San Ramon - Windermere Incident

Hi "Concerned Mother." I spoke with Jimmy Lee, who is the spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, gave me an account of the incident, which follows below.

"This was a shooting that happened last Saturday, before 9 a.m., and the location was Stoneleaf Road and Ivy Leaf Springs Road. That's in unincorporated San Ramon. What had happened was just before 9 o'clock this victim was driving on Stoneleaf Road, heading southbound and when he was at the intersection at Ivy Leaf Springs Road, he saw a vehicle on the curb and the hood was up. As far as a vehicle description, it was either a maroon or some dark-colored four-door car. When he stopped at the stop sign there, one of the suspects came out from behind the hood, which kind of obstructed his view of this person. So he came out and raised a weapon at the victim. The second victim got out of the driver's side of the vehicle that was on the shoulder and walked to the victims' drivers side door. That's when the victim put the car in reverse and got out of there. He went to a nearby Safeway and called 911. We had numerous units at the location. We checked the area for evidence and we did find some shell casings. As far as where we're at right now, we don't have any suspect information and there are some things that we're following up that I can't go into detail about. It's being followed up by the sheriff's office."

Suspect description: "first suspect: hispanic or white male, light colored hair, dark jacket, dark pants, 18-20 years of age, clean shaven and mid-length hair."

"We know there's a lot of people in the community that are upset by this and that is understandable. It does appear to be isolated. We've never had anything happen in this neighborhood like this before. It's still being followed up on. If anybody has any information or in the future if they see anything suspicious, they should call police immediately. For the sheriff's office, call 646-2441 and you can always call 911 as well."

On a possible Pleasanton connection: "Somewhere along the way, and this incident got out through an email chain and went from person to person to person, and somewhere along the way, it stated that the police said there were a lot of carjackings going on at Stoneridge Mall, and I can't find anyone who said anything like that, No. 1, and No. 2, we did follow up with Pleasanton P.D. and they didn't have very many carjackings at all there. Frankly we aren't aware of anything similar in Pleasanton but that's not to say that we don't contact neighboring agencies to see if they have any information or if they can assist us in any way."

Lee disputed that the shell casings were 235-caliber (as is mentioned by the poster above) and said that it's too early to say whether the incident is gang-related or not.

Thank you for calling. It is just so scary even if it was isolated. I have no reason to ever travel in that area, but I do know to keep my eye open should I get lost in an unoccupied location.

Thanks again.

Wow, what a decision to have to make in a heartbeat.

We are fortunate to live/work in an area that is low in crime but this is a serious issue in the Bay Area and it is important to stay vigilant in any town.

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HABITS

Practice these until they become habits. At first they may feel like overkill, but once you make them habits, it’ll feel effortless.

1) Always scan way ahead and behind, keeping track of events coming up in front of you and behind you with a mindful eye on anything unusual. We tend to dismiss things too fast. If it doesn't look or feel right use appropriate caution.

2) When coming to a stop, whenever possible give yourself a way out. For example, if there is a car stopped in front of you, ask yourself, if that car doesn't move how could I get around it? Keep enough distance for maneuvering around the vehicle.

3) Keep your doors locked. This sounds so simple but is forgotten very often with the use of remotes. This can buy you a few precious seconds.

4) When someone asks you to roll down your window for directions, etc and you feel comfortable, a couple of inches are fine, but never low enough for someone to gain entry or take control.

5) As you drive into your neighborhood scan to see who's coming in behind you. Never, ever pull in towards your house until you are comfortable with the vehicle(s) coming in behind you, even the ones at a distance. If a vehicle seems to be with you turn for turn, it’s probably a coincidence but take the extra thirty seconds to drive around the block to clear the vehicle away.

6) Get used to reading license plates. Practice at stoplights. There are different kinds but get used to the patterns. For example, modern average non-commercial California plates have seven characters with the pattern of a number, then three letters, and then three numbers. Even getting partial plates can help the police.


EQUIPMENT

1) Stock vehicle windows are very easy to smash. Apply very light tint (yes I know the law, but I also know safety) or clear film on your front windows. This makes it very difficult for someone trying to smash your window and take control.

2) Program local emergency and non-emergency (for questions or to report suspicious non-threatening activity) police numbers for home and work areas into your cell phone. This can be much faster than calling 911 from a cell phone, which is routed through a CHP office (I believe it's still in Vallejo) that could have you on hold for precious minutes before being transferred to a local PD.
For Pleasanton:
Police Non-Emergency Number - (925) 931-5100
Police Emergency Number - (925) 931-5122

Ready or Not,

Excellent advise......

The attempted armed car jacking in San Ramon is frightening. I hope this is an isolated incident. But one thing that is even a bit more shocking not mentioned in the newspaper article is that the County Sheriff's Department took more than one hour to respond to the call. The street where the crime took place is still considered an unincorporated part of San Ramon. Therefore, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department was supposed to respond rather than the local police department. The San Ramon police was there and willing to respond, but because of the "turf war" over county funds, the San Ramon Police had no jurisdiction. Luckily for the man, this negligence didn't cost him his life.

I think it's time the County incorporates Windemere to San Ramon.