This week the Vallejo Sun revealed that a Vallejo building inspector was accused of taking bribes, yet another death in the city's Project RoomKey, reported that a police captain tied to the badge bending scandal had retired, provided the latest update in a proposed supportive housing project and a fired police lieutenant's wrongful termination lawsuit.
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Bay Area men indicted for allegedly bribing Vallejo official
Two Bay Area men have been charged with federal bribery and conspiracy charges after they allegedly paid off a city of Vallejo building inspector to clear violations associated with the illegal cannabis business they were operating.
Steven Chu, 40, of San Bruno, and Ben Guan, 35, of San Francisco, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and one count of federal program bribery, according to the indictment obtained by the Vallejo Sun.
The building inspector is not named in the indictment and is simply listed as “Person 1.” It wasn’t immediately known if the person would be charged as well or still works for the city of Vallejo.
Prosecutors allege that the city received a complaint of an illegal cannabis business operating out of a property on Capitol Street in June 2020. A month later, the property was inspected by the city official, who concluded there was illegal activity there and violations of the city’s municipal code.
Bruno and Guan allegedly then offered to pay the inspector to clear the violations and allow the illegal operation to continue.
They paid the inspector a combined $27,000 over six separate meetings from July 2020 to May 2021, according to the indictment. If convicted, Chu and Guan each face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the bribery charge. Get the full story here.
Vallejo confirms 6th person died in Project RoomKey
Vallejo officials revealed that a 6th person died last November as part of the city’s Project RoomKey program, which was intended to help vulnerable homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The disclosure came during an update about the program to the Vallejo City Council Tuesday night. City officials had said in previous statements that a “total” of five died during the nearly two-year program and did not disclose the sixth death until Tuesday.
City officials declined to provide any information about the newest death, only to say the person died away from the project site on Nov. 3, 2021. Project RoomKey was launched in the first month of the pandemic as state leaders attempted to stop the spread of COVID-19 by offering hotel rooms for people experiencing homelessness.
Assistant City Manager Gillian Hayes was defiant during Tuesday’s meeting, saying the city had nothing to say about the deaths.
“The city is not going to make specific comments related to the deaths,” she said. “Those coroner reports are public information, you can go through the Solano County sheriff to grab those but the city, at this point, is not going to comment on any of those at this time.” Get the full story here.
Vallejo police captain tied to badge bending retires from department
A Vallejo police captain tied to the badge bending ritual left the department last week, the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association confirmed in a press release.
Capt. Todd Tribble retired on July 1 after nearly 19 years with Vallejo police and months after his brother, former Lt. Michael Kent Tribble, testified during a criminal case in Solano County Superior Court that he and another Concord police officer devised the idea for officers to bend their badges following a shooting. Both Tribble brothers came to Vallejo police from Concord in 2003.
Kent Tribble, who retired from the department last year, never implicated his brother when he testified in March. However, former Vallejo police officer Josh Coleman, now a Napa County sheriff’s deputy, testified that Kent Tribble told him that the Tribble brothers were the only ones who could bend a badge.
Todd Tribble’s departure is another blow to Chief Shawny Williams, who continues to have multiple vacancies within his command staff, something the VPOA was quick to note.
“Capt. Tribble’s retirement means there are now three vacant captain positions and one vacant deputy chief position,” the union wrote. “This leaves only the chief and a single deputy chief to do the work of six administrators.” Get the full story here.
Vallejo City Council moves forward with controversial permanent supportive housing project
A plan to purchase a property in North Vallejo and turn it into a 48-unit supportive housing project with numerous support services was approved by the Vallejo City Council on Tuesday, despite continued opposition from some community members.
The controversial project has pitted Vallejo officials against the city of American Canyon, which has expressed concern with the proposed plan to build 47 studio apartments, each about 305 square feet, on a parcel of land near the border between the two cities. A 48th unit would be occupied by an onsite manager.
Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz, District 3, a staunch supporter of the project, said she represents the interests of Vallejo residents.
