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…
Former Walnut Creek Resident Convicted Of Commercial Bribery In Housing Scam Targeting Russian Immigrants
A former Walnut Creek resident has been convicted of commercial bribery after subletting affordable apartments at market prices and extracting payments from immigrants eager to find local housing. Aziz Artykov, 50, a former resident of the Avalon Bay Walnut Creek Apartments, was found guilty of bribing a former Avalon Bay employee in charge of Avalon’s…
Former Oakland Fire Captain – And Lafayette Resident – Pleads Guilty To Possession Of Child Pornography
From the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office: On Tuesday December 5th, 2017, Richard Chew, a 58-year-old resident of Lafayette, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. As a result of his guilty plea, Chew was sentenced to 150 days in jail, three years of probation and was ordered to register as…
Rogue Contractor Extradited Back To California; Alleged Victims Await Court Appearance
A renegade contractor-landscaper who allegedly bilked victims from Lamorinda to San Jose out of tens of thousands of dollars has been returned to California after his arrest in Medford, Oregon last month. Authorities in Medford said Adan Contreras-Rivas was engaged in a fraudulent landscaping enterprise when he was arrested in their city last month. Allegations that…
Former Walnut Creek Law Partner With “Spending Problem” Disbarred After Diverting $605,000 – To Himself
Additional information about a Walnut Creek attorney suspected of stealing more than $600,000 from his law firm came to light Friday after a state court released documents revealing that Kenneth Jones had been disbarred. Court documents maintain that Jones, a former partner with the Walnut Creek firm of Bowles & Verna, LLP, had admitted diverting money…