Boy Killed, Father Is Arrested in Boating Accident

September 18, 2019 | $1.50 inside TIBURON • BELVEDERE • STRAWBERRY BELVEDERE COP CITY SLASHES WALKER PLEADS Named the nation’s best SERIOUSLY HURT TIME-LIMIT FOR TIBURON TO small community weekly 2018 & 2019 winner, 2014-2017 fi nalist IN CRASH ON PENALTY FOR BAN INVASIVE General Excellence, National Newspaper Association SAN RAFAEL AVE. HOME BUILDER WEEDS AT TRAIL Volume 47, Issue 38 | thearknewspaper.com Page 5 Page 7 Page 11 Best place for mooring fi eld, transient Boy killed, anchor-outs is off Belvedere, experts say father is Areas off island, cove free of habitat-critical eelgrass arrested By GRETCHEN LANG [email protected] ——— in boating Marine ecologists hired to f nd the best location for a permanent mooring f eld on Richardson Bay have their top candidate: the waters of Belvedere accident Island. At the Sept. 12 meeting of the Richardson Bay Regional Agency board of directors, Keith Merkel Man faces manslaughter charges, of San Diego-based environmental-consulting had been drinking, police say f rm Merkel & Associates Inc. said a patch of water running 600 feet of the western shore of By HANNAH WEIKEL Belvedere and extending into the center of the bay [email protected] would move boats away from Sausalito and help ——— protect environmentally sensitive eelgrass beds. A prominent land developer was arrested ——— ABOVE: MERKEL & ASSOCIATES INC. | BELOW: KEVIN HESSEL / THE ARK at his Corinthian Island home after a fatal See ANCHORAGE, PAGE 20 A rendering shows eelgrass frequency in Richardson Bay from 2003 to this boating accident near Angel Island that year. A mooring-fi eld study by Merkel & Associates Inc. for the Richardson Bay killed his 11-year-old son and severely in- Regional Agency says the best way to protect the beds is to move the Richardson jured the boy’s older brother. Bay anchorage into Belvedere waters. Below, the anchorage is seen The brothers were reportedly ejected from from above Belvedere’s West Shore Road. the boat and then struck by it when their father attempted to rescue them. Javier A. Burillo, 57, of Belvedere was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with a vessel, will- ful harm or injury to a child and reckless operation of a vessel. Police say Burillo had been drinking, and a boating death becomes legally non-accidental when the operator is suspected to be under the inf uence of alcohol. ——— See BOAT, PAGE 20 Strawberry gun suspect surrenders Unsolved slaying 10 years ago after evacuation and manhunt By HANNAH WEIKEL his apartment but late r learned he had this week still mystifi es Tiburon [email protected] left the area before deputies arrived. ——— It’s unclear whether he ever led them By HANNAH WEIKEL chased down every possible lead and A Strawberry man surrendered to believe he was inside the building. [email protected] studied each shred of evidence col- himself to Marin County Sherif ’s Phillip Hosea Smith, 65, was ——— lected from the scene — but each time deputies in Oakland one day after he booked into Marin County Jail Sept. The decade that has passed since the trail has gone cold. allegedly brandished a gun during an 13 on suspicion of criminal threats, Joan Rosenthal was killed has yielded However, leaps in DNA testing have altercation with a neighbor, causing a brandishing a f rearm, vandalism and no new information about the identity kept hope alive that the perpetrator massive police response and evacua- possession of a f rearm and ammuni- of her killer or what motivated some- will someday be caught, said Tiburon tion of a North Knoll Road af ordable- tion with a prior felony conviction. His one to shoot the 75-year-old Tiburon Police Chief Michael Cronin. housing complex. bail is set at $50,000. widow on her patio in one of the safest “We are continuing to re-examine Authorities at the time believed the ——— neighborhoods in the country. ——— Rosenthal man had barricaded himself inside See GUN, PAGE 18 Over the years, police say they’ve See ROSENTHAL, PAGE 19

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Boat, continued from page 1 and found Burillo at his Bellevue Avenue In addition to the Tiburon Police Depart- above the yacht club parking lot, Mujica- ——— house at the tip of Corinthian Island. It was ment and Marin County Sherif ’s Of ce, the Beavers said she didn’t get home until 10 unclear at press time whether Burillo had U.S. Coast Guard is also investigating the p.m. Sunday and didn’t witness the police Burillo’s bail has been set at $1 million. left the boys so he could place the 911 call. incident. response. She spoke to members of Burillos’ Police say that about 7 p.m. Sept. 15, Bu- “He was grief-stricken but completely co- Burillo, also known as Javier Burillo extended family on Monday, who said the rillo called 911 to report an injured and un- operative,” Cronin said in an interview. Azcarraga, is a well-known real-estate de- 27-year-old son was going to need surgery responsive 11-year-old boy on a boat docked “I really cannot imagine his grief,” Cronin veloper in Mexico and the U.S. who report- on his knee. at the Corinthian Yacht Club. said. edly owns some 18 restaurants and is the “I’m very close to the family, and I know The boy and his 27-year-old half-brother Cronin said police of cers at the scene developer of Las Ventanas al Paraiso, an how much (Burillo) adored his kids,” she said. had been thrown from a 33-foot Targa Pro- administered a breath test and determined award-winning resort in San Jose del Cabo She said the elder son’s mother lives in tector in rough waters near