And here I thought last week was one long, difficult week!  As you can see, many members of our department were hard at work dealing with quite the range of dangerous and challenging situations.  I continue to be impressed with the restraint, patience, and good judgment our officers show when faced with situations where greater use of force could be justified.  It’s also amazing the array of things that happen in our community in one week—and this is just a SMALL sample.  Let’s hope August is a month with less homicides than July.  Stay safe—and see you on National Night Out, Tuesday, August 2nd!

Chief Chris Magnus

Saturday, July 23, 2011, 5:50 p.m., 16th St. and Livingston Ave.--Officers responded to the report of narcotics activity in the 1500 block of Chanslor Ave.  When they arrived, Officers Chalk and Ricchiuto were informed by the complainant that a black male juvenile had left with a firearm prior to police arrival.  Officers located the juvenile at 16th and Bissell Ave.  The juvenile fled and was detained a block away.  The suspect was found to be in possession of a loaded Ruger pistol.  The suspect was discovered to be on probation and was transported to Juvenile Hall.

                    Saturday, July 23, 2011, 3:40 p.m., 18th St. and Roosevelt Ave.--Officer Bashan made a traffic stop in the area of 18th Street and Roosevelt Ave.  Upon contact, the driver advised that he didn’t have any identification, yet he was found with two identification cards.  A consent search of the vehicle and driver resulted in the recovery of powder cocaine that was hidden in the 54 year-old driver’s shoe.  Due to prior medical issues, the suspect was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.

                    Saturday, July 23, 2011, 3:05 a.m., 100 block of 37th St.--Officers responded to the report of a disturbance.  When officers arrived, they observed an intoxicated 26 year-old female helping her friend, who was also intoxicated.  The friend had suffered from a minor injury as a result of a fall, so officers requested an ambulance come to the scene. When the ambulance arrived, the 26 year-old female assaulted the paramedic.  Officers arrested her and transported her to the Richmond City Jail, where she was booked. Officer Macrenato authored the preliminary investigation.

Friday, July 22, 2011, 10:15 p.m., 19th St. and Roosevelt Ave.--RPD personnel were in the area when officers observed a known 31 year-old parolee riding a bicycle.  Officers attempted to stop the individual; the suspect dropped the bicycle, then fled.  Officers pursued him on foot and apprehended him in the 2000 block of Roosevelt Ave.  Officers recovered a handgun and learned that the suspect was a Parolee At Large (wanted).  The suspect was arrested and transported to the Richmond City Jail where he was booked.  Officer Miles Bailey authored the preliminary investigation.
         
Friday, July 22, 2011—Update from Assistant D.A. Aron DeFerrari ref the New Gethsemane Church Shootings:  “Today, Marcel Buggs was found guilty, by a jury of his peers, of three counts of Deliberate & Premeditated Attempted Murder with all counts and enhancements–including gang enhancements.  Marcel Buggs faces a minimum of 40 years to Life in Prison.  This result is a product of your (RPD detectives) work and your determination in the face of daunting circumstances and the perpetual fear that seems to envelop the citizens of Richmond and make your jobs that much harder.”
            Some of the investigators who played key roles in this very difficult case included Sgt. Stina Johanson, Det. Daniel Reina, Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy, Officer Aaron Mandell, and Jose Villalobos.

Thursday, July 21, 2011, 4:30 p.m., 6th St. and Nevin Ave.--Officers Stonebraker and Diaz conduct a traffic stop at this location.  They contacted the suspect, who produced a counterfeit driver’s license.  The officers immediately recognized the license as a fake and directed the suspect to get out of the vehicle.  As the suspect got out of the vehicle, he attempted to maneuver out of the grasp of the officers.  During the struggle, the suspect pulled a .40 caliber Taurus handgun from his waistband and threw it under his vehicle.  The officers were able to subdue the suspect and take him into custody.  The firearm was recovered.  The suspect was subsequently identified as a 34 year-old parolee at large.  He was also booked for felon in possession of a handgun, felon in possession of ammunition (he had a sock full of 7.62 and .40 caliber ammunition), possession of prescription drugs without a prescription, and “acting in assumed character” (the counterfeit driver’s license). 

Thursday, July 21, 2011, various locations:  RPD Special Investigations Parole Unit arrested six parolees throughout the city for various violations.  One of these parolees, an active Deep C gang member who was out on bail, had his parole violated.

