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The Spectrum . Redwood City's Monthly Magazine
News Briefs
REDWOOD CITY MAN PLEADS NO CONTEST TO MOLESTING NIECE
A Redwood City man faces up to 16 years in prison when he is sentenced in a San
Mateo County courtroom in February after pleading no contest to molesting his
young niece numerous times over a six-year period Willie Peter Koi, 24, earlier
pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a minor under
the age of 14. However, at his pre-trial conference, as part of a plea bargain Koi
pleaded no contest to five counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a minor under
the age of 14, and one count of committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a minor
under the age of 14 by use of force, violence or the threat of bodily harm, the San
Mateo County District Attorney’s office reported. Koi molested his niece from
August 1999, when she was 7 years old, until February 2005, at which time she
was 13, the district attorney’s office reported. The assaults included oral copulation,
sexual intercourse and forcible rape, according to the district attorney’s
office. Of the 22 counts Koi originally faced, 17 of them occurred in Sacramento
County at the victim’s Rancho Cordova home, and the remaining five counts
reportedly occurred in Redwood City. Koi, who is in custody in lieu of $1 million,
was scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 17 at 9 a.m.
WOMAN KILLED BY TRAIN IN REDWOOD CITY IDENTIFIED
A woman who was killed after being struck by a train in Redwood City has been
identified as 58-year-old Bonnie Heitz, San Mateo County Chief Deputy Coroner
Tom Marriscolo said. The collision occurred on the Caltrain tracks at Brewster
Avenue and Arguello Street, adjacent to the Brewster Wash and Dry Laundromat
at 701 Arguello St. Mark Mitsch, who had known Heitz for 35 years, said Heitz
walked across the train tracks where she was struck every day to get to a bus that
took her to her job in San Carlos. According to Mitsch, Heitz’s co-workers at
Kelly-Moore Paint Co. called him after Heitz did not show up for work. They said
“this is not her; this is unusual,’’ Mitsch said. “She always calls if she’s going to be
late.’’ Mitsch said he checked Heitz’s apartment and called Sequoia Hospital for
any sign of her, finding none. When he heard someone had been hit by a train a
few blocks from where Heitz lived, he said he had to check and see if it was Heitz.
Heitz’s body was located about 20 feet from a Caltrain guardrail next to a fence.
Warning signs reminding pedestrians not to cross the tracks are visible from the
scene of the accident. Marriscolo said Heitz’s death is not believed to be a suicide,
though the coroner is still investigating.
REDWOOD CITY-BASED VIDEO GAME COMPANY CUTS JOBS
Electronic Arts notified 145 of its employees that they are being laid off as the
video game company prepares for the next generation of gaming consoles, spokeswoman
Trudy Muller said. Muller said the layoff affects a “relatively small percentage’’
of the Redwood City-based company’s total workforce. The company
employs close to 7,000 people worldwide from Los Angeles to London and Tokyo.
About 1,600 of those jobs are in Redwood City. Muller said the company is reshifting
its focus during a “hardware transition’’ in anticipation of a “new generation
of hardware consoles.’’ The company is tailoring its workforce to better
accommodate the next phase in gaming technology, trying to find “the right size
and skill mix,’’ Muller said. “Across every division in the coming weeks and
months we’re re-evaluating everything,’’ Muller said. “We’ve done this before.
We’ve always emerged from transitions stronger.’’ The company, which produces
games including Madden NFL, is expected to announce its third quarter earnings
results today.
REDWOOD CITY BABY FOUND IN TRASH KILLED BY INFECTION
San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said that a newborn girl found in a
Redwood City trash bin in late November died as a result of a placental infection.
“The baby was born septic,” and died very shortly if not immediately after she was
born, according to Foucrault. The infection could have been caused by an amniotic
fluid leak, Foucrault said. Preliminary autopsy results showed there was air in
the lungs of the newborn, according to Foucrault. However, there were no signs of
trauma to the baby’s body. Redwood City resident Hilda Figueroa, 29, who pleaded
not guilty on Jan. 4, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child
endangerment after she allegedly placed her newborn in a Dumpster. According to
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, the charges
against Figueroa have not changed in light of the recent toxicology results.
However, since the test results do suggest the baby died as a result of an infection,
there is a greater likelihood that the charge of involuntary manslaughter against
Figueroa could be dismissed. Redwood City police were directed to Figueroa’s
home after she sought treatment at the San Mateo Medical Center on Nov. 30,
saying she had delivered a premature, stillborn fetus at home. According to police,
Figueroa told medical staff she flushed the stillborn fetus down the toilet. The hospital
contacted the Police Department at 12:40 p.m. that same day after a routine
medical examination indicated that Figueroa had given birth to a full-term infant,
police said. Officers found the child wrapped in plastic bags in the trash at
Figueroa’s apartment building in the 600 block of Buckeye Street. Figueroa was
arrested later that day at around 5 p.m., according to police. Figueroa, who was
released from custody on $100,000 bail, will appear in court on March 17 at 9
a.m. for her preliminary hearing.