Angel Island Burillo had been drinking, and his blood- on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The Mexico and was f ying in Sept. 16. as they were crossing from San Francisco, alcohol concentration was over the .08 limit Azcarraga family is one of the wealthiest in Burillo and the younger boy’s mother, Tiburon Police Chief Mike Cronin said. for operating a boat. The exact result was Mexico and owns Televisa, the primary TV Rose, had been married for 20 years but During recovery, the boat — a hard- not available at press time. network in Mexico and reportedly the larg- recently separated, pending a divorce case hulled inf atable with twin outboard motors Investigators say it’s unclear whether the est producer and broadcaster of Spanish- f led in Marin Superior Court in April. — struck the two victims, Cronin said. two sons were wearing life jackets when language media in the world. Mujica-Beavers said Burillo and his fam- The 27-year-old was able to help the boat’s they were thrown from the boat. Burillo and News of the incident drew Bay Area and ily moved to Corinthian Island about 15 operator, identif ed by police as their father, his sons were the only people aboard. Spanish-language news vans and helicop- years ago. They had also owned a home in Burillo, recover the 11-year-old from the Cronin said no witnesses to the incident ters to Belvedere’s shores through the day Kenwood. water. have yet been identif ed. Sept. 16. Rose Burillo recently moved into a rental Tiburon Fire Protection District paramed- The exact cause and manner of the boy’s Azita Mujica-Beavers, who lives on East- home in Paradise Cay. ics and the Belvedere police were the f rst to death will be determined through a post- view Avenue overlooking the Corinthian The boy, who had special needs, had been arrive at the docks of the Corinthian Yacht mortem examination and toxicology test, Yacht Club, said she’s known Burillo and his attending Escuela Bilingue Internacional in Club, where Burillo is a member and has a and the results are expected to be released family in Mexico for decades. She described Emeryville for two years but was recently slip, and found the brothers on a slip close later this week, Cronin said. Burillo as a “very good family man.” being home-schooled. to the parking lot. The 11-year-old was pro- Several Marin sherif ’s deputies were at “He is a wonderful man, he loves his chil- nounced dead, and his older brother was the Burillo home on Sept. 16 but declined to dren,” she said. “This must have been a hor- Reporter Hannah Weikel covers the city taken to Marin General Hospital with severe say whether they were executing a search, rible nightmare accident. The fact they are of Belvedere, as well as crime, courts and leg lacerations. adding only that they were there as part of holding him (in jail) is insane.” public safety issues on the Tiburon Penin- Tiburon police took over the investigation the investigation. Though her home is perched directly sula. Reach her at 415-944-4627.

Anchorage, continued from page 1 highest in years, but damage from anchoring Road,” he said. the bay are f ll and therefore illegal. The agen- ——— is clearly apparent, he said. Winter said he felt there was “ample area” cy will need the commission’s endorsement if He showed aerial photographs of crop to install the f eld in county waters. it wants to install a mooring f eld, but that is A small f eld for transient boats could be circles dug into eel-grass beds from anchor But the area Merkel suggests is almost looking less and less likely. placed in Belvedere Cove of the west shore of chains dragging on the sea bed and scars entirely within Belvedere waters, because all At a meeting earlier the same day in San Corinthian Island, he said. from boats that rest on the sea f oor at low but a small section of county water is either Francisco, bay agency representatives and “We looked at this from a purely ecologi- tide. too shallow, too rough or home to eelgrass. Merkel presented the results of the survey to cal standpoint,” Merkel said, “The question “The reality is mooring is def nitely having Boats would need to be shifted away from the Conservation and Development Commis- is, could mooring solve ecological conf icts in an ef ect on eelgrass habitat,” he said. Sausalito, where most of the beds occur, to- sion’s enforcement committee. The committee the bay?” Merkel said his study showed the number ward Belvedere Island. said it would prefer to see the Richardson Bay The f ndings may please environmentalists of mooring on the anchorage has increased to In addition to determining the best loca- agency crack down on long-term anchoring who have long argued that boats anchored about 200, the highest in years. Most boats tion, Merkel suggested installing publicly and liveaboards and would not recommend long term in Sausalito and Marin waters were now located farther east and south, out owned “conservation moorings” that would the commission agree to a mooring f eld. are damaging precious eelgrass beds. But of Sausalito waters, he said, probably because be permanently screwed into the sea f oor Removing liveaboards would be tricky. For the suggestion immediately roiled Belvedere the city of Sausalito’s drive to rid its waters with lines that would not drag. Each mooring more than 30 years, a group of anchor-outs residents who have been trying for decades to of derelict boats has pushed anchor-outs into would have an address, and one boat would has f ercely defended its nautical way of life, keep anchor-outs away from their docks and Marin and Belvedere