In Your Town for July 17, 2024

SAUSALITO

Battery backup
sparks blaze

An explosion linked to lithium ion batteries was reported in a Sausalito home. No injuries were reported.

Southern Marin firefighters responded around 2:20 a.m. Monday to a reported structure fire at 30 Atwood Ave.

Sprinklers extinguished a fire in the garage, said Elysha Omoomy Costella, a fire spokesperson. The fire and explosion was traced back to a battery bank used to power the house in the event of a blackout, she said.

Firefighters remained on scene until 7 a.m. Marin County firefighters, Sausalito police, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crews assisted, Costella said.

WEST MARIN

Motorcyclist crash
victim identified

A motorcyclist who fatally collided with a pickup truck in the Tomales area has been identified, the county coroner’s office said.

Steven Michael Campanali, 57, of Penngrove was pronounced dead at the scene, Marin County Chief Deputy Coroner Roger Fielding said Tuesday.

Campanali was riding a 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 650 sportbike at a high speed at around 6:20 p.m. Friday on Shoreline Highway near Snake Road. Fielding said that the rider crossed the highway’s double yellow line and hit an oncoming truck.

Campanali was ejected from his motorcycle. First responders arrived and found the victim in cardiopulmonary arrest, Fielding said. The cause and manner of death are being investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the county coroner’s office.

SUPERIOR COURT

Murder suspect
waives hearing

A San Rafael woman accused of murdering her mother in January has waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.

Based on the decision, a Marin County Superior Court judge will not review the case of Tonantzyn Oris Beltran to see if it merits a jury trial. The prosecution and defense will begin preparing for trial.

Beltran’s court-appointed attorney, Matthew Siroka said he was pleased that the prosecution agreed with waiving the preliminary hearing.

“This is in the family’s best interest and in everybody’s best interest,” he said.

Judge Geoffrey Howard set Beltran’s next hearing for Aug. 30, when she may enter a new plea. The defendant pleaded not guilty in March.

Beltran, 29, was arrested on Jan. 8 after she allegedly stabbed her mother, Olivia Beltran, at her apartment on Cresta Way.

Prosecutor Jack Shannon declined to comment on the case after the Tuesday hearing. Beltran is in no-bail custody at Marin County Jail.