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News Briefs
RWC Bank Robber Imprisoned for Two Years
The Redwood City bank robbery suspect caught on surveillance tape and
later identified by several members of the public was sentenced to two years
in prison after pleading no contest.
Matthew Alan Zazzara, 25, of Burlingame, pleaded no contest to the single
count of robbery and immediately received a two-year term with credit for
154 days. He must also pay $850 in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank.
On June 23, Zazzara approached a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank kiosk in
the Safeway grocery store at Sequoia Station on El Camino Real. He passed
a note that said, “I have a gun. Give me all your hundreds and fifties.” The
teller handed over $850 and the man fled.
The next day, police released surveillance photographs taken by store
cameras to local newspapers and received several calls identifying the man as
Zazzara. He was also identified by the teller and another witness after being
arrested July 6 at his mother’s Hillsborough home.
Zazzara robbed the bank to pay for his methamphetamine addiction,
according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Jury Convicts RWC Man in Rape of Vitamin Seller
Jurors deliberated two days before convicting a Redwood City man of
sexually assaulting an acquaintance who came to his home to sell vitamins.
Ricardo Zaragoza Mendez, 61, was found guilty of the felonies forcible
rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration, assault with intent to
commit rape and false imprisonment. He was also convicted of misdemeanor assault.
Mendez faces up to 30 years and eight months when sentenced Jan. 7. In
contrast, a judge offered him six years in prison if he pleaded no contest, and
prosecutors sought 12 years.
Mendez reportedly attacked a 19-year-old woman he knew from an adult
school months earlier. On May 28, the married woman went to Mendez’s
home because he wanted to buy the Herbalife vitamins she sold. After
discussing the items for sale, Mendez allegedly asked her to look at vitamins
he already owned located in his bedroom. Once there, prosecutors say
Mendez raped the woman until she was able to grab a flashlight and strike
him several times in the head.
The woman ran to a friend’s residence and contacted police. Mendez is in
custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Counseling Ordered for Druggie Who Asked Cop for Ride
A 19-year-old Danville man found with cocaine in his pocket after asking a
Redwood City police officer for a ride pleaded no contest to felony possession
and was ordered to undergo counseling.
Ongley Raymond Ocon III must finish 18 months of counseling and abstain
from drugs and paraphernalia as part of the deferred entry of judgment.
On Oct. 17, Ocon left a San Carlos party, approached a Redwood City
patrol car and asked for a ride home to Danville. Authorities said they don’t
know if Ocon knew it was a police vehicle or thought it was a cab.
When asked if he had anything illegal on him, Ocon initially said, “Yes,”
then paused and changed his answer to “No.” Ocon gave the officer permission
to search him and was discovered to have a twist of cocaine in his pocket.
RWC Apartment Fire Displaces 40
A three-alarm fire at a Redwood City apartment building displaced about 40
people, a Redwood City battalion chief said.
The fire was reported at an apartment building at 240 Linden Ave. that houses seniors.
The blaze started on the first floor of a three-story building and spread to
the second and third floors, Battalion Chief Dave Pucci said.
Smoke detectors alerted residents to the situation and they were able to
evacuate safely, Pucci said. No injuries were reported.
The American Red Cross set up a temporary shelter for the displaced
residents at the Fair Oaks Community Center at 2600 Middlefield Road, Red
Cross spokesman Jim Mallory said.
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The apartment where the fire started was gutted, and two above it sustained
fire damage, Pucci said. Many other units were damaged by smoke, but not
all were uninhabitable, he said.
Pucci said the building’s smoke detectors were key in preventing injuries or worse.
“It’s very, very important to check smoke detectors and batteries,” he said.
“It saved lives today.”
Pucci said about 60 fire personnel were dispatched to the blaze. The
response included 11 engines, three trucks and five battalion chiefs.
Witness Tamperer Sentenced for Violating Probation
A gang member who avoided prison by pleading no contest to conspiracy for
his role in helping a jailed murder defendant scare off witnesses is in trouble
again for a jailhouse attack.
Edgar Cibrian, 21, was placed on three years supervised probation after
the plea deal but on Sept. 1 attacked opposing gang members in the Maguire
Correctional Facility. For violating the terms of his probation, Cibrian was
sentenced to two years in prison with credit for 481 days.
Cibrian and several others were charged with various counts of witness
intimidation and conspiracy for allegedly acting on behalf of ringleader
Josue Orozco. Orozco, an alleged Sureño gang member, is accused of fatally
shooting Francisco Rodriguez, 21, outside his Redwood City home in July
2005. Orozco believed Rodriguez was a rival gang member who had slighted
his gang, according to the prosecution. Orozco, who was 14 at the time and
later escaped from the county’s juvenile hall, stood trial for murder last
winter and jurors deadlocked in December on murder and gang changes. He
is currently facing retrial.
After the trial, prosecutors announced that, between May 2009 and March
2010, he allegedly organized fellow gang members to keep witnesses from
testifying or to change their testimony in his last and upcoming case. The
plan was uncovered through jailhouse phone records.
The conspiracy suspects were arrested in a multi-agency, multi-city raid in March.
RWC Mom Committed Early to Mental Hospital
A Redwood City mother found not guilty by reason of insanity of attempting
to kill her daughter and assaulting her son was committed to a state mental
hospital a month early to speed up her access to care.
Philomena Mary Brown, 50, was scheduled for a placement hearing
in early December, but defense attorney Vince O’Malley moved the
commitment up so she could be treated more quickly, said Chief Deputy
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Judge Lisa Novak ordered Brown to Napa State Hospital for a maximum term
of 13 years, which is the amount she faced in prison after pleading no contest
to felony charges of attempted murder, causing great bodily injury and assault.
She can be released from care any point before that, beyond 180 days,
if she is found returned to sanity. If she reaches the 13-year mark without
such a designation, prosecutors can petition to extend her stay in two-year
increments, Wagstaffe said.
Each extension requires a jury trial.
On Oct. 19, Brown pleaded no contest to the charges and was immediately
found insane at the time of the crimes based on a trio of reports by courtappointed
doctors. The negotiated settlement spared Brown trial on three
counts of premeditated attempted murder — alongside child abuse charges —
which could carry a life sentence.
Police arrested Brown June 21, several hours after receiving a call from a
13-year-old boy who said he and his 23-year-old sister were attacked with a
dumbbell at the family’s home at 1010 Vera Ave. Later details showed that
Brown’s husband of 26 years and the children were allegedly drugged the
previous night by something she placed in their food.
Brown fled the house and was found by sheriff’s deputies later that
afternoon at Pomponio State Beach, where authorities believe she tried to kill
herself with prescription medication, and she was hospitalized before being
medically cleared and taken to the women’s jail.
O’Malley has said his client suffered a mental breakdown in the weeks
before the attack, believing people wanted to harm or even kill her family.
Brown has been in custody on no-bail status.