes — sent shockwaves through the city, stunning those who recalled the former All-Pro running back’s quick burst on the football turf and easygoing temperament off of it.
Two days later, questions mounted about the Oakland Police Department’s actions before dawn Saturday, along with the factors that appeared to lead Martin inside his neighbor’s home and the exact circumstances around his death in police custody.
“It’s tragic, it’s really tragic,” said his neighbor, Lynne Belmont, 74.
Multiple people called 911 around 4:15 a.m. Saturday, as Martin went door-to-door on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street, sources said. He had been staying in a longtime family home on that block, which sits atop an Oakland hills neighborhood near the Oakland Zoo.
Police initially received a call about a person breaking into a home on that street, which a source said had been occupied at the time. They “simultaneously” received notice that a person believed to be a burglar was having “a medical emergency,” according to a statement released Sunday by the Oakland Police Department.
A “brief struggle” ensued when officers contacted the suspected burglar inside a house and tried to detain him, police said. Martin then became unresponsive after being taken into custody, according to Oakland police.
Oakland police did not respond to multiple requests by this news organization for further details. City and police officials have yet to release police radio and dispatch recordings from the encounter, which were recently encrypted and shielded from the public’s ear.
The police department also has yet to announce how many officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary following an in-custody death.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) runs during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, in Tampa, Fla. Two-time Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin has been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, who may look for a replacement in free agency.(AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File)
In a statement issued Monday evening, Martin’s family said his parents “were actively seeking medical assistance for him and had contacted local authorities for support” before his encounter with police. They added that Martin “battled mental health challenges that profoundly impacted his personal and professional life,” and that he fled his home that night after “feeling overwhelmed and disoriented.”
“Ultimately, mental illness proved to be the one opponent from which Doug could not run,” said the family’s statement, which was released by Athletes First. The firm represented Martin when he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.”
On Monday, Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement mourning Martin’s death and noting she had reached out to Martin’s family. Lee hailed him as “an Oaklander who had a distinguished NFL career,” adding that “our condolences are with his family and loved ones.” The family has requested privacy.
Martin did not seem much involved in Oakland’s professional sports community, a tight-knit social circle that includes former big-league athletes and coaches. Several long-timers contacted for this story had not been aware that Martin had even resided in Oakland.
On his journey from high school stardom in Stockton to NFL fame, however, Martin was as memorable a running back as the coaches who crossed paths with him could remember.
“He was the kind of guy who really just absorbed everything you tried to teach him,” said Earnest Byner, a former NFL all-pro who was Martin’s running back coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “He could do anything you asked him to do.”
It was the kind of inner confidence that made the relatively undersized, 5-foot 9-inch tall player — nicknamed “Muscle Hamster” — eager to take on more physically taxing assignments, such as blocking heftier linebackers.
But Martin truly shone with the ball in his hand, coaches said, zipping downfield with a springy first step. A decorated college career at Boise State — where he logged 3,400 yards and 43 touchdowns — led him to be the Buccaneers’ first-round draft selection in 2012.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) walks off the field after a staggeringly successful day against the Oakland Raiders in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns, as the Buccaneers won, 42-32. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff)
Martin had been known around the college campus for his bounding social energy. He rode a remote-controlled electric skateboard to classes, forged close locker-room friendships and even embraced the popularity of “Teach Me How to Dougie,” a hit song with a signature dance move that shared his name.
“He was just having fun playing ball,” said Keith Bhonapha, the college’s running-back coach at the time. “He really felt at home there.”
Martin’s NFL draft-day party at his relatives’ house in the Oakland hills was uniquely festive, recalled Tony Franks, his high school coach in Stockton. Television trucks lined the street and dozens of people cheered when the St. Mary’s High School star received a call from the Buccaneers at the end of the first round.
Martin’s running style was prototypical for the time — “powerful, compact, explosive,” he said, yet nimble enough to “change direction on a dime.”
