Four suspects were arrested a day after police sent out this sketch of the female robbery suspect.

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

Four people have been arrested for the series of street muggings that plagued the Bancroft and Estudillo avenues area these past few weeks.

The suspects – one woman and three men – are believed to have committed eight robberies that occurred between Dec. 26 and Jan. 7, according to Lt. Jeff Tudor or the San Leandro police.

In each case, the female suspect would approach a person walking alone and tell them that she had a gun in her purse and demand their money. She and a male accomplice that was hiding nearby would then run off together.

The robberies occurred at different times of the day and the victims were both men and women of a variety of races and ages, Tudor said.

The suspects names haven’t been released yet, but three were arrested for the robberies and the fourth was arrested on a warrant.

Police say they collared the suspects when an officer patrolling Joaquin Avenue saw a male and female pair that matched the descriptions of the suspects given by previous victims.

A gun that the female is believed to have discarded was found on the side of the road nearby and evidence from previous robberies was found in their possession.

The armed robbery case was sent to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday.

Police phone alert system results in nightmare for innocent family

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

San Leandro police arrested a man for assault with a deadly weapon Sunday afternoon, but before they found their suspect, they held a family of three at gunpoint, mistakingly believing they were involved.

“They threw us to the ground and put us in handcuffs,” said Maria Cortez. “We didn’t understand. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Cortez said that she and her husband Salvador – both are longtime employees of the San Leandro post office – were having a peaceful weekend afternoon at their home on Jamaica Way when they received a “Code Red” automated phone call warning them that a suspect was in their area and giving a brief description.

Cortez immediately told her husband to drive off and find their son Joshua, who was out taking a walk. Joshua is a 24-years-old San Francisco State graduate and has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

Cortez said she was afraid that the police might mistake her son for the suspect because he was wearing black shorts, just like the phone description of the suspect. She said that Joshua doesn’t respond well to tense situations or strangers touching him.

“I was afraid that if the police found him before my husband did, he might go ballistic,” Cortez said.

Joshua always walked the same route and Salvador picked him up and drove him home. Then another call came from the police.

“A lady from the police called and said ‘Where’s Anthony?’ I didn’t know any Anthony and I told her that. She kept asking,” said Cortez. (A suspect named Anthony Barrett was later arrested.)

Cortez believes one of her neighbors saw her husband pick up Joshua and gave police their address because they thought he was the suspect.

San Leandro police Lt. Jeff Tudor said he wasn’t aware of the Cortezs’ situation, but that the police received several tips after the Code Red and that Cortez is probably correct in assuming it was a neighbor’s erroneous tip that led to the police action.

The police came up both sides of the house with dogs and rifles, Cortez said. The police pointed their guns at them and ordered them outside.

“I told my son, it’s going to be okay and dad’s going to go first,” Cortez said.

One by one, the family came out of the house and police shouted to get down on the ground. Cortez said she just got down on her knees because she is “too old” to lay down on the grass. Each member of the family was then handcuffed and placed in a separate police car.

Tudor said that in cases where a gun is believed to be involved, it is common for suspects to be put on the ground and handcuffed.

“It’s for their safety and ours,” said Tudor. “When there is reasonable suspicion of someone being involved in a serious crime, people will be detained in cuffs.”

Cortez said she gave the police permission to search her home because she knew no person named Anthony was inside hiding and that they’d done nothing wrong. For 45 minutes, the police searched the home while the Cortez family was detained in the cop cars.

Cortez said that she wants to make sure the neighbors who saw this know that she and her family did nothing wrong.

Police eventually released the family and apologized for the mistake, but Cortez said the officers were too casual in saying sorry and she would like a formal letter of apology. She added that the incident was traumatic and embarrassing and she’s afraid of the consequences it will have for her son.

“He already never wanted to leave his room, we had to encourage him to take the walks,” said Cortez. “I’m afraid this will make him worse.”

PHOTO BY AMY SYLVESTRI

St. Rose Hospital in Hayward is in the process of being acquired by the Eden Township Healthcare District, which also oversees San Leandro Hospital. The two facilities may merge.

