Senior Breaking News Reporter
Jakob Rodgers
Jakob Rodgers is a Bay Area News Group reporter covering breaking news for The Mercury News and the East Bay Times. Prior to arriving here in 2021, he worked at The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he spent nearly a decade covering crime, the military and the public safety net, including health care and social services. Before that, he covered education and general assignment stories at The Greeley Tribune in northern Colorado. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a BA degree in journalism. He can be reached at 510-390-2351.
All Stories

OPD bars public access to video showing how former Raider Doug Martin died
The refusal to release the footage drew a rebuke from First Amendment and police accountability advocates, who questioned the police department's lack of transparency in the case.

Former NFL running back Doug Martin’s brain to be tested for CTE, authorities confirm
The condition, which can cause erratic behavior and severe mental illness, is associated with repeated head trauma and has been found in hundreds of former NFL players in recent years.

‘It’s really tragic’: Details emerge after former NFL star Doug Martin’s death in Oakland police custody
Martin's death -- after what police described as a "brief struggle" with officers -- sent shockwaves through Oakland.

Ex-NFL running back Doug Martin dies in Oakland police custody
Born in Oakland, Martin spent seven seasons in the NFL.

Locals return to beaches after tsunami advisory canceled for Bay Area
Wave heights varied from 1 to 3 feet across Central and Northern California and caused little in the way of extensive damage.

Man charged with pocketing $50K check from Steph and Ayesha Curry meant for local boxing club
U.S. attorneys recently charged Howard Solomon, 38, with several counts of mail fraud and tax evasion in the alleged scheme.

DA charges ‘American Nightmare’ Bay Area kidnapper in previously unreported 2015 case
The announcement marks another stunning twist in the burgeoning number of alleged kidnappings, break-ins and rapes that Matthew Muller apparently confessed to in letters sent to a central California police...

Oakland FBI raid subject linked to establishment suspected of human trafficking, selling drugs
Andy Duong has ties to cafe earlier searched by state authorities, records say.

‘I will not be bullied’: Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao speaks for first time since FBI raid
Her comments came four days after the FBI seized several items from her Oakland Hills home.

Vandals rip up Oakland school garden built by Steph and Ayesha Curry’s foundation
The vandals tore apart planters, broke wooden benches, damaged a ladder and ripped out hoses that were used for an irrigation system at Global Family Elementary School.
