More Inner City Blues...

(From CBS 5)

Police report that a man is in critical condition Tuesday morning following an overnight shooting in Richmond.

The man was airlifted to John Muir Medical following the 4:50 a.m. shooting near the intersection of Hoffman Boulevard and South 22nd Street, a police dispatcher said.

One man has been taken into custody on suspicion of the shooting, according to the dispatcher.

Monday's Inner City Blues, Volume 2...

Good Monday Tazer Faithful...

We're not quite sure what to make of this one, so we'll just let it fly:

Beating baffles neighbors of homeless victim

By Sara Steffens and Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Neighbors knew the small homeless woman by the long red coat she always wore and for her habit of sitting on the same bus bench for hours, wrapped in blankets.
"She was just quiet," said neighbor Sheila Thomas, who once gave the woman a blanket. "She never bothered nobody."

"It was just devastating to me to hear what happened to her."

The woman known only as Ruth remained in critical condition at a hospital Friday, four days after a neighbor found her beaten, bloody and unconscious in the alcove of the Richmond storefront church where she sometimes slept.

Police don't know who did it or why. Even in the tough Pullman neighborhood, near the crossing of Carlson and Cutting boulevards, such tremendous violence against someone so harmless still stunned residents days later.

Her case underscores the danger inherent to living on the streets.

"It's very easy to attack, beat up and kill people who are living outside, and many of the cases go unreported and nobody ever gets caught," said Michael Stoops, director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.

A large number of the nation's homeless don't sleep under anyone's roof: 44 percent, according to a report released last month by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
"That's probably the main reason this is happening," said Stoops.

A spate of attacks against the homeless by thrill-seeking teenagers have made national headlines in recent years, but people who sleep outdoors also are vulnerable to simple crimes of opportunity, especially robberies and rapes.

"It happens all the time," said a homeless Richmond resident who asked to be identified only as "Laura." "People don't want to say anything, but a lot of them get hurt out there."

While newly homeless at age 18, Laura fell victim to three men who attacked her as she slept in her car. They raped her, beat her up and broke her nose.

"I was afraid for a long time," she said. "It happened a long time ago; I don't like to think about it."

Women are especially vulnerable on the streets, Stoops said.

"Even some elderly women that society labels 'the bag lady,' they get attacked and sexually assaulted," he said. "All women are potential victims."

To protect themselves, some women purposely act crazy or tell people they have AIDS, Stoop said.

Muggings also are a common problem for the homeless, said Kevin Sullivan, who camped outdoors in Richmond until moving into a motel a few weeks ago.

"It is really dangerous out there, because there's so many people willing to take anything you have," said Sullivan, 40. "And if you look like you have something, they'll do anything to take it."
Sometimes, the perpetrators are other homeless people after a recently cashed assistance check or a warm jacket, Sullivan said. Other times, they're strangers -- teenagers and young men aiming to steal a backpack of meager belongings, or just to bait someone into a fight.

"That seems to be happening more and more frequently out here," Sullivan said. "They see you homeless on the streets and they think 'automatic target.' People consider you to be a homeless bum and not worth anything."

To stay safe, Sullivan said, many homeless people try to group together in secluded encampments.

But Ruth, who didn't seem to have any friends among Richmond's homeless community, slept in plain view, in doorways, alleys or on benches.

"We've talked to just about everyone in that neighborhood, and nobody knows her name or where she came from," Detective Sgt. Mitch Peixoto said. "Some people on South 29th Street said they would give her food, and a lot of people said they saw her around, but she was always by herself."

She popped up about three months ago and quickly became a neighborhood fixture.

Soo Yang, who works at the coin laundry on Cutting Boulevard, wondered if Ruth had been discharged from the hospital, because she carried a Kaiser Permanente bag filled with her belongings.

"I thought she was just a crazy homeless lady, and I felt sorry for her," Yang said. "Normally I don't allow noncustomers to use our restroom, but I thought she would be OK."

Ruth would stop by the laundry several times a day to help herself to a cup of coffee, possibly one of her only sources of nourishment.

Some days she would greet Yang happily, others she would talk and laugh to herself, holding conversations with someone Yang couldn't see.

Locals called Ruth quiet and nonthreatening.