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

The Eden Township Healthcare District — which oversees both Eden and San Leandro Hospitals — has recently announced plans to acquire St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, in what may be the first move in merging San Leandro Hospital and St. Rose.

For the past four years, the future of San Leandro Hospital has been in question. Sutter Heath, which owns the hospital, wants to close the facility’s emergency room and use the building as a rehabilitation center.

But most San Leandrans want to keep the hospital as is and there have been countless rallies and meetings — as well as a series of lawsuits — to “save” San Leandro Hospital.

Last year, St. Rose president Michael Mahoney led a meeting at the San Leandro Senior Center that outlined a plan to merge San Leandro Hospital administration with St. Rose in what he called “a financially responsible way.” Mahoney said that the merger would be one way to preserve San Leandro Hospital.

Last week’s announcement that both facilities may fall under the management of the Eden Township Healthcare District (ETHD) is another step in that direction.

As part of the ETHD, St. Rose will be eligible for parcel tax revenue and federal matching funds, said ETHD spokeswoman Jonnie Banks.

Banks said that taking control of the operations of St. Rose will help ETHD further establish its “bona fides” as a hospital operator and this will help its case in becoming the sole operator of San Leandro Hospital if Sutter agrees to a deal.

PHOTO BY JIM KNOWLES

Jerry Dorn, shown here with the sign he made for an Occupy protest, can’t get to his safe-deposit box that he’s had for 35 years.

By Jim Knowles

San Leandro Times

Jerry Dorn kept some personal items in a safe deposit box, because he thought it was safe.

And the items were safe for at least 35 years, right where he tucked them away at the bank at the corner of Parrott and East 14th streets in downtown San Leandro.

It was American Savings back when he opened his account and got the safe deposit box. Later, it became Home Savings, then Washington Mutual, and now it’s Chase Bank.

But when Dorn went to check on it a couple of months ago, he wasn’t allowed to open the box. The bank said they didn’t have any record of him having a safe deposit box.

“I couldn’t believe they didn’t have a record,” Dorn said.

He showed them the key to the box.

“They said, ‘You could have gotten the key at an estate sale.’” he said.

Dorn thinks the record was lost when the bank changed ownership and switched to electronic records.

“They used to have a card, just like a card catalogue libraries used to have,” he said. “I think in the electronic conversion it could have been lost.”

Dorn last opened the safe deposit box five years ago when his wife passed away.

In the meantime, Dorn joined in an Occupy protest at the bank a couple of months ago, picketing the bank on a Saturday with about 70 other people.

As part of the protest against big banks, Dorn decided to take his money out of Chase and put it into the smaller Fremont Bank down the street.

But he ran into a roadblock when he went to empty his safe deposit box.

Originally, he said Chase told him it might take up to two or three years to find the records.

Dorn replied, “I’m 80 years old. You mean I have to live another two or three years?”

Then he said the bank wanted to see his original contract.

“That was 35 years ago,” he said. “I might have it up in the attic somewhere, but shouldn’t the bank have a record of it?”

Dorn wrote to Congressman Pete Stark, who replied with a letter saying his staff would look into it.

Dorn also received a letter from Chase, saying that they were investigating.

At least Dorn knows the bank is looking for it because he got a phone call from the guy in the warehouse where the bank keeps records, and the guy asked what names are listed as the owners of the safe deposit box.

For now, Dorn is waiting and hoping for the best.

“Banks are supposed to keep good records,” Dorn says. “A safe deposit box is supposed to be safe.”

FILE PHOTO BY JIM KNOWLES

San Leandro High students brought the Occupy movement to San Leandro this fall, staging a demonstration in front of the campus.

As the year comes to an end, let’s take a look back at the events in San Leandro through the year of 2011.

January

• Two San Leandro police officers were placed on administrative leave after shooting Gwendolyn Killings to death after she stole a car and led them on a chase into Oakland. The shooting was later ruled justifiable.

• City Manager Stephen Hollister announced his resignation. A permanent replacement has yet to be hired.

• Sandra Spagnoli was sworn in as San Leandro’s first female police chief. She came to the city from Benicia, where she was also top cop.

