Sep 2, 2021 | Alert, In the News, Misdemeanor Verdicts, Press Release, Uncategorized, Verdicts
Robert Sanchez fraudulently received over $16,000 for overtime he didn’t work
OAKLAND, CA — The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announces that former San Leandro Police Sgt. Robert Frank Sanchez was sentenced Sept. 1, 2021 to two years of felony probation, 240 hours of community service and ordered to pay a maximum of $46,815.88 in restitution stemming from grand theft from the police department.
In 2019 and 2020, the defendant held the position of Professional Standards Administrative Sergeant, where he managed San Leandro Police Department’s timekeeping and payroll systems. By using his administrative privileges and the trust placed in him in this role, the defendant approved personal overtime for time he did not work. He also added his unauthorized overtime and compensatory time hours directly into the payroll system, and edited the payroll systems to credit back vacation, sick and compensatory time already used.
The case was referred to our office in April 2020 by San Leandro Police after concerns were raised internally that the defendant claimed overtime in March 2020 that he had not worked.
The DA Inspector investigation discovered that between August 2019 and March 2020, the defendant had claimed overtime and compensatory time while not working, including while on family trips or vacation, and in other instances erased vacation, sick and compensatory time he had taken. The total loss due to fraud was determined to be $16,702.88, which has been repaid by the defendant to the city.
The defendant pled no contest to felony grand theft in June in a negotiated disposition.
The remainder of the restitution includes San Leandro City attorney fees. In addition, he will repay the cost of an ongoing, independent audit, for an amount not to exceed $27,940. So far, the defendant has paid over $12,000.
### Contact: Public Information Officer Angela Ruggiero // Angela.Ruggiero@acgov.org // (510) 919-0081
Posted on Sep 2, 2021
Aug 27, 2021 | Alert, In the News, Misdemeanor Verdicts, Press Release, Uncategorized, Verdicts
On Aug. 26, 2021, a jury found defendant Oxane Taub guilty of 20 counts– from felony charges of stalking, dissuading a witness, and attempted child abduction to misdemeanor counts for violating protective orders and child molest.
The defendant, a 50-year-old woman, became fixated on a 14-year-old boy in 2018. Over the course of 14 months, she sent him numerous obsessive emails, created blogs directed at him, used his friends to send him messages and eventually tried to abduct him a few blocks from his school in Berkeley. While the case was pending, Taub also tried to dissuade the victim from testifying.
DDA Lori Mullins prosecuted the trial, with assistance from Victim-Witness Advocate Erica Chavis.
Taub is expected to be sentenced on September 23, 2021 in Department 5.
Posted on Aug 27, 2021
Aug 8, 2021 | Alert, In the News, Misdemeanor Verdicts, Press Release, Uncategorized, Verdicts
On October 7, 2021, a jury found defendant Willis Peter Franklin Jr. guilty of multiple counts of sexual abuse and molestation of female relatives that had been ongoing for decades.
Franklin, 62, was convicted of: continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, two counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, forcible oral copulation, forcible rape, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition.
The allegations came to light in 2018, when one victim disclosed to her boyfriend at the time that she was being molested. A relative saw a text message regarding the allegation, and the bruises on Jane Doe 1’s face. Eventually Jane Doe 1 was able to fully disclose the abuse to the relative and police. She was 12 years old at the time.
She reported the abuse began when she was between the ages of 3 and 5 years old, and lived with the defendant at the time. She described that the defendant forced her to watch him being orally copulated, among other continuous acts of sexual abuse.
As the investigation continued, additional victims were found. Between the 1980s to 2018, the defendant sexually assaulted and/or molested a total of six female victims. The defendant positioned himself as a central figure in his family—hosting family gatherings and being generous with the children in his care.
The defendant took advantage of another victim, Jane Doe 3, after her father passed away and she became depressed. She was 17 at the time. The defendant would drive her to her therapy sessions appointments. But on the way back, he took her to a motel room where he gave her a soda and pizza. Jane Doe 3 began to feel dizzy, and lose consciousness. She was then sexually assaulted by the defendant. The defendant continued to sexually abuse her over time, until she was in her early 20s.
The abuse of Jane Doe 3, another relative, began when she was 13 years old and occurred again when she was 16.