“He had such natural strength, leg strength, body strength,” Franks said. “The force he could create by accelerating was just tremendous.”
In the NFL, though, Martin faced adversity. After a breakout rookie season, he suffered a torn labrum that sidelined him for much of his follow-up campaign. Still, he notched two All-Pro teams in a career that lasted seven seasons, rushing for over 5,300 yards and two touchdowns before retiring in 2018.
Martin was suspended four games in 2016 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy after testing positive for a banned substance. In a statement at the time, Martin said he initially considered appealing the penalty but had decided instead to seek treatment.
“My shortcomings,” he said of his off-the-field life, “have taught me both that I cannot win these personal battles alone and that there is no shame in asking for help.”
Bhonapha, an Oakland native who played football at Skyline High School, visited Martin sometime during the Tampa Bay years. Over a steak dinner, the coach recalled, Martin spoke sentimentally about his Boise State years, reminiscing about the familiarity and friendships that came before the realities of adulthood.
“The amount of calls I’ve gotten from teammates since this weekend asking what happened … guys who were really close with him said they hadn’t talked to him in a couple years,” Bhonapha said.
But even amid the shock of Martin’s untimely passing, those who witnessed the Stockton kid’s rise to the sport’s top ranks recalled the determination that had brought him there.
“He had probably gone through being doubted because of his size at one point,” Byner said. “But he never doubted what he could do — and we didn’t, either.”
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland. Call or text him at 510-905-5495 or email him at smukherjee@bayareanewsgroup.com.
The city appeared to have reached the final stage of awarding a three-year, $27 million deal to a new security company on several occasions this year. But the deliberations have gone nowhere, and now Oakland is starting over from scratch.
It may take three months or longer for a new contract to be prepared, officials estimated, leaving the city to continue paying the incumbent company, ABC Security, on a month-to-month basis.
The current arrangement has now persisted for over a year, and in total the company has been paid over $30 million since it first signed with Oakland in 2018, including several contract extensions and pay increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a reflection of the city’s struggles to leave behind the remnants of last year’s corruption scandal, laying bare the messy politics around city contracts and the millions of public dollars given to private vendors that win them.
On two occasions in recent months, the Oakland City Council has had the opportunity to leave ABC behind and award the contract to Allied Universal, the world’s largest private security provider.
Both times, it has stopped short. Elected leaders have openly advocated for an immigrant-owned local business, Marina Security Services, to receive the contract instead — despite Marina finishing behind Allied in the city’s bidding process.
“The council typically tries to be friendly to local vendors, while staff tends to look at it in more of a dispassionate way,” said Dan Lindheim, a former Oakland city administrator. “The sets of criteria they are using is different; sometimes they’re contradictory.”
ABC Security Service guard Sabira Hussein screens visitors at City Hall in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
ABC Security, the existing contract holder, is not mentioned in the federal criminal indictments filed by prosecutors this year against ex-Mayor Sheng Thao, her romantic partner Andre Jones and the father-and-son business duo of David and Andy Duong, whose family has the city’s recycling contract.
But the company’s owner, Ana Chretien, is a close ally and business associate of Mario Juarez, who this news organization has previously reported to be a co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to bribe the former mayor.
ABC received its latest contract extension in September 2024, a decision that nearly required then-Mayor Thao to cast a tie-breaking vote, though the council ultimately reached a unanimous decision to stick with the company. According to The Oaklandside, Juarez and another person named in federal subpoenas had lobbied on behalf of ABC Security when it seemed the company might not get its contract renewed in 2022.
Juarez, who was never charged by the feds, has long been a fierce advocate for Chretien’s company. Last month, he distributed notices to local news media on behalf of the Oakland Latino Business Association and Committee. These notices cite lawsuits alleging unfair labor practices that have been filed against the companies that finished first and second place in Oakland’s most recent contract bid process: Allied Universal and Marina Security Services.
