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STOCKTON — San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti’s DUI case returned to court Monday morning just long enough for attorneys to agree on May 20 as the next court date.Patti’s attorney, Gilbert Somera, and prosecutor Barton Bowers from the California Attorney General’s Office met with Judge Richard Vlavianos in chambers for less than five minutes. Patti was not present.Patti was involved in a three-vehicle non-injury accident last July 25 on [...]

STOCKTON — When Hy Cohen was 24, the same loose dog made it a habit for nearly a year of attacking his guide dog, Layla, when he took her for walks in their suburban Seattle neighborhood.Cohen, who has been legally blind since birth, sought assistance from the police and from animal control, but the agencies always had excuses for not cracking down on the loose dog’s owner.“I got tired of excuses,” Cohen recalled earlier this month.So [...]

ESCALON — A passenger in a car making an unsafe left turn off a busy rural road died in a two-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon northwest of Escalon, the California Highway Patrol reported Monday. Two other people sustained major injuries.The victim was identified as 29-year-old Alejandro Avalos of Stockton, according to the San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office. The collision occurred about 12:40 p.m. on Mariposa Road where it crosses Dodds Road, a popular access point [...]

STOCKTON — A 22-year-old woman involved in the 2018 killing of well-known Chavez High School graduate Christopher Combs has been sentenced to three years in prison.Judge Ronald Northup during a brief hearing Monday informed Kayla Woodard that her probation request had been denied and she was sentenced to three years at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.Authorities arrested Woodard three days after [...]

STOCKTON — An outside attorney selected to review an upcoming article in The Bruin Voice to see if it violates state law has chosen to only represent a Bear Creek High School instructor and student journalist.The Lodi Unified School District said it had agreed to a proposal made by Kathi Duffel to bring in an independent attorney to look over a profile written by junior Bailey Kirkeby about an 18-year-old student working in the porn industry. The article is scheduled [...]

Sheriff’s OfficeThere were 53 bookings at the San Joaquin County Jail in the 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. Monday. At that time, there were 1,439 people held at the jail, which has an official capacity of 1,550. When the jail is full, some inmates may be released early.Stockton PoliceRobbery, assault: A 72-year-old woman was walking in the first block of West Harding Way about 6:50 p.m. Sunday when a [...]

STOCKTON — Homeless residents of an established encampment on Mormon Slough are uneasy following Sunday’s fatal shooting of a visitor who regularly brought the residents food, according to a woman who has known the victim almost half his life.The San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 28-year-old Mark Echeverria Jr. of Stockton. People living in the homeless camp knew him as “T-Roll.”Stockton police responded about [...]

STOCKTON — Attorneys for former Mayor Anthony Silva and longtime associate Sharon Simas say a resolution to the embezzlement case against their clients is possible, maybe even near.“We’re in very tight, strong discussions with the District Attorney’s office,” Allen Sawyer, Silva’s attorney, said Monday afternoon in a phone interview. “These are very complicated cases. At some point we’re going to bring (Judge Charlotte Orcutt) in [...]

STOCKTON — If you live or work in Stockton, you are well aware of its reputation for violent crime. But in the past few days, even the cops have taken notice of an increasing number of incidents.Three unrelated homicides since Friday evening. Multiple serious assaults, including two against police officers who, fortunately, were not injured. And numerous illegal guns seized.Since Friday, Stockton police officers have responded to more than 3,500 calls for service, a [...]

STOCKTON — Two tenants broke in and one vandalized a northeast Stockton home with a machete while another assaulted the landlord after a dispute, police said.The incident reportedly began when two people were arguing with a landlord in the 2900 block of Horsetail Drive over tenancy at 10 p.m. Friday night.The tenants left, but returned a short time later and broke into the residence.One of the tenants reportedly vandalized the house with a machete, while the other [...]