On October 13, 2021, at approximately 6:05 pm, Antioch Police Department patrol officers were dispatched to a homeless encampment located near the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Wild Horse Drive on report of an assault with a deadly weapon.
While responding to the incident, officers learned the suspect (later identified as Brian Dean, 40) struck the victim in the head with a metal pipe and then lit a rag on fire, tossing it into the victim’s encampment.
The lit rag fully engulfed the encampment and spread to the adjacent hillside, threatening several homes on Spaulding Street. Firefighters from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded and quickly extinguished the fire before it spread to the adjacent homes. An alert resident took a photograph of the suspect as he was fleeing on a distinctive bicycle and provided it to officers at the scene.
At about 8:15 pm, Antioch Police Corporal James Colley spotted a matching individual on the distinctive bicycle crossing Hillcrest Avenue at Larkspur Drive. He was detained without incident and found to be in possession of an incendiary device. Officers placed Dean under arrest for three felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon, arson, and possession of an incendiary device – he was booked at the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez.
This fire was the second one at the same location in the last two days. The victim sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics.
This incident is being jointly investigated by the Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Arson Investigator.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.
9 comments
Gotta love the major for not doing anything about the homeless vermin plaguing the city & causing incidents like this.
The creepy MAYOR doesn’t do diddly-squat! He’s making things worse here! This is why he must be recalled!
I saw the word “arson” and Tamshita’s name immediately came to mind. What were her whereabouts during that time frame?
Ahhh! More BUM FIGHTS! Isn’t it just peachy? We get the “homeless” sent here from other cities and also other states! Why? Because those cities and states would rather we Californians take care of them! What a great deal for them! Most of the fires in our area have been set by these bums. Everyone of them should be thrown out of Antioch!
How long are we going to be putting up with these scumbags? This is getting ridiculous! They are setting more fires now. You can’t sleep at night wondering when you’ll be smelling smoke. Have the authorities dismantle their campsites and run these vagrants out of Antioch! If some BLEEDING HEARTS complain, then let them set up their tents in their backyards!
How much longer will the residents of Antioch put up with this insanity? How many houses will be threatened? Everyone of those encampments must be disbanded. . . and I mean, every single one! All over this city! If they are on “public” property? Well, WE are the public and our taxes pay to maintain those.
Fire set in our neighborhood twice in the same week! Do we have to hold our breath and wait for more of this? These “unhoused” are occupying areas not clearly visible usually in some ravine. They have to be flushed out of those places and sent packing! These people are a danger!
The vermin must be gotten rid of. One way or another.
The authorities we hire to take care of such problems are just ignoring it. We might have to handle all this ourselves!
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