Safety
It’s noon at Richmond’s Regatta Boulevard police station. A few police officers are sitting in front of their computers working. Amit Nath, one of the city’s 187 officers, interrogates a 15-year-old girl who was picked up for prostitution on 23rd Street. In a juvenile processing room Nath, 31, sits in front of her. The girl looks down as the officer asks her questions. At times she gets emotional and doesn’t answer them. When Nath asks her whether she has sex…
Marceles Peter, 20, and Jose Montano, 22, were both found guilty on three counts today by juries at the Contra Costa County Superior Court. The men face life in prison in connection with the Oct. 24, 2009 Richmond High School gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl.
A young man previously convicted in the group rape of a 16-year-old girl four years ago testified against two other suspects on Thursday. Ari Morales, 19, never testified during his own trial in January. His comments last week marked the first time his version of events has been recorded in court. The testimony is part of a new trial against suspects Marcelles Peter, 20, and Jose Montano, 22, both of whom were charged with rape, rape with a foreign object…
The woman who is allegedly the victim of a gang rape that happened four years ago outside Richmond High’s homecoming dance testified Monday to a full courtroom at Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. It was the first time the woman had appeared publicly since reports of the brutal rape sent shock waves across the country in 2009, and she took the stand to give evidence against two of the men accused of sexually assaulting her. Jane Doe (the…
Richmond police charged three teenagers on Monday in connection with the March 4 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Lincoln Plair. Plair was killed on the 100 block of 6th Street in Richmond while washing a car. “All three are affiliated with a gang active in North Richmond known as the Swerve Gang,” Detective Stina Johanson said. The shooting took place in a rival neighborhood, though Plair is not believed to have been involved in gang activity. The Contra Costa County district…
A 64-year-old woman was shot dead in her home late Wednesday night, according to Richmond Police Department officials. Bonita Todd, 64, was hospitalized after gunshots were fired from the street into her apartment on 20th Street near Espee Avenue at around 11 p.m. on May 15, said police spokesperson Det. Nicole Abetkov. Todd died later at the hospital. The woman’s son, who is in his 40s, was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Detectives believe he may have been the intended…
Roberto dela Rosa’s mother has been in detention centers for almost two years, trying to get refugee status to stay in the United States. During the first year, his mother was transferred to different detention centers several times, and all of the bouncing around and the expense of phone calls kept dela Rosa from being able to talk to his mother at all, he says. Talking to his mother hasn’t been any easier over the past year since she has…
A man shot and killed in Richmond while driving his car Saturday morning was identified Monday by the Contra Costa County Coroner as Daly City resident Rodel Sarmiento. The 43-year-old’s death occurred on Chanslor Avenue near 18th Street. Richmond Police spokeswoman Detective Nicole Abetkov said no one else was injured. The homicide occurred just after 7 a.m. and police responded to the scene after the department’s ShotSpotter system picked up the shooting. Sarmiento was shot multiple times, before his car…
Roy Hill III, a 22-year-old Richmond resident, was shot dead while sitting in his car on the 2700 block of Ohio Avenue in Richmond Sunday afternoon. Richmond Police spokeswoman Detective Nicole Abetkov said RPD was alerted to the shooting at 2:20 pm on Sunday by its ShotSpotter system and several calls to 911. “He had several gunshot wounds,” Abetkov said, adding that it looked like Hill was shot multiple times from around the car with different caliber guns. Hill was…