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Alameda County DA dismisses charges against former corrections officer in Fremont man’s shooting death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

OAKLAND — Just days before the trial was scheduled to start for a retired corrections officer accused of fatally shooting his ex-wife’s neighbor, Alameda County prosecutors dismissed the entire case against him, court records show.The momentous development in the case of 78-year-old Franklin Lynch came April 27, just four days before Lynch was set to go on trial and face murder charges in the death of Fremont resident Karthick Soundararaj. In Lynch’s 2022 preliminary hearing, he made the rare move of testifying in his own defense, claiming that he killed Soundararaj — who was unarmed — in self-defense after the mentally ill man shoved his ex-wife and threatened to kill members of Lynch’s family.A spokeswoman for the Alameda County District Attorney’s office said she would look into the matter, but didn’t respond to subsequent requests for comment. Lynch’s attorney didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.Soundararaj, 34, was shot and ...

Woman robbed at gunpoint near UC Berkeley campus Friday night

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

A woman was robbed at gunpoint in the 2400 block of Bowditch Street Friday night, according to the University of California Police Department.Police said a group of approximately three people allegedly approached and surrounded her just before 8:30 p.m., brandished a gun and took her purse and cell phone.The robbers then left the area three blocks south of UC Berkeley’s campus and got into a black sedan resembling an Audi, headed northbound on Bowditch, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man sentenced to federal prison for robbing Oakland mail carrier, feds say he hoped to impersonate mailman Crime and Public Safety | Amid soaring thefts, California city bans possession of catalytic converters without proof of ownership Crime and Public Safety | 3 arrested in California jewelry store smash-and-grab after police pursuit ends in crash Crime and Public Safety | 17 arrested after California phone stores robbed...

Group surrounds victim in Berkeley robbery near Peoples Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

(BCN) -- A group of people, one of them allegedly armed with a gun, surrounded and robbed a person near People's Park in the 2400 block of Bowditch Street in Berkeley, police said in a social media posting. The group of about three suspects took the victim's purse and cell phone about 8:27 p.m. Friday, police said. Alameda police warn about gift card scam totaling thousands of dollars worth of fraud The suspects left the area in a black Audi-style sedan, northbound on Bowditch Street. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5900. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Unseeded Nicolás Jarry beats Grigor Dimitrov in 2 sets to win Geneva Open title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Unseeded Nicolás Jarry raced past Grigor Dimitrov to win the Geneva Open final 7-6 (1), 6-1 on Saturday.The former No. 3-ranked Dimitrov was seeking his first title since the 2017 ATP Tour Finals, which lifted him to that career-best ranking.Instead, the 54th-ranked Jarry eased to his second title this season, converting his first match point when Dimitrov could not return a powerful serve to his backhand.Jarry celebrated by crossing the court to where his family was watching and passed his racket up to his infant son.In Jarry’s standout week in Geneva, he beat current or former top-10 players on three straight days — two-time defending champion Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Dimitrov.It was the 27-year-old Chilean’s third career title, all of them coming at clay-court events in the lowest 250-level. “It’s been a great year after a very tough couple of years. I’m very happy for that,” said Jarry, who was runner-up at Geneva in 2019 against Zverev.Dimitrov was playin...

Pope Francis returns to work after suffering fever

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

Rome (CNN) — Pope Francis returned to work on Saturday morning after being struck down by a fever which interrupted his regular schedule and sparked renewed concerns for his health.Francis canceled all of his meetings on Friday morning due to the illness. However, the daily appointment schedule sent by the Vatican Saturday showed that Francis was resuming his work.The Vatican did not issue any new update on the 86-year-old pontiff’s health.Francis is expected to celebrate mass for Pentecost in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.On Thursday, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Francis was “tired” after a “very intense day,” according to Italian news agency ANSA.“The Pope was tired. Yesterday he had a very intense day and saw many people. There was the meeting with Scholas Occurrentes and he wanted to greet each person individually. At a certain point, one becomes less resistant,” Parolin said.Francis was seen looking well Thursday afternoon at a live-streamed...

Volleyball notebook: Lexington’s scary potential

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

Alongside All-Scholastic outside hitter Matteo Luciani, Lexington middle Justin Cheng has the build, athleticism and talent to be the one of the best players on the court.But with a 2-1 match lead against Div. 1 power St. John’s Prep on Tuesday, the senior captain was struggling in the fourth set. Mightily.Cheng missed several blocks in a row. His hits didn’t consistently make it over the net. His serve didn’t make it over the net. The opposing Eagles were winning the frame to threaten a fifth set, so Lexington head coach Jane Bergin took him out for a quick conversation.“I said ‘Look it, you’ve got to get it together. You can be the best player out there but you’re beating yourself up right now, and this is not helping. You’ve got to calm down,’” Bergin recalled. “I subbed him right back in, and honest to God, he gets these two giant blocks in a row. Then he blasts this ball on a quick middle, the ball hits the one-spot and then flies up onto the wall. It was monster. Really, it wa...