DDA Nick Homer prosecuted the case, with aid from Victim Witness Advocates Marina Hammergren and Stephanie Lynch. Inspectors Veronica Ibarra and Todd Bergeron also aided in the case.
The defendant is expected to be sentenced on November 23and faces upwards of 45 years to life in prison.
Posted on Oct 8, 2021
Aug 6, 2021 | Alert, In the News, Misdemeanor Verdicts, Press Release, Uncategorized, Verdicts
On August 5, 2021, a jury convicted Marius Dante Robinson, 48, of the second-degree murder of Robert Ellis Coleman, 43.
On July 2, 2020, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the defendant’s wife got into a verbal argument with Mr. Coleman at a grocery store near the corner of International Boulevard and 74th Avenue. After the argument, Mr. Coleman left the area. However, the defendant’s wife walked home to 74th Avenue and told the defendant about the argument. In response, the defendant armed himself with a .45 caliber semiautomatic firearm and went out in search of Mr. Coleman. Video surveillance showed the defendant searching for Mr. Coleman on foot in the area of the grocery store where the argument occurred. That surveillance showed the defendant “clutching” the waist of his pants where the apparent outline of a gun was visible.
After failing to find Mr. Coleman in the area, the defendant got into his car and began driving around the neighborhood in search of Mr. Coleman. After nearly half an hour, the defendant located Mr. Coleman at the corner of International Boulevard and 72nd Ave. A witness from the scene observed the defendant pull his car up near Mr. Coleman, get out, and shoot his .45 caliber gun at Mr. Coleman. Mr. Coleman was struck multiple times and died at the scene.
“Revenge was the fuel that ignited this defendant’s burning desire to murder Mr. Coleman in a cold-blooded assassination on the streets of Oakland,” said Deputy District Attorney Adam McConney during his closing argument.
The defendant was also convicted of personally and intentionally discharging a firearm causing death, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
District Attorney Inspector Caesar Basa and Victim-Witness Advocate Tabian Lee assisted with the case.
Posted on Aug 6, 2021
Mar 26, 2021 | Alert, In the News, Misdemeanor Verdicts, Press Release, Uncategorized, Verdicts
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley spoke at a press conference on July 26 to address the recent uptick in violence against members of Asian American Pacific Islander community.
“My office continues to stand with our community in denouncing the hate-motivated violence that is committed against Asian Americans and the AAPI community,” said District Attorney O’Malley during the press conference in Oakland’s Chinatown.
“These perpetrators are ruthless, and they are aggressive, particularly in the streets of Chinatown thinking they are immune from being caught. We have to put a stop to that. We must work together to identify, arrest and prosecute these perpetrators that are particularly preying on elder Asian Americans and on members of the AAPI community before another death, injury, or trauma occurs,” she said.
Under DA O’Malley’s direction, the office formed a Special Response Team earlier this year to address the uptick in violence in the AAPI community. The team is headed by Chief Assistant District Attorney Annie Esposito.
The prosecutors assigned to the team speak Mandarin and Cantonese, to help guide victims of such violence feel less intimidated by the process.
Th district attorney’s office continues to offer services to victims of crime, regardless if the perpetrator isn’t identified or apprehended.
Federal partners also announced the launch of the Justice Department’s firearms trafficking strike forces, which will focus on reducing violent crimes by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key areas. The San Francisco Bay Area has been identified as one such area.
DA O’Malley thanked the President and Attorney General for allowing the Bay Area to be a focal point in addressing gun violence.
“Gun violence has plagued Alameda County for so many years, but in the last year and a half since COVID hit, we’ve seen a huge uptick,” DA O’Malley said.
Because of the pandemic, the court set no bail for people arrested of certain crimes. The office worked with the court and more recently this year, the bail schedule was changed. Now, if someone is arrested for gun-related crimes such as possession of a gun, or use of firearm, the bail is now set at $50,000.
The district attorney’s office is proud to offer alternative courts to help young adults move away from the criminal justice system.
“But when it comes to gun violence, we have to hold the line with these individuals,” the district attorney said.
To read more on the office’s Guns in Alameda County report, visit: https://www.alcoda.org/resources/gun_safety
If you or someone you know has been a victim of a hate crime, call our Hate Crime Hotline at: (510) 208-4824.
Posted on Jul 26, 2021