February

• The city started plans to use redevelopment money on fast-tracked projects to prevent Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to dissolve local redevelopment agencies and use the money for the state.

• The Faith Fellowship church won an appeal that granted them the right to sue the city over a zoning issue. The lawsuit is still going on and the church is claiming millions in damages. The amount of the settlement is in negotiations.

• Dan Dillman, owner of the Bal Theater, began a battle with the city over his desire to show live entertainment  more than four times a month. The dispute still hasn’t been resolved.

March

• The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association held a controversial mail-in ballot election to recall board member Brenda Carr, who said she was bullied by other board members.

• The San Leandro School District announced they had to make $4.4 million in cuts in order to balance their budget for the current school year. They sent out 24 pink slips to teachers, but were able to rehire them later.

• Mayor Stephen Cassidy gave the annual “State of the City” address, saying that San Leandro showed “signs of recovery” economically.

April

• The $11 million Senior Community Center at 13909 East 14th Street opened its doors.  Construction was completed in the summer of 2010, but the city didn’t  have enough money to run it until April.

• The City Council voted, 4-3, to keep red light cameras in five San Leandro intersections. The city only breaks even on the program, but the state takes in $2 million annually from tickets generated by the cameras.

• The new $21 million Arts Education Center opened at San Leandro High, featuring arts classrooms and a 550-seat theater.

May

• San Leandro police officer Jason Fredriksson was arrested for allegedly giving a pound of marijuana to an informant he was also sleeping with. He resigned from the force in July.

• Over the course of one violent week: two men were stabbed and slashed across their heads in a bar fight, a Foothill Boulevard family was the victim of a home invasion robbery, an Assumption school boy was mugged at gunpoint as he walked home, and an armed man robbed a convenience store

• A plan to operate San Leandro Hospital in conjunction with St. Rose Hospital in Hayward was presented. Sutter Heath owns the hospital and wants to convert it into a rehabilitation center, but many people – including the hospital’s doctors and nurses and the San Leandro City Council – have fought to keep the hospital open as is.

June

• Mayor Stephen Cassidy became the first San Leandro mayor to march in the San Francisco Pride Parade, alongside students, teachers, and parents from San Leandro schools

• The Latin-jazz drummer Pete Escovedo and his daughter Sheila E. stopped by the San Leandro High School Arts Education Center to jam with the school’s band.

• Arroyo High’s baseball team made it to the North Coast Section Division II playoffs, but lost to Alameda High in the quarter-finals.

July

• Construction workers lifted the final beam in the framework of the new Kaiser Medical Center. The six-story, 425,000-square-foot hospital under construction on the former Lucky distribution site next to I-880 and is expected to open in the fall of 2014.

• Cal-Coast, the developers that the city hired to revamp the marina, asked the Shoreline Citizens Advisory Committee and City Council to make a decision about what to do with the marina so they can proceed with their plans.

• The City Council announced that they would be redrawing district lines in Districts 1 and 5 due to population fluctuation.

August

• A new design was unveiled for Burrell Field. Architects showed the school board plans for the Pacific Sports Complex, including ticket booths, football and baseball fields, a track, and locker rooms, paid for by the $51 million Measure M bond.

• Alameda County took a census of homeless people. Using estimates and data from shelters, officials say there are 4,178 homeless people living in the county.

• Crossing guards were on duty for the first day of school in San Leandro on Aug. 24. For the past three years, crossing guards have been in jeopardy after the city cut the budget for the program. The city and school district agreed to split the bill to keep the guards in place.

September

• On three separate occasions, guns were found on or near the San Leandro High Campus, prompting meetings on school violence between concerned parents, teachers, and the San Leandro police. In two of the gun incidents, the teen suspects also had marijuana.

• The City Council voted to ban styrofoam takeout containers from city restaurants. San Leandro joined 40 other California cities that have banned the environmentally unfriendly containers.

• State Senator Ellen Corbett wrote a bill that promotes gas pipeline safety in the wake of last year’s explosion in San Bruno. As part of an effort to improve pipeline safety, PG&E tested several lines in the Bay Area, including one in San Leandro that is the same age, size, and material as the one that burst in San Bruno.

