Sad Saturday

Sometimes you wonder what people are thinking, and then you realize they probably aren't thinking...

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Shooting again disrupts school
RICHMOND: Campus twice on alert with threat of stray bullets

By Karl Fischer and Kimberly S. Wetzel

CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Gunfire in the street Friday rattled a south Richmond elementary school for the second time this week.

Staff members locked down Nystrom Elementary at 230 Harbour Way for about 45 minutes as a precautionary measure, said Paul Ehara, spokesman for the West Contra Costa school district.

Unlike Monday's shooting, when two rounds fired from a passing car penetrated classrooms, none of the rounds fired Friday hit buildings in the area, police Lt. Enos Johnson said. No one was hurt in either incident.

About 10:50 a.m., several witnesses called police from near the intersection of South 11th Street and Florida Avenue, where someone in a gray Volvo station wagon fired several rounds at a passing Cadillac. Florida runs along the back side of the campus.

Soon after the shooting, a state parole agent saw a brown Cadillac with gunshot damage parked at an apartment on the 300 block of Ripley Avenue, in the Iron Triangle neighborhood.

Police spoke to the driver, a 20-year-old man, who confirmed that he was fired upon while driving. He did not know why the gunmen targeted him, and he drove to a friend's house afterward because he was scared, Johnson said.

Police have no leads in the case. Four men were in the Volvo, Johnson said.

About 12:30 p.m. Monday, the first day of instruction, a similar street shooting near the corner of South 12th Street and Maine Avenue sent two bullets through buildings at Nystrom. Nobody was struck, but students, parents and teachers were terrified.

The Richmond Police Department offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Monday's case, in which three men in a light-colored Cadillac with a dark top chased and shot at another car.

Police found the victim in that case and determined he did not know the gunmen or why they attacked him.

In light of this week's shootings, the district plans to hire a security guard to patrol the campus, particularly the back of the school. The guard may be in place as soon as Tuesday, when students return from the long holiday weekend.

"They'll monitor for any possible suspicious activity," Ehara said.

On Thursday, police locked down De Anza High School for about 45 minutes after receiving a report of a student on campus with a gun. Police found neither gun nor suspect.

Reach Karl Fischer at kfischer@cctimes.com or 510-262-2728. Reach Kimberly S. Wetzel at 510-262-2798 or kwetzel@cctimes.com.

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Three injured in South Richmond shooting

Two adults and a juvenile are in stable condition following a shooting in South Richmond late Friday night.

Police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting, and are looking for additional people who may have been involved, said Lt. Enos Johnson.

At 11:25 p.m., officers patrolling in the Santa Fe area heard several gunshots and responded to the 800 block of Virginia Avenue, Johnson said.

The officers found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

Police believe the victims may be related. The three were treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to local hospitals, Johnson said.

The responding officers searched the neighborhood, and found two suspects attempting to hide in an abandoned public restroom at Martin Luther King Park, Johnson said.

Police are still investigating the motive for the shooting and are trying to find witnesses. Anyone with information should call homicide detective Aaron Mandell at 510-620-6622 or the 24-hour anonymous tip line at 510-232-TIPS.

-- Meera Pal

You can't take two jumps off a cliff.

This is actually a non-story, but it goes to show that RPD is giving serious attention to firearms on school property. Would this police search and SWAT response have happened without the Nystrom Elementary shooting? We'll never know, but we at the Tazer think it's better to be safe than sorry.

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Gun rumor stuns school
RICHMOND: Police swarm De Anza and detain two students, but find no firearms, and no one is arrested

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Police with rifles and tactical gear swarmed Richmond's De Anza High School in search of a student with a gun Thursday afternoon but found neither weapon nor suspect.

School staff called police at 2:27 p.m. after a female student reported seeing a teen with a handgun somewhere on campus, police Lt. Mark Gagan said.

The report brought dozens of officers from all corners of town to the May Valley neighborhood in the city's suburban northeastern area.

