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Source: MedleyStory
El Cerrito's first police dog has died following a sudden illness, police announced.
Police K-9 King began showing signs of physical distress on Friday while he was off duty and was taken to a veterinarian by his partner, Officer Joshua Del Prado, police said.
A surgery determined that King had suffered a "catastrophic and unavoidable internal malady" that could not be repaired or survived, police said. King died with Del Prado and other members of the department by his side.
Hired in late 2010, King was the first Police K-9 in the department's history.
Purchased with funds raised by the community and the El Cerrito Police Employees Association, he assisted in calls including the successful search for a missing elderly Alzheimer's patient and the pursuit of a fleeing suspect who hid under a vehicle.
King also participated in local safety fairs and community events.
No memorial events are planned, but condolences from the community are welcome, police said.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:37:15 -0800
Police in Santa Rosa are investigating a Friday night shooting that apparently occurred during a drug deal.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting around 11:35 p.m. Friday in the 1000 block of Bellevue Avenue and found Fairfield resident Denzel Simmons, 20, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.
Simmons told police he had been smoking a cigarette outside a relative's apartment there when he was suddenly shot.
He was taken to a nearby hospital.
About 15 minutes later, police responded to a home on Cornell Drive where 21-year-old Savon Cleveland, and Frank Kobrin, 22, reported involvement in a shooting with a man who put a gun to Cleveland's face.
After interviewing the three men, detectives determined that Cleveland and Kobrin allegedly met with Simmons to buy some marijuana.
Simmons allegedly pulled a gun on Cleveland and tried to rob him, prompting Kobrin to shoot the Fairfield man in the leg.
Police continue to investigate the shooting and have not made any arrests.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Santa Rosa Police Department at (707) 543-3590.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:31:35 -0800
A 17-year-old alleged gang member was arrested by San Mateo County sheriff's detectives Friday morning in connection with the January stabbing of four people outside a wedding in Half Moon Bay, according to the sheriff's office.
The stabbing occurred on Main Street outside the I.D.E.S. Hall at about 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28.
Four men in their 20s were leaving a wedding reception at the hall when they were approached by a group of male suspects and stabbed by at least one of the suspects.
All four victims were transported to a hospital for treatment and were released.
The sheriff's office said that potential suspects were identified as young men affiliated with the Media Luna Norte -- or Half Moon North -- gang.
The juvenile, who lives in the Half Moon Bay area, was arrested at about 10:30 a.m. Friday. He was booked into the San Mateo County Youth Services Center.
As of Saturday, the case was going to be forwarded to the county district attorney's office for prosecution.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:54:32 -0800
Santa Clara officials are expected to approve a construction contract for the San Francisco 49ers' new stadium that calls on the facility to open in 2014, a year earlier than originally projected.
City officials are scheduled to vote on the $878 million building contract Tuesday, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
It requires construction to begin by July 1 and the stadium to be completed in time to open at the end of August 2014.
The contractor, Turner-Devcon, would be fined $6 million for each 49ers game missed after that deadline, plus daily fines that could hit $20 million, according to the newspaper. The penalties could cause the contractor to lose money on the project.
If Turner-Devcon completes the stadium in time for the 2014 preseason, it would earn a $5 million bonus.
"We're going to be playing football here in 2014," Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said. "I have no doubt whatsoever."
The 49ers and Santa Clara had previously aimed to start construction in January 2013 and open the field for the 2015 season, but the NFL awarded $200 million for the project last week. That was the last piece of funding needed for construction to begin after the team and city officials secured $850 million in bank loans in December.
Under the contract being considered, Turner-Devcon would earn 4 percent of the total contract award, or about $35 million.
Its fee was the lowest offer the 49ers received.
Turner-Devcon is a partnership of two firms -- New York City-based Turner Construction, which has worked on NFL stadium projects for the Green Bay Packers and other teams, and Milpitas-based Devcon Construction.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:56:34 -0800
A 77-year-old woman crossing a street in San Jose Saturday morning was struck and killed by a car, police said. Her death was the city's second pedestrian fatality since Friday night.
The woman had been in the road in the area of Oakland and Rock Avenue when she was struck by a 1999 green Honda Civic at about 6:45 a.m., police said.
She was transported to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, where she was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m.
About 12 hours earlier, a woman crossing Meridian Avenue was struck and killed by a car, police said.
The crash was reported at about 8:35 p.m. and involved a green late 1990s Acura Legend. The car was driving northbound on Meridian Avenue when it struck the woman, believed to be in her 40s, who was in the road just south of West San Carlos Street, police said.