“I just have to wonder, and I’m going to say it, would people be so adamant and so vocal if it wasn’t next to American Canyon,” Loera-Diaz asked during Tuesday’s meeting. “We owe it to our residents to have a location where they can live and have a chance at life.”
The council approved three separate items Tuesday, including declaring that the project is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. Such review provides government officials and the public with information about the possible environmental impacts of a proposed project. Get the full story here.
Vallejo police lieutenant files harassment lawsuit against city
A Vallejo police lieutenant, who was reinstated after he was fired last year, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit while also alleging he has been the target of age discrimination and harassment by Chief Shawny Williams.
Lt. Herman Robinson filed his lawsuit in Solano County Superior Court last month alleging that Williams, along with his command staff, have refused to allow Robinson to return to work, despite an arbitrator overturning a decision to terminate him.
“Despite Robinson’s reinstatement, Williams and his subordinates, in retaliation Robinson’s success at arbitration, have refused, variously, to allow him to carry a firearm, wear a uniform, to work as a police officer, and even to provide him the correct documents in a timely fashion to be reinstated as a Vallejo employee,” Robinson alleged in his lawsuit.
An arbitrator ordered Robinson be reinstated with back pay with 10% interest after Williams fired him on April 1, 2021. Williams accused Robinson of allegedly sending out confidential information. Get the full story here.
In other news:
- Several local cities passed grim pandemic case milestones during the past week as Solano County exceeded 100,000 official coronavirus cases, Todd R. Hansen with the Fairfield Daily Republic reports.
- The Solano County Civil Grand Jury released a report this month in response to the first hours of the LNU Lighting Complex Fire in August 2020. The grand jury found multiple issues, from the difficulty in communicating between the multiple firefighters trying to answer the call to some firefighters turning off their radios, the Fairfield Daily Republic reported.
- Benicia police arrested a man who had fallen asleep with a gun in a vehicle, bringing up comparisons to the fatal shooting of Willie McCoy by six Vallejo police officers in 2019, Thomas Gase with the Vallejo Times-Herald reports.
- The Benicia housing element draft plan for 2023-31 has been released for public review. The housing element is a required part of the Benicia General Plan, mandated by the State of California, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald.
- Vallejo police arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the March 18 fatal shooting of 49-year-old Vallejo resident La Prell Briggs in North Vallejo, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported.
- The Solano County Registrar of Voters certified the results of the June 7 primary election, the Fairfield Daily Republic reported this week. There were no changes in the results that have previously been reported.
- To support small businesses and employers facing financial impacts and layoffs from the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Vallejo, in partnership with the Workforce Development Board (WDB) of Solano County and the Solano-Napa Small Business Development Center, has established the Vallejo Small Business COVID-19 Microgrant program.
Upcoming Events:
- The Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum will host a comedy show featuring Steve Bruner and Derrick Leonard tonight, July 8. Doors open at 6 p.m., 734 Marin St. Vallejo’s monthly downtown art walk will follow the show.
- There will be a California Galaxy roller derby tournament all day at the Solano County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 9. The event will go from 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m., 900 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo.
- Benicia’s monthly Art Walk event will be held on First Street on Saturday, July 9, between 1 and 5 p.m.
- Soprano Othalie Graham will headline “The Greatest Wagner Concert Ever!” at the Empress Theatre on Saturday. She is one of two African-American opera singers to ever perform at the Empress Theatre. The show will begin at 9:30 p.m., July 9, at 330 Virginia St.
- The Vallejo Police Department and city officials will attend various block parties held by registered community members and neighborhood watch leaders for National Night Out on Aug. 2. To register your neighborhood block party, click here. The registration deadline is July 15.
As always keep up on VallejoSun.com for the latest news.
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Scott Morris
Scott Morris is a journalist based in Oakland who covers policing, protest, civil rights and far-right extremism. His work has been published in ProPublica, the Appeal and Oaklandside.
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