Latest news with #AntiochPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New chief of troubled Antioch Police Department sworn in
ANTIOCH, Calif. (KRON) — A new permanent police chief who will lead the embattled Antioch Police Department was sworn in at a ceremony Tuesday afternoon. Antioch's top cop, Joe Vigil, has served twice as interim APD chief. A statement released by Jaden Baird, the city's new public information officer, writes that the new police chief marks a 'new chapter' and a 'significant step toward accountability, reform, and community trust.' Chief Vigil held leadership roles throughout his career while serving in Suisun City, Vallejo, Sacramento, Richmond, and Antioch. 'A dedicated public servant and family man, Chief Vigil lives in Antioch with his wife Rachelle and their three children,' the city's statement writes. Vigil has 25 years of law enforcement experience. 'His leadership represents a pivotal moment for the Antioch Police Department and the broader community,' the city's statement writes. In the summer of 2023, FBI agents arrested 10 current and former East Bay police officers. Three former Antioch police officers — Eric Rombough, Morteza Amiri, and Devon Christopher Wenger — were charged with committing litany of civil rights violations. The three officers inflicted excessive force, bragged about violence, and covered up brutal tactics by falsifying police reports, investigators said. The Antioch Police Department was also embroiled in a controversy caused by officers who paid someone to earn college degrees in criminal justice for them. Officers used the degrees to fraudulently obtain pay raises from their police department. More racist Antioch police text messages released by DA Dozens APD officers exchanged text messages in 2020 and 2021 that included racial slurs, court documents show. Some of the texts compared Black people to gorillas and water buffalo, and others mocked the murder of George Floyd. One of Rombough's texts wrote, 'bottom line it doesn't matter, some gorilla killed another gorilla.' The text messages came out as part of an investigation launched in 2022 by the FBI and the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office. Amiri and Rombough were convicted of deprivation of rights earlier this year. Amiri was also found guilty in the pay raise scam. In April, a jury found Wenger guilty of distributing steroids. 'Instead of upholding the law, as he swore an oath to do, Devon Wenger conspired with a fellow officer to sell illegal anabolic steroids. When the FBI arrived at his home to investigate him, he then doubled down by destroying evidence of his crime. Crimes like these by a police officer have a corrosive effect on the public's trust in law enforcement,' said United States Attorney Patrick Robbins. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect arrested in ATM theft at Brentwood Bank of America
BRENTWOOD, Calif. - Authorities arrested a man they say was behind a brazen robbery of an ATM at a Brentwood bank Thursday morning. Police arrested 34-year-old Kevin Monge of San Jose after an ATM safe was forcibly removed from Bank of America in the 6200 block of Lone Tree Way. The backstory Officials said Brentwood officers were sent to the 5100 block of Heidorn Ranch Road over reports of a "suspicious circumstance" involving people and a Jeep along the Highway 4 corridor. When officers arrived, the suspects fled in the Jeep. Officers soon learned an ATM had been stolen from the bank and that the physical cash box was dragged along the Highway 4 corridor where officers were first dispatched. Shortly after, they received a call about a car matching the description in the Deer Ridge area. Officers with the Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office helped establish a perimeter. During their search, the San Jose suspect was found hiding in a bush and arrested. The 34-year-old was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and is facing grand theft and other related charges. What we don't know Officials didn't specify how many suspects are believed to be involved in the theft. It's unclear if the other suspects made off with the ATM and its contents. No other arrests were made. The Source Brentwood Police Department
CBS News
01-05-2025
- CBS News
Former Antioch police officer convicted on obstruction of justice charges
A former Antioch police officer was convicted Wednesday of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute anabolic steroids and obstruction of justice. A jury in federal court in Oakland found Devon Wenger, 33, conspired with another former Antioch officer, Daniel Harris, to distribute anabolic steroids to a third person, and then deleted evidence from his phone. The conviction is the latest in a police scandal that rocked the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments. Allegations against officers included excessive force and improper use of weapons and a police dog on suspects, civil rights violations, falsifying records, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, turning off body cameras, selling steroids, and paying individuals to take college classes for officers. Ten current and former officers have so far been charged in the federal investigation. At one point, 45 Antioch officers -- nearly half the police force -- were suspended. Four Black suspects charged with murder made plea deals on lesser charges in May of 2024, after a dozen Antioch officers involved in the arrests or the investigations violated the California Racial Justice Act, which prohibits the state from pursuing convictions based on race. The officers took part in racist, homophobic and threatening text message chains, some of which referred to Black suspects as the N-word, described violence against suspects, threatened former Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, who is Black, and referred to then-Police Chief Steven Ford -- who is also Black -- as a gorilla. The U.S. Department of Justice is overseeing the Antioch Police Department for five years, overseeing operations and collecting data, among other provisions of an agreement. "Instead of upholding the law, as he swore an oath to do, Devon Wenger conspired with a fellow officer to sell illegal anabolic steroids," said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins. "When the FBI arrived at his home to investigate him, he then doubled down by destroying evidence of his crime. Crimes like these by a police officer have a corrosive effect on the public's trust in law enforcement." Prosecutors said that in February 2022, Wenger set up the sale of anabolic