TWO-ALARM RWC BLAZE CAUSES ‘EXTENSIVE’ DAMAGE
Witnesses said it looked like it was “raining fire” when a two-alarm blaze in
Redwood City sent 30-foot flames shooting into the air, according to Louis Vella,
Administrative Chief and Fire Marshal for the Redwood City Fire Department.
Firefighters learned about the blaze at 3:35 a.m. and took about 30 minutes to get
it under control, Redwood City fire Capt. Martin Schutt said. The fire was reported
at a residence at 3312 Spring St., but Vella said the blaze started in a backyard
shed that was detached from the main building. One man, who is said to be in his
20s, was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s burn unit after suffering
second- and third-degree burns, Redwood City fire Battalion Chief Geoffrey
Balton said. Witnesses said the injured man was attempting to extinguish the fire
before firefighters reached the scene, according to Balton. When firefighters did
arrive, they found the man “out on the sidewalk in pain and screaming,” Vella
said. Vella said the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, though witnesses said
“they have seen a person that may have been staying or sleeping in the shed.” Vella
said that person is believed to be the injured man. The blaze spread across three
adjoining properties, damaged the roofs of two houses and displaced one family.
The family has already made arrangements to move into a vacant rental property
in an apartment building next to their home, Schutt said. Vella said the damage
to the three properties was “fairly extensive,” but he did not yet have a dollar figure
for the damage.
ALLEGED NORTENO GANG MEMBER PLEADS INNOCENT TO SHOOTING
An alleged Norteno gang member pleaded not guilty in a San Mateo County
courtroom to charges he and several others fired gunshots at two rival gang members
in unincorporated Redwood City. Redwood City resident Olinscer “Pato”
Leyva, 20, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and participation in a
criminal street gang, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s
Office. Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday February 11, Leyva and several other
Norteno gang members reportedly approached two alleged Sureno gang members
in a parking lot at 535 Oakside Ave. near Hampshire Avenue, the San Mateo
County Sheriff’s Office reported. Leyva and the other Norteno gang members
reportedly yelled out gang identifiers and challenged the two victims to a fight.
One of the victims had a bottle thrown at his vehicle while attempting to flee. The
other victim was chased by the Norteno gang members as he ran toward the fleeing
vehicle. According to the sheriff’s office, three shots were fired from a semiautomatic
pistol in the direction of the running victim. However, he was not
struck by any of the bullets. Following an investigation into the shooting, Leyva,
Redwood City resident Agustin “Oso” Cueavas, 20, and a 17-year-old Redwood
City teen, who is believed to have been the shooter, were taken into custody.
According to prosecutors, at the time of the shooting Leyva was out of custody on
his own recognizance after he was arrested for attempted robbery and residential
burglary. Leyva, who remains in custody in lieu of $75,000 bail, will appear in
court on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. for his preliminary hearing.
APRIL TRIAL FOR JUVENILES CHARGED WITH MURDER
Three teens suspected of participating along with two adult defendants in the
gang-related shooting of a Redwood City man in July are scheduled to stand trial
for murder in April, but their attorneys are asking for more time.
The three boys, one 15 and two 16, are being tried as juveniles in the July 12
shooting of 21-year-old Francisco Rodriguez. The defendants are not being identified
because they are minors. The trio has entered a denial — the juvenile court
equivalent of not guilty — to murder and conspiracy charges and is scheduled for
trial April 24. Defense attorneys indicated a desire to seek more time to review evidence
and a new date may be set Feb. 28.
While the three move through juvenile court, another 15-year-old boy is being
prosecuted as an adult. That boy, Josue Orozco, is the youngest suspect’s older
brother and the county’s youngest adult defendants also face a special allegation
of participating in a street crime. Orozco is presumed the actual shooter with
authorities pinpointing Ayala as the getaway driver.
A judge can still sentence Orozco as a minor and, as a juvenile, would be housed
at the California Youth Authority until he is an adult. In juvenile court, he would
be incarcerated until age 25 — the same maximum faced by the three juvenile
defendants currently. Orozco and Ayala, both alleged Sureño gang members, have
pleaded not guilty and were ordered Friday back to court Feb. 24 to set a preliminary
hearing date.
The five defendants were arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting and
Orozco allegedly confessed. The defendants encountered Rodriguez near his
apartment carport at 475 Redwood Ave. Orozco allegedly got out of the car, covered
his face, pulled a gun from his waistband and, as Rodriguez turned, fired a
shot.
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