Bay Area news roundup

A roundup of Bay Area stories making news today.

The BART Police Department hopes to present its case to prosecutors today against a passenger who was involved in a physical dispute with an officer that sparked controversy after being captured on video and posted online, a BART police commander said Monday night.

The incident happened at about 5:40 p.m. Saturday at the West Oakland BART station and video footage was posted on YouTube over the weekend.

At a media briefing Monday night, BART officials discussed their investigation into the case and released 911 calls reporting the incident.

Witnesses reported the passenger, 37-year-old Michael Joseph Gibson of San Leandro, appeared to be intoxicated and was yelling racial slurs and profanity at other passengers on the train, according to BART officials.

Video of the incident filmed by a passenger shows the officer, whose name hasn't been released, pulling Gibson off the train and across the platform. The officer appears to shove Gibson toward a glass window, which shatters, injuring both. Gibson was then arrested.

BART police Cmdr. Daniel Hartwig said at Monday night's media briefing that the Police Department has "yet to determine what caused the glass to break."

BART officials said the glass, which was the original glass installed at the station, will be replaced by peppered glass as is policy.

Hartwig said the incident remains under investigation and that investigators have identified 12 witnesses who were at the station.

He said investigators have attempted to interview Gibson, but that he will not speak with officers.

"Last night, and at this time, the suspect refuses to speak with us," Hartwig said.

He said the Police Department is also investigating the "use-of-force issue," involving the officer.

Investigators are attempting to speak with the person who posted the video on YouTube to see if they have additional information on the incident.

Earlier Monday, Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris said he was intending on meeting with Gibson to discuss a possible lawsuit against BART. He said he thinks the officer should have made an effort to determine if Gibson was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or if he was mentally impaired before pulling Gibson from the train.

According to Daly City police Sgt. David Mackriss, Gibson was also involved in a disturbance on a SamTrans bus in Daly City earlier Saturday.

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A protest in the lobby of University of California President Mark Yudof's office in downtown Oakland ended peacefully Monday evening with no arrests.

UC Berkeley senior Marika Goodrich, who helped lead the protest, said about 75 students and union members entered the president's office at 1111 Franklin St. at about 3 p.m. to try to talk to Yudof about a 32 percent student fee increase approved by the UC Board of Regents last Thursday.

Goodrich said protesters also wanted to talk to Yudof about what they allege was a violent response by police officers to the occupation of UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall by students and union members last Friday.

However, Yudof wasn't at his office Monday because he's on a short furlough, Office of the President spokesman Peter King said.

In Yudof's place, UC Interim Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom and UC Interim Provost Larry Pitts agreed to come to the lobby from their upstairs offices and meet with the protesters, King said.

There was "a peaceful dialogue" for about two hours, he said.

At the end of the impromptu meeting, Goodrich told Brostrom and Pitts, "I hope you see how passionate we are and how committed we are."

Speaking to her fellow protesters, Goodrich said of Brostrom and Pitts, "They were put in this position (of meeting with the demonstrators) because President Yudof wasn't here to do his job even though three days ago students were brutalized and had their bones broken."

Pitts said, "I appreciate the peaceful interchange."

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen state Sen. Abel Maldonado to fill the post of lieutenant governor, which was vacated earlier this month by newly elected Congressman John Garamendi.

Maldonado represents state Senate District 15, which includes the counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo, as well as southeastern Santa Clara County and northern Santa Barbara County.

"Senator Maldonado has proven he has the strength and courage it takes to reach across the partisan divide and put the interests of Californians first, and he is absolutely the most qualified person to take on the role of lieutenant governor," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued Monday evening.

Maldonado will have to be confirmed by the Legislature before he assumes the post, in which he would earn $159,134 annually.

The 42-year-old Republican senator attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and was mayor of Santa Maria from 1996 to 1998. He served in the state Assembly from 1998 to 2004, when he became a senator.

In a statement released by the governor's office, Maldonado said, "Like the governor, I learned the values of hard work, dedication and personal responsibility at a young age and place a high priority on reforming California's broken government so that it is more responsive to and reflective of California's diverse population."

The lieutenant governor serves as acting governor when the governor is out of the state and as president of the state Senate.

Additionally, the lieutenant governor sits on the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University board of trustees, and the California State Lands Commission.

Schwarzenegger will hold a news conference in Los Angeles on this morning with Maldonado to formally announce the appointment.

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East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May and the man on trial for allegedly fatally shooting him in January 2006 each had a number of choices to make the day of May's death, and it was the suspect who chose wrong, a prosecuting attorney said during closing arguments Monday.

