Bay Area News Briefs

By Ananda Shorey

April 17, 2008

Friend confesses on tape to shooting Willis-Starbuck

Christopher Hollis confessed in a videotaped statement played in court today to firing the shot that killed his close friend Meleia Willis-Starbuck, a popular Berkeley High School graduate and Dartmouth College student, nearly three years ago.

Hollis, 24, was dressed in blue jeans and a purple football jersey with the number 32 when he was interviewed by two Berkeley police officers on Sept. 23, 2005, more than two months after Willis-Starbuck, who was 19, was shot to death near the intersection of College Avenue and Dwight Way in Berkeley about 2 a.m. on July 17, 2005.

The interview was conducted in Fresno, where Hollis was arrested after being on the run for two months.

Frequently banging his left hand on a table in a police interview room and speaking in a high-pitched and whiny voice, Hollis was alternately remorseful and defiant as he spoke to the officers.

Hollis, who attended Berkeley High with Willis-Starbuck, said he felt horrible when he learned Willis-Starbuck was struck and killed by shots he fired after responding to her call for help after she and several women friends got into a confrontation with seven to 10 University of California,

Berkeley football players.

According to prosecutor Elgin Lowe, the confrontation occurred after the football players tried to pick up the women and then insulted them after their advances were rebuffed.

Hollis said, “I just wanted to die. I still do.”

Criminalist testifies in trial of man accused of murdering wife

A criminalist testified this morning in San Mateo County Superior Court that blood smears were found throughout the home where a Daly City woman was stabbed to death in 2006 and that there weren’t signs of forced entry.

Criminalist Kelsi Porttula testified in the case of Quincy Norton Sr., 33, who is accused of fatally stabbing his wife Tamika Norton, 31, after he found out she had initiated divorce proceedings.

Porttula said blood spatters found on the exterior of the bedroom door where Tamika Norton was found show that the door was open when she was stabbed. Blood smears were found near the handle of the door, which was closed when Daly City police found her body July 22, 2006.

Blood smears were also found near the handle of the bathroom door, and near the knife block in the kitchen, Porttula testified. One knife was found on the kitchen counter, and another was found submerged in a sink full of dirty dishes.

After draining the sink Porttula tested it for traces of blood, and the test came back positive, she said. Both knives were admitted into evidence today at the request of prosecutor Al Giannini.

The Norton’s son Dion testified Wednesday that he heard his mom and dad having an argument the morning his mother died, and that his mother screamed his and his brother’s names.

Dion also testified that that morning his dad collected him, his brother and sister, then ages 7, 9 and 1, put them in his mom’s green Honda and drove them to a cousin’s house where he left them.

Quincy Norton evaded police for about a month while being sought for questioning following the fatal stabbing. He remains in custody on a no-bail status. Police arrested him in San Jose on Aug. 27, 2006.

SF Court says garment factory owners not personally liable for wages

A state appeals court has ruled that family members who owned three now-defunct garment factories in San Francisco are not personally liable for failing to pay their workers about $1 million in 2001.

Jimmy Quan and Anna Wong and their daughter, Jenny Wong, were owners and officers of three garment factories known as the Wins Corporations. When the companies ran into financial difficulties in 2001, their workers, most of whom were immigrants, went without pay for months.

Quan and Anna Wong put their companies into bankruptcy, but were convicted in federal court in San Francisco last year of bankruptcy fraud for concealing and transferring company assets.

Quan was sentenced to four years in prison and Wong to one year and two months and both are now serving their sentences.

Meanwhile, the workers were paid in 2002 with a combination of $865,000 from a state garment workers’ fund and $337,000 from the bankruptcy court.

The state labor commissioner then sought to sue the three family members in a civil lawsuit to recover the state funds and sought a $1 million judgment in San Francisco Superior Court.

But in a ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal said that only the companies and not the individual family members could be considered employers under state law as defined by the California Supreme Court.

Marci Seville, a lawyer for one of the workers, said she is reviewing the ruling and has not decided whether to appeal. Seville said that although the Wins workers have now been paid, the case would affect the amount of money available in the state fund in future cases.