Fire personnel pronounced the woman dead at 8:43 p.m.
The drivers in both crashes stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. Police said there was no indication that either driver was intoxicated but that the pedestrians' sobriety levels were unknown Saturday.
Both fatal crashes were under investigation and mark the city's first and second auto-pedestrian fatalities of 2012. Saturday morning's crash was the fourth traffic-related fatality of the year.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:59:27 -0800
Human remains were found Saturday night in Linden as investigators followed directions given by convicted serial killer and death row inmate Wesley Shermantine.
Investigators confirmed that they found a portion of a human skull and bones buried about 35-feet deep at a cattle ranch well outside of Stockton.
Digging continued well after dark Saturday in the remote part of San Joaquin County.
Until the latest discovery Saturday afternoon, there was talk that crews should be checking another well on the property.
With the strong possibility of more remains on the Linden property, the search could continue throughout the weekend.
In total, three victims were found in three days, two in Calveras County and one in Linden, since authorities began their search.
Human remains uncovered Thursday in Calveras County have been preliminarily identified as one of Shermantine's victims.
Dental records identified the remains found Thursday a Calveras County burial site as those of Cyndi Vanderheiden, 25, San Joaquin sheriff's spokesman Les Garcia said Saturday.
Authorities were still awaiting the results of a DNA analysis to confirm the identification, Garcia said.
Cyndi Vanderheiden's father, John Vanderheiden, said he is waiting for the DNA results but he is almost sure the remains are those of his daughter.
"There will be closure after that," he said.
The other set of remains found Friday, also in Calveras County, is believed to be 16-year-old Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler.
Authorities have not positively identified the remains found Friday as those of Wheeler. But Wheeler's parents said they were notified that the remains were found in a spot where Shermantine said their daughter was buried after she disappeared in 1985.
"They said they found her wrapped in a blanket," Paula Wheeler, the girl's mother, told The Associated Press by phone from the family's home in Crossville, Tenn. "This is a happy day. We can finally have some closure."
Investigators believe Vanderheiden and Wheeler were among as many as 15 victims of Shermantine and his childhood friend Loren Herzog. They were called the "Speed Freak Killers" because of their methamphetamine-fueled killing spree.
Shermantine recently agreed to disclose the locations of bodies in return for a bounty hunter's offer of $33,000. He is giving hand-drawn maps to authorities.
Shermantine has indicated up to 10 additional bodies could be at the old cattle ranch well near Linden, according to authorities.
Shermantine was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death. Herzog was convicted of three murders and sentenced to 77 years to life in prison, though that was later reduced to 14 years. An appeals court tossed his first-degree murder convictions after ruling his confession was illegally obtained.
Herzog was paroled in 2010 to a trailer outside the High Desert State Prison in Susanville. He committed suicide outside that trailer last month after Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla told him Shermantine was disclosing the location of the well along with two other locations.
Padilla has promised to pay Shermantine as much as $33,000 to disclose the locations of the bodies. He said he hopes to collect on rewards being offered by the state of California for information about several missing persons suspected of being victims of Herzog and Shermantine.
Shermantine has said he wants the money to pay off an $18,000 restitution order that prevents him from buying the limited luxuries like candy bars that inmates with money in their accounts can afford. He also said he want to buy headstones for his deceased parents.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:12:37 -0800
A 21-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pleasant Hill late Friday night, police said.
The victim was identified as Michael de Juan Jones of San Pablo
Police received a call of a possible shooting in the 200 block of Devonshire Court at about 10:06 p.m. Friday.
Once there, officers determined that multiple shots had apparently been fired from a vehicle in the direction of people who were in front of a home.
Police and emergency responders found the Jones who was struck by the gunfire and pronounced him dead at the scene.
No other injuries were reported.
Witnesses told police they saw a possible suspect vehicle -- a blue Saturn Vue with several occupants -- speeding away from the area immediately after the gunfire.
While police aren’t sharing much about the victim, they do say they believe the attack was not random.
“Preliminary investigation points to the fact that the victim knew the suspect,” said Pleasant Hill police Lt. Jose de La Torre “So, it's not a random type thing.”
Will de Guzman lives directly across the street and several times had met the young man who was killed.
“(He was a ) good kid,” de Guzman said. “He had a good head on his shoulders.”
