Bay Area News Briefs

Bay City News

May 28, 2008

Multiple-Vehicle Collision Shuts Down Highway 101 for Four Hours

A big-rig truck carrying about 55,000 pounds of powdered cement Tuesday was involved in a multi-vehicle collision that shut down U.S. Highway 101 in Sonoma County for four hours.

The incident occurred around 2:25 p.m. while Helen Kyung Sook Daniels, 68, of Petaluma, was driving her 2006 Honda Accord northbound in the left lane of the highway north of San Antonio Road in an unincorporated area of the county, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Daniels was traveling at freeway speeds, the CHP said, when she began to approach slowed traffic and attempted to swerve left to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of her. The CHP reported Daniels’ vehicle traveled into the dirt and gravel at the center median and swerved right, overcompensating and hitting a 2003 Chevy minivan, being driven by Cindy Green of American Canyon.

The Honda then continued into the right lane where it struck the big-rig being driven by 29-year-old Kenneth Paul Wade, said the CHP. The big-rig overturned and collided with a Volvo in the left lane, which traveled left into the center guardrail. The Volvo was being driven by Christian Vandenheuvel, 33, of Windsor.

A Sig-alert was issued at 2:25 p.m. and traffic in both directions was stopped. The CHP advised drivers to use alternate routes until 6:11 p.m. when all the lanes were cleared and the Sig-alert was canceled.

Vandenheuvel and Daniels were transported by ambulance to Marin General Hospital for minor injuries and were treated and released, the CHP said. Green complained of neck and back pain but was not transported to a hospital.

Natasha Eveline Vandenheuvel, a 34-year-old passenger in the Volvo, was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for major injuries including multiple facial fractures and lacerations. Wade received moderate injuries and complained of pain to his abdomen and chest and was transported by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The big-rig, which was registered to Minatta Transportation in Cotati, did not lose any powdered cement as a result of the accident, according to the CHP.

Summit Fire 100 Percent Contained

The Summit Fire was declared 100 percent contained at about 6 p.m. Tuesday by fire officials, according to a Cal Fire spokesman.

Cal Fire spokesman Guy Martin said the total acres burned by the blaze remained unchanged from Tuesday morning at 4,270. Officials expect to have the fire under control by the end of the week.

“Estimated control date is 5/30 (Friday) at 6 p.m.,” Martin said.

Five additional firefighters were reported injured Tuesday as a result of poison oak exposure, bringing the total number of injured firefighters to 12. All of the injuries have been minor.

Currently there are still more than 2,600 firefighters involved in fighting the fire but the number is expected to shrink since the fire has been contained.

“They are starting to bring those down,” Martin said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although fire officials were able to pinpoint that the blaze began in an area where Summit Road becomes Loma Prieta Avenue at the Santa Clara-Santa Cruz counties border.

A total of 36 residences and 18 outbuildings have been destroyed, and the estimated cost of fighting the Summit Fire since it began Thursday has reached $11.2 million.

Jury Begins Deliberation In Case Of Coach Accused Of Lying

The case of an Olympic track coach accused of lying in a sports steroids probe was put into the hands of a federal jury in San Francisco Tuesday after five days of trial.

The jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston deliberated briefly on the case of Trevor Graham, 44, Tuesday afternoon before recessing until this morning.

Graham, of Raleigh, N.C., is accused of three counts of making false statements to investigators about his relationship with Angel “Memo” Heredia, an admitted steroids dealer whom he allegedly used as a source of drugs for his athletes.

He is accused of lying when he told agents during a 2004 interview that he never set up his athletes with drugs from Heredia, never met him in person and didn’t talk to him by phone after 1997.

The sports drug probe began as an inquiry into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, in Burlingame, but widened to an investigation of alleged lies told by sports figures to a grand jury or to agents.