"When we get a call of this nature, we take it very seriously," Gagan said. "Officers were on-scene very quickly, and we also called in patrol officers from downtown. We sealed the campus and began to search."

The campus remained locked down until 3:12 p.m., when police allowed students to leave classrooms and go home. Police detained two teenagers who matched the description of the student with the gun given by the witness, but both were quickly released, Gagan said.

"It makes me scared. I mean, some guy carrying a gun on campus? What if he shot me?" said 15-year-old Kayla Cariglio, who stood with friends in front of the school. "I was stuck for like two minutes after school, but then they let us out."

Police continued searching the campus after releasing the students. Gagan said that while no weapon was found, the incident helped prepare the department.

"An incident like this one, where we get a report of a person armed with a gun on a school campus, tests our ability to respond quickly and effectively," Gagan said. "I believe we were effective today and were prepared to keep the students safe."

De Anza Principal Vera Rowsey declined to comment through a spokesman.

On Monday, the first day of instruction in the West Contra Costa school district, a drive-by shooting in south Richmond sent two stray bullets through classrooms at Nystrom Elementary school. No one was hurt.

Staff writer Kimberly S. Wetzel contributed to this article. Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

High & Low

Some news matters, some news doesn't. This time, we'll report and let the residents of Tazerville decide.

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Police see pattern in jewelry robberies
RICHMOND: Four charged Wednesday in Hilltop Mall heist; detectives say method similar to recent thefts

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Last weekend's jewelry store heist at Hilltop Mall appears similar in method to several other recent robberies in the Bay Area, Richmond police said after prosecutors charged four in connection with the case Wednesday.

The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office filed robbery and burglary charges against 28-year-old Demarco Hill, 25-year-old Antonio Boyd and his brother, 22-year-old Shawndale Boyd.

Laviette Smith, 26, faces an accessory charge. Police arrested her the day of the robbery, but she was released for lack of evidence. Prosecutors now have issued a $100,000 warrant for her arrest, Richmond police Detective Nicole Abetkov said.

Richmond police arrested the three men Sunday after searching the 900 block of Humboldt Street, soon after Exotic Custom Jewelry at 2136 Hilltop Mall Road reported that a precise team of four robbers smashed a glass case with a sledgehammer and emptied it of 20 to 30 expensive watches.

A security guard saw the silver 2002 Buick in which the robbers left. A Richmond police officer taking an unrelated police report on Humboldt saw the car leave Interstate 80 at the McBryde Avenue exit and drive past.

The suspects, apparently unnerved by the sight of the officer, stopped the car and ran into backyards in the neighborhood. Officers found three of the four suspects and are trying to identify the missing man, Abetkov said.

Police found a sledgehammer, stolen watches and other evidence at the crime scene.

The Buick was originally reported stolen in a carjacking to Pittsburg police by Smith, who rented the car. Evidence indicates she made the report to avoid suspicion, Abetkov said.

Abetkov said several other law enforcement agencies, including San Francisco police and the FBI, spoke to Richmond detectives this week because certain details of the case mirror those in other robberies along the Interstate 80 corridor, including several in Sacramento.

"We are trying to determine whether there is a connection," Abetkov said. "We would ask any departments with similar cases to contact us."

The Hilltop robbers on the store's surveillance videotape appeared well-practiced, Abetkov said. Four masked men entered the store, one pointing a gun, one with a sledgehammer and two with pillow cases. They were in and out of the business in 21 seconds, she said.

All three men are being held at County Jail in Martinez. Police said all are from San Francisco or Oakland.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

Police ask anyone with information about Laviette Smith, or any other law enforcement agencies investigating similar robberies, to call Detective Nicole Abetkov at 510-412-2081.

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Mayoral candidates warned about posting illegal signs

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Clean up or pay up.

That's the word from Richmond City Hall, which has warned all three mayoral candidates to stop festooning the town with illegally posted political placards or prepare to pay cleanup bills.

