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Crime: This burns me up

For a while I have been meaning to create a post to record the on-going sad state of affairs in our judicial system. Between the DJ and mainly the Daily Post, we get a weekly barrage of news pieces that cause one to ask, “what the heck was the judge thinking?” This one finally lit my fuse enough to create it.

The Daily Post is reporting a 50-year-old guy from Berkeley was arrested in Palo Alto for setting fire to St. Frank Coffee Shop’s awning at 1:45 am. A review of security footage spotted him and then he returned to the scene about 40 minutes later chanting “burn, burn let it burn”. Here’s the kicker:

He as a recent arson conviction in Contra Costa County according to the DA. He remains in jail on felony arson with bail at $2,500!

Why was he out in the first place? What was that first judge thinking? And what is the second judge thinking setting bail at $2,500? What’s next? He pleads poverty and they go to “no cash bail”? We have had crazies like this in B’game. Ten years ago, we almost lost our historic train station to one as you can read here. That was before the Caltrain employee decided to turn that space into his own personal apartment on our nickel.

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6 responses to “Crime: This burns me up”

  1. Joe

    Here’s an repeat offender example off the BPD arrest website. Monday June 27th:

    Charge(s): 11395(b)(1) Hs: Poss Cntl Sub W/2 Or More Priors (F), 666.1(a)(1) Pc: Petty Theft W/2 Or More Priors – All Other Larceny (F), 11350(a) Hs: Possess Narcotic Controlled Substance (M), 11364(a) Hs: Possess Unlawful Paraphernalia (M), 485 Pc: Appropriate Lost Property (M), Warrant -O/a Wrnt Felony: Outside Warrant Arrest Felony

  2. Joe

    And another one from BPD at 9am this morning:

    Charge(s): 666.1(a)(1) Pc: Petty Theft W/2 Or More Priors – Shoplifting (F), 11364(a) Hs: Possess Unlawful Paraphernalia (M), 11350(a) Hs: Possess Narcotic Controlled Substance (M)

  3. Joe

    Will #32 be the lucky number? From the Chron

    Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man Saturday after they say he challenged one of them to a fight in a Santa Rosa liquor store, marking his 32nd arrest in Sonoma County.

    Frank Pinola, 48, was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and making criminal threats against an executive officer, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy he allegedly confronted in the store was a plainclothes officer. The threat count came after deputies transported Pinola to Sonoma County Jail, when they say he referenced his association with a gang and threatened the deputies and their families.

    Pinola was previously arrested on suspicion of offenses including attempted murder, plus felony weapons and drug violations, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

  4. Joe

    Three going on four:

    Berkeley: A 40-year-old man has been charged in a sexual assault case, in which a woman said she was attacked in a downtown elevator. The suspect has three felony convictions.

  5. Joe

    Date Arrested: 7/16/2026 at 11:31 AM
    Charge(s): 484(a) Pc: Petty Theft – Shoplifting (M), 666.1(a)(1) Pc: Petty Theft W/2 Or More Priors – Shoplifting (F)

    I wonder if there is another category for 5 or more, or 10 or more?

  6. Joe

    ……video evidence, but what will happen to him?

    Deputies with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office on Monday arrested a suspect in connection with nearly a dozen bicycle thefts from Caltrain over a three-month period.

    Between May and August 2026, deputies responded to 10 separate reports of bicycle thefts from Caltrain, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

    Deputies began an investigation into the thefts and, with assistance from video provided by Caltrain from inside the train, identified the suspect as Jesus S. Molina-Barajas, 28, of East Palo Alto. Molina-Barajas was arrested in September 2025 in connection with a PREVIOUS BICYCLE THEFT, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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