Alberto Alvarez, 26, who could face the death penalty in San Mateo County Superior Court if convicted, woke up the morning of Jan. 7, 2006, and made the choice to resume his life as a drug dealer, carry a gun and ultimately shoot May "execution-style," prosecuting attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

"On that fateful day, that man made the choice that he would go on with his employment, with a gun and an extra clip of ammo," Wagstaffe said.

"He made the decision to go to battle with whatever was in his path that day," he said.

However, defense attorney Charles Robinson said during his closing arguments that Alvarez did shoot May, but only after May shot him first in what Robinson called "unnecessary and unreasonable force."

Robinson said the shooting was not an execution, and that May made mistakes that day that cost him his life.

"It's very hard for me to stand here and tell you that a police officer was wrong," Robinson told the jury Monday afternoon. "But they are human. Sometimes they make mistakes."

The incident began when May responded to a report of a disturbance at Villa Taqueria on University Avenue in East Palo Alto shortly after 4 p.m.

Closing arguments are expected to resume this morning. Alvarez remains in custody without bail.

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San Francisco police arrested 18 people Monday evening during a demonstration in which unionized employees blocked part of Market Street in protest of layoffs and wage reductions.

Protesters marched from City Hall to Market Street and, at about 6 p.m., a circle of demonstrators was blocking the intersection of Market and Eighth streets. Police Lt. Lyn Tomioka said 18 protesters were arrested at the intersection for obstructing traffic.

The demonstrators were cited and released, Tomioka said.

Service Employee International Union Local 1021 officials say the city intends to lay off 500 city public health and school district employees and that the layoffs could be prevented by a budget appropriation to be considered by the Board of Supervisors today.

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San Francisco police will soon have more officers on San Francisco Municipal Railway trains and buses as part of a new cooperative effort between the agencies to combat crime and fare evaders.

The agreement is modeled on new police Chief George Gascon's implementation of the CompStat crime pattern tracking system, which relies on the recording of detailed statistics to identify crime patterns and hold individual police captains responsible for the crimes in their districts.

Deputy Chief John Murphy, the new head of police operations on Muni, told a Board of Supervisors committee at a hearing Monday on Muni passenger safety that riders will see an increased presence of uniformed officers on the bus and light-rail lines identified as having the most problems with onboard crime such as assaults, thefts and graffiti. Enforcement will also be targeted at peak crime hours.

"Our goal here ... is to reduce crime on Muni, and reduce the fear of crime on Muni," Murphy said.

There will also be plainclothes officers to help arrest what Murphy described as the few suspects responsible for a majority of the crimes on Muni.

"Starting today, forward, crime is going to be addressed in a different way," he said, adding, "The onus is going to be on the district captains."

A revision in the memorandum of understanding between the San Francisco Police Department and the SFMTA calls for the deployment of resources to be based on crime analysis, community complaints and the concerns of Muni operators.

The two agencies will also be cooperating on increased fare evasion enforcement efforts, and on public service campaigns providing tips on Muni safety and protecting oft-stolen possessions such as cell phones and iPods.

Monday's hearing, called by Supervisor Bevan Dufty, included public comment from a number of Muni riders, some of whom spoke of their own brushes with crime and unruly behavior on Muni.

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The owners of a longtime San Francisco eatery called Original Joe's lost a bid in federal court Monday to block an alleged rival restaurant from using the name Uptown Joe's.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer at a hearing in San Francisco declined to issue a temporary restraining order that would have barred the recently opened Uptown Joe's from using that name.

Breyer also instructed lawyers for the two restaurants to meet for mediation before a federal magistrate.

Original Joe's opened at 144 Taylor St. in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood in 1937 and offered Italian comfort food served by tuxedo-clad waiters. Its signature dish was Joe's Special, made with eggs, onion, hamburger and spinach.

The restaurant shut down after a kitchen fire in 2007. Co-owner Marie Duggan, the daughter of the restaurant founder Tony Rodine, said the family hopes to reopen it next year and that the location has not yet been determined.

Uptown Joe's opened Nov. 11 in the Hotel Majestic at 1500 Sutter St. in lower Pacific Heights.

The Duggan family's trademark infringement lawsuit alleges that a representative of the hotel initially inquired about either reopening Original Joe's at the hotel or recreating it under the name of Uptown Joe's, allegedly with similar food and targeting the same customers.

The Duggan family refused both proposals, the lawsuit said. Uptown Joe's attorney Kirk Freeman said outside of court that Joe is the first name of Joe Pinsonneault, whose Pinsonneault Holdings LLC owns the new restaurant.

Freeman said, "The name Joe's was not selected to create confusion with Original Joe's or to trade on its goodwill."

