Antioch Man Convicted of Firearm Possession, Stealing a Vehicle, and Reckless Driving

Martinez, California –  A jury in Contra Costa County convicted an Antioch man on offenses related to a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle and illegal firearm possession.

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint in Superior Court charging 33-year-old Artis Chavez Crenshaw, Jr., on July 6^th, 2023. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Philip Farmer, and on January 18^th, a jury in Pittsburg found Crenshaw guilty  on four out of five counts.

The offenses with which Crenshaw was charged with started on July 1^st, when a victim’s vehicle was stolen in Antioch. On July 2^nd, peace officers spotted Crenshaw driving the stolen vehicle in Concord and attempted to pull him over. A high-speed chase ensued between police and Crenshaw that began on Port Chicago Highway near Highway 4. The pursuit continued onto westbound Highway 4 as Crenshaw accelerated to 115 mph while weaving through traffic. Even after the CHP laid down a spike strip at Sycamore Avenue near Hercules to disable the vehicle, Crenshaw continued to evade officers by driving with a flattened tire onto eastbound Highway 4.

He was eventually involved in a crash at the San Marco Boulevard exit in Bay Point and was taken into custody after the collision. The entire pursuit totaled 23 miles and lasted 16 minutes. During his arrest, officers found an AR style pistol in the stolen vehicle.

Artis Chavez Crenshaw, Jr.’s sentencing hearing will be on March 1^st at 8:30 am in front of Judge John Cope at the Arnason Justice Center in Pittsburg. Crenshaw faces a maximum of four years and four months in state prison.

Case No. 04-23-01211 | The People of the State of California v. Artis Chavez Crenshaw, Jr. 

CHP Released the Following:

Pursuit-Contra Costa County: Early this morning, CHP H-30 assisted the Contra County Sheriff Office and Contra Costa CHP with a pursuit on Highway 4. H-30 monitored the suspect vehicle from above as officers deployed spike strips that flattened the vehicles tires. While exiting the freeway, the suspect ran off the road and came to a stop on the shoulder (no injuries) where he was arrested. The Contra Costa Sheriff Department will be investigating this incident.

Dec 18, 2014: Napa Police Arrest East County Residents in String of Cell Phone Store Burglaries

The Napa Police Department announced the arrest of two east bay residents who are suspected of cell phone store burglaries. On December 15, at approximately 5:40 pm, Napa Police officers responded to the Verizon Store on Trancas Ave/California for a report of suspicious circumstances

An employee inside the store had called to say that there were three subjects in the store that match the description of the suspects in serial thefts of Verizon Stores in Fairfield, Vacaville and Vallejo.

Upon arrival, officers observed the suspects in the store. Officers observed the three suspects yank five cell phones (total value of $3100) and flee out the front door.

• Artis Crenshaw, 24 of Antioch, was contacted outside the front door, where he fought with a solo officer and was later taken into custody with the help of several bystanders. Crenshaw was also found to be in possession of cocaine and had several outstanding out of county arrest warrants.
• Bequandre Davis, 23 of Pittsburg, was chased by two officers on a short foot pursuit to the SR-29 off ramp where he was taken into custody.

The third suspect had fled N/B up to Target and across the highway to the area around the Marriot Hotel. An extensive search of this area was conducted, the third suspect was not located. All of the stolen phones were recovered.