Hillside Blaze On Rancho Del Hambre Extinguished In Lafayette; Homes From Reliez Valley To Rancho Del Hambre Evacuated
UPDATE: Fire extinguished at 4:15 p.m. Firefighters remaining on scene for mop-op operations. Residents evacuated to Acalanes High. All Clear given at 6:52 p.m., residents may return to their homes. Fire Marshal Robert Marshall said Wednesday that “improperly discarded smoking materials” caused the blaze, which did $75,000 in damage – mostly to what Marshall called a “small house”…
El Sobrante Man Arrested After Armed Standoff Sunday
On Sunday, June 10, 2018 at about 4:20 PM, Office of the Sheriff Dispatch received a call regarding a person on the 3800 block of La Colina Road in El Sobrante standing on the balcony with a rifle aimed at a neighbor’s home. The suspect also apparently threatened the neighbor, according to police. Deputy Sheriffs…
John Muir Physican Killed In Freak I680 Crash Monday
A woman killed when a tree fell onto her car as she drove north on Interstate 680 in Danville Monday was identified by colleagues as Lyudmila Beyzer, 58, of Danville. Beyzer was driving a silver Mercedes-Benz sedan northbound on the highway north of the El Cerro Boulevard off-ramp around 8:55 a.m. when a 50- to…
Not Sewer Gas Or Truck Doors Banging Shut – Lafayette Police Say Pre-Dawn Blasts Are “Intentional Act”
Veteran readers know we have covered reports of sizable and apparently random early-morning explosions here and on our Facebook pages over the years. Although all sorts of theories were developed as to the source of the blasts over the intervening years – everything from gunfire to methane gas to the banging of delivery truck doors…
Local Names Surface As Investigators Break Up Illegal Fireworks Ring
Seven people – one with connections to Walnut Creek and Lamorinda – have been arrested in connection with an illegal fireworks ring investigators called one of the biggest in the history of the state. State and federal officers seized over 49,000 pounds of pyrotechnics stored in various locations across the Bay Area Thursday – with caches…
Police Pursue Suspect Vehicle From El Sobrante Into Lafayette Wednesday
Lamorinda police and neighboring agencies are currently tracking a vehicle which fled from police on San Pablo Dam Road, drove east in the westbound lanes of Highway 24 through Orinda and is now on Sessions Road in Lafayette. A helicopter, believed to be a sheriff’s aircraft, is orbiting the area of Sessions Road and Northridge.…
San Ramon Valley High School Freshman Died In Swimming Accident In School Pool, Report Indicates
An autopsy report obtained by the Bay Area News Group indicates that a 15-year-old San Ramon Valley High School student slipped beneath the water during a swim class at his school and did not resurface, leading to his death by drowning at the school May 8. Benjamin Curry was participating in his fourth period physical…
Lafayette Teacher, Area-Wide Babysitter Arrested On Suspicion Of Lewd Acts With A Child
On June 4, 2018, the Walnut Creek Police Department arrested Brandon Genest at his residence in the city on a warrant for two counts of Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Child and three counts of Indecent Exposure. The arrest occurred after an investigation into allegations that Genest had the victims inappropriately touch him while…
Thirteen-Year-Old Valley View Middle School Student Arrested, Guns Seized, After Shooting Threat
On Friday, June 1 at around 6 p.m., the Concord Police Department was notified by the FBI regarding a concerning social media message that was shared between two students from Valley View Middle School in Pleasant Hill. The Pleasant Hill Police Department was subsequently notified by the Concord Police Department that the message regarded a…
Danville PD Looking For Witness To Sunday’s Pipe Bomb Explosion
Danville Police are encouraging a potential witness in a Sunday incident at the Smart & Final parking lot to contact authorities. Chief Allan Shields said investigators are looking to speak to a man who may have witnessed events leading up to the explosion of a small pipe bomb May 27, 2018, that caused minor damage…