NEWSFRONT
POLICE BULLETIN Serial bank robber sentenced in Pleasanton case A Stockton man dubbed the “Bearded Bandit” was sentenced to 45 months in prison in connection with a 2016 bank robbery spree across Northern California, including a Wells Fargo branch in Pleasanton, U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch announced last week. Kenneth Michael Ellis, 31, pleaded guilty in November to eight separate counts of unarmed bank robbery, prosecutors said. He also agreed to pay more than $28,000 in restitution. Prosecutors said Ellis admitted to using force or intimidation to rob banks in Pleasanton, Fremont, Gilroy, Concord, Dublin and Lafayette. The robberies he admitted to all occurred in 2016 and included $5,145 from the Wells Fargo Bank in the Pleasanton Gateway shopping plaza on Bernal Avenue on March 17; $3,000 from a Chase Bank branch in Fremont on Feb. 12; $4,400 from a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Gilroy on March 4; $3,180 from a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Concord on March
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property or add a new school in northern Pleasanton where existing elementary schools — Donlon, Fairlands and Walnut Grove — are impacted and expected to stay that way, the consulting firm said in its report. If the district were to build on the Neal property, Davis Demographics added, it would likely have to make that school a “magnet” with special programming, such as dual immersion or science and technology, that would draw students district-wide. While trustees acknowledged that the Neal property isn’t in the most impacted part of the district, they said utilizing it would mean not having to purchase another site, saving money and time. “We have that land there,” Arkin said. “I know it’s not in the area we need it, but discussing our options of using that land sounds like the best thing.” Tuesday night’s discussion was the board’s first extensive dialogue about a prospective Measure I1 bond project since Pleasanton voters passed the $270 million school facilities initiative in November. Although elementary school student enrollment is projected to fall 3.5% in the next 10 years, trustees have pointed to the continued use of portables as a reason for the need for a new elementary school. The demographer’s report also indicated that 11 total elementary schools will be needed once the district reaches maturity, the unknown point in time when all land zoned residential in Pleasanton will be built on. Q
TAKE US ALONG
11; $1,700 from a US Bank branch in Dublin on March 15; $1,083 from a U.S. Bank branch in Gilroy on March 16; $1,434 from a U.S. Bank branch in Fremont on March 17; and $4,600 from a Chase Bank branch in Lafayette on March 21. Prosecutors said Ellis also agreed to pay restitution to three banks for robberies he committed in the Eastern District of California that included a Chase Bank in Elk Grove, a Wells Fargo Bank in Sacramento and a Bank of Stockton in Rio Vista. Ellis was arrested on March 23, 2016 by the Brentwood Police Department after investigators received a call from a citizen.
In other police news • Nearly 600 inmates from the Butte County Jail in Oroville were evacuated and transported to Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail earlier this week because of the threat of a spillway collapse at the Oroville Dam, authorities said. Butte County sheriff’s officials said the evacuation of all 578 of the inmates on Sunday afternoon was the first time an evacuation order has been issued at the Butte County Jail. The group consisted of 499 male inmates and 80 female inmates. Butte County sheriff’s officials said the inmates would return to the Butte County Jail when it is deemed safe for them to return. Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said there’s “plenty of room” for the Butte County inmates at Santa Rita because the jail housed about 5,000 inmates a day in the early 2000s
but currently houses only about 2,500 inmates a day. Kelly said his department may incur some overtime costs for housing and helping transport the Butte County inmates but he said the inmates “won’t tax the system.” • Former Livermore police Officer Daniel Black pleaded no contest last week to one misdemeanor count for involvement with the teenage daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher who’s at the center of a sexual misconduct scandal involving officers from multiple agencies. In return for Daniel Black’s plea to a single count of performing lewd acts, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other four misdemeanor counts he faced. In approving the plea agreement Feb. 9 after lengthy discussions in back rooms, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Alison Tucher told Black, 49, that his conviction will be expunged from his record in 15 months if he complies with all of its terms and conditions. Those include taking an AIDS test, watching an AIDA video, not committing any crimes and staying away from areas in Alameda County that are known prostitution hubs. Black is one of six East Bay police officers who were charged with felonies or misdemeanors in Alameda County as a result of the sexual exploitation scandal involving the teenage girl, now 19, who worked as a prostitute and is now seeking a total of more than $100 million in damages from multiple jurisdictions. Q —Bay City News Service
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Statue of Liberty: The Yamamoto family went across the country on a family trip to New York that included a visit to the Statue of Liberty, where young Ryan and Jessica posed with the Pleasanton Weekly. To submit your “Take Us Along” entry, email your photograph to srhodes@ pleasantonweekly.com. Be sure to identify who is in the photo (names listed from left to right), the location, the date and any relevant details about where you took your Weekly.
Info session set on new recycling rules Businesses now required to provide recycling service Pleasanton city officials are hosting an informational session next week to help business owners learn specifics about new recycling rules that took effect at the beginning of the year. Phase II of the mandatory recycling ordinance requires all businesses and institutions, regardless of garbage service volume, to provide recycling service. Businesses that generate significant amounts of food scraps or organic waste must provide organics collection service, city officials said. Also, under the rules that took effect Jan. 1, all businesses must ensure recyclables are properly separated and no longer disposed of in the trash bins. Those businesses required to have organics collection must also make sure their food scraps and organic waste are kept separate from the garbage.
To help educate Pleasanton businesses, city officials, the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Pleasanton Garbage Service will offer an informational session next Thursday at 9 a.m. at the Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Ave. In addition to staff presentations, the representatives will also hold a Q&A period to answer any questions regarding the new rules. The event is open to all Pleasanton businesses and their representatives. RSVP is requested, to Sean Welch at swelch@cityofpleasantonca.gov. For more details on the info session, call 931-5002. To learn more about the mandatory recycling ordinance, visit www.RecyclingRulesAC.org/city-of-pleasanton. Q —Jeremy Walsh
BAR-B-Qs AND PADDLE BOATS ? STANLEY TO 580 ?
MILES AND MILES OF NEW TRAILS ?
PLAN ON IT!
SAFE PLACE FOR KIDS TO PLAY ? LIVE CLOSE TO WORK ?
Let’s plan lakes, parks, and family recreation in East Pleasanton. Contact your city council members now. Let’s take control before we lose control. WE’RE PLEASANTON PROUD
Learn more and get involved! | progressplanned.info | Facebook.com/EastPleasanton Pleasanton Weekly • February 17, 2017 • Page 7