"You were informed that you must obtain a permit from the City of Richmond before you post campaign signs," City Clerk Diane Holmes wrote in the Aug. 25 letters to the candidates. "As of today ... you have not obtained a sign permit from the City of Richmond. Therefore, your signs are illegally posted."

The warning was the first for Mayor Irma Anderson and challenger Gary Bell, who were miffed that Holmes cited them when signs for City Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin -- who received her third warning --outnumbered theirs.

"She's got a lot of signs, and it's costing the city a lot of money," Anderson said this week. "It takes a lot of time and money for our Police Department to go and take them down. I would rather spend that money on police services."

Said Bell: "We are taking them down, because if we are the ones who are making and writing the laws, we're going to have to follow the law.

"I hope that Ms. McLaughlin does the same."

McLaughlin says she is a victim of her own success.

"We pass out the signs at different campaign events and ask people to put them up" legally, McLaughlin said. "But we have so many volunteers ... I don't know if all of them know the rules about where they can post."

All candidates said this week they took down the illegal signs cited in the warning and either paid for or were preparing to pay for proper permits.

City ordinance prohibits political signs in the public right-of-way, which includes utility poles, fences bordering public sidewalks or trees in public space. The state similarly prohibits political signs on freeway easements, and it bills candidates for any sign it removes. Political signs are permitted on front lawns and in windows of private property with permission of the owner.

Richmond Police Sgt. Darren Monahan, who supervises the city's code enforcement workers, said the department has removed dozens of illegally posted placards since the period to declare candidacy ended Aug. 11 -- not enough to fill a Dumpster, but noticeably more than in past election seasons.

Nearly all of those signs supported McLaughlin, he said, and new signs have replaced those taken down by city crews. Signs appear frequently on fences near the Interstate 80 exit ramp on Cutting Boulevard and lining other heavily traveled arterials such as Richmond Parkway and Harbour Way.

Anderson and Bell offered explanations similar to McLaughlin's for the placards bearing their names, saying any illegally posted signs were not placed by their campaign staffs but by supporters unfamiliar with the rules.

Holmes said everyone who runs for local office receives the same information about posting signs when taking out paperwork to formally declare candidacy. McLaughlin said her campaign would stamp the backs of signs it distributes with information about where not to post.

Holmes' warning letter to McLaughlin also rebuked the candidate for faxing a request to use "city staff or media to distribute (her) campaign literature or solicit contributions." Using public resources for campaigning would be illegal, Holmes noted.

McLaughlin said she did not send the two-page fax bearing her name to Holmes on Aug. 23 for inclusion on the city's "master calendar." The fax included a flier from McLaughlin's campaign with information about endorsements, a future fund-raiser and requests for donations.

"Her allegation that I faxed something is totally false," McLaughlin said. "I'm very offended that she sent that (letter). It did not come from my fax number. She just assumed that I sent it, though that is absolutely not the case."

McLaughlin said she does not know who sent the fax but guessed it was a supporter taking initiative without her authorization.

On Wednesday afternoon, fences and buildings along Cutting Boulevard had a light sprinkling of signs for mayoral and City Council candidates. Richmond Parkway had no political signs, but plenty of illegal signs for commercial interests.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

ONE STEPS UP!

A sunny Wednesday to the Tazer Faithful! We offer up a new look for something new!

First, an editorial from today's Times...

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Firearms and schools

ON MONDAY, the first day of classes at Nystrom Elementary in Richmond, bullets suddenly whizzed through the school at lunchtime.

Two rounds shot through a classroom where four students were taking a test. One pierced through a wall and traveled back outside to a playground crammed with students at recess.

Miraculously, none of the schoolchildren or staff were injured. But needless to say, the experience was a traumatic one for everyone involved.

Police say three men in a Champagne-colored Cadillac were chasing another car near the school and shot after it. Instead of hitting their target, the bullets wound up endangering innocent bystanders.

