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EL VERANO PRIOR FELON CONVICTED OF POSSESSING FIREARM AND METHAMPHETAMINE
Following an approximately week-long trial before the Honorable Troye Shaffer, a Sonoma County jury has convicted defendant Hiramu el Kenyatta Bey (also known as Demond Battiest) 50 years old of El Verano, of all filed charges, including being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition, and felony possession of a loaded operable firearm while also being in possession of methamphetamine. Read full story
District Attorney Announces $1.7 Million Consent Judgment with Five Gas Station Owners and Operators for Environmental Violations at Northern California Gas Stations
Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, along with the California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the District Attorneys of Alameda, Lake, Mendocino, and Santa Clara counties, have announced a $1.7 million settlement with several owners and operators of gas stations resolving allegations that the defendants violated state environmental laws while operating above ground and underground storage tank systems at 14 gas stations. Read full story
DISTRICT ATTORNEY RODRIGUEZ’S STATEMENT REGARDING MONTGOMERY HIGH SCHOOL STABBING
Dear Community,I am writing to acknowledge the significant impact that the recent stabbing at Montgomery High School has had on our community. Read full story
ROHNERT PARK MAN CONVICTED OF 1St DEGREE MURDER DENIED PAROLE FOR 8TH TIME
Following a hearing this afternoon, the California Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for the 8th time to 61-year-old Dale Wesley Hayes, who was convicted of the 1st degree murder of his father, Elton Hayes, in 1983. Read full story
FAIZAN CORPORATION AND MAHMOUD ALAM TO PAY $500,000 TO SETTLE VIOLATIONS AT NUMEROUS RETAIL GAS STATIONS IN CALIFORNIA
On January 5, 2023, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Charles Smiley entered a $500,000.00 stipulated judgment against Mahmoud Alam, and Faizan Corporation, a California corporation of which Alam is the chief executive officer, in Case No. 22CV023017. This judgment settles allegations that Alam and Faizan Corporation failed to follow state laws governing the operation of retail gas stations at locations in Sonoma, Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, and Yolo Counties. In Sonoma County, this involved the Chevron gas station located on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa which is operated by the defendants. Read full story
PG&E MAKES FIRST ANNUAL PAYMENTS REQUIRED BY KINCADE FIRE JUDGMENT
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“PG&E”) has made the first of five annual payments to several local nonprofit organizations serving members of the community impacted by wildfires. The payments were mandated by the stipulated judgment that resolved criminal and civil charges against PG&E related to causing the 2019 Kincade Fire. Read full story
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS TO LIFE FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER
Defendant Stephen Joseph Archer, 36 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced this afternoon to serve 50 years to life in state prison by the Honorable Troye Shaffer after having been found guilty by a jury of the first-degree murder of victim Manuel Valdez in September. The guilty verdict was reached at the conclusion of a three-week trial during which the jury also found the defendant guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and found him responsible for the unlawful use of a firearm during the murder. Read full story
MURDERER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE
Defendant Robert Lee Randolph, 36 years old of Philadelphia, was sentenced today by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. The Defendant was convicted after jury trial of all charges, special allegations and enhancements, which included use of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. Read full story
FENTANYL AWARENESS OUTREACH CAMPAIGN BEGINS
District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced today that The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office along with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (“HIDTA”) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), have begun a joint community outreach campaign to educate the community on the dangers of fentanyl. Read full story
Sonoma County District Attorney Awarded Grant From the Office of Traffic Safety for Specialized DUI Prosecution Team
Santa Rosa, Calif. – District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that her office has obtained funds through a $464,132 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to continue a specialized prosecution team that handles alcohol and drug-impaired driving. Read full story