Police continued to investigate the shooting Saturday and were asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Pleasant Hill Police Department at (925) 288-4630.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:39:55 -0800
A saxophonist who serenaded BART passengers in San Francisco, has been arrested in an Albuquerque, New Mexico cold case.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Ronald Brewington was taken into custody this week. He was accused of shooting his estranged wife, 37-year-old Diedre Brewington, in her Albuquerque apartment in August 1987.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Brewington was referred to as the "jazz man" and played saxophone at San Francisco's Embarcadero Station, where he allegedly told Bay Area Rapid Transit riders his name was Garrick Sherrod.
Commuters described him as talkative and said he gave out Christmas cards each year that said, "You are my Carnegie Hall."
Police say Brewington evaded capture after his indictment in 1988 in part by using aliases such as Garrick Sherrod.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:24:22 -0800
A death row inmate has led authorities to an area of Northern California believed to be the burial sites of two victims of the notorious "Speed Freak Killers," as searchers focused Saturday on an abandoned well for any additional remains.
A partial human skull and bones were found buried Friday on a remote property in Calaveras County. A day earlier, searchers found a skull and bones at another site in the area about 60 miles south of Sacramento.
They were led there by inmate Wesley Shermantine, who was convicted of murdering 16-year-old Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler. Authorities say he and childhood friend Loren Herzog killed the girl as part of a methamphetamine-fueled killing spree in the 1980s. The two were arrested in 1999.
Deputy Les Garcia, spokesman for the San Joaquin County sheriff's department, said it would take time to identify the remains found Friday. But Wheeler's parents said authorities notified them that the remains were found in a spot where Shermantine said their daughter was buried after she disappeared in 1985.
"They said they found her wrapped in a blanket," Paula Wheeler, the girl's mother, told The Associated Press by phone from the family's home in Crossville, Tenn. "This is a happy day. We can finally have some closure."
The remains found Thursday were thought to be of Cyndi Vanderheiden, a 25-year-old last seen in front of her Linden home in 1998. Both sets of remains were found in two sites near property once owned by Shermantine's family.
Shermantine agreed to disclose the locations of bodies in return for a bounty hunter's offer of $33,000. He is giving hand-drawn maps to authorities, who are now turning their attention to a third site — an abandoned well — in San Joaquin County.
The old cattle ranch well near the town of Linden, just outside of Stockton, has layers of backfill that have slowed down its excavation, authorities said. Shermantine claims Herzog buried as many as 10 bodies there.
Shermantine was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death. Herzog was convicted of three murders and sentenced to 77 years to life in prison, though that was later reduced to 14 years. An appeals court tossed his first-degree murder convictions after ruling his confession was illegally obtained.
Herzog was paroled in 2010 to a trailer outside the High Desert State Prison in Susanville. He committed suicide outside that trailer last month after Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla told him Shermantine was disclosing the location of the well along with two other locations.
Padilla has promised to pay Shermantine as much as $33,000 to disclose the locations of the bodies. He said he hopes to collect on rewards being offered by the state of California for information about several missing persons suspected of being victims of Herzog and Shermantine.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:27:32 -0800
A woman walking across a San Jose road was struck and killed by a car Friday night, police said.
The fatal incident was reported at 8:34 p.m. near the intersection of Meridian Avenue and West San Carlos Street, police said.
A green late 1990s Acura Legend was driving northbound on Meridian Avenue when it struck the woman, believed to be in her 40s, who was in the roadway just south of West San Carlos Street, police said.
Fire personnel pronounced the woman dead at 8:43 p.m.
The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
Alcohol was not believed to be a factor for the driver, however, the pedestrian's sobriety level was unknown Saturday, police said.
The fatal crash was under investigation.
This accident marked the city's first auto-pedestrian fatality and was the third traffic-related fatality of the year, police noted.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:57:32 -0800
San Francisco police were asking for the public's help Saturday in the search of some puppy snatchers.
Four 3-week-old mixed-breed Doberman Pinscher and Beagle puppies were stolen from a Bayview District home in the 100 block of Cameron Way sometime Tuesday morning, police said.
During the burglary, which occurred between 9 a.m. and noon, the suspects appeared to have hit the two adult parent dogs with a blunt object, police said.
The puppies have black-and-tan coloring.
Anyone with information about the puppy burglary was asked to call San Francisco police Sgt. Neil Cunningham at the Bayview Police Station at (415) 671-2300 or the Bayview Police Station anonymous tip line at (415) 822-8147.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:36:06 -0800
A group of students in Solano County is giving something back to those who gave everything.
It's a place for military families to find comfort, as well as to honor the nation's fallen heroes.
