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Convicted murderer Nathan Burris admitted to jurors Wednesday during his penalty trial that he was also responsible for a string of armed robberies at Walgreens stores in San Francisco in 1994 and 1995. Last week Burris was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the slaying of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Ann Ross and her friend, Ersie Everette Jr. on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in 2009. The jury also found him guilty of the special circumstance of lying in wait,…
They met in church, at Acts Full Gospel in Oakland. She was 51 years old, a cat-lover and toll-taker on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge who was trying to get out of bad relationship. He was 58 years old, an ex-Marine who drove a bus for Golden Gate Transit. He was a guy who kept everything in its place, his car and briefcase neat. He was a deacon, or “servant” at Acts. Both of them grew up in Oakland, living just…
The City Council returned to business – with the meeting going into the next morning and the occasional spat between councilmembers — at its first post-election meeting Tuesday night. Before the meeting started, audience members were told to wait outside while fire and police officials responded to a carbon monoxide leak in the council chambers building. Richmond Fire Marshal Terry Harris said that the Fire Department responded to a call by a person who complained of the smell of gas…
Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt makes no bones about the fact that he keeps a menagerie on the 5 acres that surround his property in Point Richmond. For a decade, Butt has shared anecdotes, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, about his various goats, sheep, dogs and bees on “Tom Butt’s e-forum,” an electronic forum where he also posts articles about more pressing matters of concern to his constituents, such as preserving historic railroad crossings and investigating the Chevron fire. Perusing these…
Susan Fisher’s ink-black eyes reddened with tears as she described her two nephews who are deployed overseas. “One nephew is my blood nephew,” she said, “and the other, I’m like his other mom, especially after his real mom passed away a year ago.” Joe, who’s on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan, and Kristopher, who will celebrate his 27th birthday in Afghanistan on November 27, are about to receive special care packages filled with snacks, magazines, pens, cards, and other personalized…
As a 20-year-old growing up in the woods near Louisiana State University, Jones said he didn’t know the war was going on—much less where Vietnam was on a map. “I just plain volunteered,” he said. “I went to my boot camp, gun school and ITR. At the end of my training they said, ‘You’re a machine gunner and you be going to Vietnam.'”
Aside from the four years he served in the Marine Corps, Henry Avila has spent his life in Richmond’s Iron Triangle. Avila, 59, says that it hasn’t always been easy for him—growing up there was a lot of crime in the neighborhood and a work-site accident in his late 20s left him permanently disabled. The years and experiences are etched in the lines on his face. His salt and pepper hair is bunched in a haphazard ponytail that grazes his…
When the game ended and they had lost, the football players for the Kennedy High School Eagles stood in a circle together for one last time. The players were joined on the 30-yard-line by their coaches. It was the first time that anyone had the opportunity to exhale all afternoon. When the head coach entered the huddle, he asked everyone to come in tight. “Let me tell you something. I cannot be more proud of what you guys have done,”…
There’s nothing like a little drama two days before the first round of the playoffs. On Wednesday after practice Takkarist McKinley, the Eagles 6’3″, 240-pound all-world linebacker threatened to walk out on his teammates. The situation on the field was so bad that the Cal-bound football player went nose-to-nose with head coach Mark Carminer and yelled at him. Once in the locker room McKinley dumped his gear in the coach’s office and said he wasn’t coming back. When asked about…