October

• Three young people, including 16-year-old SLHS students Leneasha Northington, were killed in a shooting after a warehouse party on Alvarado Street. There were a total of seven homicides in San Leandro in 2011, up from four murders in 2010.

• A member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club was allegedly deliberately stuck and killed by the driver of a paratransit van. The driver was going eastbound in I-580 when he hit the motorcyclist and also clipped another biker, injuring him.

• A man died after being Tasered by San Leandro police. The man was creating a disturbance at the Nation’s Giant Hamburger downtown and resisted arrest. After a struggle between police and the man where police used a Taser, the suspect was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later.

November

• The city settled a racial discrimination lawsuit with former police officer Dewayne Stancill for over $300,000. Stancill was also named in a separate set of lawsuits for allegedly sexually harassing female SLPD employees, leading to the city paying over $600,000 for those lawsuits.

• State Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi was arrested for felony grand theft after allegedly shoplifting from Neiman Marcus in San Francisco. The San Francisco District Attorney’s office says Hayashi stole $2,500 worth of clothing from the store. Her next court date is on Jan. 6.

• Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli was questioned by the City Council for having her officers assist in the Occupy Oakland raids. Spagnoli called the mutual aid “neighbors helping neighbors.”

December

• San Leandrans welcomed the holiday season with celebrations including “It’s a Wonderful Night” downtown, the lighted boat parade at the marina, and the Lenny Williams and SLHS jazz band concert at San Leandro High.

• A man was shot in the leg in the parking lot of the Walmart on Hesperian Boulevard on Dec. 22. That was the third shooting in that lot this year. A  man was shot on Black Friday in the neck and another man was shot in the jaw last March.

• A fire gutted a house on Fairway Drive, one of four fires in San Leandro in December, one of which killed a woman. The Alameda County Fire Department warns that the holiday season usually sees an uptick in fires.

CAPTION 2: Madison School students rush to get an autograph from Sheila E. when she visited the school and listened to the band last spring.

CAPTION 3: San Leandro High graduates celebrated in June.

CAPTION 4: The flag was raised at a ceremony at the Senior Center on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11.

PHOTOS BY JIM KNOWLES

PHOTO BY AMY SYLVESTRI

Officer Louie Brandt, who led the bike drive, poses with Davis Street staff and some of the donors to the San Leandro Police Department’s Bikes for Tykes program. From left to right Karla Goodbody, Lisa Mcllure, Rose Padilla Johnson, Linda Granger, Cher Mott, Jasmine Zartman, Michelle Musgrove, Maria Yanez, Richard Nacianamo, Gent Jay, Carolyn Lemmon, and Tony Singh.

By Amy Sylvesti

Special to the Times

The Davis Street Family Resource Center is as busy as the North Pole this time of the year. This week, the center is handing out toys and food to over 1,000 needy families.

The San Leandro police department’s “Bikes for Tykes” program is also run through the center. Officer Louie Brandt began collecting donations from local businesses and individuals in August and raised over $17,000 to buy 280 brand new bikes for the kids in the Davis Street food distribution program.

Brandt brought the program back last year after a seven year hiatus and he more than tripled the amount of bikes he got in 2010.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Brandt, who works as a school resource officer. “It’s also great that so many members of the community have been so generous in donating.”

One of the most generous is Alex Gallardo, the manager of the Walmart where the bikes were purchased. He gave Brandt a discount for charity and also had his staff assemble each of the bikes.

Brandt’s list of contributors is too numerous to list, but he was effusive in thanking each and every one of them.

“We wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” said Brandt.

Meanwhile, Davis Street Director Rose Padilla Johnson, gives the credit to Brandt himself.

“Louie is a hero,” said Padilla Johnson. “You should see the looks on the kids’ faces when they find out they’ve won.”

The bikes were given out Thursday morning in a lottery to kids whose families participate in the center’s food distribution program, which is also busy this time of the year.

On Tuesday morning at Davis Street, there was a frenzy of activity. Out back, volunteers from the Alameda County Fire Department filled boxes with food for holiday feasts, making sure each box had fresh veggies, bread, and a turkey or chicken.