Chretien did not respond to questions about her current association with Juarez, with whom she swapped ownership of several commercial properties when the two represented the same real-estate company
At least on the legal front, the notices are on to something: workers have filed in court for unpaid wages against both Allied, and Marina, whose owner is politically-connected.
But to the extent that there’s negativity at City Hall around the two companies, it hardly needs to be generated by outside critics.
At a meeting last month, Councilmember Ken Houston, a vocal fan of Marina, alluded to a report by The Oaklandside that a subsidiary of Allied was contracted to provide transportation to armed detention officers with the Department of Homeland Security.
Oakland city council member district seven Ken Houston speaks during the 2025 Inauguration Ceremony held at Oakland City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
This would seem to run afoul of a 2019 city policy that forbids public deals with companies contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for services at “detention facilities.”
The council had already rejected Allied once before, months earlier, over settlements — including back wages — that the company has had to pay out to current and former employees. Allied officials did not respond to an interview request.
City staff, including Transportation Director Josh Rowan, made clear at the time that their own process found Allied as the strongest bidder. But the new ICE question appeared to lead officials to relent — and now Oakland will start from scratch.
Marina, meanwhile, has its own share of ups and downs. Its owner, Sam Tadesse, has repeatedly alleged bias by city staff who ranked the company second place in its bid process.
He similarly raised issues with the Peralta Community College District’s own search this year for a security contractor, which ended with the school system ditching Marina for another provider after Tadesse’s company placed third in that bidding process.
Tadesse, a prolific donor in local political races, said Thursday he will wait to see the city’s next request-for-proposals before deciding whether to pursue the contract once more.
“We are confident that we can once again demonstrate we are deserving and capable of exceeding the City’s security needs,” he said in a statement to this news organization, adding that he is “hopeful” the city runs a “fair and effective process.”
Two suspects died in a crash early Saturday in San Leandro after reportedly leading California Highway Patrol officers in a highway chase that began in Castro Valley, officials said.
According to the CHP, a pair of officers also suffered major injuries when both their vehicle and the white Mercedes they were pursuing crashed into a noise barrier on a tight, winding exit road from I-238 that leads to East 14th Street.
The two officers were taken to a hospital with major injuries, though they were not life-threatening, the CHP said Saturday. A passenger in the Mercedes was also hospitalized with major injuries.
The pursuit on Saturday began at about 3:41 a.m. when CHP officers attempted a traffic stop of the Mercedes sedan on Interstate 580, near Eden Canyon Road in Castro Valley, authorities said.
The driver did not pull over, the CHP said, and the ensuing vehicle chase extended for several miles along I-580 and I-238. It ended when the Mercedes crashed off the highway exit, just before it could reach San Leandro’s city streets.
Authorities said the CHP vehicle similarly ran into the barrier as a result of the first crash, though the two vehicles did not collide.
Responders from the Alameda County Fire Department and county sheriff’s office arrived to the scene soon afterward. The case is under investigation, the CHP said. No identifying details of the deceased suspects had been released as of press time Saturday.
Saturday’s incident was the latest high-speed law enforcement chase in the East Bay to result in a deadly crash — a trend that has led to fierce public debates in nearby Oakland about when police should engage in pursuits.
Last month, a civilian body that oversees the Oakland police approved new policies that relaxed previous restrictions on when the city’s officers can initiate a high-speed chase.
The CHP is not bound by any local policies limiting pursuit speeds. The agency has regularly been deployed to the East Bay, a crime-reduction strategy championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
OAKLAND — Two men were wounded, one at least twice, in a Thursday night shooting at a West Oakland parking lot, authorities said.
Both men, one a 47-year-old Oakland man who was wounded in the head and leg and a 31-year-old San Francisco man who was hit in the leg, were in stable condition Friday at a hospital, authorities said.
The shooting happened about 9:28 p.m. Thursday in a commercial mall parking lot in the 900 block of West Grand Avenue and caused the activation of a gunshot detection alert system, authorities said.
