Bay City News Wire

WEDNESDAY MIDDAY NEWS ROUNDUP

A San Jose man was arrested Monday for the alleged molestation of a 12-year-old boy and investigators believe there may be more victims spanning several states, Officer Gina Tepoorten said today.

Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller, 63, had fled to Washington where his family lives and was arrested by Snohomish County sheriff's deputies working in conjunction with San Jose police.

The parents of the victim contacted police on Sunday with evidence of the alleged molestation.

An investigation revealed that Schwartzmiller, living in the 300 block of Vineyard St., had befriended the victim by offering him gifts and inviting him over to his house to watch movies or play video games.

Tepoorten said Schwartzmiller then allegedly sexually assaulted the victim.

It remains unclear exactly how long the alleged molestations occurred or what Schwartzmiller's relationship was with the victim's family. He may have been a family friend or co-worker with the victim's parents, according to Tepoorten.

Detectives served a search warrant on Schwartzmiller's house, where they discovered evidence of other alleged victims and information indicating he had fled to Washington.

Schwartzmiller has had numerous aliases and is currently wanted in Oregon on felony sexual assault charges. He is also believed to have lived in New York and Idaho.

Schwartzmiller was arrested on a $2 million felony arrest warrant and is currently waiting extradition back to San Jose.

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in South San Jose this morning to tout the portion of his proposed budget that restores $1.3 billion in transportation funding.

Schwarzenegger appeared at a repair project on a city street near State Highway 85 in San Jose's Blossom Hill area. He said that his budget would bring much-needed repairs and upgrades to the state's transportation network.

"For too long, California has neglected its transportation needs. Just today a study was released showing that no city in this state has even 20 percent of its roads in good condition. This is unacceptable,'' Schwarzenegger said. "When the people passed Proposition 42 they made clear that gasoline taxes should be spent on transportation. Now for the first time since its passage, Proposition 42 will be fully funded, and $1.3 billion of sorely needed funding will go towards repairing our roads, expanding our highways, building better and safer bridges and creating new carpool lanes.''

San Jose has the second most poorly maintained roads in the nation according to a new study cited by the Governor's office.

Santa Clara County transportation officials say the restored funds would benefit projects such as the state Highway 152-156 interchange east of Gilroy, the construction of a high-occupancy toll lane on Interstate Highway 680 at the Sunol Grade and the expansion of Caltrain service in southern Santa Clara County in addition to the BART project, according to Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Deputy Director Bernice Alaniz.

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BART directors are debating a proposal today to impose parking fees at 10 East Bay stations to help the transit agency balance its budget.

Under a staff proposal, $1 parking fees would be imposed at nine stations and a $5 fee would be imposed at the West Oakland station where parking demand is higher.

Parking fees are only one of many options BART directors are examining in an effort to help overcome the agency's projected $53 million deficit for fiscal 2006.

Other options include fare surcharges and reducing discounts for elderly and disabled riders.

Director James Fang, of San Francisco, said he supports parking fees but he said BART should monitor their impact very closely to make sure they don't result in a decrease in ridership.

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Two San Diego businesswomen who are domestic partners asked the California Supreme Court in San Francisco today to give them the right to have the same privileges as a married couple at a country club.

Brigit Koebke, a television station executive, and Kendall French, a pharmaceutical representative, claim the Bernardo Heights Country Club discriminates because it allows spouses unlimited access to its golf course but requires domestic partners to pay guest fees.

Koebke said outside of court today, "We want to figure out a way we can play golf together."

The state high court's seven justices took the case under submission after hearing an hour of arguments from lawyers in the case. A written decision is due within three months.

One of the issues in the case is whether California's Unruh Civil Rights Act should be interpreted to bar discrimination based on marital status.

Jon Davidson, a lawyer for the two women, told the court, "The Unruh Act demands that businesses should not treat customers differently without a legitimate reason to do so. They don't have that here."

But Jeremy Rosen, representing the country club, argued, "Marital status discrimination has never been a part of the Unruh Act."

The couple's lawsuit is one of several cases concerning the rights of same-sex partners that are now working their way through the California court system.

Earlier this week, the state Supreme Court heard arguments on how parental rights and obligations apply to cases in which lesbian partners raise a child together for several years but then break up.

