We Flashed what we knew when it happened Jan. 25 but, unfortunately, weren’t able to put a period on the story at the time. Now we can.
At around 5:15 pm that night, Walnut Creek Police officers responded to a residential burglary that had just been reported near Bayberry and Perada drives in their city. The suspect kicked a door to gain entry, stole a firearm, and ran toward Treat Blvd. on the Ygnacio Canal Trail.
Patrol officers and detectives, along with their colleagues from Concord PD, all responded to check the area for the suspect. Witnesses told officers the man dropped the firearm on the trail, and officers recovered the weapon.
Police located a man, later identified as Eduardo Cortes-Rodriguez, 35, of Pittsburg, walking on Oak Grove Road in Concord, were able to detain him and, eventually, linked him to the burglary. After further investigation, Cortes-Rodriguez was arrested on multiple charges and then booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. At this time, detectives are still investigating other recent residential burglaries and it is unknown if Cortes-Rodriguez is involved in those cases.
On January 30, the case was presented to the District Attorney’s Office for review and the following charges were filed against Cortes-Rodriguez:
PC 459, First Degree Burglary
PC 29800(a)(1), Felon in possession of a Firearm
PC 30305(a)(1), Felon in possession of Ammunition
PC 487(d)(2), Grand Theft of a Firearm
Cortes-Rodriguez is still in custody on $135,000 bail.
Walnut Creek Police thanked their sister department in Concord for their assistance in locating and apprehending Cortez-Rodriguez.
Can you follow this case and others like it and periodically post information to let the public know what the final disposition is? How well did the DA’s Office and courts do to protect the public that puts them in office and pays their salaries?
We’ll try, Jim, but it can be tough… there are so many of them (cases) and so few of us…
Give me a number to call – maybe I can help.
Accountability is good. I suspect that these old-school journalists understand their role and the importance of official accountability. I’m pretty sure that they also understand that some are anxious to spin the news politically. There is currently more than a lot of that. Just the facts ma’am, er guys.
@David –
Thanks, yes. We would like to provide New York Times-style coverage of local stories and we’re thinking we’re doing okay. We hasten to remind everyone that the New York Times janitorial staff probably has ten times the number of personnel we do. So, while we would like to provide post-to-finish coverage of individual stories the numbers are against us.
As for the second part of your post again, thank you, as we absolutely loathe spin. We have seen folks attempt to turn local news into something supportive of a certain political agenda – some of them initially hard for us to discern – and it really rubs us the wrong way. Hopefully we can all just let the stories stand on their own merit.
Thanks for posting,
NEWS24/680
Better that he dropped his weapon than his cargo shorts.
LEO collaboration and cooperation..well done.
Past county court cases show this man needs rehab not firearms. Incredibly grateful he was brought in without dangerous incident this time. Thanks to law enforcement and to you for reporting.
And, yesterday there was a burglary in my office, I was not in. A young African-American woman came in the back door and took a woman’s wallet, she was actually escorted out, but the theft was unknown at the time. Yes, the suspect is black.
Firestone 11R
Hi! I’m wondering if this arrest is related to the burglary which the photo is related? The photo is of my old neighbors house in Lafayette. Thx.
Hey, Bob – No. As noted, that’s a photo – one of hundreds we have now – of a previous burglary available in our archives.
NEWS24/680
Darn. I was hopeful. Thx!