It never had to get to this point where the City of Antioch has now been labeled internationally as the “new Oakland”
Had the city council taken serious a request by Councilmember Mike Barbanica in July 2023 to call for CHP and Contra Costa County Sheriff assistance to provide the Antioch Police Department with help, perhaps Antioch would not be seeing the amount of crime occurred over the past year--including surpassing last years homicides and more than 1,200 vehicle thefts.
After Barbanica made the request, by October 2023, Senator Steve Glazer and Assemblymember Tim Grayson were on board.
Then crickets. Nothing. Zip.
That is par for the course in Antioch as Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe has frequently ignored requests by Barbanica and even to her credit councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker who routinely called for community driven solutions to reduce violence–her requests also fell on deaf ears.
Now, Antioch is in the midst’s of more than a dozen shootings over the past two weeks where the mayor is now calling for what Barbanica and Torres-Walker had stated all along–help!
In the last 24-hours, Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe took to social media to release a statement via video after two-weeks of shooting where he stated the shootings were retaliatory in nature and investigated as “gang rivalries”.
According to Hernandez-Thorpe, there are now extra patrols on Sycamore Drive. He also said the following could occur:
- Calling for Contra Costa County District Attorney to support Antioch Police through Safe Streets Task Force – calling for immediate help.
- Calling for mutual assistance from regional law enforcement partners to add more patrol to Sycamore and Cavallo
- Calling on Governor Gavin Newsom for California Highway Patrol (CHP) support.
- Will begin looking into community led solutions
- Antioch could restrict access to Sycamore Community
- Antioch could restrict access to Cavallo Road
- Antioch could enact a curfew
- Calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to call on the National Guard
On Monday, Barbanica reiterated his call for outside assistance given all the recent shootings.
“I’ve been calling for outside assistance for over year, unfortunately, its fallen on deaf ears by the majority city council,” said Barbanica. “Only now, ahead of an election, is the mayor taken to social media calling for help.”
Barbanica also said the police department should be releasing information on shootings and crimes, not the mayor, especially during active investigations.
It is kind of unbelievable it took Tony Loinab, a small business owner who is tired of the crime, blight and city inactivity to open peoples eyes through a single line that a democrat run city is now “new Oakland“. Its in print. Its there. Its a punch line to many jokes and unofficially replaces the million dollar campaign of “opportunity lives here” which Mayor Hernandez-Thorpe was hell bent on attempting to control the message and sway public opinion from local media.
And remember, those who disagree with the mayor are labeled as either “racist” or “Karen’s” while those who speak out at council meetings are intimated by the mayors supporters. The same guy who apparently told former City Manager Cornelius Johnson to keep information from Barbanica and councilwoman Lori Ogorchock.
Think about this.
It took a guy flipping burgers and serving beer to wake up the main stream media to what most people knew what was going on in the City of Antioch the past few years–regardless of the mayors excuses. The media protected Thorpe for whatever reason, versus informing the community–which there still has been no media report other than this publication and Antioch Herald on the Grand Jury Report.
Like most things Hernandez-Thorpe has touched, its turned to crap all because he wants to play “hero” versus spreading credit around through collaboration and bringing people together. He prefers headlines to substance and results–such as taking 2-years for a sideshow ordinance to pass. He prefers complete control because he is a control freak, he doesn’t want outside influence from CHP or Sheriffs Office.
When people look back, history will show his time as mayor has been an epic failure because he thought he knew best while arrogance got the best of him–thankfully, in a month, voters have their say and will helpfully give him the boot.
We should all agree we want safe communities and accountability–everything else, we can debate policy. But not safety nor accountability. Right now, Antioch has neither and that is sad. It never had to get to this point had the council listened to Barbanica in his call for help last year. Or, Torres-Walker in community driven solutions on gun violence and place organizations and faith based groups in place to create successes.
Again, it never had to get to this point of a “new Oakland” label. I can only hope Antioch residents realize the error of its ways in a little over a month and can support city council candidates who believe in public safety, accountability, and not afraid to work collaboratively with others.
For now, I can only wonder how different Antioch would look today if it had taken what Barbanica requested a year ago more seriously.
Timeline:
- Sept. 22, 2024 – Dem-run city is dubbed the ‘new Oakland’ thanks to soaring murders and shootings… with mayor accused of doing NOTHING to help
- Aug 13, 2024 – Editorial: Crime is Up, Antioch Should Stop Sweeping it Under the Rug
- June 28, 2024 – Barbanica: Hold Your Elected Officials Accountable on Sideshows
- May 30, 2024 – Newly Introduced Antioch Police Officers Given Chilly Welcome
- Oct 25, 2023 – Senator Glazer Requests CHP Help for City of Antioch
- Sept 28. 2023 – Antioch Police Pressed on if Aid from CHP or Sheriff is Needed
- Aug 6, 2023 – Barbanica Calls on CHP and Sheriff to Assist Antioch Police
- July 2023 – Barbanica began calling for CHP and Sheriff Assistance
Recent Shootings:
- Sept. 22 –Two Wounded in Rite Aid Parking Lot: Two people were wounded in a shooting that accorded in the Rite Aid parking lot at A Street and E 18th Street at approximately 9:15 am in the City of Antioch. Both victims were transported by AMR to an area hospital and no details have been released. Its unclear what led to the shooting.
- Sept. 21 – At approximately 9:00 pm Saturday, Antioch Police responded to Sycamore Drive for a report of a shooting. Preliminary information was no one was struck by gunfire. However, several businesses were struck.