"She just walked up and down the street, drinking coffee and asking people for cigarettes," said Wesley Few, a longtime neighborhood resident. "We knew her, but didn't know her name."
Investigators hope to use fingerprints to identify Ruth, who talked to police briefly this week but would not reveal her last name.

Police initially suspected that Ruth's attackers had sexually assaulted her, but she was able to tell a detective this week that she had not been raped, Peixoto said.

Still, one or more people did savagely beat Ruth, breaking bones in her face and abdomen and causing serious internal injuries. Doctors removed her spleen.

Police do not know when or where the attack happened, though the blood in her sleeping area was dry when officers began their investigation.

Few said he saw Ruth on the sidewalk Monday morning, beaten and disrobed, an image that still bothers him.

"It's bad enough the world is like it is, but then they have people doing stuff like that. It's really sad."

"What did she have, besides dignity?"

Reach Sara Steffens at 925-943-8048 or ssteffens@cctimes.com. Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

Other attacks

The south Richmond beating last week was the latest attack against a homeless person investigated by Bay Area police in recent years.

• In November, two young men were sentenced to 15 years to life for beating 49-year-old Maria King to death in Berkeley. King, who was homeless, was killed in February 2005.

• In October, San Pablo police investigated a rash of bloody attacks and fights staged by teenagers who recorded them on cell-phone cameras. An electronic file on one of the phones showed teens beating a homeless man, police said. Three juvenile suspects were charged with assault in connection with a different attack recorded on the phone.

• Last February, muggers clubbed a homeless man into a coma near a busy intersection in San Pablo. The victim survived, but his attackers were not found.

• A 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds were charged with the murder of 52-year-old Dalrus Joseph "DJ" Brown, who died in July 2004 after being beaten in West Oakland. The teens reportedly told investigators they attacked the homeless man because they were "bored."

How to help

Neighbors describe Ruth as a short, skinny black woman who always wore a full-length red coat and black beanie cap. Descriptions of her age range from 40s to 60s. Police ask anyone who knows her, or knows about what happened to her, to call Richmond Detective Sgt. Mitch Peixoto at 510-620-6647.
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We welcome your comments and ideas for solutions Tazer faithful. We'd also like to get your feedback on the progress of the new elected/and or re-elected city officials as we approach the first full month of terms. How do you think they are doing?

Monday's Inner City Blues...

Good Monday morning Tazer faithful...

After a much needed weekend off, the Tazer has some bad news to update you on:

Richmond teen shot Saturday night

By Scott Marshall
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

A teenager was shot Saturday night as she stood in front of her home in the Pullman Avenue area of south Richmond, according to Richmond police.

The victim was shot in the upper body shortly after 9 p.m. in the 400 block of South Street, according to police. She later was in stable condition at an undisclosed hospital.

Police didn't immediately have a motive or a suspect and asked for help from the public.
Anyone with information can call Richmond police Det. Esteban Barragan at 510-621-1276 or the 24-hour anonymous tip line at 510-232-TIPS (8477).
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The Tazer is still waiting on the "results" of the assessment of the "office of violence prevention". With all that coordinating to coordinate a coordinator, our city streets are still dangerous.

Get to know Harpreet Sandhu...

Here's some background on Mr. Sandhu, as told by John Geluardi:

Human Relations Commissioner Harpreet Sandhu, appointed Tuesday night, will finish out the two years remaining on new Mayor Gayle McLaughlin's council term. He will take a seat behind the dais immediately after he is sworn in Tuesday.

An immigrant from India, Sandhu will be the first Asian to serve on the council. He is one of a handful of Sikhs to hold public office in the United States, and members of Richmond's Sikh community heralded Sandhu as an excellent choice who will work well with other council members.

"Harpreet has served the Sikh community in very important ways," said Jaideep Singh, co-founder and managing director of the Sikh American Legal and Defense Fund based in Washington, D.C. "He has been a liaison between Sikh immigrants and government agencies, and he has been a particularly strong advocate for Sikh taxi drivers who have been the frequent victims of robbery and homicide."

The council appointed Sandhu with the minimum five votes, with McLaughlin and Councilmen Nat Bates and Tom Butt abstaining. The council voted on one other person, longtime activist and perennial council candidate Cortland "Corky" Boozé, who received support from three council members.

Sandhu said the most critical issue facing the City Council is Richmond's chronic violence. He said violence has many causes and that a solution will come from numerous sources, including better education, more cooperation among law enforcement agencies and increased services to Richmond residents who live below the poverty level.