steroids, a controlled substance, between Harris and a third person. Harris was also charged and pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy in September. Law enforcement officials seized the steroids meant for Harris, although Wenger continued to communicate with Harris about supplying the third person with steroids. At 8:03 a.m. on March 23, 2022, FBI agents began calling and sending text messages to Wenger telling him they were outside of his home with a warrant. Wegner didn't appear until 9 a.m. Later, a forensic examination of his phone showed specific entries related to the steroids were deleted. The jury convicted Wenger of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute anabolic steroids and one count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations. Wenger is scheduled to appear Tuesday for a hearing to decide whether to remand him to custody pending sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids count and 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice count.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Missing Antioch woman's body found in container on Waukegan man's property: police
WAUKEGAN, Ill. – A Waukegan man has been arrested and charged after the body of a missing Antioch woman was found in a container on his property. On Sunday, March 9, 37-year-old Megan Bos was reported missing from Antioch. Bos was known to spend time in Waukegan and the Antioch Police Department began their investigation, working with other agencies including the Waukegan Police Department to help find her. On Thursday, April 10, authorities went to a Waukegan business to question 52-year-old Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, a person of interest who had frequent contacts with Bos. Mendoza-Gonzalez spoke Spanish and a Waukegan police officer provided translation. Family, Antioch police seek whereabouts of woman missing nearly a month During the conversation, Mendoza-Gonzalez started talking about Bos coming to his house on Wednesday, Feb. 19, but he initially said she left after her visit. After talking about her whereabouts and whether or not she was still alive, Mendoza-Gonzalez said he did not want to be arrested at the store but did not say why, according to investigators. Police said Mendoza-Gonzalez was then taken to the Waukegan Police Department where their conversation continued. He told detectives that Bos was in a container in his yard, located in the 700 block of Yeoman Street in Waukegan. Mendoza-Gonzalez's home was then secured and detectives obtained a search warrant for the property. Further into the interview, detectives said Mendoza-Gonzalez told them that Bos came over to his home on Feb. 19 and visited with him. At some point, Bos snorted some drugs, but Mendoza-Gonzalez stated he did not know what type of drug it was. Bos then reportedly asked if she could hang out in Mendoza-Gonzalez's basement, which he obliged while he went to another part of the house to fix a leaky pipe. When he returned, he allegedly found Bos dead, believing she had overdosed, according to police. Mendoza-Gonzalez told detectives he was afraid he was going to be in trouble, so he left her in the basement for a few days before moving her to a container in his yard, where she remained until detectives found her on Thursday, April 10. According to investigators, Mendoza-Gonzalez said on the night of the alleged overdose, he broke Bos's phone and threw it in the trash. When asked what he planned on doing with her, he said he did not know. Detectives took Bos's body to the Lake County Coroner's Office where an autopsy was performed on Friday, April 11. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines The coroner's office said there were no signs of any trauma to her body, nor were there any signs of a struggle. Meanwhile, Mendoza-Gonzalez was charged with two counts of concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse and obstructing justice. He appeared in court for the first time on Saturday, April 12. The investigation remains ongoing and detectives are waiting for further results from the laboratory, including a toxicology report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
14-04-2025
- CBS News
Waukegan man charged with concealing death of missing Antioch woman, authorities say
A Waukegan man was charged with concealing the death of a missing woman from Antioch, last seen in February. The Lake County States Attorney's Office charged 52-year-old Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez with two counts of concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse, and obstructing justice. Waukegan police said on March 9, 37-year-old Megan Bos was reported missing to the Antioch Police Department. Megan also spent time in Waukegan. Antioch police worked with multiple agencies, including the Waukegan Police Department, to find her. On Thursday, April 10, Antioch detectives went to a Waukegan business to question a person of interest [Mendoza-Gonzalez] who had frequent contact with Megan. During that conversation, which had to be translated into Spanish, the person of interest talked about Bos going to his house on Feb. 19 but initially said she left after her visit. After further conversation about her whereabouts and whether she was still alive, he said that he did not want to be arrested at the store but did not say why, police said. The conversation moved to the Waukegan Police Department, where he told detectives that Bos was in a container in his yard in the 700 block of Yeoman Street in Waukegan. He went on to say that Bos had come over to his residence on Feb. 19, and at some point, she snorted some drugs, but he did not know what type of drug it was. He then told detectives that she asked if she could hang out in his basement, which he let her do. He went to another part of the house, tending to a leaky pipe, but when he returned, he found her. He believed she had overdosed and was already dead. Mendoza-Gonzalez said he was scared that he was going to be in trouble, so he left her in the basement for a few days before moving her to a container in his yard, where she remained until she was found by police. He also confessed that on that night, he broke her phone and threw it in the regular trash. When asked what he planned on doing with her, he told detectives he didn't know. An autopsy conducted on Friday showed no signs of any trauma or a struggle to her body. The investigation is still ongoing, pending further results from the lab, including toxicology. Mendoza-Gonzalez appeared in court on Saturday. Court information was not available.