Within a year or two, the panel is expected to take up the issue of whether same-sex couples in California have a constitutional right to marry.

A San Francisco Superior Court judge's ruling that a constitutional right exists is now on appeal to a state appeals court and is expected to reach the California high court within a few months.

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Oakland police are investigating four separate robberies that occurred Tuesday and Wednesday nights near Lake Merritt, an area that has experienced a rash of at least 45 violent robberies in the last two months, police reported.

"It is too early to tell if (last night's) robbery is connected to the others in the area,'' Oakland police spokeswoman Danielle Ashford said today.

A man suffered minor injuries in the 220 block of Lakeshore Avenue at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, police reported. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released, according to police.

Two male suspects fled from the alleged robbery on foot, Ashford said.

Tuesday night there was a trio of robberies in the area east of Lake Merritt, police report.

A strong-arm robbery occurred at 5:55 p.m. in the 900 block of East 28th Street, police report. The victim suffered no injuries.

An armed robbery was reported at 10:12 p.m. in the 1700 block of 6th Avenue, police report. A man was robbed of his money during the incident and reported no injuries, according to police.

Another armed robbery occurred just an hour later, at 11:12 p.m., when a man was allegedly robbed at gunpoint in the 700 block of Santa Ray Avenue, police reported. No injuries were reported.

Although police have yet to determine if this recent string of robberies is related to others in the area, the incidents mostly occurred during similar hours of the night and match circumstances of robberies that have plagued the area as of late.

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The alleged getaway driver in a fatal Wells Fargo bank robbery and several other violent crimes on the Peninsula has one week to decide whether to accept a plea offer, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum ruled today.

The terms of the offer to Manny Liu, 28, who is charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery, were not discussed on the record this morning.

However, prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe said that if Liu accepts the deal he would be sentenced to something less than life in prison without parole.

Liu, along with alleged accomplices Sikai Telea, 28, Amu Wynn, 29, and Wynn's cousin Seti Scanlan, 27, is accused of the Oct. 11, 2002 robbery in Burlingame that killed Wells Fargo Bank Manager Alice Martel and seriously wounded a male bank employee.

Although Liu never entered the bank that day, under California's felony murder rule, all men allegedly involved in the robbery could be found guilty for Martel's murder.

Liu and his alleged accomplices were also allegedly involved in the attempted murder of four police officers and other armed robberies on the Peninsula on Nov. 1, 2002. Together with a fifth accomplice, Semisi Umufuke, the men allegedly simultaneously robbed a restaurant and a convenience store before leading Mountain View police officers on a bullet-riddled chase that culminated with the defendants' SUV crashing in East Palo Alto. Liu and Wynn were arrested at the scene of the crash.

Scanlan later surrendered in Beaverton Ore., and Telea was located in San Francisco and arrested after making statements to Peninsula police about the crimes.

If Liu refuses the plea offer on June 2, jury selection in the case is expected to begin on June 7. Opening statements are anticipated the week of June 20.

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A Colma police officer shot a robbery suspect late Wednesday night in San Francisco following a pursuit that began in Colma, Sgt. Neville Gittens reported.

According to Sgt. Neville Gittens, the incident began at 10:15 p.m., when Colma police officers attempted to stop a yellow Toyota that was believed to be involved in a robbery of a Target store.

The vehicle did not stop, Gittens said, and a pursuit ensued, eventually reaching San Francisco.

The female suspect then turned onto Hollywood Court, which is a dead-end road in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood, and allegedly attempted to ram a motorcycle officer with his vehicle, Gittens said.

The Colma officer fired three shots at the suspect, who suffered life-threatening wounds and was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment, according to Gittens.

The officer was injured but did not require medical attention.

The case is being investigated by the Colma Police Department, the San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division, and the San Francisco District Attorney' Office.

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The Bay Area is expected to be sunny with areas of morning low clouds and fog, according to the National Weather Service. High temperatures are expected to reach the 60s at the coast and the mid-80s inland, with an afternoon sea breeze of 10 to 25 mph.

Tonight is expected to be clear with coastal fog and low clouds moving over many inland areas overnight. Low temperatures are expected to drop to the 50s, with an evening sea breeze of 10 to 25 mph.