Week in Review: Sheriff's Deputy Hits and Kills Pedestrian With Car; Serial Tire Slasher Nabbed

SAN LEANDRO

San Leandro Police Say They've Nabbed Tire-Slasher

Police don't know why the incidents occurred but they think they know who perpetrated 20 recent tire-slashings all over town. On Sunday, April 7 officers arrested San Leandro resident Bob Razavi in connection with these acts of vandalism. Police spokesman Lt. Randall Brandt said because vandalism can be difficult to prove, the department delayed announcing the arrest until the Alameda County District Attorney's office decided to press charges. Brandt would not disclose how officers settled on Razavi as a suspect but said the case is based on some eyewitness testimony as well as the nature of the materials found in Razavi's possession at the time of his arrest.

Home on Diehl Street Gutted by Fire

Smoke permeated San Leandro's Broadmoor neighborhood late Wednesday night as a one-alarm fire gutted a house at 490 Diehl Street. The call came in at 11:10 pm. Deputy Fire Chief Dave Rocha said the house was unoccupied and no one was injured, although the blaze gave firefighters a fright when the chimney collapsed while they were inside the house. Rocha said the house was being renovated and most of the work was done. The fire may have started from oily rags.

Union Pacific Railroad has asked the city of San Leandro for $80,000 to help it offset the estimated $3.1 million cost of cleaning up lead-contaminated soil at the site of a firing range in Richmond once used by local police. In a March 25th letter, attorneys for the railroad asserted that this target practice by SLPD and other law enforcement agencies "caused and/or contributed to the lead contamination" at the now-defunct Stege Pistol Range. The former pistol range occupies 2.5 acres of a 50-acre site west of Interstate 580 and south of the Bayview Avenue overpass in Richmond near the Point Isabella shoreline.

The railroad says various law enforcement agencies used the pistol range from 1980 through 1997. Union Pacific says it has already spent $512,000 in environmental remediation, and thinks it will have to lay out another $2.6 million to finish the job. San Leandro is not the only city facing such a request. Union Pacific says it is seeking "far less" from all the police agencies than it will spend on the cleanup.

CASTRO VALLEY

Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Hits and Kills Pedestrian

A patrol car driven by an Alameda County sheriff's deputy fatally struck a male pedestrian early Friday morning. CHP Lt. Christopher Sherry said the collision was reported at about 4:30 a.m. at Mission Boulevard and Cherry Way in unincorporated Hayward. Sherry said the deputy, a nine-year veteran, was not injured and was emotionally “devastated” by the incident. But the cause of the incident was unknown when Patch interviewed Sherry at 11 am. There was a working streetlight in the area where the accident occurred. Investigators are still trying to ascertain whether or not the pedestrians were in a crosswalk.

Read The Minds Of Students At Castro Valley High

Sample what the student body is thinking by visiting Castro Valley High Confessions replete with comments, more often than not anonymous, that reflect the teenage mind. As you might guess, many, if not most, comments seem to flow directly from some hormonal influence and don't bear repeating. If you are from the pre-Facebook generation, how did you air these sorts of thoughts/complaints during your high school days?

Body Found in Oakland May be Missing Castro Valley Man

Authorities and relatives believe that a body found in a yard waste container in East Oakland Thursday night may be that of a missing Castro Valley man. According to the Daily Review, the man’s body was found by gardeners in a waste bin behind a house on 81st Avenue at around 7:40 p.m. Authorities say that it may be 37-year-old Santiago Steve Ornelas, who has been missing since 11 p.m. on April 5 after a car accident at 82nd Avenue, near where his body was found. Police say Ornelas walked away from the accident and was bleeding from his arm. He may have also suffered a head injury.