Street shoot-outs happen with alarming regularity in Richmond. Police, city officials and community leaders have been grappling for solutions to the frightening violence.

According the West Contra Unified School District, this is the first time that shots have been fired into a school. It takes the city's violence to a new level. We understand the community's outrage at the unidentified gunmen's blatant disregard for the children inside the school.

But Richmond residents must do more than vent. Someone, somewhere, knows who fired the bullets that easily could have killed an innocent child.

Whoever knows the identity of the shooters must come forward and tell authorities so that the menaces responsible can be arrested. Police are offering a $10,000 reward. We applaud the staff at Nystrom for their handling of the incident.

Principal Wendy Holmes, in her first day on the job, used a megaphone to call all the children inside and got them to safety. After the gunshots, teachers ordered those students already inside to hit the ground.

Quick thinking all around prevented pandemonium, which could have caused people to get hurt. School officials appear to have done everything right. Now, it's time for residents to come forward and do the right thing.

Richmond, as a community, must send a message that it will not tolerate thugs firing guns in the vicinity of a school.

California's Health and Safety Code enhances the criminal penalties for people convicted of selling drugs within 1,000 feet of schools.

The reason is obvious. The activity associated with drug sales places children at risk, be it of using drugs themselves or of falling victim to drug-related violence.

The code should be amended so that the same enhancements apply to anyone who brandishes a firearm near a school.

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The Tazer also congratulates the school staff for their quick thinking, and are glad to point out the silver lining in no casualties. We hope that RPD's efforts and the reward will result in the rapid capture of the involved parties.

Next up, another reaction to the incident, and it's something we at the Tazer have been waiting to hear: a candidate for Mayor of Richmond has actually spoken out...

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2006

"Richmond Mayoral candidate Gary Bell offers proposal to curb violence."

I am saddened and outraged by the shooting incident at Nystrom Elementary School yesterday. I denounce this crime, and pledge that as an individual citizen and candidate for Mayor, that I will be committed to lending every available resource to confront this ongoing issue.

In the days since the Mayor's press conference regarding a special election, there has been silence regarding crime. Absent any comments, the public deserves to know the stance of city officials, but lacking those, they should know the stance of candidates for city offices.

I believe that the time has come for Richmond to consider the idea of a Constitutional, citywide "Gun Free" zone. I am prepared to discuss this and further proposals surrounding this unfortunate incident in an effort to help make our city a safer one.

For more information, visit my website, "GaryBell.org".

The media is welcome to contact me regarding this issue at (510) 612-1835, or by e-mail at "gb926@aol.com". I will be happy to provide further comment and answer any questions that you may have.

Yours in service,
Gary L. Bell

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The Tazer thanks Mr. Bell for that statement, as it certainly gets the ball rolling on discussion. We extend a similar invitation to any and all candidates to speak out about this incident, as well as other policies and thoughts on violent crime. We promise to publish statements of similar form and size, but reserve the right to edit for length.

Our invitation for all to comment freely on the Tazer likewise stands and so long as common sense and sensibilities aren't abused we actually encourage it. Solutions are out there to be found, so bring them here!

Fear & Loathing in Richmond

Fear because this is frightening stuff.

Loathing because these thugs are lower than low.

And Richmond because Irma Anderson said that there are supposed to be "SAFE STREETS NOW."

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Gunfire terrifies students on first day in classroom

By Kimberly S. Wetzel
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Two bullets whizzed through a Richmond elementary school classroom where students were taking a test on the first day of school Monday, with one round traveling through a wall and into a playground where about 280 students were playing at recess.

Nystrom Elementary, at 230 Harbour Way, was caught in the middle of the 12:30 p.m. gunfire, which police said came from men in one car chasing another car on the east side of the school. No one at the school was hurt.

"We're outraged by this blatant disregard for the safety of both our citizens and children," Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said.