The memorial park will be named after 35-year-old Sergeant Isaac Lawson who was killed in Iraq, he was a member of the 45th Military Police Brigade.
"It was a started as a service project for our 4-H club," explained one of the students.
The park will be built next to the Armory in Fairfield, where an empty lot will be transformed to include a memorial plaza.
The friends of Lawson had his helmet and boots bronzed and they think of him often.
"Your lives are dependent on what the guy next to you is doing. You develop a bond that is even closer than your family sometimes. To lose someone from that bond is devastating," said Sgt. Major Ben Jandreau of the California Army National Guard.
Students received a donation on Friday that will help pay for the sprinkler system. The donor, a Vietnam War veteran.
"You have to have remembrance of them, they're protecting our freedom," explained Paul Wireman.
The students said they want to provide a place of solace for military families.
Lawson's helmet and boots will be the centerpiece of the memorial park.
The students still need to raise $300,000 for the project and hope to break ground in April.
To help contribute to the construction of the park send donations to: Solano County 4-H, 501 Texas Street, Fairfield, CA 94533.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:55:42 -0800
The young man from Palo Alto has become an overnight sensation, taking the NBA by storm and some are calling it "Lin-sanity".
Jeremy Lin's name is among the most-searched on Yahoo.
And Friday night he had his biggest game yet playing for the New York Knicks.
Six years ago he led the Palo Alto High School basketball team to the California State Championship. He then went on to Harvard University
At Madison Square Garden in New York City, Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin dropped in 38 points, even outscoring Laker star Kobe Bryant.
In the Dutch Goose Bar in Menlo Park, Lin's high school coach and two of his high school teammates gathered to watch the 23-year-old sensation.
"He's incredibly confident in his ability and he's fearless. He'll go at it and go for it every chance he gets," said his former coach Peter Diepenbrock.
Friday night's game was Lin's fourth straight start as a NBA pro, and since he started the Knicks are undefeated.
"He's never going to get caught up in this Lin-Sanity thing," said high school teammate Kevin Trimble. "He's just taking it as an average Joe and that's the best part about Jeremy."
Friends said he is also deeply religious, in high school it was church and basketball.
"He's really just about making a difference in as many people's lives as he can, in a positive way," said another teammate Kheaton Scott.
Lin is the first American of Chinese-Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA and only the fourth Asian-American in the history of the league.
On the Knicks website it is now all Jeremy Lin.
"It definitely eliminates a lot of negative stereotypes and brings to light the human qualities of the Asian-American stereotype," said Stanford student Kevin Mo.
Jeremy Lin was undrafted out of Harvard. The Golden State Warriors were the only team to give him a chance, but cut him last year. He went to New York and Lin-sanity arrived.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:05:01 -0800
A Bay Area bass player's most prized possession was stolen Friday by thieves who may have known he was on the road with his multi-platinum band Evanescence.
Burglars broke into Tim McCord's second-story apartment through a bathroom window and ransacked the apartment, taking the musician's most prized possession: a bass guitar given to him by his father.
It's also the instrument used to compose songs in McCord's band Evanescense.
McCord said the sentimental value of his 1970s-era bass guitar is priceless.
"I'm a professional musician. I was taught to play guitar by my Dad," McCord said during a phone interview.
McCord's father gave his son the instrument before dying of cancer 12 years ago.
"I love my dad," McCord said. "This is something I had to remember him by."
McCord is currently on tour in Japan with Evanescense.
Just a month ago, he brought his prized guitar home to keep it from getting banged up on the road.
McCord and his girlfriend Ashley Dunlop said they never thought it would be coveted by thieves. Burglars took the instrument, computers and electronics. Dunlop wonders why her apartment was targeted.
"I would say it's the single most important possession that he has," Dunlop said. "It could have been a former maintenance worker, a former tenant, someone who knew the building. At the very least someone who'd been watching the apartment for a little while."
Dunlop said she has seen no sign of the guitar on Craigslist or eBay yet.
San Francisco police are investigating.
"We have one lead that I'm working on at this point, whether that pans out for us, I don't know, but it's a good lead," said San Francisco police inspector Jim Kelly.
"At this point it's not about catching somebody, or imprisoning anyone," Dunlop said. "It's not about getting revenge, it's just about getting it back."
Dunlop's posted reward signs in the neighborhood. She said the guitar's case was also stolen and had a very distinctive yellow sticker with the letters "NFG" written on it.
She said she hopes someone will turn it over to police.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:27:40 -0800
A flare-up fueled by a broken window caused the deaths of two firefighters in a Diamond Heights house fire last year, and not procedural errors, San Francisco fire officials said Friday.
