San Francisco Bay Area Friday News Roundup

Submitted by Reset News Feed on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:46am

Judge Denies San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's Efforts To Change Stay-Away Order

A judge Thursday denied efforts by San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi to modify or remove a stay-away order preventing him from contacting his wife or son in the wake of a domestic violence incident on New Year's Eve.

When Mirkarimi was charged on Jan. 13 with misdemeanor violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, he was also ordered by a judge to stay away from his wife, Eliana Lopez, and their 2-year-old son Theo.

The stay-away order was upheld on Jan. 19 by San Francisco Superior Court Susan Breall, who affirmed it again Thursday.

The order will remain in effect at least through the end of the trial, which starts Feb. 24, although Breall said that Mirkarimi can seek once again to have it modified in the city's family court.

Mirkarimi's defense attorney Lidia Stiglich argued against the stay-away order, saying Theo is at "a very delicate age" and that the order has left him "devastated at being separated from his father."

The case stems from a Dec. 31 argument Lopez had with Mirkarimi during which he allegedly grabbed her arm and caused a bruise. Prosecutors said Lopez told neighbor Ivory Madison about the incident, and that Madison videotaped her conversation with her and later called police to report the incident.

In arguing to uphold the stay-away order, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Aguilar-Tarchi cited an October email between Lopez and Madison about a separate incident of possible neglect by Mirkarimi toward his son that Lopez wrote was "a nightmare" and left her "very worried about Theo."

Stiglich countered that a child protective services investigation into Theo's well-being earlier this month found that any allegations of abuse or neglect were "unfounded" and that "the only negative effect they see is the separation of the child from his father."

But Breall eventually sided with the prosecutors to uphold the stay-away order, citing the court's long-standing policy in similar cases.

Mirkarimi said he was "incredibly disappointed" at the judge's decision.

"It's enormously crushing, the fact that I haven't been able to see my family, to be with my wife or be with my son," said Mirkarimi, who called the ruling "just disproportionately cruel."

Former San Ramon Police Officer Accused Of Involvement In Contra Costa County Police Scandal

A former San Ramon police officer accused of involvement in a Contra Costa County police scandal pleaded guilty Thursday to all charges against him in federal court.

Louis Lombardi, 39, pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Oakland Thursday morning to four misdemeanor counts for stealing thousands of dollars in cash and property during searches of suspects' homes and to five counts for possessing and selling drugs and stolen firearms while he worked on the Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team, or CNET.

He faces a maximum sentence of more than 60 years in federal prison.

The Discovery Bay resident was first arrested on similar state charges in front of the San Ramon Police Department last May.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office turned the case over to federal investigators over the summer.

Also charged in both state and federal court in the scandal are former CNET Cmdr. Norman Wielsch, 50, former Antioch police officer and private investigator Christopher Butler, 49, and former Danville police Officer Stephen Tanabe, 48.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hartley West told the court Thursday morning that between 2005 and 2009, Lombardi stole an estimated $40,000 in cash and valuables from suspects' homes during CNET searches.

Thursday, Lombardi admitted that during four searches between March 2008 and November 2010, he pocketed thousands of dollars in cash, along with jewelry, narcotics, and at one home, a bottle of whiskey and a pair of sunglasses.

He said that between May 2009 and late 2010, he plotted with Wielsh and Butler to establish a marijuana grow house and told the pair he knew a contact in Arizona who could sell the drugs.

As part of the deal, Lombardi would likely testify against his alleged co-conspirators in the scandal if the case goes to trial, the attorney said.

For now, Lombardi is being held in a federal facility as he awaits sentencing, which is set for April 18.

Meanwhile, the district attorney's office has another active case against Lombardi, who was arrested last September on suspicion of spousal abuse and making terrorist threats.

Oakland Murder Suspect Arrested Outside Sports Bar

An Oakland murder suspect was arrested when police stopped him for smoking a cigarette outside of a sports bar in unincorporated Alameda County, sheriff's officials said.

Alameda County Sheriff's deputies drove by to check on the bar shortly before 11 p.m. last Friday, sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.

They saw three men smoking outside the entrance to the bar and stopped to issue citations, as according to county law smoking must be 20 feet from any doorway.

The deputies checked the three men's identities and realized that one of the men was wanted for murder in Oakland.

Deputies took Franklin Bean, 30, into custody. Bean is suspected of fatally shooting 25-year-old Jeremy Johnson on the afternoon of Dec. 17 in the 2600 block of Fruitvale Avenue.

Bean remains in police custody and has been charged with murder by the Alameda County District Attorney's office.

Oakland Civil Rights Attorney John Burris Alleged That Charles Hill Did Not Pose Danger To BART Police

Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris alleged Thursday that a homeless man didn't pose any danger to BART police when they fatally shot him at the Civic Center Station in San Francisco last summer.

Burris, who has filed a wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oakland on behalf of the family of 45-year-old Charles Hill, admitted that Hill threw a knife at officers James Crowell and Myron Lee at the Civic Center Station in San Francisco at about 9:45 p.m. on July 3 but said it missed them by a large margin and he "was no longer a threat" when Crowell fatally shot him.

But BART's lawyer, Dale Allen, said he believes Crowell was justified in shooting Hill because Hill was still "an imminent threat" since he remained armed with a second knife and a bottle and had already "demonstrated a propensity for violence."