Wendy Holmes, in her first school day on the job as Nystrom's principal, said she heard about nine shots around lunchtime. She used a megaphone to bring the children inside and ordered everyone to take shelter in place until police arrived.

The children were released from school at the normal time after police determined there was no additional threat, Gagan said.

"It is concerning on the first day of school for these kind of things to happen," Holmes said. "We need to reassure our students and parents that this is a safe place for children."

Holmes said the school staff held an emergency meeting Monday afternoon to discuss whether the right measures had been taken and how to bolster safety at the school, which is near a notoriously violent area.

A school notice will be sent home today alerting parents about the shooting and the measures the school, which serves students in kindergarten through the sixth grade, is taking to improve safety, Holmes said.

Parents who saw the police cars outside the school Monday and milled about the front of the campus demanding to know what happened were not happy.

"It's scary," said Amanda Archuleta, mother of 6-year-old Jasmyne Allen, a first-grader. "It's not something that I as a parent should have to worry about. (Jasmyne) probably won't be coming back here tomorrow."

Officials said the shooting happened when three men in a 2000 or 2001 light- or champagne-colored Cadillac were chasing another car on the east side of the school near 12th Street and Maine Avenue. The men fired several rounds of a small-caliber handgun at the other car.

Two bullets entered an English Learner Support Services classroom, where four high school students were taking a test under the supervision of three teachers.

One of the bullets struck a metal laminator in the room, and the other exited through a wall and landed in the middle of the student-filled playground, Gagan said.

"More than anything else, it frightened the devil out of the students in the classroom," Richmond police Capt. Cleveland Brown said. One of the students was too shaken to complete the test and went home, Brown said.

Several students questioned about the incident said they heard the gunshots and that their teachers ordered them to hit the ground.

West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman Paul Ehara said he believes the incident marks the first time gunshots have penetrated a district school.

The Richmond Police Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

"This is something that we've decided to get on top of," Brown said. "It is critical the community steps forward to tell us who put our children at risk."

Anyone with information should contact Lt. Shawn Pickett at 510-620-6613. Anonymous tips can be left at 510-232-8477.

Reach Kimberly S. Wetzel at 510-262-2798 or kwetzel@cctimes.com.

And one to grow on...

This spanking comes courtest of today's Times' opinion page.

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Unnecessary election

Mayor Irma Anderson's opinion piece published Aug. 19 was intended to drum up support for her ballot initiative which suggests that tying up an additional 5 percent of the general fund for police, mostly, and some for anti-violence programs, will make Richmond safer.

The police department is finding it difficult to recruit, hire and train all the officers that are authorized in the present budget. Mayor Anderson claims her plan will not take critical funding away from other city services but she admits it will take $6.5 million in the first year alone, and that has to come from somewhere.

Why tie up funds for the police over and above what they are able to spend when the City Council never refuses requests from the police chief? It would only be justified if we had a City Council that was anti-public safety, and that is not the case. A special election will be very costly and unnecessary.

Also, Mayor Anderson claimed she had to resurrect the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program because it had been "abandoned by the previous administration." That is not true. I had a successful Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program every year of my administration.

Rosemary M. Corbin
Richmond

Corbin is the former mayor of Richmond.

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Calling all sockpuppets: Click that comment link and get it out of your system. You know you want to...or are being TOLD to...

Monday Doubleheader

We have two items we wanted you to be aware of. Please note our emphasis in the first article...

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Richmond rallies against violence
WEST COUNTY: Annual gathering draws attention to the area's troubles with caravan, speeches and festivities

By Eric Louie
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Rick Herrera was already planning on attending the West Contra Costa rally against violence Saturday when, just days before, he became a victim himself.

The 41-year-old, married, father of two said he was walking out of the Walgreens on Macdonald Avenue in Richmond around 7:30 p.m. Monday when, "Some guy walks up to me and says, 'break yourself.'" Herrera resisted. He was shot twice in the back. Two men then went through his pockets.