An internal safety investigation on the June 2, 2011 fire at 133 Berkeley Way released Friday indicates that firefighters Lt. Vincent A. Perez and Firefighter Paramedic Anthony M. Valerio were killed by extremely high temperatures of up to 700 degrees caused by a sudden flare up, known as a flashover.
The intense fire event, which lasted several minutes, was caused when a window shattered in the room where the fire started, sending a rush of oxygen to the flames, according to the report. The heat was drawn up a stairwell from a below ground-level floor, where the fire began, to the ground-level floor where Valerio and Perez were standing.
"They were caught in a chimney," said Assistant Chief David Franklin, who worked on the team that prepared the report.
The report describes a number of errors and communication problems at the scene and makes recommendations for how the handling of future incidents can be improved. But fire officials said the flashover was not something that could have easily been prevented or predicted.
"What Vincent and Tony did is exactly what all of us would have done," said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, noting that it is standard practice in the department to make an aggressive attack and try to get water on a fire as quickly as possible. "The key factor was something that we really had no control over."
Valerio and Perez, whose Engine 26 was the first to arrive on scene after the fire was reported at 10:45 a.m., were trying to reach the seemingly small, routine fire through the front door of the four-story wood-framed home, which was built into a hillside with floors both above and below ground level. They conferred with other firefighters arriving on the scene on the ground floor at 10:53 a.m., and agreed that the fire was below them, the report said.
A short time later, around 10:58 a.m., the flashover occurred and drove back other firefighters who were attempting to enter the building through the garage.
Firefighters were ultimately able to put out the fire through a lower-level entrance on the side of the building. Perez and Valerio were discovered on the ground floor at the top of the stairwell somewhere around 11:04 a.m. or 11:05 a.m., after failing to respond to several radio calls, officials said.
At no time did the two firefighters send out any distress calls or trigger their emergency alarms, officials said. The last radio transmission from Engine 26 came at 10:52 a.m., when they said "we're still looking for it, zero visibility, more to follow," the report said.
The two men suffered internal and external burns to 40 percent of their bodies, and died of "thermal injuries," according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner. Perez died at the hospital later the same day, and Valerio died two days later.
Two other firefighters were also treated and released for injuries incurred in the fire.
Hayes-White said the department is developing a risk assessment policy to help determine how to approach fires, particularly in difficult situations such as that presented by the multi-level home.
While fire protection gear worn by the firefighters appears to have functioned as designed during the flashover, their radios were severely damaged by the intense heat. Hayes-White said the department has since learned that there are no national standards for the radios.
"We're very concerned about it and believe this will be a national issue," Hayes-White said.
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued several citations to the department in November with fines of up to $21,000 for violations related to the June 2 fire. The violations included a failure to maintain sufficient contact and communication among employees.
However, Hayes-White said today that none of the Cal-OSHA violations were related to the deaths of Perez and Valerio. She said the department has appealed the citations and believes they will be reduced.
The report also found that the response to the fire, caused by an electrical short, was delayed by an attempt by the residents to put it out themselves. Hayes-White urged residents to call 911 right away so that professionals can respond promptly.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:22:54 -0800
San Jose police found a cache of guns and marijuana among other items just one mile from a school Friday during a raid
San Jose's metro unit confiscated drugs, money, handguns and shotguns, after a huge bust early in Friday morning in the east part of the city.
Police told KTVU the amount of the marijuana found could be sold for thousands of dollars on the street.
Officers also found a scale, small bags to distribute the drugs, a sawed-off shotgun and a loaded stolen gun from inside the Toyon Avenue home.
That's when officers surrounded it and demanded everyone evacuate the house.
Police arrested one man and took a woman into custody. That woman and her child were later released.
Six pit bulls were also brought from the home and taken to Animal Care and Services in San Jose and they were later taken to a shelter, said San Jose police officer Tony Diet.
KTVU tried to speak with the neighbors who suspected problems at the home, but because of the nature of the bust they declined to make a statement.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:38:33 -0800
Police thought they had as many as six robbery suspects surrounded in a Vallejo home Friday evening, but by the time the house went up in flames they were gone.
Police surrounded the home in a standoff late Friday afternoon following the alleged armed robbery.
Police said the robbery occurred around 1:15 p.m. when a man was allegedly attacked by six men with handguns and was beat up in a Craigslist-related robbery on North Camino Alto in Vallejo.