Connecticut bear helps itself to 60 cupcakes from bakery, scares employees

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

AVON, Conn. (AP) — A hungry black bear barged into the garage of a Connecticut bakery, scared several employees and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before ambling away.Workers at Taste by Spellbound in the town of Avon were loading cakes into a van for delivery on Wednesday when the bear showed up. There are between 1,000 and 1,200 black bears living in Connecticut, the state environmental agency says, with sightings last year in 158 of the state’s 169 towns and cities.Bakery owner Miriam Stephens wrote in an Instagram post that she heard employee Maureen Williams “screaming bloody murder” and yelling that there was a bear in the garage.Williams told TV station WTNH that she shouted to scare the bear off but it retreated and came back three times.Williams said the bear charged at her so she backed out of the garage and ran.Surveillance video obtained by WTNH shows bakery workers walking around the side of the business to try to scare the bear, but then running away after it scares them...

Looking Glass: What hurts the most is that you don’t trust me, sweetheart

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

A suspicious woman in Brisbane, Australia, did not believe her husband when he told her that he was going to pick up their children at daycare, so she tracked him with the Find My Phone app she had installed on his phone. When she spotted him and his mistress “kissing and cuddling” on a sidewalk in the suburb of Wavell Heights, she plowed into them with her car, sending them both flying. They both survived.WHAT CHIRPING? I DON’T HEAR ANY CHIRPING, OFFICER: A man, who was trying to smuggle 29 parrot eggs from Nicaragua into the United States, was caught at Miami International Airport when the eggs started hatching in his carry-on bag. A Customs officer became suspicious when heard a chirping sound coming from the smuggler’s luggage.I’M JUST HERE TO HELP: A man, who claims to be a time traveler, told police that he threw a brick through a window and broke into a home in Ocala, Fla., because he wanted to save a baby sleeping in the room from some future event. He also admitted to swimm...

Howard Johnson, one of the most underrated players in team history, a worthy Mets Hall of Famer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

Sure, all the home runs and stolen bases come up in conversations about Howard Johnson. But so do hotfoots, huge plastic glasses full of iced tea and an endearing, happy-go-lucky personality.Former Mets delight in talking about Johnson, whether it’s Bobby Ojeda noting that when he thinks of HoJo’s playing days, “I think of a dirty uniform” or Ron Darling recalling Johnson’s prodigious strength: “Pound for pound, the strongest player I ever played with.”David Wright was never Johnson’s teammate, but their relationship is a lasting link spanning Met generations — as a coach, Johnson had an outsized impact on one of the best Mets ever. And he and Wright became lifelong friends.“Without his mentorship, I would never have realized the potential I didn’t even know I had,” Wright says. “Even when I doubted my own abilities, he was the first one to pump me up.“He had an incredible playing career and then for...

MIAA Boys Tennis tournament pairings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:31 GMT

BOYS TENNIS TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Brookline (19-0); 2. St. John’s Prep (17-1); 3. Lexington (20-0); 4. Wellesley (16-4); 5. Acton-Boxborough (8-2); 6. Winchester (14-2); 7. Boston College High (11-3); 8. Needham (11-5); 9. Westford Academy (8-6); 10. Newton North (7-7); 11. Saint John’s (12-6); 12. Arlington (13-6); 13. Lincoln-Sudbury (6-7); 14. Framingham (7-7); 15. Xaverian Brothers (11-7); 16. Bishop Feehan (11-3); 17. Shrewsbury (11-7); 18. Attleboro (12-4); 19. Andover (13-3); 20. Cambridge Rindge & Latin (8-8); 21. Algonquin (12-6); 22. Barnstable (14-4); 23. Boston Latin (6-9); 24. Newton South (2-12); 25. Braintree (5-11); 26. Chelmsford (10-2); 27. Franklin (10-9); 28. Malden (13-3); 29. Marlboro (11-7); 30. Natick (1-17); 31. Weymouth (1-15); 32. Central Catholic (9-6); 33. Bridgewater-Raynham (8-6); 34. Durfee (9-9); 35. South High Community (11-5); 36. Haverhill (9-5); 37. Billerica Memorial (8-6); 38. Methuen (7-7)PRELIMINARY ROUN...