Initial police reports were that a car drove into the parking lot and one masked man got out with a firearm while another man remained in the vehicle. Both men began shooting toward the other two men before fleeing in the vehicle.
More than two dozen shots were fired, authorities said. Some parked vehicles and a building were also hit by gunfire but no other injuries were reported.
Police have not said if the two men shot knew each other or if one or both of them were the intended targets.
A motive for the shooting is under investigation. Detailed descriptions of the shooters have not been released.
Anyone with information may call investigators at 510-238-3426.
OAKLAND — An 87-year-old woman suffered multiple fractures when she was robbed Wednesday afternoon in North Oakland and three suspects, including a 13-year-old boy, were arrested later after allegedly robbing another woman at gunpoint in the Dimond district, authorities said.
The other suspects arrested were a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man, authorities said
The 87-year-old woman was robbed just before 4 p.m. Wednesday in a parking lot in the 5100 block of Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal district.
Initial police reports were that the woman was dragged on the pavement by a male suspect who had grabbed her purse.
The suspect, who may have had a gun, was able to wrestle the purse away and fled in an SUV occupied by at least two other people, authorities said.
The woman suffered multiple fractures to her hips and back area and was in stable condition Thursday at a hospital, authorities said.
Police said about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday the same suspects robbed a 45-year-old woman of personal items at gunpoint in the 3400 block of Lincoln Avenue in the Dimond district before fleeing in the SUV.
The vehicle was spotted by police several blocks away and the police helicopter began tracking it, providing updates on its location to ground units that were not directly behind the vehicle.
The SUV drove throughout the city before finally crashing in the 800 block of 40th Street, where the three suspects were arrested, police said.
Police said it turned out the SUV had been stolen earlier in Oakland before the robberies but had not been officially reported yet.
Property taken from the 45-year-old woman was recovered in the vehicle. The 45-year-old woman and a witness were brought to the scene and identified the suspects as the alleged robbers, authorities said.
Another witness later contacted officers and told them they had seen the suspects throw a gun from the SUV while fleeing the Lincoln Avenue robbery. Police found the gun.
The suspects were arrested on suspicion of numerous charges, including robbery, elder abuse and vehicle theft counts.
SAN RAMON – The head of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District is speaking out after a student allegedly attacked an assistant principal at a homecoming dance over the weekend.
The incident happened Saturday night at California High School, located at 9870 Broadmoor Drive in San Ramon, according to Superintendent CJ Cammack. In a letter to district employees and families, Cammack said the assistant principal approached two students in the parking lot and was physically assaulted by one of them.
The students left the area after the incident, but San Ramon police took one of them into custody later the same night.
Cammack said the students do not attend Cal High, but are enrolled at another school in the district.
A police department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about the case, including the arrested student’s age and city of residence.
The district is cooperating with the criminal investigation, Cammack said, adding that it will conduct its own probe and “pursue all disciplinary consequences to the fullest extent permissible by law.”
“We want to be clear that, in no uncertain terms, this conduct will not be tolerated at Cal High or at any school in SRVUSD,” the superintendent said in the letter. “We care deeply about the safety and well-being of our students, as well as all of our staff.”
The incident, Cammack added, is “not a reflection of the outstanding character and conduct of our student population at Cal High or in SRVUSD as a whole.”
“As we shared directly with the Cal High community, we all have a collective responsibility to care for one another and ensure that each and every site in SRVUSD is a place where all members of our community are safe, both physically and emotionally,” Cammack said.
Anyone with information related to the incident can contact the police department at 925-973-2700.
ANTIOCH – A 46-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing his mother and half-brother, police said.
Around 4:10 p.m., officers discovered the decomposing bodies of a 65-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man while conducting a welfare check at a home in the 2600 block of Fairmont Lane, Antioch police Lt. Desmond Bittner said in a news release.