"Education is a critical component to ending violence, and we have to work together to help children overcome hardships like not having breakfast before going to school in the morning," he said. "How are we going to attract industry and jobs to Richmond if we can't solve the problem of violence?"

While raising a family and working full time for the U. S. Postal Service, Sandhu has compiled an impressive public service résumé during the past 20 years.

He is currently chairman of the multilingual District Advisory Committee and a member of the district's Academic Committee. He is also a member of the California Developmental Disabilities Board for Area 5 and of the county Democratic Central Committee. For the past five years, he has served on the Richmond Human Rights Commission.

Sandhu is probably best known as a strong advocate for creating safer working conditions for West County taxi drivers. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, taxi drivers in West County -- 90 percent of whom are Sikh -- increasingly became victims of attacks. One driver was killed in 2003, and one was shot in the face in what appeared to be hate crimes, Sandhu said.

Sandhu, then president of the Gurdwara Sikh Temple in El Sobrante, worked with U.S. Rep George Miller, D-Martinez, county Supervisor John Gioia and Richmond Vice Mayor Maria Viramontes to raise money to equip taxis with safety glass and surveillance cameras.

"Many of the drivers are new immigrants, and there is a language barrier. There was a feeling that nothing was going to happen unless someone spoke up for them," Sandhu said. "We were able to raise $30,000, which was not sufficient to cover all the taxis, but it was a start."

Before voting on the appointment, the council heard comments from 25 members of the public. Of those, 18 asked the council to appoint Boozé, who fell short of being elected to the council Nov. 7 by 482 votes.

By not selecting Boozé, the council has violated basic democratic principles, said the Rev. Andre Shumake.

"Now I know what it feels like to have my vote discounted," he said. "I am ashamed to be a registered Democrat after watching five elected Democrats step over more than 7,000 voters."
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The Tazer sees Mr. Sandhu as someone who is quite capable of serving the citizens of Richmond as a councilperson. With no offense to Mr. Sandhu, we do wonder about the process of how he was appointed, particularly after hearing many citizens speak from our front row seat at last night's city council meeting.

Interesting note: With all of the action surrounding the City Charter process for filling seats, which by all accounts doesn't give any consideration to the will of the voters, The Tazer notices that no council members moved to make a motion last night to amend this portion of the city charter...something to ponder.

Richmond Man Dies From Injuries After Jan. 4 Shooting

A sad, sad ending to this story folks...

Credit CBS 5:

A 27-year-old Richmond resident who was shot in the head in what appears to have been an unprovoked attack on a Richmond street on Jan. 4 died from his injuries Saturday, the Contra Costa County Coroner reported Tuesday.

Victor Ramirez, who had recently moved to Richmond from El Salvador, was walking in the 2100 block of Roosevelt Avenue around 10:30 a.m. when two suspects grabbed him in a headlock as they passed by, according to police.

One of the suspects, a boy believed to be 15 or 16 years old, then shot Ramirez in the head, police reported.Richmond police Sgt. Allwyn Brown said the shooting suspect is described as black, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He had a short Afro hairstyle and was clean-shaven. He was last seen wearing a black ball cap, a black jacket with some sort of brown pattern on the front and blue jeans.

He was armed with a black revolver with brown wooden handgrips.

The shooting suspect's accomplice is described as a black man about 18 years old standing between 6 feet and 6 feet, 3 inches tall and with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a white ball cap, a dark colored jacket and blue jeans, Brown said.

Both suspects ran from the scene on foot up 21st Street from Roosevelt Avenue, according to Brown.

Important Updater...

Good morning Tazer faithful!

We'll leave you to draw your own conclusions here:

Accusers won't join city investigation of racism

Credit: Karl Fischer And John Geluardi

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

A group of black Richmond police supervisors who have accused Chief Chris Magnus of fostering racism in the department will refuse to participate in the city's investigation of their claims unless ordered to do so.

The eight officers on Jan. 9 filed a formal claim with the city, the last step before filing a lawsuit against Richmond. Each complainant seeks $1 million plus further damages to be awarded by jury trial.

"My clients did not want to hand over a list of witnesses and a timeline or other information so the city could begin the process of covering their butts in anticipation of a lawsuit," said attorney Christopher Dolan.