In other rooms, toys were sorted by gender and age and calls of “We need something for a girl, 10 and a boy 14” were ringing through the halls.

“It’s an exciting time of the year,” said Padilla Johnson. “Everybody’s getting together for a great day.”

PHOTO BY JIM KNOWLES

As the San Leandro police arrested the suspect in the shooting, Detwone Watson, Oakland police kept the public at a distance, including Watson’s family.

By Jim Knowles

San Leandro Times

Police arrested the rest of the suspects in the Black Friday shooting at Walmart over the past week.

The suspected shooter was arrested at his mother’s house on 106th Avenue in Oakland last Thursday morning after dozens of police and the SWAT unit surrounded the house.

The other suspect, an 18-year-old who allegedly drove the getaway car, was placed under arrest less dramatically, as his mom drove him to the police station.

Police have also questioned and released a 16-year-old who they suspect was an accomplice, according to Sgt. Ted Henderson of the San Leandro police.

Last Thursday morning, police arrested Detwone Watson who they say fired the shot in the attempted robbery at Walmart on Nov. 25, wounding Christopher Murillo of San Lorenzo.

Neighbors on 106th Avenue said they woke up at 5 a.m. with helicopters overhead and the SWAT unit with rifles all around. An armored military vehicle pulled up in front of a yellow house, the home of Watson’s mother.

Police had received a tip that Watson was staying at the house that night, according to officer Johnna Watson of the Oakland police who briefed the press at the scene.

Everyone else came out of the house when police arrived but Watson stayed inside as police ordered him to come out over a loudspeaker.

“Come out with you’re hands up,” a voice over the loudspeaker could be heard. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

Watson’s sister, Terri Larkins, tearfully pleaded with police not to shoot.

Eventually, Watson came out of the house with his hands up and was put under arrest for robbery and attempted homicide.

“Now that my brother has a chance to tell his side of the story, I’m relieved,” Larkins said. “My brother is a sweet person, a loving person.”

Another Suspect Arrested After His Mom Drives Him to the Police Station

The next day, police arrested Queron Foreman of Oakland who they suspect of being the driver of the car in the robbery. Foreman’s mother saw a news report and drove him to the police station, according to Henderson.

The first arrest of the four suspects came just after the shooting when the family of the shooting victim apprehended one of the suspected robbers, Tony Phillips, 20, of Oakland, and held him until police arrived. Phillips has also been charged with attempted robbery and attempted murder.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF SAN LEANDRO

Mayor Stephen Cassidy chose Chad Pennebaker for his work with the San Leandro Scholarship Foundation.

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

The mayor and City Council honored several San Leandro citizens Monday night with their annual leadership awards.

Each council member picks someone in their district to honor and the mayor hands out two “awards for excellence” – one in business and one to a resident who has gone above and beyond for the city.

In District 1, Councilman Michael Gregory picked Deborah Cox, who is a founding member of the San Leandro Education Foundation. Gregory commended Cox for her commitment to education.

In District 2, Councilwoman Ursula Reed selected Charles Gilcrest for serving on numerous boards including the Board of Zoning adjustments and the South San Leandro Business Association.

“If there is anything you want to know about San Leandro, just ask Charlie,” Reed said. “I appreciate everything he does for the city.”

In District 3, Councilwoman Diana Souza selected Floresta Gardens Homeowner’s Association President Lee Thomas. Souza said Thomas has a great love for San Leandro and “is a perpetually cheerful and nice guy to be around.”

In District 4, Councilwoman Joyce Starosciak picked Marti Lantz, who has been involved in the community ever since 1987, became active in the PTA as well as being a substitute teacher.

In District 5, Councilwoman Pauline Cutter selected John and Anna Tandi because of their service in the Bon Tempo Club, the Washington Elementary PTA, and other organizations over the last 53 years.

Anna Tandi said her time serving the city has been a pleasure.

In District 6, Councilman Jim Prola picked Carole Rinaldi, whom he called “the dynamo from District 6.” Prola singled out Rinaldi’s work in coordinating the Leadership San Leandro program.