Officers stopped Mark Taylor, the woman’s son and the man’s half-brother, as he was leaving the residence, Bittner said.
“Investigators determined that Taylor murdered his mother and half-brother,” he said.
Taylor was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on murder charges.
No other details were released.
“This crime is still under investigation and no further information will be released at this time,” Bittner said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
HAYWARD — What began as a response to a court order violation Wednesday morning led to more than six-hour standoff between Alameda County sheriff’s deputies and a pellet rifle wielding man who also brandished what was thought to be a stick of dynamite, authorities said.
A pit bull associated with the home where the standoff happened also attacked a sheriff’s K-9, authorities said.
The 31-year-old suspect has been charged with two felonies: resisting an executive officer and possession of a destructive device and three misdemeanors: brandishing a replica gun, resisting a police officer and disobeying a domestic relations court order. He has also been charged with violating parole and his being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail.
The volatile incident began about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday when deputies were dispatched to a home in the 21000 block of Meekland Avenue in the unincorporated Cherryland community for a disturbance related to the man violating a restraining order to stay away from a woman who lives in the home, authorities said.
When deputies arrived the suspect allegedly brandished what turned out later to be a pellet rifle at them from inside, Sheriff’s Sgt. Roberto Morales said. That prompted a call-out of additional deputies, including the Special Response Unit, Crisis Intervention Unit, and drone operators.
Deputies were able to safely evacuate other occupants of the home, but the man remained inside.
While CIU deputies communicated with the man, he also brandished from inside an 8 to 10-inch object that looked consistent with a stick of dynamite and made threats that he had a bomb, Morales said. That later turned out to be “a makeshift apparatus taped together to resemble dynamite,” authorities said.
The man refused to surrender, remained uncooperative and continued to threaten deputies for several hours. A “gas irritant” was then deployed into the home by deputies to encourage the man to surrender, authorities said.
Before that, some neighbors in the area were evacuated and those who chose not to were encouraged to shelter in place.
After the gas deployment, a pit bull came out of the yard of the residence and attacked a sheriff’s K-9 named Gambit. Deputies are not sure if the suspect deliberately released the dog to attack the K-9 or if he let it out due to the gas irritant.
The K-9 suffered puncture wounds and was bleeding from its back leg following the attack. Its handler immediately took him to a veterinary hospital for treatment.
Authorities said it turned out the pit bull belonged to the person living at the home who had the restraining order and the dog was returned to her.
As negotiations continued the suspect eventually came out of the home to avoid the gas but then barricaded himself in the side yard.
He was ultimately arrested at about 8:40 a.m. and taken to a hospital for medical clearance before being booked at Santa Rita Jail.
SAN PABLO – East Bay authorities on Tuesday arrested three men on suspicion of buying and selling millions of dollars worth of stolen copper wire and catalytic converters.
The San Pablo Police Department learned about the alleged sales last month and launched a joint investigation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement agency said in a news release.
Police said the investigation determined the suspects were “involved in the purchase, sales and possession of stolen catalytic converters and stolen copper wire.”
Around 8 a.m. Tuesday, officers and deputies served two search warrants in the 1700 block of Road 20 in San Pablo and in the 1000 block of Brookside Drive in Richmond.
A “significant cache of suspected stolen property” was recovered, including more than 700 catalytic converters, 1,000 pounds of copper wire and $113,000 in cash, police said.
“The suspects are believed to have been involved in an ongoing criminal enterprise to buy and sell stolen property, with more than $6.4 million in transactions in 2024 alone,” police said.
The men were arrested and expected to be booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on felony charges of grand theft of copper materials and receiving stolen property.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information can contact the police department’s investigations division at 510-215-3150.
DUBLIN — Two people have been arrested in connection with an attack on a teen boy two weeks ago inside a locker room at Dublin High School, according to authorities.
An 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old male were arrested on suspicion of felony assault, Dublin Police Services said in a news release Friday. The older suspect was also arrested on suspicion of child abuse and trespassing.
