Bay Citizen
Joe “Fatter” Blacknell III was sentenced to life in prison plus more than 200 years without possibility of parole for the March 2009 murder of an up-and-coming East Bay rap artist and a September 2009 shooting and carjacking spree in Richmond and Oakland. Blacknell, now 21, was arrested after a brief foot pursuit with Richmond Police at the tail-end of the September 2009 crime spree. He was 18 at the time, and police and District Attorney Office officials say he…
A version of this story first appeared in the Contra Costa Times. David Meza was the victim of a hit-and-run incident in March. A white sedan struck him as he rode his bicycle near Pennsylvania Avenue and Harbour Way, then sped away. The incident left him with abrasions on his face, palms and knees, and a heightened sense of purpose. “So often, pedestrians and bicyclists get hit by cars and they don’t speak up, they don’t think anybody cares,” said…
Richmond police have had a busy 18 hours. Since 10 p.m. Tuesday, police and other emergency personnel have dealt with a seven-hour standoff with an attempted murder suspect, an early morning fire at an illegal marijuana cultivation warehouse and a deadly shooting at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The pot fire is the lowest priority investigation, according to police. “Detectives are trying to find out the information of who owns the building,” where the pot was being grown, said Richmond Police Lt….
A version of this story first appeared in the Contra Costa Times Richmond leaders hope to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in the city, and they want voters to approve a fee on local businesses’ sales of those products. The city council on Tuesday will consider placing a measure on the November 6 ballot asking voters to approve an ordinance imposing a business license fee of one cent per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages sold businesses within the city. Grocery stores,…
How do you say hello to a convicted murderer? The thought darted through my head as I strode through the Martinez Courthouse jail facility’s winding corridors of concrete and steel. In moments I would be face-to-face—albeit divided by two-inch thick Plexiglas—with Joe Blacknell III, the young man described by police and District Attorney’s Office officials as one of the most violent offenders in Richmond’s history. I opened the steel door and there he was. His fist was pressed against the…
A man was shot and killed Monday morning as he walked in front the North Richmond Senior Center. No suspect or motive is yet known. By 8:20 a.m., the victim’s body was covered with a yellow tarp at the southwest corner of Silver Avenue and Fifth Street. Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputies and detectives roped off a square block area around the scene, and large crowds of residents clustered near the four entry points to the intersection. More than 20…
The Cinco de Mayo celebration on the 23rd Street corridor has become one of Richmond’s grandest events But it wasn’t always that way. Ten years ago, the street and the holiday became synonymous with an incident that would become a turning point in the city’s history, ushering in a new generation of political leaders and a renewed commitment to citizen oversight of the police department. Those were the themes explored at “2002 5 De Mayo Richmond Police Riot: What Really…
North Richmond is a unique Bay Area community poised for growth and investment in the coming years. But it’s also saddled with a history of decades of poverty and violence, and a jaded outlook toward political leaders and outside forces. How well the tiny community of about 4,000 residents can reconcile those clashing realities could determine the future, according to a report produced by UC Berkeley graduate students. “This is part of a process of building institutional linkages between this…
The golden shovels were out, but this wasn’t a “groundbreaking” ceremony. It was a ground “filling” one. City leaders and state and county officials were joined by more than 100 people Friday to mark the start of the final phase of a project to repair a massive sinkhole that swallowed cars and blocked access to a residential community more than two years ago near Via Verdi Road off I-80. The Via Verdi repair project began April 15, 2010, when heavy…