Mayor Stephen Cassidy presented Dr. Patrick Kennedy from OSIsoft with the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Business. OSIsoft is one of the city’s largest employers – with 750 employees – and earlier this year the company invested in an 11-mile fiber optic loop in the industrial area that should help attract more high tech businesses to the city.

Cassidy presented the Mayor Award for Excellence to Chad Pennebaker, who is the president of the San Leandro Scholarship Foundation, which gives out $125,000 in scholarships each year to San Leandro students.

“It’s a pleasure to receive this award,” said Pennebaker. “Everything I do, I’ve fully enjoyed.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF RHONDA GONZALEZ

Jessica, Michael, and Rhonda Gonzalez with Ricky and Rocky.

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

Thanksgiving is a special day for Rhonda Gonzalez – it’s the day her family got a special new addition.

On Thanksgiving day last year, Gonzalez adopted a lhasa apso dog named Ricky from an organization called “Muttville” that specializes in finding homes for older dogs.

The family was mourning the death of their golden retriever and the family’s other dog was hit hard by the loss and was acting out.

They took a chance that Ricky would get along with their other dog and brought him over for a trial visit on Thanksgiving Day.

“They walked, they looked, they sniffed...and basically ignored each other. We were thrilled,” joked Gonzalez. “This was more than we could have ever hoped for.”

So the Gonzalez family had a furry new member of their Floresta Gardens home.

“He brought a new energy into our household,” said Gonzalez. “His loving and energetic spirit filled that void in our hearts.”

Gonzalez gives credit to Muttville for her happy story, and wants to get the word out about adopting “senior” dogs, who often get passed over in favor of puppies.

Muttville is based in San Francisco, but has attracted national notice. Muttville founder Sherri Franklin was picked by Oprah to be in the audience for her final “favorite things” show.

Those are the episodes where Oprah gives away tons of gifts worth thousands of dollars to an audience packed with people who do charitable things.

“There was a lot of screaming in that audience,” said Franklin. “At first, I didn’t join in, but you do get kind of caught up in the excitement.”

Franklin visited Chicago for the episode last year, but the gifts are still rolling in – her new car just arrived a few weeks ago. She didn’t hold onto all the goodies, though. She auctioned most of them to raise more money for Muttville.

Franklin said she has been an animal lover her whole life and decided to start Muttville four years ago when she saw many older dogs getting ignored.

“So many senior dogs wind up getting euthanized because of their age, even though they are super sweet,” said Franklin. “I had to do something.”

Franklin estimated that they have saved over 150 senior dogs by finding loving homes.

They find the dogs all over – from other shelters, people who have had to give up their pets because of moves or financial troubles, and senior citizens who have trouble keeping up with a pet.

Dozens of Muttville dogs are up for adoption at any given time. You can visit their website at www.muttville.org to see their profiles.

“Our goal is  to find loving homes and we do help match-make between the dogs and the families,” said Franklin. “We can help find a good fit. There’s a match out there for everyone.”

PHOTO BY JIM KNOWLES

Veterans and Cub Scouts salute the flag as it’s raised in a ceremony on Veterans Day in San Leandro.

By Jim Knowles

San Leandro Times

“Funny things happen in a war,” said Louis Rizzo, who’s been in a war.

Rizzo’s division was first assigned to guard the Hawaiian Islands after the United States got into World War II. Guys were looking out at the vast ocean and sky, with the worry of another attack on their minds, and they started imagining things.

“Oh, they were seeing all sorts of things,” Rizzo said.

Then there were the times they went into town in New Guinea to see a movie. The area had been cleared of the Japanese army, but apparently there were still Japanese soldiers around, and they weren’t imaginary.

“You’d be watching a movie and a Japanese soldier would sit down right next to you,” Rizzo said. “They’d sit down beside you and say, ‘Hey, buddy, got a cigarette?’”

But Rizzo’s 6th Infantry Division didn’t exactly have all fun and games. They fought the bloodiest battle of the New Guinea campaign at Lone Tree Hill, Maffin Bay; landed at Lingayen Gulf and spearheaded the drive to liberate Manila; were the first troops to enter Bataan after the infamous Death March; and fought 219 continuous days of combat in Luzon, a record in the Pacific Theater.

