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Two get 16 years for 2019 fatal shooting during Oakland marijuana robbery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

OAKLAND — Two men have received the exact same prison term of 16 years for involvement in a 2019 robbery and shooting that killed a 25-year-old man.Jose Antonio Alvarez, 25, and Omar Rojo, 25, both entered no contest pleas to voluntary manslaughter and were formally sentenced in late October. They were originally charged with murder and robbery in the death of 25-year-old Jaime Valdovinos.Police said at the time that Rojo and Alvarez arranged to rob Valdovinos and another man of “a large amount of marijuana” after setting up a cannabis deal. The four men met on the 3000 block of East Ninth Street in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019.Police reports allege both Rojo and Alvarez fired guns during the course of the setup. The shooting happened when the victims were attempting to get the marijuana back, according to Oakland police.Investigators said in a court statement that Alvarez was identified as a suspect through “surveillance video and witnesses.”The plea deal includes a ...

‘Dangerous’ man sought in missing-person case is caught in Mendocino County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

The man sought in the homicide of Wendy Pullins, who disappeared last year during what was supposed to be a short drive in the Sierra Nevada foothills, was arrested Monday in Mendocino County.Wendy Pullins (Family photo via Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office) Three weeks ago, the sheriff’s office in Mariposa County had asked the public’s help in finding the 42-year-old man, whom it called armed and dangerous.The announcement did not specify his connection to Pullins, a 57-year-old Ahwahnee woman who was reported missing on June 18, 2022.She had last been seen three days earlier, before heading off toward Mariposa, 25 miles away, to register her vehicle.She reportedly planned to stay the night at a friend’s home on Stumpfield Mountain Road, off Highway 49 between Ahwahnee and Mariposa. Her cellphone location indicated she left the friend’s house, but she never made it to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Mariposa County sheriff’s office said.About two months ...

Arrest made in fatal injury of Jewish man from Israel-Hamas war protest in Thousand Oaks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

A 50-year-old Moorpark man was arrested Thursday, Nov. 16, on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter concerning the fatal injury of a 69-year-old Jewish man who apparently fell backward with his head striking the ground during dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations earlier this month in Thousand Oaks.Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was expected to be booked into jail and held in lieu of $1 million bail, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.Paul Kessler, 69, was found suffering on the afternoon of Nov. 5, a Sunday, bleeding from his head and mouth at Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards, according to authorities and witness accounts.The Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the case.On Thursday, it asked that anyone driving in the area of the confrontation in a car with video-recording equipment between 3 and 4 p.m. to contact the agency. If a witness wants to remain anonymous, he or she can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).This is a developing sto...

Santa Clara County court changes warrant jailing policy criticized as punishing poverty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

SAN JOSE — The Santa Clara County Superior Court has resumed allowing people who are wanted on low-level warrants to get a court date without first having to spend time in jail if they can’t afford bail.The shift, made this week, is accompanied by a new court calendar reserved for people who discover they are the subject of bench or arrest warrants, and until now had to submit to jail booking — and possible detention — just for the chance to argue to a judge why they shouldn’t be in custody.According to the court and attorneys involved in shaping the new policy, the change had been in the works for several months. The issue gained added public pressure in August when the ACLU and the Stanford Law School Criminal Defense Clinic sued the court over the previous practice.The plaintiffs — led by a man who discovered he had a warrant for a minor offense, then spent three days in jail only to be released at arraignment — called the system a “bail or jai...

Lafayette kidnapping suspect captured after fleeing mental health diversion program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

LAFAYETTE – A Lafayette man who was placed into a mental health diversion program to settle charges of holding a family hostage but later went on the lam has been captured, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Antioch man found shot to death Wednesday afternoon Crime and Public Safety | Ex-FCI Dublin correctional officer gets 8 years for sexually abusing inmates Crime and Public Safety | Oakland police seek tips on how body ended stuffed in suitcase Crime and Public Safety | Man charged in Fremont shooting that left one dead, one wounded Crime and Public Safety | Man shot while riding in vehicle on East Bay freeway Kenneth David McIsaac, 32, was arrested Tuesday in Oakland and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said.At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Julia Campins terminated McIsaac’s mental health diversion status at the distr...