Burris said the suit was filed on behalf of Hill's brother, Chris Hill who lives on the East Coast, because his parents are dead.

The suit alleges that Crowley and Lee "acted under color of law by shooting and killing decedent (Hill) without lawful justification" and seeks unspecified damages from BART, its police chief, Kenton Rainey and the two officers.

The suit claims that BART and Rainey "breached their duty of care to the public" by failing to properly train Crowell and Lee in arresting and using force against emotionally disturbed and mentally impaired people.

But Allen said the two officers were properly trained in dealing with such people and the fact that someone is mentally impaired "doesn't make them less dangerous."

The suit says Hill "was celebrating the eve of America's Independence Day" at the Civic Center station when he was noticed by a BART employee who told police that he was holding an open bottle of alcohol on the platform.

The suit says the two officers "immediately escalated the situation by shouting conflicting and confusing commands at Mr. Hill."

Allen said Burris has no basis for alleging that Crowell and Lee escalated the situation by giving confusing commands, saying they were in full uniform and clearly and repeatedly ordered Hill to drop his knives.

Investigation By Federal Agencies And San Francisco And Oakland Police Dismantles High-Level West Coast Drug Trafficking Ring

A four-year investigation by federal agencies and the San Francisco and Oakland police departments resulted in the dismantling of a high-level West Coast drug trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag announced Thursday.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco last week indicted 20 defendants -- from San Francisco, Hayward, Oakland, San Mateo, Vallejo, San Jose and Seattle, among other locales -- for drug-related charges.

The indictment, which was unsealed Wednesday, alleges that the defendants engaged in long-term narcotics conspiracy and that 15 of the defendants distributed illegal narcotics or possessed such narcotics with the intent to distribute them.

Eight of those defendants were arrested and arraigned in federal court Wednesday: Antonio Jose Diaz-Rivera, of San Francisco; Jose Evaristo-Rauda, of San Francisco; Fatima Carolina Segovia, of Hayward; Jose Tobar-Galdamez, of Hayward; Fortunato Rodelo-Lara, of San Mateo; Marcos Antonio Flores, of Vallejo; Jesus Almendares-Vasquez, of San Jose; and Javier Antonio Cabrera-Arteaga, of Seattle.

All of those arrested Wednesday except Cabrera-Arteaga have detention or status hearings scheduled next week or the following week in federal court in San Francisco before Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley or Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James.

In Seattle, 23 defendants were charged by criminal complaint on Monday in a related investigation, of whom 20 were arrested Wednesday in the Seattle Area, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations division, the San Francisco Police Department and the Oakland Police Department.

Several local, state and federal agencies -- including the U.S. Marshals Service and San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force -- assisted in the investigation.

Parents Of Girl Killed By Texting Driver Dropped Their Lawsuit Against The City Of Rohnert Park

The parents of a 2-year-old girl who was killed in a crosswalk by a driver who was texting on her cellphone have dropped their lawsuit against the city of Rohnert Park.

Rohnert Park residents Jeff Murray and his wife Ling Murray, who was seriously injured in the Dec. 1, 2010, collision, had filed a complaint against the city on Dec. 1, 2011, for wrongful death, personal injury and failure to correct a dangerous condition.

Sonoma County Superior Court officials told the Murrays on Dec. 7 they had 30 days to retain an attorney. Court officials on Jan. 19 then informed the Murrays that their lawsuit had been vacated because they did not do so.

Jeff Murray did not return a call for comment Thursday morning on the dismissal of his lawsuit.

Ling Murray, 42, and her daughter Calli were crossing Snyder Lane at Medical Center Drive when they were struck by a 1997 Honda driven by Kaitlyn Dunaway, a Sonoma State University student and Rohnert Park resident.

Dunaway, now 19, admitted she was using her cellphone at the time of the accident. She pleaded no contest in September to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced in November to 120 days in Sonoma County Jail, three years' probation and 200 hours of community service.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo ordered Dunaway to spend five days of her sentence in jail, which Dunaway did between Christmas and New Year's Day. She will serve the rest of the sentence under home confinement.

The Murrays' complaint against the city of Rohnert Park alleged that the crosswalk presented a dangerous condition because there were no traffic control devices, lighting or warning signs to alert drivers that pedestrians were entering or about to enter the crosswalk.

The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety concluded that an average, undistracted driver would not have been able to safely yield to the pedestrians in the crosswalk under the circumstances that day.

Police Responded To Fatal Shooting In Berkeley

Police responded to a fatal shooting in Berkeley Thursday night, police said.

Officers responded to the 3000 block of Shattuck Avenue and found a male victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds near an apartment building at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Emerson Street, according to police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

The victim was taken to a trauma center where he was pronounced dead.

"The evidence suggests that this was not a random shooting," Kusmiss said.

"This victim was the focus of the shooter's attention. We don't know why as of yet," she said.

Kusmiss said officers conducted a neighborhood canvass and community members have come forward with information.

No suspect description was immediately available.

Shattuck Avenue was closed between Ashby Avenue and Essex Street due to the ongoing investigation, Kusmiss said.

This is Berkeley's first homicide of the year.