As Herrera recounted the incident, he turned to show two red spots bleeding through his white shirt where he was shot. "It's still leaking a little bit," he said.

Just before the rally started, the Oakland native, who now lives in Richmond, said it's time the community stand up against violence. "I've seen the fear in my wife's eyes. I've seen it in my children's eyes. It's pretty traumatic."

Saturday's rally started with a caravan of vehicles, which began at 24th Avenue and Barrett Avenue, next to the Richmond police station, and ended two miles north at Contra Costa College in San Pablo.

Richmond, a city of about 100,000, has had 25 homicides this year."Twenty five too many," said Lt. Enos Johnson, who with other Richmond police officers provided an escort to the city limits. The caravan, at times stretching up to five blocks long and led by a white hearse and a blue pickup with speakers to announce the event's message, was then escorted to the college by police from other agencies.

About 40 people regrouped at the college's football field, then marched together around a stage set up on the gridiron.

Lillian Powell, 60, of Richmond sang "Amazing Grace" during the opening march. Her son, Warren Powell II, was a Contra Costa College student planning to attend UC Davis and work in veterinary medicine when he was shot dead in Richmond in 2002.

She said she wanted the young men causing violence to know that she cares for them and wants them to find a better future, just as her son wanted one for himself. Before he died, he told his father that he wanted to see an end to the violence.

"He said, 'Dad, there must be something to stop these young men from killing each other,'" she said.

The day continued with music, prayers and speeches from victims' family members. The annual event began five years ago to bring together Christian families, but it is now focused on bringing attention to the area's violence, said founder Pastor Rich Kinney of Revival Generation Ministries in San Pablo.

"It's something that we need to let the community know," said organizer the Rev. George Brown of Totally Led Ministries. "We are surrounded by people who are hurt."

Bennie Johnson Sr.'s son, Bennie Johnson Jr., died in a 2004 unsolved Fairfield killing, which he believes was motivated by both robbery and tensions between neighborhoods in Richmond.

The 53-year-old Fairfield resident then started Stop the Violence, a nonprofit organization that had a booth at Saturday's event and holds annual picnics around the same theme.

"I pray to God that I go to camping trips, birthday parties," he said. "Not funerals."

Reach Eric Louie at elouie@cctimes.com or 925-847-2123.

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And #2 is some great cooperation between Richmond PD and San Pablo PD. Thanks guys!

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Police arrest 3 in Richmond robbery

By Maria Natale
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Three suspects were arrested this afternoon after a jewelry store was robbed inside the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, the Richmond Police Department reported.

Richmond police Lt. Enos Johnson said officers were notified at 11:54 a.m. that four, armed males had entered Exotic Custom Jewelry at 2136 Hilltop Mall Road. One suspect held a gun and instructed all store patrons to get down onto the floor while the other three suspects pillaged several display cases, using a large hammer to smash the glass and steal 20 to 30 large, diamond-encrusted watches.

The suspects fled west on Interstate 80 in a silver Buick sedan but exited the freeway shortly afterward and continued on city streets. Johnson said another Richmond police officer spotted the vehicle in the 900 block of Humboldt Street, at which point three suspects abandoned the vehicle and ran.

Richmond and San Pablo police sealed off a three-block square from Humboldt Street to McLaughlin Street and McBryde Avenue to Esmond Avenue. Two suspects were arrested at McBryde Avenue and Lassen Street, Johnson said, and a third suspect was found in a back yard of a home during a search of the area by a police dog.

Johnson said the suspects removed articles of clothing and dropped some of the watches during the chase. Police believe they recovered most of the stolen property.

The three suspects were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery. Police are still searching for the fourth suspect, who likely exited the vehicle at some point between the mall and where the vehicle was spotted on Humboldt Street, Johnson said.

Information about the incident should be directed to Richmond police Det. Sgt. Lee Hendricsen at 510-620-6616.

Reach Maria Natale at 925-945-4774 or mnatale@cctimes.com.