Rizzo, who just watched the ceremony from the back of the room, has a Purple Heart (he was shot on two separate occasions), the Bronze Star, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, and several other honors. But his battles aren’t over.

Rizzo recently lost the circulation to his right hand after the VA Hospital made a mistake in a procedure with a needle in his arm. He had to sue to get the treatment he needed.

“I didn’t want to sue,” said the 87 year old. “I tried to talk to them but they wouldn’t touch me.”

Despite losing the use of his hand, Rizzo still considers himself lucky.

“I’m lucky to be alive,” Rizzo. “I’m happy that I’m still here.”

Rizzo and other World War II veterans were honored at San Leandro’s annual Veterans Day ceremony last Friday, Nov. 11, at the Senior Community Center, sponsored by American Legion Post 117 and the City of San Leandro.

The troops assembled and Rebbeca Sulek sang a beautiful rendition of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” followed by an invocation by Post 117 Chaplain Joe Van Hatten, a World War II veteran.

Post 117 Commander Pat Ryan introduced city officials, council members and all the military groups and honored guests, along with City Councilman Michael Gregory who spoke next.

Gregory recalled his father who immigrated to the United States at age 19 and wound up in the army, landing in Normandy on D-Day. Gregory paid tribute to all the other World War II vets, and to Martin Francis, San Leandro’s flag historian who died earlier this year.

Gregory added that he hoped that people could learn to solve their differences peacefully so there wouldn’t have to be more wars.

The ceremony also paid tribute to Adam Figueroa, another World War II veteran who passed away this year. Figueroa’s granddaughter Erica Penn, gave a eulogy to her granddad, who worked at the Oakland Army Base for 30 years and was in the American Legion for 40 years.

Penn recalled her grandfather as a man true to his word, who loved ice cream, and how he bought a 1946 Jeep that he drove in many parades.

After the speeches, the large crowed at the Senior Center moved outside for the flag raising ceremony and a 21-gun salute by the San Leandro Police Department Firing Team, as a lone trumpet sounded “Taps.”

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

The City of San Leandro is paying over $300,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by a former San Leandro police officer who himself was the subject of several sexual harassment suits filed by female members of the force.

DeWayne Stancill, who is African-American, said he was isolated by his fellow officers, demoted, and targeted with false sexual harassment claims because of his race.

An independent investigator hired by the city found merit in Stancill’s claim that he was treated poorly, but did not find that this treatment was racially motivated.

Stancill had been on the force for nearly 10 years when a group of seven police women and female office staff at the SLPD said he made unwanted advances and comments about them and their bodies.

According to Stancill’s lawyer, Hunter Pyle, the harassment allegations were part of an ongoing campaign to force his client out of the department.

“DeWayne Stancill was a model police officer,” said Pyle. “After he was promoted to sergeant, a group of white officers could not accept the fact that a black man – who they thought was too ‘ghetto’ – had been promoted before them. They went to extreme lengths to take him down. Then, when DeWayne complained about this treatment, the San Leandro Police Department decided to get rid of him.”

Last year, the last of the women’s lawsuits were settled for over $600,000 (though one was won by the city with no settlement made).

One of the female officers was Ann O’Callaghan, who is married to SLPD Sgt. Mike Sobek. Stancill claims that O’Callaghan and Sobek ganged up and even recruited other officers to turn against him. In his suit, the couple are named and Stancill also says that he believed he was in danger on the street because he didn’t feel his fellow officers had his back.

In addition to O’Callaghan, the other women who sued were current SLPD officers Cathy Pickard and Deborah Trujillo and clerk Amanda Kerr. The other claimants were officers Kamilah Jackson, Chistine Tiletile, and Tai-Pena-Hornung, who now work for the Oakland police department.

What happened between Stancill, the women, and other officers may never be known, but what is known is that the City of San Leandro has paid nearly $1 million to clean up the mess.

Stancill was awarded $135,000 in damages and an additional $179,000 in attorney’s fees, according to San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams.

Williams said the settlement offer was made in December of 2010, but the reason the settlement took so long to be finalized was because Stancill’s pension had to be dealt with through CalPERS. The settlement called for Stancill to be reinstated to the department, with the understanding that he would immediately retire in order to qualify for a disability retirement pension.

