H.E.A.T. Watch Newletter Launch: In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the Alameda County DA's Office's, Human Exploitation and Trafficking (H.E.A.T.) Watch Program has rolled out the first issue of our newsletter. Click here to learn what's going on in your community and what H.E.A.T. Watch is doing to combat modern day slavery. 

Did you know about H.E.A.T. Watch Radio? In June of 2012, the H.E.A.T. Watch Program broadcast their first radio show on human trafficking. Thirty-nine episodes later and counting, H.E.A.T. Watch Radio continues to inform the community about news stories and educational programming on modern day slavery. Listen to one now by clicking here.  

Lunafest Film Festival in Richmond: Have fun and make a difference! Join the Zonta Club of Berkeley/North Bay on February 8th, 2013, at the Craneway Pavilion at 6:30pm for appetizers and a no host bar followed by great films. Proceeds to benefit the Alameda County DA's Office, H.E.A.T. Watch program to combat human trafficking in our community. For more information, go to lunafest.org/richmond0208 and follow them on Facebook (facebook.com/LunafestZontaBerkeley).

Alameda County Secures Record Settlement

On January 16, 2013, Tajari Wooten, Jamari Wooten, Kameron Cann, and Kent Scott plead guilty to a combined 25 counts of robbery, along with several weapons enhancements. From December 18, 2010 to February 25, 2011 the defendants committed ten different take-over robberies primarily in West Oakland.

West Oakland (photo by Jason Unbound)

Many of the businesses were just blocks away from the Wooten brothers' home. Sometimes Tajari Wooten acted alone and often times he acted with his accomplices: his brother Jamari Wooten, Kameron Cann who was his sister's boyfriend, and his good friend Kent Scott.

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JANUARY 2013

• On January 15, 2013, a jury convicted defendant Laron Logwood for the murder of Edwin "Mikey" Grady. On the afternoon of July 16, 2009, the defendant shot and killed Mr. Grady at point blank range in front of the Arrwa 1 Stop Market located at the corner of Bancroft Avenue and 86th Avenue in Oakland. The deadly shooting followed a verbal altercation between the defendant and the victim in front of the store. After the two exchanged words, the defendant pulled out a .40 caliber semi-automatic firearm and shot the victim once in the chest. Mr. Grady ran around the corner after being shot, but collapsed to the ground and soon died. Mr. Grady, who was married and had two children, was 25 years old at the time he was murdered. The shooting was captured on store surveillance video, though there was no audio for the surveillance video. Though the defendant testified at trial that he shot the victim in self-defense, the jury rejected this claim and convicted him of murder with the personal use of a firearm. Defendant Logwood faces a life sentence when he is sentenced on February 13, 2013. The prosecutor was DDA Tim Wellman.

• On January 14, 2013, Walter Meek Jr. was convicted of one count of sexual penetration of a child 10 years old or younger, and two counts of lewd and lascivious act against a child 14 years of age or younger. Sometime during early April 2010, Jane Doe One and Jane Doe Two, 5-year old twins, were staying with a family friend. Defendant Meek, a registered sex offender, and his then-girlfriend asked if they could take the children on a play-date to play with Meek's twin nephews. Defendant did not disclose his sex offender status to the friend (a status he earned for sexually assaulting his then 4-year old cousin.) He also did not disclose that he was on parole with "special conditions" that did not allow him to be in the company of children. The four eventually went to his girlfriend's Hayward home, where she gave the children cake and put on a children's movie. Defendant called Jane Doe One into a bedroom and allowed her to jump on his bed. After she stopped jumping defendant Meek laid the 5-year old down and sexually molested the child. He later called in his girlfriend and forced her perform two sexual acts with him with the child watching him. A short time later, the defendant called Jane Doe Two into the room. Defendant Meek exposed himself to the 5-year old, and sexually assaulted her. The defendant's girlfriend testified against him. GPS records, the defendant's mother, and another defense witness confirmed defendant had custody of the children. Defendant Meek faces a minimum sentence of 60 years to life in prison. The prosecutor was DDA Jimmie Wilson.

• On December 19, 2012, a jury convicted Leo Olguin of three counts of second-degree murder for driving in the 2009 police chase that led to the deaths of three of his teenage passengers. At approximately 11:45 pm on December 22, 2009, defendant Olguin was driving a Mazda sedan carrying four passengers (three in the back, one in the front) to a residential neighborhood in Hayward when they saw three young men standing on the street. The two male passengers got out of the Mazda and robbed the young men at gunpoint, and then got back into the car. Half an hour later and still driving the same car with the same passengers, defendant Olguin rolled through a stop sign at Sunset Avenue and Western in Hayward. When two Alameda County Sheriff's deputies who had witnessed the traffic violation tried to pull the Mazda over, defendant Olguin gave chase. Increasing his speed to two to three times the speed limit, Olguin blasted through seven stop signs or red lights. Defendant Olguin ran a red light at the busy intersection of A Street and Foothill Boulevard doing 75 mph and collided with a big rig truck. The Mazda's top cabin was torn off entirely when the car slid underneath the truck, killing the three back-seat passengers instantly. The passenger in the front seat survived, but suffered great bodily injury. Defendant Olguin walked away from the scene of the accident with only minor injuries, although a blood draw performed after the fact tested positive for alcohol (0.07 BAC), marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The prosecutor was DDA Armando Pastran. 

Felony and Misdemeanor Verdicts 

For a full description of all felony and our misdemeanor verdicts,  please visit our website.

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The Alameda County DA's Office is dedicated to serving our community through the ethical prosecution of criminal offenses and the vigorous protection of victims' rights.

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