12-year-old girl found safe with teenage boy in Oakland

A 12-year-old San Francisco girl missing for two days was found safe in Oakland late Wednesday night, and had apparently being staying with a teenage boy who is a friend of hers, police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina said today.

“There was no indication of foul play,” Mannina said.

According to Mannina, Billie McGee was reported missing Monday from her Bayview Heights home after failing to show up at school in San Francisco.

On Wednesday, someone recognized her in Oakland and told her to call home, Mannina said. The girl called her mother, who promptly picked her up in Oakland, and the girl’s grandmother called police, he said.

Police came to the residence to confirm that she was safe shortly before midnight.

A police inspector will likely interview the girl this morning to confirm no criminal activity took place, Mannina said.

Mannina said the girl had not been abducted, and that she may have left on her own after an argument with her mother.

“Thankfully she’s been found, she’s safe, and she’s been returned to her family,” Mannina said. “That’s the important thing.”

Unique DUI trial under way at Jesse Bethel High School

Students at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo are learning about the legal consequences of a drunken driving arrest today.

More than 100 students in the government and economics class are serving as advisory jurors in the trial at the school of 27-year-old Michael Campbell, of Vallejo, who was arrested for drunken driving in March 2007, Vallejo Unified School District spokesman Jason Hodge said.

Campbell is being tried before Commissioner Raymond Wieser in the school’s theater. Deputy District Attorney Robert Jones is trying the case and Deputy Public Defender Dawn Polvorosa is representing Campbell.

The students will deliberate and advise Wieser of their decision but Wieser will render a verdict, Hodge said.

Jesse Bethel is one of four high schools in Solano County scheduled to host an actual DUI trial this year, Hodge said. It is part of the DUI Court in the Schools Program funded through a grant from the Administrative Office of the Courts, Hodge said.

After the trial, Wieser will participate in an interactive civic lesson with the students, Hodge said. Representatives from west Contra Costa County also are attending the trial with the intention of hosting one in their jurisdiction, Hodge said.

Gunman binds couple with duct tape in home invasion robbery

Police are looking for a gunman who forced his way into an Antioch home early this morning, bound a man and his girlfriend with duct tape and stole property.

The victim was leaving his home on San Joaquin Avenue at about 2:20 a.m. to go to work when a man in his early 20s and armed with a handgun approached him, police reported.

The gunman allegedly forced the victim back into his house, bound him and his girlfriend with duct tape and stole numerous items, including the victim’s vehicle.

The victim called 911 as soon as the attacker left and police spotted the stolen vehicle moments later.

The suspect fled the scene and managed to evade police.

Unstable ruins delaying investigation into cause of house fire

Investigators haven’t determined the cause of a two-alarm fire that destroyed a house on Mount Palomar Drive early Wednesday morning, a San Jose Fire Department spokesman said today.

The fire did an estimated $550,000 worth of damage to the home’s structure. An estimate for the amount of damage to the contents of the home has not been made, according to San Jose fire Capt. Steve Alvarado.

Investigators have been delayed because the ruins of the house are unstable.

“No one is going inside,” Alvarado said.

The fire was reported at approximately 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and was under control two hours later. No injuries were reported among the 10 adults and one infant living in the house or the estimated 65 firefighters involved in fighting the blaze.

Police report abduction attempt in Costco store

Novato police are reporting that a man attempted to abduct an 8-year-old girl in a Costco last weekend.

Sgt. Keith Heiden said the girl and her 8-year-old friend were in the store Saturday around 6:30 p.m. when a man bumped into her from behind and briefly spoke to her. The suspect then grabbed the girl’s right wrist and began to pull her down the aisle toward the back of the store, Heiden said.

The man tightened his grip on the girl as she tried to pull away but the girl was able to break free and ran to a nearby aisle where she and her friend hid, Heiden said. The girl reported the incident to her friend’s parents who brought her to the store.

Police responded to the store at 300 Vintage Way but did not locate the suspect, Heiden said.

The suspect is a white man, around 35 years old, 6 feet tall, with black hair and a medium build, police said. He was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, brown boots and gold and black sunglasses.

