The Benicia Independent ~ Eyes on the Environment / Benicia news & views (2024)

[Editor: This is from a very early edition of The Benicia Independent – reposted much later… – R.S.]

May 16, 2013, 2:30 PM

By Roger Straw

Gun violence is in fact a BENICIA problem … it is time to take action in EVERY city and town. Here are 21 links to Benicia Herald reports of gun violations in Benicia since April, 2010.

BREAKING: Armed Liberty High student accused of threatening classmate

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter
Benicia police arrested a 17-year-old Liberty High School student they said made threats Wednesday to kill a classmate, and Thursday brought a gun to campus, Lt. Frank Hartig said. The youth’s identity was not disclosed, but he was accused of felony counts of terrorist threats and possessing a firearm on school grounds, as well as misdemeanor accusations of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number; of being a minor in possession of ammunition; possession of an assault weapon; and being a minor in possession of a concealed firearm, Hartig said.
May 16, 2013

County youth homicide rate on the rise
Solano ranks 6th in California

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Solano County has been ranked sixth among California counties in youth and young adult homicides, said Marty Langley, policy analyst for the the Violence Policy Center, Washington, D.C. San Joaquin County topped the list that is based on 2011 statistics, and several counties reported no homicides among those 10 to 24, the age range that is the focus of the center’s report.
March 7, 2013 at 11:01 am

Police search reveals drugs, ‘suspected Molotov cocktail’
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Benicia police arrested a Benicia man early Monday in the Solano County Square parking lot after a police dog detected drugs in the vicinity of the man’s car. A search turned up drugs, weapons and a suspected incendiary device, Lt. Frank Hartig said Tuesday afternoon.
December 11, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Man sought in Benicia robbery dies in standoff Police: After chase to Treasure Island, Duncan Phillips shot himself
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A man sought by Benicia police in the Thanksgiving Day armed robbery of one woman and theft of another women’s car died early Tuesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot after a lengthy standoff on Treasure Island, San Francisco police said. Duncan Phillips, 29, had been the subject of a Benicia police search after he was suspected of attacking and robbing a 52-year-old woman at her apartment on the 900 block of Southampton Road, Lt. Frank Hartig said.
November 27, 2012 at 4:18 pm

Armed robbery at Fast and Easy Mart
Staff Report

Fast and Easy Mart, 1500 East Fifth Street, was held up Thursday night by armed robbers, police said. The lone clerk described the four assailants as African-American men in the 20s or 30s, wearing dark-colored bandanas over their mouths, police said.
August 17, 2012 at 10:57 am

Held in county lockup, suspect charged with attempted murder of police officer
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

The 22-year-old American Canyon man identified as the suspect who exchanged gunfire with a Benicia police officer Saturday afternoon remained in Solano County Jail, Fairfield, after his arrest Sunday morning in Vallejo, authorities said Monday. Robert Flores Folster was arrested by Benicia police with help from Vallejo police at 1324 Lincoln Road East in Vallejo on Sunday morning, according to Lt. Mike Greene and Solano County Jail records. Folster has been booked on charges of burglary, endangerment of a child that could result in injury or death, attempted murder, carjacking, receiving stolen property and vehicle theft, according to jail records. All are felony charges. While bail of $1,050,000 was set for the first three charges, Folster is being held without bail on the latter three.
July 17, 2012 at 8:08 am

Drug, gun charges for Beniciajuvenile

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A 17-year-old Benicia driver who ran a stop sign late Thursday was arrested on weapons and drug charges and was taken to Solano County Juvenile Hall in Fairfield, Lt. Frank Hartig said Friday.Read the rest of this entry »
July 13, 2012 at 4:02 pm

BREAKING: Man robs 7-11 atgunpoint

with 2 comments
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A convenience store clerk was robbed at gunpoint early Tuesday, and the suspect not only demanded money from the register’ but the clerk’s wallet as well, Benicia police Lt. Frank Hartig said.
The robber escaped on foot, and the clerk was not harmed, he said.Read the rest of this entry »
June 5, 2012 at 5:19 pm