The settlement was based on an investigation by Patricia Elliot, who was hired by the city to look into Stancill’s accusation, according to Williams. The investigation began when Stancill approached the city’s human resources department with his discrimination complaint in June of 2008.

Elliot interviewed dozens of SLPD employees over several weeks and concluded the following in her report: “Mr. Stancill’s allegations that he was treated poorly, shunned, was the object of derogatory comments by other police officer, attacked with exaggerated harassment complaints, subjected to sick outs on his shifts and generally treated in an unfair and unprofessional manner are substantiated. Mr. Stancill’s allegation that the poor treatment he received from other officers was because of his race is not substantiated.”

Stancill claimed that Sobek, who is president of the police union, spearheaded a plan to get him off the force shortly after he received a promotion and also persuaded other female staff to join his wife’s lawsuit.

Sobek denies that claim.

Sobek says the idea of a conspiracy against Stancill is unfounded and the fact that he and O’Callaghan both remain at the department in good standing proves that Stancill’s accusations are false. He added that, just because the city settled the lawsuit, it is not an admission of guilt in any way.

“It’s a personnel issue that should never have been made public because both sides of the story aren’t being heard,” said Sobek. “Lots of settlements are business decisions way beyond any of my control. We (he and O’Callaghan) were never charged with any wrongdoing. We’re still working and we have solid careers, so that should tell people something.”

Sobek said that the sexual harassment allegations against Stancill were all true to his knowledge.

“I did what I thought was the right thing, according to the department’s sexual harassment policy,” said Sobek.

Current SLPD Chief Sandra Spagnoli says she has no knowledge about what went on between Stancill, the alleged sexual harassment victims, or any other involved officers because it all happened years before her arrival in early 2011. She said the atmosphere at the department as she sees it is healthy, respectful, and there is no clique mentality.

“All this was obviously before I came to San Leandro and I want to look forward, not to the past,” said Spagnoli. “The department has moved on from this and this case is behind us as far as I’m concerned. I work in a department full of men and women who are very professional.”

Similarly, Mayor Stephen Cassidy says he knows little about what went on a few years ago. The settlement the City Council agreed on also predated his time in office.

Pyle, Stancill’s attorney, says there are no winners in this case and the real losers are the people of San Leandro.

“They lost a good cop and they had to pay a bunch of money to settle,” said Pyle.

The PG&E facility is under construction at the corner of Washington and Grant avenues in San Lorenzo.

By Amy Sylvestri

San Leandro Times

PG&E is about to pig out in San Leandro and San Lorenzo.

The utilities company has broken ground on a “PIG station” on the northeast corner of Washington and Grant avenues.

PIGs – Pipeline Inspection Gauges – are small electronic robots that PG&E drops into gas lines, which are moved along by the pressure of the natural gas.

A station to release the PIGs is being built in Fremont and the site in San Lorenzo will be where they are taken out of the line.

Construction on the receiving station is expected to be complete by early January and then a series of the robots will be sent out, said Rodrigo Orduna of the Alameda County Planning Department.

Orduna said that the PG&E equipment will only take up a fraction of the 1.4-acre site and that they plan open space for the rest of the land.

PG&E uses several types of PIGs – including cleaning PIGs that can tidy up a line – but the Washington Avenue station will concentrate on safety improvements by using “smart PIGs,” said PG&E spokeswoman Brittany Chord.

The metal tube-like receivers travel down the line and measure dents and corrosion and show the company where repairs are necessary.

“It’s basically a computer with sensors that can bring us data that we can use to monitor the line,” said Chord. “It’s a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that we are using in an effort to enhance the safety of our customers.”

PG&E has faced criticism of its safety standards following the San Bruno pipeline explosion in September of 2010 that killed eight people.

Most of the receiving station will be underground with just a few pipes visible to passersby.

Chord said that the PIGs are sent out for only a couple of weeks every few years. So when not in use for that, the facility will also act as a regulation station that will help decrease pressure on the main line, which runs from Fremont to Oakland and through San Leandro under Washington Avenue.