Coroner identifies man who died when car flew off highway

The Monterey County coroner’s office has identified 48-year-old Brian Howe as the man who was killed on the coast of unincorporated Monterey County south of the Carmel Highlands on Monday night.

Howe’s vehicle plunged 250 feet off of state Highway 1 and landed on its roof near the beach’s surf line, officials said.

At about 9:05 p.m., he was driving southbound on the highway in the area of Garrapata State Park, about 10 miles south of the Carmel Highlands, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Jan Bray.

The Big Sur resident apparently lost control of the vehicle, crossed into the northbound lane and applied his brakes, attempting to get back into the southbound lane when his vehicle exited the roadway, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Cal Fire, the CHP and a sheriff’s rescue team responded to the area, however he was pronounced dead at the scene. A U.S. Coast Guard air ambulance was called off when it was determined Howe had died.

The cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries, according to Monterey County coroner’s office Detective Tom Jenkins.

Luncheon and vigil cap crime victims’ rights week

The last of three candlelight vigils in Sonoma County will be held at Walnut Park in Petaluma this evening to remember and honor crime victims.

The event is part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Sonoma County.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office paid tribute at a luncheon in Windsor on Wednesday to crime victims, law enforcement and service providers.

“This year’s theme, ‘Justice for Victims. Justice for All’ suggests that because anyone can become a victim of crime, everyone has a powerful stake in ensuring victims’ rights,” Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said.

Fire causes estimated $100,000 damage

A two-alarm fire that broke out in a residential structure in San Francisco on Friday caused an estimated $100,000 damage, fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said today.

The blaze was first reported to the fire department around 6:15 p.m. at 1035 Laguna St. When firefighters arrived at the structure, five police officers who had been patrolling nearby were already helping, according to fire Lt. Ken Smith.

The officers found heavy black smoke coming out of the first floor of the three-story building and began to evacuate residents, Smith said. The police officers later requested oxygen and were evaluated and released at the scene.

Smith said 95 firefighters assisted with the blaze, which was contained around 6:25 p.m. and under control at about 6:35 p.m.

There was no reported injuries to residents or firefighters. One woman, who lived in the apartment where the fire started, was displaced and the American Red Cross assisted, Smith said.

The blaze caused an estimated $50,000 property damage and $50,000 damage to contents.

The fire was caused by an item that was left on the stove and appears to be accidental, Talmadge said.

Work to begin on Western Burrowing Owl conservation area

Bay Area cities in coordination with the East Bay Regional Park District have started working this week on a project aimed at creating protected habitat for the Western Burrowing Owl, a species of concern in California.

The $57,000 project will be completed at the Albany Plateau within the Eastshore State Park, which includes 2,262 acres stretching from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to Richmond.

The project, a partnership between the park district and the cities of Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville and Richmond, will create a conservation area and enhanced bird-viewing areas for visitors. It is one of the projects to restore ecosystems and habitats included in the Eastshore State Park General Plan, officials said.

The conservation area will include an 8-acre space that will provide the owls protection from predatory animals, burrows to act as the abandoned rodent holes the owls typically inhabit, and an enhanced .5 mile viewing trail around the area perimeter and along the bay. A 4-foot fence will be built around the conservation area.

The project is scheduled for completion June 22, officials said.

The Western Burrowing Owl is considered a species of concern as its population has declined due to development of its natural habitat, according to park officials.

Funding for the project at the Eastshore State Park has been provided by the Joint Powers Authority Agency, formed by the cities of Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville and Richmond, to account for the owl habitat lost when the Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex south of Golden Gate Fields was approved. The sports complex is scheduled to open in September.

Prescribed burn southeast of Salinas begins at 11 a.m.

Cal Fire is conducting a prescribed burn today at Silacci Ranch southeast of Salinas in the Gabilan Range.

The burn will cover about 200 acres in the same area, about 1.5 miles east of Williams and Old Stage roads, as a burn that occurred Saturday.

Prescribed burns are used to assist the environment by reducing competition from nonnative annual grasses, encourage growth of perennial native grasses, and increase habitat diversity. Controlled burns such as this are also used to reduce the spread of uncontrolled fires.