Police say Rio Vista man had 2 concealedguns

with 2 comments
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A Rio Vista man has been jailed after Benicia police accused him of two firearms violations following a traffic stop in a residential area.Read the rest of this entry »
May 25, 2012 at 5:54 am

Gunshots in Benicia lead to charge ofendangerment

with one comment
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Benicia Police arrested a 20-year-old Napa man early Wednesday and accused him of endangering a child when he negligently fired a revolver from his car while he on the 1300 block of Southampton Road, Lt. Frank Hartig said.Read the rest of this entry »
May 10, 2012 at 1:37 pm

BREAKING: Armed gunman holds up Beniciabusiness

with 43 comments
Staff Report
Benicia police said an armed robber entered a Southampton business Thursday afternoon and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.
No one was injured in the holdup at Check Into Cash, 806 Southampton Road, police said.Read the rest of this entry »

Police find 59 guns; residentarrested

with 5 comments

SOME of the 59 guns police confiscated from a Benicia resident Thursday, including a 9mm UZI.
Courtesy BPD
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A 49-year-old Benicia man has been arrested and a cache of guns, including an illegal 9 mm UZI assault weapon, were confiscated after Benicia police looked into reports Thursday that the man had been harassing a 20-year-old Martinez woman, Lt. Mike Daley said.Read the rest of this entry »
October 28, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Police arrest parolee on weapons charges
Staff Report

Benicia police on Friday arrested a Magalia, Calif., man after finding a handgun and tools commonly used for car theft in his possession. Police Sgt. John Daley stopped a 1994 Acura on the 900 block of Cambridge Drive at about 6:24 a.m. for an expired registration. After the stop police determined that the passenger, Brad Stancliff, 23, had a felony warrant for his arrest from the California Department of Corrections, according to a Benicia Police Department news release.
April 8, 2011 at 9:41 pm

Police: Man aimed gun atroommate

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A 28-year-old Benicia man who police said pointed a handgun at his roommate’s forehead Tuesday evening was arrested and charged with a felony.
Lt. Mike Daley said the 34-year-old roommate called police and said the man had pointed the gun at him about 6:46 p.m. after they had been arguing.Read the rest of this entry »
March 17, 2011 at 5:31 am

Absent plate leads to weapons, drug arrest
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

The occupants of a Ford Thunderbird missing its rear license plate were arrested Tuesday night and charged with weapons and drug violations, Benicia police Lt. Mike Daley said Wednesday. Benicia K-9 Officer Damiean Sylvester noticed the Thunderbird was missing its plate and stopped the vehicle on East Fifth Street at the eastbound Interstate 780 on-ramp, Daley said. Sylvester spoke with the driver and passenger and discovered each had some prescription medicine but no prescriptions, Daley said. The passenger also had a substance police believe is methamphetamine, he said.
March 10, 2011 at 1:32 am

Lone gunman robs store inSouthampton

By Marc Ethier
Editor

“Friday the 13th” it was not, but a lone gunman wearing a mask popularized by the horror film series was deadly serious Wednesday when he entered a Southampton Shopping Center store.
The gunman entered GameStop, 821 Southampton Road, at 9:54 p.m. wearing a white hockey mask, according to a Benicia police report. He brandished but did not point a black, semi-automatic-type handgun and demanded cash, then escaped with an undisclosed amount, police said.Read the rest of this entry »
December 30, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Police: Benicia man hospitalized with apparently self-inflicted gunshotwound

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A Benicia man was taken to an area hospital early Monday after police found him wounded by a gun he may have fired himself.
The man was listed in critical but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek later that day, Lt. Bob Oettinger said.Read the rest of this entry »
December 20, 2010 at 10:23 pm

Gunpoint robbery atHomecoming

with 3 comments
“One suspect pulled a black, semiautomatic gun and stuck it into the stomach of one of the victims.” — Benicia police Sgt. Scott Przekurat
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Two 14-year-old Benicia High School students were robbed at gunpoint by four teenagers Friday night after the school’s homecoming game, Benicia police said Monday.
A school administrator appeared shortly after the four robbed the two boys of their wallets, cell phones and a small amount of money, prompting the robbers to scatter, said Sgt. Scott C. Przekurat of the department’s investigations unit.
The victims were walking through the campus after the game and had entered an outside hallway along the school’s A Wing at about 11 p.m. when they were approached by the four robbers, all described as wearing dark sweaters or jackets, dark pants, and flat-billed ball caps, Przekurat said.Read the rest of this entry »
October 18, 2010 at 11:26 pm

