Martinez Man Found Guilty Of Trying To Meet Minor For Sex
From the Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County: On February 8, a Contra Costa County jury found defendant William Butte of Martinez guilty as charged of three felonies, including his attempt to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex. Butte, 50, communicated with who he thought was a minor on the mobile application Kik…
Concord Man Found Guilty Of Attempted Murder After Shooting Outside Wren Avenue Home
A Contra Costa County jury found defendant Guido Ginochio of Concord guilty of two felonies, including the attempted murder of the victim, following a shooting outside a Wren Avenue home on Feb. 7, 2017. In a verdict delivered Jan. 30, the jury found that Ginochio used a firearm to fire two shots into the back…
Con Fire EMS Chief Charged With Embezzlement And Possession Of Controlled Substances
Martinez, Calif. – Due to the investigation by the Martinez Police Department, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged 50-year-old Martinez resident Richard P. Stephenson with two felonies for embezzlement and two misdemeanor charges of possessing a controlled substance. The embezzlement charges relate to Mr. Stephenson stealing controlled substances belonging to the Contra Costa County…
Pittsburg Man Convicted Of 31 Felony Charges Relating To 2017 Arson Spree
Jurors this week found a 38-year-old Pittsburg man guilty of multiple arson charges in connection with a series of fires set in Antioch, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Pittsburg, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Brentwood and Benicia In the early months of 2017. James Bishop III was found guilty on 31 of 33 counts of arson in connection…
Martinez Resident Charged With Child Molestation And Production, Distribution And Selling Child Pornography
From the Office of the District Attorney: Martinez, Calif. – On Thursday October 25, 2018, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged 21-year-old Martinez resident Aaron Kurtis Mikkelsen with multiple felony violations including committing lewd acts with a minor under 13, producing child pornography, as well as selling and distributing child sexual abuse material online.…
Former Walnut Creek Middle School Teacher Gets 25 Years To Life For Child Molestation
From the Office of the District Attorney: Martinez, Calif. – On September 27, 2018, Michael Bartel, a 34-year-old resident of Martinez and former teacher plead guilty in Contra Costa County Superior Court to four counts of child molestation. By his guilty plea, Bartel admitted that between May 14, 2016 and November 3, 2017, he engaged in…
Fugitive Minister Convicted Of Child Molestation In 2017 Returned To The U.S. For Sentencing
A fugitive minister who preached at churches in Martinez and Pleasant Hill while engaged in a sexual relationship with an underage girl has been returned for sentencing in the United States after fleeing to Mexico following his conviction on child molestation charges last year. Fernando Maldonado has been extradited back to the U.S. from Mexico…
State Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence For Killer In Lafayette’s Daher Murder Case
The California Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a death sentence for one of three men convicted of murdering a Lafayette woman during their invasion of her Rose Court home in 1998. A Contra Costa County jury found Joseph Perez Jr. guilty of robbing and murdering Janet Daher, 46, after he and two other men selected…
Sideshow Participant Charged With Attempted Murder Of A Police Officer
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office has filed multiple felony charges against Juan Noel Vargas and Genesis Castaneda stemming from a incident during a street sideshow in Richmond January 28. Charges against Vargas, who was driving at the time of the incident, include Attempted Murder of a Police Officer and Assault with a Deadly Weapon.…
DUI Driver Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For San Ramon Crash
The wife of an Alameda County sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to seven years in prison after she was convicted of vehicular manslaughter following the 2016 collision that killed a 3-year-old boy. Yarenit Malihan had pleaded guilty in the case to vehicular manslaughter with multiple victim enhancements. She was sentenced Friday in Contra Costa County…