In Your Town for Nov. 30, 2023

THE COUNTY

Marin assistance
cited in gang case

Federal authorities in Virginia have credited the Marin County Sheriff’s Office with helping to prosecute a major gang homicide case.

The crimes happened in 2016 in Fairfax County. Authorities allege that members of the MS-13 gang conspired to kidnap two teenage victims and murder them in a park, according to court documents. One victim was 17 years old and the other 14.

Authorities charged 17 defendants in the case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office the Eastern District of Virginia. Ten have pleaded guilty, most recently a defendant on Nov. 15. Five have been convicted at trial.

The prosecution said the Marin County Sheriff’s Office was among the agencies that provided “significant assistance” in the investigation.

Around the time of the Virginia crime, Marin detectives were investigating the murder of a Novato High School student and the attempted murder of a classmate in an MS-13 ambush in Novato. While downloading the contents of a suspect’s phone, Marin investigators found video footage of a group of males killing a juvenile and turned the video over to authorities on the East Coast, said sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn.

Authorities established that the video depicted the murder of the 14-year-old victim in the Virginia case, said Karoline Foote, public affairs director for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

One of the defendants in the Virginia case is Edenilson Misael Alfaro, 29, an MS-13 leader who was convicted this year in the Novato attack. His sentencing is pending.

SAN ANSELMO

Holiday festivities
planned downtown

The town is planning its annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Saturday in Imagination Park.

The event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and will include Santa Claus arriving by fire engine.

Earlier, a trackless train will run on San Anselmo Avenue starting at 4 p.m. The route will begin and end at Creek Park.

The festivities are being organized by the San Anselmo Recreation Department and the San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce.

SAN RAFAEL

DUI suspect arrested
in alleged stolen car

San Rafael police arrested a suspect who was discovered sleeping in a stolen vehicle, authorities said.

Benjamin Rosnel Bleazard, 34, of San Rafael was found passed out around 5:15 am. Tuesday near the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Third Street, police Sgt. Justin Graham said. The suspect was determined to be under the influence of narcotics.

Officers also discovered suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine as well as shaved car keys and burglary tools during a search. The vehicle’s registered owner later confirmed that the suspect stole his vehicle, Graham said.

Bleazard was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle, driving under the influence of drugs, possessing burglary tools, possessing controlled substances, driving without a license, and possessing narcotic controlled substances.

His bail was set at $10,000, according to jail records.

WEATHER

Mount Tam logs
1 inch of rainfall

The Bay Area logged measurable rain during a storm system that passed through Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Mount Tamalpais received 1.01 inches of rain; Point Reyes Station, 0.93 inches. Mill Valley, 0.64 inches, San Rafael, 0.48 inches and Novato 0.27 inches, according to National Weather Service’s 24-hour rainfall totals ending at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

On Friday, the region could catch the edge of a larger storm system expected to produce rain in the northernmost parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.

Less than one-tenth of an inch for a majority of the Bay Area is expected. The North Bay’s higher elevations could receive about one-quarter of an inch, National Weather Service meteorologist Dial Hoang said.

“It does look to be less impactful for our region,” Hoang said. “We will get more of the fringe impacts of this system.”