Border-crossing journalism from the Sacramento Valley
by Leslie Layton
A Chico man who had been previously committed to a mental health facility was charged Friday with vandalism and violating civil rights, according to a press release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.
The press statement says Thomas David Bona, 33, was charged in Butte County Superior Court and will return to court to respond to charges at 8:30 a.m. June 19.
by Leslie Layton
Chico police are investigating a suspect in the June 2 graffiti assault that defaced 10 southwest sites in town with swastikas and racist language.
The man police say is a “potential suspect,” Thomas David Bona, 34, was arrested Wednesday in connection with a separate incident and was booked into Butte County Jail on suspicion of vehicle vandalism and a hate crime. A CPD press release says the man was “hitting at passing vehicles” early Wednesday near East Avenue and Tom Polk Way. Deputy Chief Matt Madden said Bona used a racial slur during an argument with an African-American motorist.
by Leslie Layton
Police said today they’re investigating “possible leads” after a graffiti assault in southwest Chico left 10 sites defaced with racist insignia.
Swastikas and the wording “White Power” were found early June 2 on many of the walls that were struck, including those of a Mexican restaurant and private homes and businesses. A photo appearing on Facebook also shows vicious, spray-painted graffiti that included the N-word, the word “Nazi,” the letters “SS” and a swastika on the side of a building.
by Leslie Layton and Denise Minor
When Vickie Nailing first came to Chico to pursue a master’s degree in 2015, she was taken aback by how friendly people were. She loved the community’s “hippy vibe” that reminded her of the 1970s.
“When I would pass strangers they would look me in the eyes and smile,” said Nailing, a graduate student in the Teaching International Languages program. “I’m from L.A. I wasn’t used to that.”
by Leslie Layton
Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a passionate defense of his moratorium on use of the death penalty in California, pointed Tuesday to well-documented inequities in the criminal justice system that helped lead him to his decision.
The process that places convicts on Death Row is “error prone,” Newsom said in a telebriefing with members of the ethnic media. “I think it’s a racist system that disproportionally affects black and brown people.”
by Dave Waddell
At a time when California has made certain law enforcement officers’ records more available for public inspection, Butte County officials have been slow to even identify the sheriff’s deputies involved in two recent shootings.
In fact, the names of the officers who shot wanted parolee GD Hendrix of Berry Creek on Nov. 15 are still not known to the public – several months after District Attorney Mike Ramsey quickly issued “preliminary findings” justifying the killing.