The group, which includes nearly half of the department's command staff, last month publicly accused Magnus of ignoring their suggestions about improving race relations within the department and making racist comments. Magnus repeatedly has denied those allegations.

The city responded by hiring an attorney to investigate the allegations, which are further documented in the Jan. 9 claim submitted to City Hall. The investigator, attorney Raymond Marshall, could not be reached Tuesday.

Dolan said officers will not willingly cooperate with the investigation unless the results are publicly released.

"My clients feel it's very important the public get to the bottom of the allegations," Dolan said.

The state Peace Officers Bill of Rights creates privacy protections for Magnus and Deputy Chief Lori Ritter, also accused of discrimination in the claim, that allow the city to keep the results of its investigation confidential.

Magnus initially agreed to waive his privacy protection but later retracted the offer at the city's request.

"It would be really too bad if the officers did not cooperate with the investigation, now that they have made such serious charges," said attorney Louise Renne, chairwoman of the San Francisco Police Commission, one of several attorneys representing Richmond.

Christine Maloney, another attorney working for the city, said rank-and-file officers might not speak freely with the investigator if they know their comments could be made public. She said officers may fear retaliation from complainants, all of whom are managers.

Dolan said he has asked the city to reject his claim and clear the way for the lawsuit.
The claim states that Magnus and other city officials ignored the complainants' concerns about racial discrimination by not taking their advice about how to resolve the perceived problem.

One concern was the promotion of Ritter in April.

"The officers expressed concern to the chief that Deputy Chief Ritter harbored ... feelings of racism, and that she was unsuitable for promotion without those issues being squarely addressed," Dolan wrote in the claim.

He contends that, prior to her promotion, Ritter asked a black captain to tap dance at a social function attended by police managers from other agencies.

Ritter, the highest-ranking female officer in department history, weathered similar attacks in 2004, when retired Lt. Tommie Phillips filed a federal discrimination suit claiming former Chief Joseph Samuels Jr. unfairly passed him over by promoting Ritter to the rank of captain. A federal jury found in favor of the city in 2005.

The claim also alleges:

• That Magnus posted a progression of photographs of Ritter in the office after her promotion to deputy chief, one of which had the caption "Master of the Universe," which black officers interpreted as a racial dig;

• That in April, Magnus told "a high-ranking officer" to picture Ritter wearing leather boots, cracking a whip and saying, "Dance, jigaboo, dance."

• That in April, while discussing crowd-control plans for the city's annual Cinco de Mayo street celebrations, Magnus asked if Juneteenth was "a holiday for shooting people."

• That in the fall, Magnus changed the process for screening applicants to the investigations bureau to prevent blacks from entering, referring to the high number of black officers applying as a "black out."

Magnus has denied all the allegations, suggesting in previous interviews that the claims had more to do with major changes he made early in his tenure that discomfited some of his command staff and pre-existing animus between individual officers.

"I am very disappointed by these allegations, and I absolutely deny making the remarks attributed to me. I have never discriminated against anyone in the department, or anyone else," Magnus said Tuesday. "I know that a thorough, independent investigation will bear this out."

Complainants include Capts. Cleveland Brown, Alec Griffin and Eugene McBride; Lts. Michael Booker, Shawn Pickett, Johan Simon and Arnold Threets; and Sgt. Jim Jenkins, president of the Guardians of Justice, a black officers organization. All are black men.

Magnus promoted Griffin and Booker to their current ranks during the same series of promotions. Ten of the 16 officers now holding the rank of lieutenant and higher are black men, and seven of those officers are complainants.

The internal rancor sharply contrasts with Magnus' general positive image in the community, where public officials and neighborhood leaders have repeatedly praised him for restoring community-oriented policing principles to his department's patrol division.

Recognition: Better late than never?

Richmond honors Tent City leaders

By John Geluardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin honored a group of community members this week for their grass-roots efforts to reduce violence in some of Richmond's most troubled neighborhoods.

At Tuesday's council meeting, McLaughlin and Councilman Nat Bates presented 17 Tent City organizers with the Martin Luther King Richmond Community Leadership Award.

"I felt this was such an incredible initiative, and it meant something that these community members were willing to risk their lives and safety and put in their time and energy into making a statement that we need peace, and we need to stop the violence," McLaughlin said. "The leaders of this effort needed to be recognized."