waters. need to be registered to that mooring alone. sometimes in court. Most anchor-outs can’t af- don’t want them as neighbors. The study also took into account the bay’s He warned that managing the f eld would ford the high price of rent in Marin and would “There’s no way the people of Belvedere bathymetry and wave action. Based on be crucial to its success. likely end up on the streets. Sausalito is tak- are going to put up with that nonsense,” West waves, sea depth and eelgrass-bed locations, “Whatever you do, you need to come up ing tentative steps to pay for berths for those Shore Road resident Chuck Kamanski said. Merkel concluded the agency should locate its with rules, and you need to enforce them,” he anchor-outs who wish to come in of the water. “There are going to be people raising Cain.” primary mooring f eld away from Sausalito’s said. Richardson Bay agency board members The bay agency board says a mooring f eld eelgrass beds in the deeper waters near Bel- Over the years, Richardson Bay’s anchor- say making sure every boat on the anchor- would help regulate the almost 200 boats vedere Island. age has been something of a free-for-all, with age is on a mooring ball will help to ensure parked permanently in Richardson Bay, He suggested a primary mooring f eld more and more derelict boats coming in de- that boats are seaworthy, registered and in- many of them unseaworthy and improperly could run 600 feet from shore of West Shore spite millions of dollars spent trying to abate sured. Because mariners will be hooked up anchored. Road, then veer out into the central part of the them. to a publicly owned and maintained mooring, To determine the best location, Merkel’s bay southwest toward the mouth of the bay, Some boats are dumped by owners who the boats will no longer slip anchor in storms f rm spent nine months studying wave, sea- with the area closest to shore for small ves- can no longer af ord them. Others are home to and end up on Tiburon and Belvedere shores. f oor conditions and bay ecology in Richard- sels and larger vessels farther out. people suf ering from poverty, homelessness Merkel said he thought it would not be dif- son Bay. The study area included bay agency In addition to the small f eld for transient or mental-health or addiction issues. Many f cult to secure government money to install and Sausalito waters as well as Belvedere boats of Belvedere Cove, there would also anchor-outs buy boats cheap at auction and a mooring f eld because grants to preserve Cove, and it excluded the shallows of Straw- be a small area labeled “transition” close in bring them into the anchorage to use them for eelgrass are readily available. berry and Mill Valley, Racoon Strait, the 900- to Sausalito’s shore where so-called “legacy” storage or to f x up and sell. But the community would also need to acre Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary anchor-outs could stay. The Richardson Bay Regional Agency, raise money to help anchor-outs maintain and the narrow federal navigation channel Because the presentation was listed as which is tasked with managing the anchor- their vessels. Merkel told board members of Sausalito. an information item on the board’s agenda, age, has toyed with the idea of a mooring derelict boats would not survive long in the While the $140,000 study did not focus on members could not legally comment on the f eld for years. Some board members insist a deeper, rougher waters of Belvedere Island. accommodating land-support facilities for proposal or otherwise discuss it at the hear- mooring f eld is the best way to regulate and If boats could be clean and well-main- anchor-outs or social-justice issues, it was to ing. However, the board intends to place the monitor boats on the anchorage. They point tained, West Shore resident Kamanski said, account for the long-term viability of the rec- item on a future agenda for discussion and to other anchorages across the country that Belvedere citizens might be willing to share ommendation, including being safe, fundable, possible vote on next steps. have solved their anchor-out problems by in- their waters. enforceable — and “widely acceptable.” After the meeting, Belvedere City Council- stalling a well-regulated mooring f eld. “If you’re just coming through and the boat In his f nding, Merkel concluded current member Marty Winter, the city’s representa- The idea has proved controversial. is seaworthy,” he said, “we don’t have a prob- long-term anchoring out is damaging eel- tive to the agency board, said Merkel’s study The city of Sausalito refused to pay its share lem with that.” grass, a type of sea grass that provides vital addressed only the best location from an eco- of the cost to study and eventually develop a habitat for herring and other marine life, con- logical standpoint. mooring f eld, dropping out of the agency to Contributing writer Gretchen Lang of Bel- f rming a previous aerial study of the anchor- There were many other factors to consider pursue an aggressive enforcement strategy. vedere covers the environment. She spent age commissioned by Audubon California. when deciding where to put a f eld, he said. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and 15 years abroad writing for newspapers Merkel’s latest survey found 837.3 acres “I don’t think anyone is suggesting a moor- Development Commission also remains skep- including the Boston Globe and the Inter- of eelgrass coverage in Richardson Bay, the ing f eld is going to happen of West Shore tical, saying boats anchored permanently on national Herald Tribune.