Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. Alameda County recall is a waste of money Re: “DA Price to face recall election” (Page A1, April 17). The current situation of increased crime, especially retail theft, is not the fault of any of the programs that Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has initiated. The Save Alameda for Everyone Recall Campaign would have us believe that lenient policies in the DA’s office have led to increased crime. A handful of wealthy people in real estate and the financial industry hired a professional signature-gathe ..read more

OAKLAND — East Bay Regional Park District police allegedly tased a man who was standing in knee-deep water off an East Oakland shoreline earlier this month, causing him to nearly drown after he fell face-first into the bay, the man’s family alleged in a legal claim this week. The Park District’s police department acted with a “reckless disregard for human life” during the April 5 encounter with Deontae Faison, a San Francisco father of two, who remained comatose Friday after falling unconscious during the incident, according to a statement from an attorney representing his family. Earlier this ..read more

RICHMOND — Ivan Gutzalenko was struggling to breathe in March 2021 as two Richmond police officers restrained him after stopping him for allegedly being intoxicated and bleeding from his hand. Gutzalenko told the officers they were hurting him, and bucked to try to get one of them off his back. A paramedic viewed Gutzalenko’s action as aggression, and went to his ambulance to get a 5-milligram dose of midazolam, a sedative. When he returned three minutes later, Gutzalenko lay motionless. “He’s faking like he’s unconscious,” an officer said, according to footage of the incident. The medic ..read more

CASTRO VALLEY — The year that Jordan Wingate started at the Oakland police academy, he asked his father, then a veteran captain on the force, to pack him sandwiches — as Randy Wingate would do when his son was in school. “I said, ‘Buddy, you’re 21 years old and you have gun — you can make your lunch,'” Randy, now retired, recalled Friday with a chuckle, as laughter echoed back toward him from close to 1,000 attendees gathered for Jordan’s memorial at 3 Crosses Church in Castro Valley. Wingate continued, remembering how his son had responded, “Dad, I only eat half the stuff you make — your sand ..read more

OAKLAND — A Vallejo man has been charged with five felonies for allegedly trafficking a woman since last February, court records show. Deshawn Johnson, 26, was charged with pandering, pimping, human trafficking, domestic violence, and making criminal threats. He was held to answer on the charges at an April 19 preliminary hearing and is next due in court May 3 for an arraignment, records show. Johnson is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $400,000 bail. Police say Johnson encouraged the woman into prostitution to “solidify their relationship” and that she travelled around Arizo ..read more

HAYWARD — One man has been sentenced to 22 years and four others have been released from jail after accepting plea deals in a beating that one judge called a “brutal” and “ferocious” show of dominance by a local gang. Victor Lucero, 33, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in the beating death of 25-year-old Yeison Toroc, and was sentenced to 22 years in state prison. Four others — 21-year-old Christian Inocencio, of Fremont; 26-year-old Jonathan Delacruz, of Union City; 50-year-old Juan Navarro, of Hayward; and 29-year-old Kevin Gonzalez, of Hayward — all pleaded no contest to assault and were ..read more

OAKLAND — Authorities here have released the name of a Modesto man shot and killed during a late-night argument on International Boulevard last month. Donya Spivy, 20, was shot inside his car on March 14 while arguing with the occupants of another vehicle, authorities said. He died the next day, and police haven’t announced any arrests. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Transient charged in attempted kidnapping of child at Walnut Creek Library Crime and Public Safety | East Bay girl fends off man who grabbed her wrist while also trying to unlock a car Crime and Public Safety | One ..read more

OAKLAND — One man was killed and another man wounded in an East Oakland shooting Friday morning, authorities said. Police have not yet released any information about the victims. The shooting happened about 4:20 a.m. in the area of 16th Avenue and International Boulevard. Both men were taken to a hospital where one of them died a short time later.  The other man was in stable condition. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Second man charged in fatal Oakland shooting during gun sale Crime and Public Safety | Two people found dead inside East Bay apartment Crime and Public Safety ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The legend of Mason Miller continues to grow. The A’s closer needed 17 pitches to get the four outs, three by strikeout, averaging 100.8 mph with eight fastballs to slam the door on the New York Yankees 3-1 on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. The A’s split the four-game series, with Miller also earning a save in the opener. Thursday, Miller got Aaron Judge to fly out to right on a slider with a runner on for his first four-out save. “Obviously it’s a pretty special fastball, but he’s got feel for his slider,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So he’s not just 80, here it comes. He ..read more

OAKLAND — Police arrested a prisoner at San Quentin and brought him to Alameda County jail in connection with a 2020 homicide that police say occurred during a gun sale, court records show. Reggie Morris, 24, now joins 25-year-old Johnnie KellySanders on a criminal complaint charging them with murder, attempted murder, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. The charges stem from a Dec. 7, 2020 shooting in Oakland, which both Morris and KellySanders allegedly blamed on a third suspect who wasn’t charged. Morris was serving an unrelated robbery sentence when he was charged last month. KellySanders ..read more