On Sept. 25, several community members, frustrated by a surge in shootings, decided to take a stand. They pitched a tent in a parking lot near Fourth Street and Macdonald Avenue, a part of town long tyrannized by crime, violence and heartbreak.

Word of the effort quickly spread, and the first tent was barely up before people began arriving with contributions of food, blankets and good will. The frail urban outpost touched a deep chord, and the lone tent became an expression of a battered community's weariness and hope.

Within a few days, more tents were pitched, and then another Tent City went up in North Richmond's Shields-Reid Park. Then two more popped up, one in Martin Luther King Memorial Park and another in John F. Kennedy Park. In all, the Tent City protest lasted 37 days, with many community members camping out the entire time.

Organizers said the Tent Cities had communitywide impact that resulted in fewer gang-related street killings. While the Tent Cities were standing, there were seven homicides in Richmond, but only two were rivalry-based street killings. In the 10 days before the first tent was pitched, there had been six such killings.

The Tent Cities caught the attention of the media, and they were visited by a steady line of elected officials including U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. Kaiser hospital provided hot meals twice a week, and Wal-Mart supplied tents and cooking equipment. Local small business CJ's Barbecue & Fish supported the effort from the first day with food and equipment.

"We realized if things were going to get better, it was going to be up to us," said the Rev. Charles Newsome, who pitched the first tent near the spot where one of his cousins had been gunned down. "The community asked the youngsters to put the guns down and come together and talk. It's time for us to come together in this city."

Since the Tent Cities came down Nov. 1, organizers have worked to keep the Tent City spirit alive. Many have been regulars at City Council meetings and have organized to advocate for better street lighting and youth programs. Last week, they advocated unsuccessfully for Cortland "Corky" Boozè, a Tent City organizer, to be appointed to the City Council.

"Moving forward, we want the momentum of Tent City to carry forward," said the Rev. Andre Shumake. "It is important the city continues to support Tent City's grass-roots community activism."

Reach John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or jgeluardi@cctimes.com.

tent city honorees

Recipients of the Martin Luther King Richmond Community Leadership and Service Award

The Rev. Charles Newsome

The Rev. Andre Shumake

Freddie Jackson

Cortland "Corky" Boozè

Robert Brown

Albert Lee

Wilma Miller

Jackie Thompson

Garland Harper

Stephan Cowans

John Wayne

Artesia Johnson

James Cash

Donald Seals

Felicia Haywood

Norman Walker

Patrice Boykin

For more information about Tent City, contact the Richmond Improvement Association at 510-860-3681.

UPDATE: Road rage foolishness

The Tazer doesn't know quite what to say about this criminal disregard for life...

---------------------------------

Passenger describes road rage
RICHMOND: Woman's boyfriend, who was driving, was critically hurt in Monday shooting

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Whatever insult the gunman perceived, it will never match the injury he dealt.

The owner of a black Lexus coupe wants the shooter to know how wrong he was Monday afternoon, when his decision during a driving dispute totaled her new, yet-to-be-insured car and nearly killed her boyfriend.

"When it first started happening, I thought it was just kids acting stupid ... but even for kids, they were being aggressive," said the woman, who asked that the Times withhold her identity because she is afraid of her attackers.

"What if my kids were in the car? What if my little brother (in the back seat) was sitting a little more to the side?"

Detectives continued to investigate the road-rage shooting that critically injured the woman's 34-year-old boyfriend about 3 p.m. Monday on San Pablo Avenue, and they urged anyone who witnessed the crime to call.

"You wouldn't think someone would open fire on the busiest street in Richmond during one of the busiest times of day," the woman said Wednesday. "Are you telling me that nobody got the license plate? That nobody else saw anything?"

The victim bought her car so recently, she only had driven it three times before. Last week, she took it to the Department of Motor Vehicles to be registered, she said.

Her boyfriend was driving her to work Monday, and they had just picked up her brother from his job, when a white, full-sized van making an illegal U-turn almost hit their car on Vale Road in San Pablo.

Her boyfriend shouted something at the other driver. The two men in the van then "looked at us all crazy," the woman said.

The van began driving erratically, chasing the Lexus and swerving around it. They turned south on San Pablo Avenue and drove about a half-mile to the intersection at Esmond Avenue in Richmond when the passenger in the van leaned out the window and pumped several rounds into the rear driver's side of the Lexus.