                    Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 7:00 p.m., address in S. Richmond--RPD Dispatch received a 911 call from a very elderly man who reported that his wife was armed with a loaded .32 caliber revolver, and that she had threatened to shoot him.  Officers responded to the scene and observed the 31 year-old suspect exiting the residence from the garage.  This individual was taken into custody without incident.  Further investigation revealed that she had been abusing her husband mentally and physically, as officers observed several bruises on her husband’s body.  The wife was additionally charged with Elder and Spousal Abuse, and served with a restraining order.  Officer Kaiser contacted STAND and representatives from the Adult Abuse and Neglect Services to assist the victim.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 12:30 p.m., S. Richmond address--Officers responded to a disturbance call.  The victim advised that his wife was trying to burn down his house.  Officers contacted the suspect in front of the residence.  There was a strong odor of gasoline coming from the front of the residence and a gas can with gasoline was located in the suspect’s vehicle.  The wife claimed that she was only asking the victim to help her fill her gas tank, since she was going to run out of gas--however, the vehicle had over a half tank of gas in it.  A lighter was also located on the ground next to the suspect’s vehicle.  The wife was arrested without incident.

Monday, July 18, 2011, 3:00 p.m., 23rd St. and Emeric Ave.--Dispatch received a call of a disturbance at this location.  Sgt. Russell arrived and immediately noticed the 15 year-old suspect with a gun.  The suspect attempted to discard the gun in the front of a residence.  He was taken into custody without incident.  Officers then learned that this juvenile had been in the area when he was approached by another suspect who pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot him.  Another unnamed person then handed a gun to the suspect, while the individual who had threatened him drove away.  The 15 year-old suspect would not name the person who gave him the firearm and claimed not to know the person who had threatened him.  The suspect was taken into custody for a no-bail  warrant.  He was transported to Juvenile Hall.

Sunday, July 18, 2011, 7:00 p.m., Central & Jacuzzi--RPD personnel responded to a report of a person passed out behind the steering wheel of a car.  When officers arrived, they contacted a 42 year-old male, who was groggy and slow to respond to questions.  A check of the suspect and the car revealed that the suspect was in possession of heroin. The suspect was arrested and transported to the Richmond City Jail where he was booked.  Officer Wycinsky authored the preliminary investigation.

Sunday, July 17, 2011, 5:00 p.m., 80 block of Broadway—A ShotSpotter activation involving 11 of 25 shots was reported in the area of 80 Broadway.  As officers were responding, additional calls of shots fired were being received by Dispatch.  Based on the information provided coupled with the physical evidence,  it appears as though a white Buick was travelling NB on Carlson Blvd. when a 4-door tan vehicle occupied by several males pulled alongside it and began firing a semi-automatic handgun.  Based on evidence at the scene, it appears as though one or more of the occupants in the Buick returned fire.
The vehicle chase and gun battle continued NB to Barrett Ave., then EB to San Pablo Ave.  The Buick subsequently collided with a motorist, at which time the occupants fled into a nearby fast-food restaurant.  It is unknown where the tan vehicle fled.
Officers searched the restaurant and detained two suspects, one who was determined to be on active parole.  K-9 Officer Mandell and his partner Rasp conducted an article search during which time they recovered a Glock .45 caliber handgun in the nearby bushes.  A casing matching that of the recovered firearm was found inside the Buick.  Both suspects were taken into custody and transported to RPD Jail.

July 17, 2011--Feedback from Lt. Lori Curran to Officer Stephen Andretich:   On July 16, you were detailed as the primary Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) to process a taxi cab that was taken during an armed carjacking the day prior.
During your evidence processing and collection, you located a wallet secreted under the driver's seat.  Upon removing it, you inspected the contents in an effort to determine if it belonged to the victim or the suspect.  When you removed the items, you located a South Lake Tahoe driver's license (with a P.O. box address), various credit cards, and approximately $180 in U.S. currency.  Trying to determine if the wallet was taken during a secondary assault, you called the credit card company and explained to them the circumstances for your call while requesting that they attempt contact with the cardholder.
Several hours later, the cardholder returned your call and advised that she'd been in the same taxi cab the day prior and had accidentally left her wallet inside. The woman explained that she was in SF on business and was frantic about her property loss for fear that her identity would be fraudulently used.  The woman agreed to meet with you at RPD so she could pick up the wallet.
When she arrived, the woman was extraordinarily grateful for the return of her property and voiced appreciation for your time and attention to this matter.  Officer Andretich, you are to be commended for taking the extra step in identifying the owner of this wallet and ensuring that her property was returned. Some officers would have just booked the wallet into evidence and authored a report.  You chose to do the extra leg work, and as a result of your good will, the owner will walk away with a positive opinion about our entire organization simply because of your small deed.  Great job!

Chris Magnus
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