Community gathers to prevent violence in wake of recent homicide

Calling for an end to the deadly violence that flared in Richmond in recent weeks, a small group of community volunteers from Ceasefire marched through Pullman Point Friday night. “We’ve been working tirelessly in the community to reduce gun violence,” activist Tamisha Walker said. The effort is part of a broader push by the community…

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Vandals strike Richmond Museum over weekend

Richmond Museum of History

Vandals smashed a window at the Richmond Museum of History early Sunday morning. The museum’s alarm system alerted the Richmond Police Department just after midnight, and responding officers discovered the damaged building. Public Information Officer Sergeant Nicole Abetkov said investigators dusted for fingerprints, but have no suspects. Alarm response is typically fast, Abetkov said. Police…

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Mourners remember man killed during struggle with Richmond police

More than 100 people gathered at Nicholl Park Saturday to remember a 24-year-old man shot and killed during a midnight scuffle with a Richmond police officer. Family and friends recalled Richard “Pedie” Perez III as a good-natured prankster. One family member described him as a man, “who chose to be with the homeless, the addicts…

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Richmond Police car wrecked while nabbing murder suspect

A white-knuckle, 12-minute high-speed pursuit of a gang member wanted on murder charges on Friday, ended with four arrests and one wrecked police cruiser. The pursuit began at around 5:10 p.m. Friday when officers spotted Miguel Ortiz, a suspected Sureño gang member, at the St. John’s Apartment complex on MacDonald Avenue.

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Blacknell sentenced to life without parole for 2009 crime spree

blacknell, melson, russell

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…

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Jailhouse interview with Joe ‘Fatter’ Blacknell, who faces life in prison for ’09 slaying

joe fatter blacknell

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…

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