One passed through the car into the back of the driver, who then lost the ability to move his foot from the accelerator.

"I had to take his foot off the accelerator" and hit the brakes, the woman said. The car ran aground on the curb near the intersection of San Pablo and Clinton Avenues, about three blocks from the shooting, where it began leaking gasoline.

The shooting victim should make a full recovery, the woman said. But at the moment, she is without a car, without her boyfriend and without justice.

"Those guys need to be locked up," she said.

Richmond police Detective Mike Rood agrees. While police are following leads in the case, he said Wednesday that every tip helps bring them closer to the gunmen.

It was the second such road-rage shooting police are investigating in the area in less than a week. Last Thursday, a gunman critically injured a 23-year-old Sacramento man test-driving a sport utility vehicle from a local dealership on Interstate 80 near the McBryde Avenue exit.

In Monday's shooting, the van was a white, full-sized vehicle, probably of American manufacture. It had custom, 20-inch chrome rims, including on a fifth wheel attached to the back.

The victim said the driver was a white or Latino man with a round face who wore a dark-colored baseball cap and a white T-shirt.

The shooter, who sat in the passenger seat, was a Latino man with a dark complexion or a black man with a light complexion, the victim said, with a thin face and pronounced chin. He had wavy dark hair that he wore in a pony tail and wore a dark-colored baseball cap askew on his head, covering part of his face. He also wore a dark-colored jacket with patches on it.

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

HOW TO HELP
Richmond police ask anyone with information about Monday's shooting on San Pablo Avenue to call Detective Mike Rood at 510-620-6625.

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Honking seems to be the catalyst in the I-80 incident. The boyfriend yelling seems to be it for this one. Still, neither justifies violence as a response, and the Tazer hopes the thugs are apprehended before they can do this again.

What's next? Perceiving the use of blinkers as a prelude to getting cut off? Windshield sprayers as an insult to a paint job?

Auto safety may not mean personal safety

The Tazer remembers well a quaint old driver's ed film wherein the instructor liberally honked his way through LA. At a parked motorist who was about to exit, beep. At a motorist who was pointing out of a driveway, beep. At a motorist that was contemplating a right on red, beep. At motorist after other motorist for the purpose of announcing his presence, beep. At darn near everything on that pulldown movie screen, beep.

Fast forward to today, and you'd think that the car horn was more than the equivalent of "The Bird" and some angry words. It's supposed to be a safety device to call attention when just eyesight won't cut it, but nowadays it seems more like a liability...

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Driver critical after Richmond shooting

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

A driver who honked at a van on San Pablo Avenue went to the hospital in critical condition Monday after the other party fired several rounds into his car.

The victim, a 34-year-old man, pulled out of the parking lot of a business heading south on San Pablo about 3 p.m., police said.

Near the corner of San Pablo and Esmond Avenue, the driver became frustrated with a white, full-size van with silver rims sitting ahead of it in a turn lane.

So he honked.

"We're not entirely sure of the sequence of events at this point," Richmond police Sgt. Allwyn Brown said. "So we're not sure what the motive was. All possibilities are open."

If police find that road rage fueled the shooting, it would be the second time in four days that a driver used a firearm to vent anger while driving in the area.

On Thursday night, police investigated a shooting on Interstate 80 near the McBryde Avenue exit that left a 23-year-old Sacramento man critically injured. He remained in critical condition Monday, police said.

In that case, the victim was test-driving a vehicle from an El Cerrito auto dealership with a salesman in the passenger seat when a sport utility vehicle cut him off on the freeway. He honked, and police say the salesman shrugged at the suspect vehicle when it pulled alongside.

The victim's car flipped on the freeway after the shooting. Police found what they believe was the suspect's vehicle abandoned in the unincorporated Tara Hills neighborhood Friday morning.

In Monday's incident, Police say the victim's black Lexus passed the van in a right-hand lane near the intersection and drew gunfire. At least one round struck the driver in the upper body, Lt. Mark Gagan said.

The victim drove about three blocks south on San Pablo before crashing into the west curb in front of a business near the corner of Clinton Avenue. Authorities evacuated nearby buildings because the Lexus began leaking gas, police said, but Richmond firefighters quickly alleviated the danger.

Two passengers in the car were not hurt, Gagan said. Paramedics flew the driver to a regional trauma center, where he was reported in critical condition.

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