- Sept. 20 – Antioch Shooting Victim Dies, Search for Suspect Underway
- Sept. 19 – Police Say Man Shot Thursday Night in Brentwood
- Sept. 17 – Antioch Police Issue Statement on 12 Recent Shootings: On September 2nd, 21-year-old Elijah Scales was shot and killed in the 2100 block of Peppertree Way. Since the homicide, Antioch PD has responded to nearly a dozen shootings that may be related. Eight of the shootings have occurred in the past five days. Details for each shooting are noted below.
- Tuesday, 9/3, 7:26 pm (2100 block of Peppertree Way) – Report 24-7865. Multiple firearms were used to fire at least 32 bullets. A 31-year-old man was shot in the leg.
- Wednesday, 9/4, 8:59 pm (2100 block of Peppertree Way) – Report 24-7898. 11 bullets were fired from multiple guns. The gunfire struck a nearby building.
- Saturday, 9/7, 9:31 pm (Sycamore Drive at Peppertree Way) – Report 24-7991. 29 bullets fired from multiple firearms. A 52-year-old woman was shot in the leg while in the parking lot of Sycamore Square.
- Thursday, 9/12, 8:21 pm (2100 block of Lemontree Way) – Reports 24-8193 and 24-8194. At least 26 bullets were fired. The gunfire struck two nearby homes. One resident was grazed by a stray bullet and suffered a minor injury to his neck that didn’t require medical attention.
- Thursday 9/12, 8:31 pm, (1000 block of Fitzuren Road) – Report 24-8195. At least three bullets were fired. The gunfire struck a nearby business.
- Thursday 9/12, 8:32 pm, (2900 block of Pear Street) – Report 24-8197. At least three bullets were fired
- Sunday 9/15, 9:10 pm, (Sycamore Drive at Peppertree Way) – Report 24-8309. At least 13 bullets were fired. A nearby home and unoccupied vehicle were struck by gunfire.
- Monday 9/16, 2:40 am (600 block of G Street) – Report 24-8316. Multiple firearms fired at least 12 bullets
- Monday 9/16, 4:54 pm (Contra Costa County Fairgrounds) – Report 24-8353. Multiple firearms fired at least 30 bullets. A man was shot on the Fairground property. The man is currently in critical condition. The fairgrounds fall under Contra Costa County jurisdiction, so the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating this matter.
- Monday 9/16, 7:46 pm, (L Street at William Reed) – Report 24-8356. Multiple firearms fired 50 or more bullets. Two nearby businesses were struck
- Monday 9/16, 7:48 pm, (1800 block of Cavallo Road) – Report 24-8357. At least four bullets were fired. A 58-year-old man was shot while attending a memorial gathering at this location for Elijah Scales. The man is currently in critical condition at a local hospital.
Mike Burkholder
Publisher of ContraCosta.news
[email protected]
8 comments
Time for yoch town to pull the section 8 permits. It has destroyed this town , a town that used to be peaceful and beautiful.
The irony of Antioch being dubbed the “new Oakland” is the fact its coming from a bar owner in an already ran down plaza. Just what we needed; a bar owner contributing to the blight and drunkeness of the strip to tell us something so obvious…. geesh.
Btw, Antioch if Antioch is the new OAK then Brentwood is “new Antioch”…. its coming 😉
If Thorpe gets re-elected, it’ll seal the fate of Antioch. There’ll be no going back. If that’s what the people want, then businesses will not want to move here, property values will drop, and people will be afraid to go down the street to go shopping. It’s pretty much that way already. Thorpe’s ego overshadows what’s best for the city, and we’ll never have a functioning city government. We haven’t been able to hire any more police officers because the city doesn’t support them. $30k signing bonus just doesn’t cut it. I don’t blame them. The majority of city officials are “interim”, meaning the last person in that position has left because it became too difficult to do your job under these conditions. Interim employees aren’t really interested in making changes, they’re just a place holder until one of Thorpe’s butt kissers takes over. I just hope to hell Ron Bernal gets elected. If not, we will be moving. I will not live in a crime ridden city.
Fallujah on the Delta
Still waiting for mayor podium to announce again crime is down in Antioch. Seems to pop up every time TV cameras show up to cover latest big mess. Given murder and crime rate along with short staffed police department home values should decrease.
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Mike keep up the fight and Thank You.
This is an “I told you so moment”. When we were residents of Antioch for a few years, comments here calling for Thorpe’s recall by many including myself just fell on deaf ears. While this (gun, gang violence) was not specifically a reason we left Antioch, if we were still there now it would have been one.
Having lived in Pinole for almost 30 years, I would say that Antioch is the “new Richmond”. Not much different than the new Oakland, but perhaps more accurate.
Hey Mike, why don’t you post my comments?
You hit spam. Now approved
Yeah well this is all well and good. What anyone fails to see is that Barbanica could have run for Mayor, and quite possibly would have won. But who are we stuck with in his place? — Ron Bernal, the former do nothing City Manager, whose campaign slogan is something like, “Change happens now” … yah right — a little late after a 10 year term as City Manager — don’t ya think Ron?.
However, Mike chose to run for the County Board of Supervisors (his choice of course) and in a nutshell is ABANDONING Antioch, please tell me, when has the Board of Supervisors done something for an individual city? What is next for Mike, after a term (if he in fact wins) on the BOS, a run for State Assembly or State Senate?