News briefs: Lodi Police Officer Brannon Haro retires

Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.
·3 min read

Jul. 15—LODI — The Lodi Police Department held a retirement ceremony for Officer Brannon Haro in the Rick Cromwell Community Room at 215 W. Elm St. on Thursday afternoon.

Haro joined the Lodi Police Department on July 7, 2008. In his 14 years with the department, he worked patrol, was a school resource officer and earned the rank of master officer. Haro was a member of SWAT and the negotiations, bike and UAV (drone) teams, among others.

He retired Thursday as a school resource officer, where he interacted with the community's youths and educators, and was also vital in continuing to teach the anti-gang GREAT program, the department said.

— Wes Bowers

Galt man arrested in tractor theft

LOCKEFORD — At about 8 p.m. July 7, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office ag detectives received a call about a tractor theft in progress in a rural area north of Lockeford.

Just after 9 p.m., the tractor and 25-year-old Juan Soto Hernandez of Galt were located in the area, the Sheriff's Office reported.

The tractor was returned to its owners, and Soto was arrested without incident. He was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.

— Wes Bowers

Lockeford MAC to hold meeting

LOCKEFORD — The Lockeford Municipal Advisory Council will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 21 at the Lockeford Community Center, 19258 N. Jack Tone Road.

There will be a presentation from the project applicant and property owner on two recent pre-applications filed by Kautz Row Crow Farms for a zone reclassification and a major subdivision proposed at 19390 N. Tully Road.

— Wes Bowers

Amador County D.A.: Wrong man accused of 2019 murder

JACKSON — A new suspect was arrested Tuesday in a 2019 murder case that shook an Amador County town and led to the wrong man sitting behind bars for nearly two years.

In May 2019, Vanessa Plew, 39, was shot and killed in her Volcano home. Jared Wilkinson, now 44, who was in the home with Plew and Plew's landlord, Jeffrey Johnston, now 66, also suffered serious injuries.

Johnston was initially charged with murdering Plew and attempting to murder Wilkinson, who contacted authorities. Johnston spent two years in jail awaiting trial, first with a bail of $1 million and then with no bail.

But in May 2021, the Amador County District Attorney's office announced that it was dropping all charges against Johnston due to insufficient evidence. The office cited the California Department of Justice's "examination of physical evidence" from the scene as their cause to believe that Johnston was innocent.

Now, officers believe Wilkinson is the one who murdered Plew. The United States Marshal's Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Wilkinson in Indiana on Tuesday. The Amador County District Attorney charged him with murdering Plew, and attempting to murder Johnston and assaulting him with a deadly weapon.

Wilkinson is being held in jail with a $2 million bail. He will return to Amador County to face trial following an extradition hearing in Indiana, according to a news release circulated on Amador County DA's office social media accounts.

— Sacramento Bee

CORRECTION

Changing Faces Theater Company's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" performances at St. Jorge Winery are Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23. This information was incorrect in a news brief on Page 2 in the July 12 edition of the Lodi News-Sentinel.