Officers then tracked the suspects to the home on Castlewood Drive and Springs Road.
When police thought they heard gunshots coming from inside the home in the middle of the standoff, Vallejo police hurried to push on-lookers back and take cover.
At a news conference hours after the incident, police said the suspects somehow got away and other than the tear gas officers launched into the home, no gunshots were ever fired.
“We ruled that out, due to the fact there was nobody found in the residence,” said Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park.
Park said police don’t know exactly what started the fire, but they were confident the fire was not started by their non-incendiary devices, which were flameless.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire at around 6 p.m. and the police standoff ended just before 7 p.m.
Darnay Thompson lives next door, but wasn't home. He rushed to the scene to see if his house was affected after seeing his neighborhood on the news.
“I just want to know what the hell is going on and can I get in my house to make sure my house is OK,” Thompson said.
Neighbors, including Thompson have since been allowed back into their homes.
Police said they don't know if the people living in the house had any connection to the suspects.
One of the resident’s two dogs was killed in the fire.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:48:59 -0800
A 65-year-old man was killed in a tree trimming accident in San Jose Friday late afternoon.
The incident happened near Hillmont and Ocala avenues east of the Reed Hillview Airport and the Capitol Expressway.
Investigators said the man was on a ladder using a chainsaw to cut branches when he fell.
Authorities told KTVU the victim lived in the home where the accident occurred.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:03:12 -0800
Burlingame High School was briefly locked down Friday afternoon because of a threatening email purported to be from a student saying he had a gun and a bomb, a police spokesman said.
The school, located at 1 Mangini Way in Burlingame, was locked down shortly after 2 p.m. because of the threat, which was sent to school administrators, according to San Mateo Union High School District officials.
The administrators confirmed the student who allegedly sent the email was in attendance and called police. Officers arrived and located the student in a classroom and detained him, police spokesman Capt. Mike Matteucci said.
The rest of the school was evacuated while police searched the student, his backpack and locker. No evidence of a threat was found by officers or a bomb-sniffing K-9 unit, Matteucci said.
The student, a juvenile male, cooperated with investigators, who are still trying to determine if there was a credible threat or if it was a hoax.
"He claims he doesn't know anything about it," Matteucci said.
No arrests have been made and no injuries were reported during the incident, he said.
Other students were released to their parents at the school's football field after the lockdown was lifted shortly after 2:30 p.m., school district officials said.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:09:09 -0800
Joseph Naso, the Reno man accused of killing four women in Northern California between 1977 and 1994, this morning adamantly asserted his right to represent himself at his trial.
Naso, 78, told Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet he does not want the county public defender's office involved in his case.
"I will say it loud and clear so everyone hears. I don't want the public defender replacing me," Naso said.
Naso was held over for trial last month on charges of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland in Marin County in 1977; Carmen Colon, 22, in Port Costa in Contra Costa County in 1978; Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracy Tafoya in Yuba County in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
Testimony during Naso's preliminary hearing indicated the women, who worked as prostitutes, were strangled and dumped along rural roads.
Naso has been representing himself in court and did not re-enter pleas to the charges and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders that subjects him to the death penalty.
Sweet asked Naso last week to fill out a questionnaire regarding his intention to continue representing himself.
"The court has to make sure you are aware of your right to counsel and that your waiver of that right is voluntary," Sweet said.
Naso told the judge he misplaced the questionnaire.
"I'd like to take a rain check on that," Naso said. He told the judge he has been secretly trying to obtain advisory counsel.
Sweet said he is prepared to appoint a public defender to represent Naso. He said whether Naso would have to pay for one would be determined after the trial.
Naso has claimed he cannot afford an attorney. The Marin County District Attorney's Office has argued Naso has $1 million in liquid assets.
Naso told Sweet he "wouldn't spend one nickel on this kind of representation.
"If I had the three best attorneys in the county and it didn't cost a nickel, I'd still have to think about it," Naso said.
"Attorneys like to age cases," he said. "I'm thinking of not waiving my time and to get on with the trial."
Naso also said there is no privacy in jail regarding communications with an attorney.
"We can't shake hands and exchange papers," Naso said.
Naso then said he didn't care to fill out the questionnaire.
"I may not grant you the right to represent yourself if you don't fill it out," Sweet replied.
"If I fill it out, it will be under duress," Naso said.
He also said he didn't want the questionnaire to become a public document.
Sweet said he would seal the questionnaire. "No one will see it but you and me," the judge said.
Naso is scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning with the questionnaire.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:48:34 -0800
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