Week in Review: Arrests Made in 2010 Newark Teen Slaying; New Haven Wins $29 Million Grant

FREMONT

Fremont Man Arrested in Connection to Newark Teen Slaying Also Faces Attempted Murder Charges

The Fremont man who was arrested on suspicion of murder for the 2010 killing of 17-year-old Justice Afoa was arrested last month after trying to hang his girlfriend from a tree, police confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Newark Police Cmdr. Mike Carroll confirmed Daniel Howard, 31, of Fremont  was re-arrested Monday on suspicion of murder in connection to the 2010 stabbing death after police interviewed him in jail, where he was being held on charges related to a Fremont crime that occurred in late November. Read more by clicking here.

Three-Alarm Fire Destroys Warm Spring Business 

A three-alarm fire that destroyed a Fremont business this afternoon was under control about an hour after firefighters arrived, fire officials said. Crews responded to a report of a structure fire atC&H Enterprises, located at 801 Boggs Ave., at about 1:45 p.m., fire Capt. Steve Silva Said.When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke and flames and could not make their way into the structure, Silva said. The roof of the building collapsed and crews battled from the tops of their fire engines' extended ladders, the captain said. The business, which performs precision machining, welding and fabricating, has a placard posted to inform people there are combustible and flammable materials inside, Silva said. Click here for the full report.

Police On Look Out For Man Who Grabbed Student

Kennedy High School officials released an alert Tuesday after a man tried to grab a high school student walking on her way home from the campus. According to police and school reports, the man approached the girl at about 3:30 p.m. and began to make unwanted advances as she passed through the Walters Jr. High School campus. The man grabbed the girl and took her backpack, according to a “stranger danger notice” released by Kennedy High School. The girl fled the area and notified authorities. Click here to read the report and for the suspect’s description.

NEWARK

Three people were arrested Monday in connection to the 2010 slaying of 17-year-old Justice Afoa, a former Newark Memorial High School Student. Newark residents Rafael Tovar, 32, and Daniela Guzman, 19, who is Tovar's half-sister, along with Fremont resident Daniel Howard, 31, were arraigned Wednesday and a complaint read in court indicated that the three individuals had planned the teen’s murder for months. According to the district attorney’s office, all three are members of Norteno gangs. A complaint read in court by Judge Gary Picetti alleges that both Tovar and Howard stabbed Justice, and that the three suspects conspired for months to kill Justice after Tovar was beaten up at a house party in September 2010. Click here to read the full report.

Newark Man Killed in Bicycle Crash Near Fremont

A bicyclist who died Saturday after crashing into a rock near Fremont has been identified as 66-year-old John Pickens, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau. The California Highway Patrol received a report of a cyclist down in the roadway near the intersection of Palomares and Niles Canyon Road in a rural area of Alameda County near Fremont. Pickens, a Newark resident, died from his injuries. Pickens is said to have been an engineer with Cisco Systems, a giant networking equipment company based in Milpitas.

Viola Blythe Named Newark’s Local Hero

The Viola Blythe Community Center was named Newark’s Local Hero at the 7th annual State of the 20th Assembly District Address and Awards Ceremony. Hosted by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, the annual event highlights a hero from each town within the 20th assembly district. Next year, Wieckowski plans to rename it for his new region – District 25. Read more about the award and Viola Blythe’s executive director’s reaction here.

UNION CITY

Paddy’s Coffee House Closes

Union City’s only independently owned café has closed. Friday marked the last day of business of Paddy's Coffee House at its location on 3900 Smith St. where it has been a community pillar for the past 10 years. The coffee shop will go on an indefinite hiatus as owner Paddy Iyer plans a relocation somewhere in the Tri-Cities. Read more about Iyer’s thoughts of the closure and share your memories of the coffee shop here.

New Haven Wins $29 Million Grant

New Haven Unified School District is one of 16 schools in the nation that has been named a winnder of the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top-District (RTTT-D) competition. As a result, the district will be awarded $29 million in the next four-and-a-half years that will go toward efforts to “personalize student learning, improve student achievement and educator effectiveness, close achievement gaps, and prepare all students to succeed in college and careers,” according to the school district. Click here to read more.

Giselle Esteban Gets 25 Years to Life for Michelle Le’s Murder

Union City resident Giselle Esteban was sentenced today to 25 years to life in state prison by a judge who warned her that she will never be paroled if she continues to feel no remorse for murdering nursing student Michelle Le, her former friend and high school classmate, in May 2011. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Rolefson told his packed courtroom that in an interview with a probation officer after her first-degree murder conviction on Oct. 29, Esteban said that if she had been on the jury, she probably would have voted in favor of a conviction but that she still "feels wrongly convicted." Le, a 26-year-old San Mateo resident who attended Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, disappeared from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hayward on May 27, 2011. Her body was found in a remote area between Pleasanton and Sunol about four months later. Read the full report here.

Editor’s note: Excerpts from this report were extracted from reports written by Bay City News.

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