Former Lafayette Realtor Charged With Orchestrating Mortgage Fraud Scam

An East Bay real estate broker and former Lafayette resident surrendered to federal investigators Monday after his indictment for an elaborate scheme to defraud homeowners and mortgage holders during the sale of two properties in Danville and San Francisco. Robert Jacobsen, 67, was charged in an indictment returned Monday with wire fraud and with engaging in financial…

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It’s Official: No County Commute Is Easy – But I-680 Is The Worst

Anyone making a commute to home or office in the Bay Area has their horror story – but anecdotal accounts of molasses-slow traffic and short-tempered motorists on Interstate 680 from San Ramon to Pleasant Hill led us to believe something special was happening out there – and now it’s official. The afternoon northbound creep on…

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Walnut Creek PD Arrests Pair For Alleged Package Thefts Wednesday

Two people were arrested in Walnut Creek Wednesday after allegedly stealing packages from local homes, according to WCPD. Walnut Creek resident Craig Lancaster and Martinez resident Shawna Byars were arrested on suspicion of possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Walnut Creek police.…

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Rolling Knife Fight On Highway 24 In Orinda Injures One

A bizarre rolling altercation between the occupants of two cars traveling east on Highway 24 Tuesday triggered a frenzied reaction from panicked motorists and prompted a massive response from local law enforcement. California Highway Patrol spokesman John Fransen reported that his office received a call of a possible collision on the highway at approximately 5:40…

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Charges Filed In 2014 Halloween Honey Oil Explosion Case In Walnut Creek

Explosion, fire injures two. One missing.

Two men, both of whom were severely burned when a suspected drug lab operation in their Walnut Creek apartment caught fire – leveling the apartment in a resultant explosion – have been formally charged with drug manufacturing and unlawfully causing fire resulting in injury. The pair, Daniel Burgess, 34, of Danville, and William Brown, 37,…

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Lamorinda Police Search For Two Men After Saturday Morning Pursuit, Crash

Lamorinda police, supported by officers from nearby jurisdictions, sealed off an area around Larch Ave. in Moraga after an early-morning pursuit through Orinda and into Moraga ended in a crash and foot chase. The incident started at 3:12 a.m. when an Orinda police officer spotted a truck with two men aboard and began tailing it…

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Orinda, Oakland Police Make Arrest In El Castillo Home Invasion Case

An 18-year-old Oakland man is in custody Thursday on a multitude of charges stemming from a violent home-invasion robbery on the Orinda-Lafayette border earlier in the week. Orinda Police Chief Mark Nagel said that Armani Miller of Oakland was in custody on charges including kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon…

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Lafayette, Local Police Tracking Origin Of Computer-Generated Bomb Hoax

In a twist on the traditional phone call bomb hoax, Lafayette police say a recent threat naming Happy Valley Elementary school as a target and resulting in an area-wide search of local schools appears to have been computer-generated in origin. Investigators were able to trace the telephone number where the initial threat originated and have determined…

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Gunman Pistol Whips Nanny In Orinda Home Invasion Tuesday; Steals Family Car

Lamorinda police are searching for the man who reportedly confronted a nanny working at a home on El Castillo in Orinda Tuesday, striking her with a handgun after ransacking the residence in view of a 5-year-old child before eventually taking the family’s black Porsche Cayenne. Police said the assault, the second home-invasion robbery in Lamorinda in recent weeks, started…

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