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An Alameda County Superior Court jury recommended the death penalty Monday for Oakland resident Christopher Evans for murdering two people at a hair salon eight years ago.

Jurors deliberated for the equivalent of two full days before delivering their verdict against Evans, 36.

On July 16, jurors convicted Evans of one count of first-degree murder for the death of hairdresser Tina Marie Rose, 28, and one count of second-degree murder for the death of Tommy Lee Brown, 41, in a shooting at Rose's salon near the corner of 85th Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland on April 27, 2001.

Jurors also found Evans guilty of the special circumstance of committing multiple murders.

Evans' attorneys, William DuBois and Alex Selvin, told jurors that Evans suffered from "post-concussion syndrome" and didn't know what was going on when he killed Rose and Brown because Rose's brother had punched him in the head and knocked him out in a confrontation a short time before he opened fire.

But prosecutor Michael Nieto told jurors that although Evans may have been shaken up when he was punched, he knew what he was doing when he shot Rose and Brown.

Evans was on the run for nearly eight months after the shooting but he was arrested in Reno in December 2001, shortly before a segment on him was scheduled to air on the "America's Most Wanted" television program.

Nieto said Monday that jurors rejected the defense's claim that Evans suffered from post-concussion syndrome.

He said a surveillance video from a market near the shooting scene depicted Evans acting calmly and deliberately before and after the shooting.

The prosecutor said Evans has two prior felony convictions for possession of rock cocaine for sale and also has engaged in violent behavior on the street and has been involved in altercations while being held in custody.

Evans is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Vernon Nakahara on Feb. 3. He's also scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 29 for a hearing on pretrial motions, including a motion for a new trial.

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Oakland has the third-highest crime rate in the U.S. and Richmond has the 14th-highest, according to an annual crime report just released by CQ Press.

Camden, N.J. has the country's highest crime rate, according to the report, "City Crime Rankings 2009-2010: Crime in Metropolitan America," based on statistics compiled by the FBI.

The rankings for cities and metropolitan areas include incidents of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. The rankings include all cities of at least 75,000 residents that reported crime data to the FBI in those categories for 2008.

CQ Press has acknowledged that its annual crime rankings are considered controversial by some law enforcement agencies and that the FBI, police and many criminologists caution against rankings according to crime rates.

Law enforcement agencies state crime levels are affected by many factors including population density, the concentration of youth in the population, economic conditions, cultural factors, education levels and crime reporting practices.

Accordingly, the crime rankings are often deemed "simplistic" and "incomplete", CQ Press said.

"However, this criticism is largely based on the fact that there are reasons for the differences in crime rates, not that the rates are incompatible," CQ Press said in the release.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums was quick to issue a statement refuting the report.

"While the FBI has questioned the validity of these rankings and the U.S. Conference of Mayors says this report is both 'misleading and a disservice to the public,' Oakland's own data says that our city is making progress in bringing peace to our streets," Dellums said.

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A 16-year-old girl who was shot in the thigh during an attempted robbery at the Oakland Coliseum BART station over the weekend has been treated and released from the hospital, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Monday.

The incident began at about 10:20 p.m. Saturday when the girl and an 18-year-old man were walking up the stairs from the Coliseum station to a parking lot on Snell Street and were confronted by two male suspects who were wearing hoods that obscured their faces, Johnson said.

The man told the suspects that they had no money or valuables but one of the suspects shot the girl, according to Johnson.

The man ran back inside the station and flagged down a BART police officer who radioed for medical assistance, Johnson said.

BART and Oakland police officers searched the area but didn't locate the suspects, according to Johnson.

BART police say they are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward to help with the investigation.

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Sunny today with a warming trend beginning this afternoon.

Concord: 67°
Oakland: 65°
Redwood City 65°
San Francisco: 65°
San Jose: 67°
Santa Rosa: 70°

Coast:
Sunny
Highs: Lower to middle 60s
Clear
Lows: Upper 40s

East Bay:
Sunny
Highs: Lower to Middle 60s
Clear
Lows: Lower 50s

East Bay Valleys:
Sunny
Highs: Middle to upper 60s
Clear
Lows: Lower to middle 40s

North Bay Valleys:
Sunny
Highs: Middle 60s to near 70°
Clear
Lows: Middle 30s to middle 40s

Peninsula:
Sunny
Highs: Middle 60s
Clear
Lows: Lower to Middle 40s

South Bay:
Sunny
Highs: Middle to upper 60s
Clear
Lows: Middle 40s

Wednesday:
One last day of above average afternoon temperatures. Our sky will be sunny with a few high clouds. HIGHS: 1 - 2° warmer.

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