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Thu
31 May $5 Zumba classes in Pleasant Hill (Diablo Theater) $5 Zumba Classes in Pleasant Hill Zumba Contra Costa 1948 Oak Park Blvd. (between Pleasant Hill Elementary & Safeway/Putnam …

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Fri
17 Aug Rotary Club of Pleasanton North - Weekly Club Meetings Rotary Club of Pleasanton North cordially invites you to attend our weekly meetings, and learn what we mean when we say "Serv…

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Fri
14 Sep Rotary Club of Pleasanton North - Weekly Club Meetings Rotary Club of Pleasanton North cordially invites you to attend our weekly meetings, and learn what we mean when we say "Serv…

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Oakley Area News

Female body found in Sonoma field

 A female body was found in a field in Sonoma today, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Sonoma police responded to an open field near Fourth Street West and West MacArthur Street on reports of a body that was found by a resident as he walked through the field, sheriff's officials said.

Sheriff's officials said the body had been there for about a week and was obscured by tall grass.

No evidence of foul play was found and foul play is not suspected, however sheriff's deputies were called in to investigate because of the condition of the body, according to the sheriff's office.

Authorities said more details will be available once the body has been identified and the next of kin are notified.

_{Wed, 30 May 2012 22:07:06 -0700}

Community appalled by vandalism attack at Martinez cemetery

Recent events have spurred a new push to improve security at a nearly 150-year-old cemetery in Martinez after vandals broke into graves and even opened up some coffins.

KTVU talked to a caretaker who said the recent vandalism was just the latest in a rash of problems there. 

Cemetary custodian Pete Carpenter told KTVU a hiker on a nearby trail first alerted him that someone had broken into two crypts at the Saint Catherine Cemetery in Martinez.

"The door was completely off the hinge and the two coffins were out," said Carpenter. "One was out and off to one side and the older one was opened. It was an old wooden one. And that was the grandmother of the Poppi family who lives here in Martinez."

The incident was by far the worst case in a rash of vandalism at the venerable Catholic cemetery that serves as the final resting place to pioneers and some of Martinez's first residents.

"It's horrible. It's horrible," said Carpenter. "People like that shouldn't be allowed loose."

The disturbed grave has now been bolted and welded shut. Carpenter said some brass handles were taken during the crime.

While he doesn't know who could be responsible, people who live in the area have their own suspicions.

"There's the youth and there's the homeless population and again, crimes of opportunity," said Martinez resident John Yerina.

With a limited budget, Carpenter said securing the cemetery isn't easy.

The goats brought onto the grounds to keep down the brush might be the only witnesses to the crimes.

Wednesday night, KTVU talked to a woman whose grandmother's grave was disturbed. She said she's appalled and is now pushing to raise up to $10,000 for surveillance cameras at the cemetery.

_{Wed, 30 May 2012 20:58:37 -0700}

Jury convicts four San Francisco men for murder of Novato businessman

A Marin County jury convicted four San Francisco men Wednesday morning of conspiracy and the murder of Novato businessman Tong Van Le, 44, as he sat in his car in the garage of his home in 2008.

A fifth defendant, Anchulita Uribe, 36, of Antioch, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact by disposing of the firearm used in the Sept. 13, 2008 slaying. The gun was never found.

Uribe was out of custody during the 5-month trial but was remanded after the verdicts this morning, Chief Deputy District Attorney Barry Borden said.

Defendants Larry Blay Jr., 22, his brother Deandre Blay, 20, Kevin Abram, 20, and C. Autis Johnson III, 20, were convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy and dissuading a witness, Borden said.

The murder happened a few weeks after Le's Nassar Market in San Francisco was robbed on Aug. 23, 2008.

Larry Blay was a suspect in that robbery, but the San Francisco District Attorney's Office dropped the robbery charge against Blay after Le's murder.

The four men, however, were indicted on the murder and conspiracy charges and for special circumstances of lying in wait and killing Le to prevent him from testifying against Blay in the market robbery case.

Borden said the jury found all four men killed Le to prevent his testimony. The jury also found Deandre Blay, Johnson and Kevin Abram lay in wait to kill Le, but Larry Blay did not, Borden said.

Larry Blay ordered Le's murder from his San Francisco jail cell, according to the indictment. The prosecution alleged the defendants then followed Le home from San Francisco in a 1991 Acura Legend and ambushed Le in the garage of his home at 57 Pizarro Ave. in Novato. Abram was believed to be the shooter, Borden said.

Johnson also was found guilty of being an accessory by helping dispose of the murder weapon, Borden said.

Larry Blay faces life in prison without the possibility of parole,

Borden said. Deandre Blay, Johnson and Abram face life in prison with the possibility of parole because they were juveniles at the time of the murder, Borden said.

A sentencing date was scheduled to be set by Judge Terrence Boren on June 29. Borden said the defendants will probably be sentenced in late August or early September.

The grand jury also indicted a sixth San Francisco man, Sean Demetrius Washington, now 26, of San Francisco, but he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified against his co-defendants.

The defense questioned his credibility and the motive for his plea agreement during the trial.

_{Wed, 30 May 2012 19:46:24 -0700}

News Source: MedleyStory More Local News Stories