Governor Brown Signs “Right To Record” Act
In our time covering breaking news events the Old Guard here at NEWS24/680 have covered thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of crime scenes and breaking news scenarios – with participants often unfriendly and hostile to our very presence. In many cases, unfortunately, this hostility has led to conflict between those sworn to uphold the law, those pledged…
Perpetrator In Walnut Creek Murder-Suicide Built His Own “Ghost Guns”
Questions about the origin of the weapon used by a Lafayette man and Stanford engineering student to murder a friend and then take his own life were partially answered Tuesday after investigators in Walnut Creek determined that Scott Bertics had secretly built two untraceable weapons from parts he ordered through the mail. In a release issued…
Rare Four-Alarm Fire Scorches Hillsides In Moraga
A stubborn 4-alarm grass fire came a little too close for comfort for some homeowners on Natalie Drive in Moraga Thursday, Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District firefighters moving swiftly to rebuff encroaching flames. The rare 4th alarm was called in the area around 2:30 p.m. Thursday as the fire, in the neighborhood across the street and to…
Martinez Man Dies After Wife Drives Car Through Garage Wall
An elderly Martinez man has died of injuries suffered when his wife accidentally accelerated their car through their garage Wednesday, trapping him under the vehicle and punching out the rear wall of the garage as the car surged forward. CHP Officer John Fransen said the man, later identified as Glenn Cottrell, 89, was attempting to help his wife reposition…
Fire Damages Home On Augusta Drive In Moraga Monday
Firefighters responded to a blaze reported at a home in the 700 block of Augusta Drive in the Moraga Country Club Monday – the second structure fire Moraga-Orinda Fire District personnel have faced in a week. Monday’s blaze was reported at 787 Augusta at around 8:23 p.m., the occupants evacuating the residence as firefighters arrived…
Lafayette Parking Officer’s Discovery Triggers High-Speed Pursuit, Two Arrests
Two people from Antioch and Martinez were in custody Wednesday after a Lafayette parking enforcement officer equipped with an automated license plate reader identified a stolen car in the city, calling in another officer who gave chase after the car sped away at speeds estimated at 100 mph. An LPD spokesman said the incident began at…
Burglars Give Lafayette Homeowners “Welcome Back” Present
Lafayette police were sent to the 1300 block of Sunset Loop in the city Tuesday after a vacationing homeowner returned to find the residence burgled and extensively ransacked. Police found that the unknown thief or thieves had used a tool taken from a shed on the property and forced open a rear solid-core door. After…
Two-Alarm Fire Destroys One Home, Damages Another In Moraga Tuesday
A home at 1884 Joseph Drive in The Bluffs caught fire and burned Tuesday, prompting a call for a second alarm as a neighboring home was also threatened by wind-whipped flame. The home’s four residents evacuated the home and called for help at 10:07 p.m. with the first firefighters on the scene promptly asking for a…
Two Arrested After 100 Mph Chase From Lafayette To Walnut Creek
Two people were eventually taken into custody after a brief but high-speed chase from Lafayette to Walnut Creek Tuesday. The incident kicked off shortly around 2:30 p.m. after a Lafayette police officer fell in behind a maroon Lexus SUV on Mt. Diablo Blvd., noting that the rear window of the car had been broken out.…
Lafayette Man Suspected In Walnut Creek Murder-Suicide
In the second such case of its kind to stun the 24-680 Corridor in recent weeks, a man is suspected of murdering a woman – in this case a former girlfriend – before turning the gun on himself. Police responded to an address in the North Homestead neighborhood in Walnut Creek at 6:50 a.m. Tuesday in answer…