Gunshots spur schoollockdown

❒ None hurt; police arrest 4 in drive-by
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Robert Semple Elementary School was placed on lockdown about 2:30 p.m. Thursday while authorities searched the area for gunmen who apparently were stalking a Benicia man and his girlfriend.
Vincent Winnie, a 22-year-old Vallejo man, and three others were arrested by Benicia police at the Interstate 780-Interstate 80 interchange, Lt. Mike Daley said. They were still being processed by police at press time.
The incident started before 1 p.m. when police received multiple calls of a possible drive-by shooting at the first block of La Prenda Avenue, Daley said.Read the rest of this entry »
October 1, 2010 at 12:32 am

City police seek help on reports ofgunshots

BENICIA POLICE Lt. Mike Daley.
Herald file photo
❒ None injured in 2 incidents last week
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Benicia police are asking residents to help them solve two incidents involving gunfire that occurred four days apart, Lt. Mike Daley said Wednesday.
The first report was of shots fired on the 400 block of East L Street about 8:10 p.m. on June 29, Daley said.Read the rest of this entry »
July 7, 2010 at 11:50 pm

Autopsy confirms Benicians’ deaths came bygunshot

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Autopsies performed Wednesday on the two Benicia residents who died in an apparent murder-suicide confirmed that Walter Little, 48, and his girlfriend, Julie Strack, 49, both died of gunshot wounds, Solano County Deputy Sheriff Corey McLean said.
Little, of 69 Vista Grande, died of an intraoral gunshot wound while Strack, of the same address, died of two wounds, one to the head and one to the neck, McLean said.Read the rest of this entry »
April 17, 2010 at 12:11 am

The Benicia Independent ~ Eyes on the Environment / Benicia news & views (2024)

FAQs

What was the original name of the town of Benicia? ›

Vallejo deeded a half-interest in a large tract to Semple on December 22, 1846 with the agreement that it would be named after Vallejo's wife, Francisca Benicia Carillo de Vallejo. Her first name, Francisca, was the original choice. However this conflicted with the newly designated town of San Francisco.

What are some fun facts about Benicia CA? ›

Benicia was the State Capital for 13 months before the legislature moved the capital to Sacramento. The building is now a State Park and a historic landmark open for tours. Benicia was home to a military Arsenal, which supplied weapons to U.S. troops in battles and wars beginning in 1849.

What is the oldest house in Benicia? ›

Frisbie-Walsh House (1849)

This is the oldest residence in Benicia with its original unaltered exterior. This home was one of three identical houses shipped around the horn from Boston (in 1849) and reassembled here.

What is the oldest Spanish town in California? ›

A brief history of Old Town San Diego

The Spanish first arrived in San Diego Bay in 1542, but it wasn't until 1769 that the first mission was established by Father Junipero Serra next to the village and near the Presidio in 1769. It was the first official European settlement in California.

Where does the name Benicia come from? ›

The name Benicia traces its origins to the Spanish language, specifically in the region of Spain. Derived from the Spanish word benevolente, meaning benevolent or kind-hearted, Benicia embodies the characteristics of a gentle and compassionate individual.

What is the history of Suisun City? ›

Suisun City was founded in 1850, making it one of the oldest cities in Solano County. It was originally a commercial and shipping center for the surrounding agricultural area. Did you know that Suisun City is home to the Suisun Wildlife Center?

What was the original name of San Francisco? ›

Yerba Buena was the original name of the settlement that later became San Francisco. Located near the northeastern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, between the Presidio of San Francisco and the Mission San Francisco de Asís, it was originally intended as a trading post for ships visiting San Francisco Bay.

What is the ethnicity of Benicia CA? ›

Benicia Demographics

White: 66.49% Two or more races: 13.26% Asian: 11.9% Other race: 3.89%

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