Prosecutors, who have called Graham “an alternative (to BALCO) source of drugs,” contend his alleged lies slowed up a perjury probe of Jones.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Finigan told the jury during his closing argument Tuesday morning “the evidence is overwhelming” that Graham lied. He cited testimony by Heredia and five athletes as well as phone records and a photo of Graham visiting Heredia in Laredo, Tex.

Defense attorney William Keane argued the three statements weren’t material, or relevant, to the BALCO case and therefore were not criminal. He said prosecutors hadn’t proved how the statements affected the investigation of Jones.

Keane conceded that Graham “misspoke” about his visit and phone calls to Heredia, but said prosecutors had not proved Graham was the conduit between his athletes and Heredia. He said Heredia’s testimony contained inconsistencies and alleged “flat-out lies.”

Homicide Victim Was Stabbed With An Unknown Object

A female was found dead at a mobile home park in San Jose Tuesday morning after being stabbed with an unknown object and police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder, San Jose police Officer Jermaine Thomas said.

At about 11:25 a.m., officers responded to reports of a disturbance at the Casa del Lago Mobile Home Park, 2151 Oakland Road, according to Thomas.

Officers located a man in front of the residence and spoke with him before entering. Inside the residence, police found the female victim who was pronounced dead at the scene, Thomas said.

The man was arrested in connection with death, according to Thomas.

Prosecutor Says Man Should Be Convicted Of Three Murder Counts

A prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that they should convict an Oakland man of three counts of first-degree murder and other charges for a shooting and robbery spree five years ago that left three men dead and a fourth man seriously wounded.

In his closing argument in 25-year-old Monterrio Davis’s trial in Alameda County Superior Court, prosecutor Chris Lamiero said Davis set a night of crime in motion by telling several other men that he had a gun and they should rob people at gunpoint so that they would have enough money to buy gas and marijuana.

Lamiero said Davis also went along with a plan by another man who was with him to start a new branch of the “Nut Cases” street gang, a group that he said had a reputation in the news media and on the streets “for nefarious deeds, including robbery and murder.”

Lamiero said the gang had been weakened in early 2003 when many of its leaders were arrested but Davis and the other men wanted to revive the group and the incidents on Feb. 18 and 19 in 2003 were to be a test of their dependability and loyalty.

Lamiero said the crime spree began when Davis, accompanied by three other men, gunned down 22-year-old Daniel Martinez and 47-year-old Miguel Maciel-Galena near the corner of 68th and Bancroft avenues in Oakland about 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2003, while the two victims, who were day laborers, took a break from an English class.

He said the second incident was about 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2003, when Davis and the other three men attempted to rob Augustine Andrade.

The prosecutor said Davis picked out Andrade to be a victim, gave one of the other men his gun and said, “This one’s on you,” meaning that it was his turn to rob someone.

Lamiero said Davis was the lookout in a third incident at 3:36 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2003, in which 26-year-old Armando Arce was shot to death by another suspect on Willow Alley near Polk Street in San Francisco. He said some of the culprits in the San Francisco incident were different than some of the participants in the Oakland crimes, but Davis was involved in all of the incidents.

Orlando Cepeda Fined $100 For Misdemeanor Pot Possession

Former San Francisco Giant Orlando Cepeda’s felony drug case ended Friday when the Hall of Famer pleaded no contest in Solano County Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana in his vehicle a year ago.

Charges that Cepeda also possessed cocaine and a hypodermic syringe were dismissed. So was Deputy District Attorney Joe Camarata.

Solano County District Attorney David Paulson immediately fired Camarata Friday, allegedly claiming that Camarata violated office policy and should have brokered a plea to a felony drug charge or taken the case to trial. Paulson was not available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Cepeda’s attorney Daniel Russo said Cepeda also was ordered to pay a $100 fine. He called the prosecution’s case against Cepeda “garbage” and he said the district attorney’s office pursued the charges only because Cepeda was well known.

There was one-half a marijuana roach in the vehicle and the prosecution was aware the syringe in the car was Cepeda’s wife’s, who is a diabetic, Russo said.