Both suspects are former students at the Dublin Unified School District, police said.
The attack happened around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 23. A female student, her mother and four young men entered the campus and confronted the victim outside the sports complex, according to an overview of the incident prepared by the school district.
After the confrontation, the victim went into the locker room. The men followed and attacked him, the overview stated. Members of the football team broke up the assault.
The female student and her mother were not involved in the physical attack, police said.
It appears there were previous conflicts between the victim and the girl, police said. And while the mother confronted the victim about those conflicts, it did not appear she coordinated the attack.
The older suspect may be acquainted with the victim and the younger suspect is related to the girl and her mother, police said.
According to the incident overview, the girl “will receive appropriate school consequences upon the completion of the school’s investigation.” She has been suspended.
The mother has been banned from campus, the overview stated.
Efforts are being made to improve security at the school, according to the overview. A campus supervisor is now stationed at the parking lot entrance to the locker room to monitor access and police have increased their presence at the school.
The district also plans to broach the idea of adding fencing at an upcoming school board meeting.
“While this won’t solve every potential issue, it will allow the site to better control the ingress and egress of people at the school,” Superintendent Chris Funk wrote in a message to parents. “Along with the recent addition of a video surveillance system, this should significantly improve campus security.”
The incident remains under investigation and police are working to identify the other suspects.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 925-833-6670.
OAKLAND — An 18-year-old man died Wednesday night after the speeding car he was in was broadsided by another vehicle in East Oakland, authorities said.
Both vehicles failed to stop at a stop sign before the collision, police said.
The driver of the other vehicle fled the scene on foot as did another occupant of the car the man who died was in, police said.
The name of the man killed has not been released. Authorities have not yet said if he was the driver of the car or a passenger.
The collision happened about 10:35 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of 38th Avenue and Carrington Street.
Police said that based on video recovered from the area, the Honda Fit the man who died was in was traveling northbound on 38th avenue at an excessive speed when it failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of 38th Avenue and Carrington Street.
Police said as the Honda Fit accelerated through the intersection it was broadsided by an Acura TL that was traveling westbound on Carrington Street that also failed to stop for the stop sign.
The Honda Fit hit some parked vehicles before coming to a stop.
Witnesses told police that the man who later died was able to get out of the vehicle and began gathering items from inside the vehicle before running to the curb where he collapsed and was later pronounced dead. Police have not said what the items were.
Witnesses told police a second occupant of the Honda Fit also got out of the vehicle on their own and ran away from the scene.
Police said the video shows that the driver of the Acura exited the vehicle after the collision as it was still moving and fled the scene on foot. The Acura kept rolling before colliding with two parked vehicles on Carrington Street.
Police said speed was a definite factor in the collision but it is not known if drugs or alcohol also played roles.
The collision remains under investigation. Anyone with information may call police traffic investigators at 510-777-8570.
OAKLAND — A woman and a man driving in West Oakland Tuesday night were wounded by stray bullets fired during a gun battle between the occupants of other vehicles, authorities said.
The 65-year-old man was in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his jaw, authorities said. The 53-year-old woman was in stable condition with a wound to her arm.
The shooting, which activated gunshot detection system alerts, happened about 10:37 p.m. in the 1700 block of Eighth Street. Numerous shell casings were recovered in the area.
Police said initial reports indicated that the occupants of two vehicles exchanged gunfire while driving but none of the shooters were injured.
The vehicle belonging to the 65-year-old man was found with some bullet holes and blood in its interior in the 700 block of Willow Street, authorities said. The man had gotten his own transportation to a hospital, police said.
The woman was found with her vehicle on Campbell Village Court and was taken to a hospital.
Both victims told police they heard gunfire while driving and then realized they had been shot.
Police have not released a motive for the shooting. No arrests have been made and no suspect information has been released.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrests of the shooters. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3426 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
