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A 17-year-old Richmond resident was sentenced Friday to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of Gene Deshawn Grisby-Bell, a 16-year-old El Cerrito High School student athlete. Tyris Franklin was convicted in April in Contra Costa County Superior Court of first degree murder for shooting Grisby-Bell in front of his grandmother’s Crescent Park apartment unit on January 10, 2010. Franklin, who was 16 at the time of the murder, did not dispute that he fired the fatal shots….
Since it was established in 2000, the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park has been a local gem that preserves the city’s legacy as a booming shipping hub during the war years. But the sites are spread throughout the city, and the park has lacked a central location where visitors can start their tours. That’s about to change. The park’s new Visitor Education Center will be the site of a day of events beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday,…
About 50 people, including more than a dozen influential African American clergy members, two councilmen and Police Chief Chris Magnus gathered for breakfast Saturday at Greater El Bethel Baptist Church in Parchester Village. Like they do on a Saturday every month, the religious and civic leaders discussed issues facing Richmond, including health, politics and public safety. Key on this Saturday was discussion of Richmond Ceasefire/Lifelines to Healing, a community-driven collaboration with law enforcement to reduce gun violence through a multifaceted…
City and school district officials joined more than 100 residents and students to officially open the new facilities at J.O. Ford Elementary School in Richmond on Saturday, including new classrooms and playgrounds and modern, colorful facade. “When our kids can go to a first-class, world-class facility like this,” Councilman Jim Rogers told the crowd, “we say we care about education, it’s important. The kids can see that we’re walking the walk.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony and pancake breakfast Saturday morning marked…
A flare up of deadly shootings in Richmond and unincorporated North Richmond has police and anti-violence workers mobilized in an effort to quell further violence. A version of this article appeared first in the Contra Costa Times. On Monday morning, 22-year-old Orlando Yancy was killed in a drive-by in unincorporated North Richmond, the second homicide in that area this year. Two days later, 27-year-old Donald Washington died after being shot at least five times as he sat in his car…
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….
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…