“The deputy district attorney stepped up to the plate. He’s an extremely ethical person,” Russo said.

The plea deal was made weeks ago but Paulson did not want to give Camarata the authority, Russo said. Russo said that Camarata had already given his two-week notice and his last day with the district attorney’s office was last Friday.

Cepeda was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on May 1, 2007 during a traffic stop for speeding on Interstate Highway 80 between state Highway 12 and the Interstate Highway 680 interchange in Cordelia.

A CHP officer smelled marijuana in Cepeda’s 2001 Lexus and found marijuana, a suspected controlled substance and a syringe. His felony drug case was to resume in court this week.

On Friday, Camarata and Cepeda’s Russo agreed to Cepeda pleading no contest before Judge Dwight C. Ely to the misdemeanor charge.

58 Arrested During Sting Operation At Rave Party

Nearly 60 people were arrested on drug-related charges late Saturday and early Sunday during a sting operation at a rave party at the Cow Palace in Daly City, the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force announced Tuesday.

More than 115 police officers and support personnel from about 20 law enforcement agencies, including the task force and the Daly City Police Department, were involved in the undercover sting operation at the event, “etd.POP 2008,” which was promoted as an electronic music festival.

Fifty-five adults and three juveniles were arrested on charges of sales of illegal narcotics or possession for sale of illegal narcotics, according to the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force.

Authorities seized more than 1,000 Ecstasy tablets as well as Ketamine, marijuana, methamphetamine and over $5,000 in cash.

The task force reported that patrons at similar events have used “club drugs” such as Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine and LSD.

Daly City police Capt. Mike Edwards said that that the promoters of the event as well as management of the Cow Palace were notified in advance about the sting operation.

“The Cow Palace and the promoters of these events are all aware of what’s going to happen and are all supportive of our efforts,” Edwards said.

All those arrested were booked into the San Mateo County jail and were scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Judge Rules Defendant Mentally Incompetent In 2006 Landlord Slaying Case

A Santa Clara County Judge Tuesday declared a San Jose man mentally incompetent to stand trial for the murder of his landlord and committed him to a state hospital.

Thomas Paul Witt, 29, will now be sent to a state hospital following the order by Superior Court Judge Edward Lee. The commitment order lasts for three years but Lee could extend it if he finds Witt is still mentally incompetent. Witt could also be returned to Santa Clara County for trial if the state hospital is able to restore his mental competency, according to Deputy District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro.

“I’m hoping he’s returned quickly so he can stand trial,” Gibbons-Shapiro said.

Witt is charged with the Dec. 23, 2006 slaying of Adrian LeGrand, 73. He also allegedly set fire to the Edelweiss Drive home where he rented a room from LeGrand following the slaying.

Not Guilty Plea In Highway Hit-And-Run Death

Antioch resident Renita Michelle Surles pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning in Marin County Superior Court to charges in connection with the hit-and-run death of a Novato man alongside U.S. Highway 101 on May 10.

Surles, 38, also pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter, DUI causing death and child endangerment, Deputy District Attorney Linda Witong said. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13.

The California Highway Patrol said Surles struck 42-year-old Jorge Luis Rodas Lopez with her Honda Odyssey on the side of the highway south of Ignacio Boulevard as he finished putting gas in his 1983 Nissan pickup.

The CHP said it found the bumper of Surles’ car on the side of the road and traced it to a body shop in Antioch where Surles took her SUV for repair after the accident.

Surles said she thought she hit only the truck and panicked, CHP Officer Mary Ziegenbein said. Surles pulled off the highway into a gas station and waited there for 45 minutes before leaving when nobody came along, Ziegenbein said.

Surles’ 5-year-old son was in the car when the fatal incident occurred, Ziegenbein said. She was arrested at her home on May 14.

Surles remains in the Marin County jail under $500,000 bail.

FCJ Editor

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