APEC updates: Bridge protesters arrested, Biden calls Xi 'dictator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting entered its sixth day, protesters took to the Bay Bridge to shut down all westbound traffic moving from Oakland into San Francisco.With widespread street closures in effect, San Francisco has been transformed by the conference, which is expected to draw 20,000 people and 22 world leaders to the city. APEC street closures: How to navigate traffic, closures, and tow away zones Follow our live blog for the latest updates on protests, road closures and more.APEC San Francisco 2023 live updates:Thursday, Nov. 169:49 a.m. -- Bridge protesters threw their keys into the BayProtesters blocking the Bay Bridge Thursday abandoned their vehicles and threw their keys into the Bay Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. Their are currently about 250 CHP officers deployed to the scene and about 50 protesters have been arrested so far.Fifteen vehicles have been toward and there are 10-15 more vehicles re...

LexisNexis Sold Powerful Spy Tools to U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

The popular data broker LexisNexis began selling face recognition services and personal location data to U.S. Customs and Border Protection late last year, according to contract documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.According to the documents, obtained by the advocacy group Just Futures Law and shared with The Intercept, LexisNexis Risk Solutions began selling surveillance tools to the border enforcement agency in December 2022. The $15.9 million contract includes a broad menu of powerful tools for locating individuals throughout the United States using a vast array of personal data, much of it obtained and used without judicial oversight.“This contract is mass surveillance in hyperdrive.”Through LexisNexis, CBP investigators gained a convenient place to centralize, analyze, and search various databases containing enormous volumes of intimate personal information, both public and proprietary.“This contract is mass surveillance in hyperdrive,” Julie Mao, an ...

Top-order collapse and dropped catches hurt South Africa in latest Cricket World Cup heartbreaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

KOLKATA, India (AP) — It happened again to South Africa.Once more, the semifinals proved to be the ceiling for the Proteas at the Cricket World Cup.And once again, the knockout blow was delivered by Australia, whose ability to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage in limited-overs cricket remains unmatched — and in such contrast to South Africa.There was no choking — the word that is synonymous, perhaps harshly, with South Africa at World Cups — in their tense three-wicket loss at Eden Gardens on Thursday.Yet it was still a fifth semifinal elimination in this tournament, after 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015. Three of those painful exits have now come at the hands of Australia.In ’99, the South African meltdown came in a chaotic last over at Edgbaston in England, capped by that famous run-out of a stranded Allan Donald which allowed Australia to advance courtesy of a tie.In ’07, the collapse came early in St. Lucia when falling to 27-5 after choosing to bat, and eventually...

Spain’s Pedro Sánchez reelected prime minister despite controversy over amnesty for separatists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Pedro Sánchez was reelected as prime minister by the nation’s parliament on Thursday, when he leveraged a controversial amnesty deal to get the critical support from Catalan separatists to stay in power.Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist leader since 2018, was backed by 179 lawmakers in the 350-seat lower house of parliament to form a new minority leftist coalition government. Only right-wing opposition deputies voted against him.The vote came after nearly two days of debate among party leaders that centered almost entirely on an amnesty deal for Catalonia’s separatists that Sánchez agreed to in return for vital support to unlock another four-year term.Sánchez won the vote after clinching the support of six smaller parties — including two Catalan separatist parties that command 14 seats— in recent weeks, allowing his Socialists to once again team up with the left-wing Sumar (Joining Forces) party in government.It remains to be seen if Sánchez can maintain enough ...

No. 12 Penn State looking to rebound against improved Rutgers team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:12 GMT

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Even though their primary goal is out of reach, Penn State players still have plenty to play for in the final weeks of the season.The No. 12 Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) want to finish strong, send seniors out with wins and pad their resumes for what comes next.After a disappointing loss to No. 2 Michigan last week, Penn State wraps up its home slate Saturday against Rutgers — a team the Nittany Lions have pushed around since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014.Penn State is 8-0 in the series and has won every game since 2015 by double figures. Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) hasn’t scored a touchdown at Beaver Stadium in its last four visits.“For me personally, that’s my motivation,” safety Keaton Ellis said. “I know the season is not over like I’ve been saying, so I still want to go out there and get better and put good things on film, put good things on tape and help my team do as much as we can still possibly do.”While the Nittany Lions’ defense has b...