19 Mar Group Starts Process Seeking to Recall Contra Costa District Attorney From Office

Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton speaks at a press conference in Martinez on Oct. 28, 2022. (Ray Saint Germain / Bay City News)

By Tony Hicks
Bay City News

A group connected to Alexis Gabe — an Oakley woman allegedly killed by her boyfriend in 2022 — said on social media it served Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton with papers signaling its intent to recall her from office.

The group “Recall District Attorney Diana Becton” issued a press release on its Facebook page and posted a video showing someone handing Becton a notice of intent as she entered her office Monday morning.

The group posted a photograph of the notice with signatures blurred. The Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Office verified the paperwork was submitted and validated.

The group said it collected 121 signatures on the notice to recall Becton, 103 of which were validated, exceeding its required 100.

The petition says “We, the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton. We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county and her attempts to keep offenders out of jail have left us disheartened. We stand for the residents of Contra Costa County because everyone deserves to live in a safe environment. We advocate for all crime victims who feel ignored, exasperated, and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

A spokesperson for Becton’s office declined comment Wednesday.

Gabe, 24, was killed in January 2022 after going to the Antioch home of her ex-boyfriend, Marshall Curtis Jones III. Becton’s office charged Jones with her murder in May 2022, after he fled to Kent, Washington.

Police shot and killed Jones on June 1, 2022, in Washington after he allegedly charged officers with a knife.

Gabe’s remains were found in November 2022 along state Highway 16 near the town of Plymouth in Amador County.

Investigators determined the remains belonged to Gabe through dental records, though a cause of death was never determined.

Prosecutors with Becton’s office met with Gabe’s family in December 2024 discussing whether to charge Jones’ mother, Alicia Coleman-Clark, with being an accessory after the fact.

Becton’s office announced in January 2025 it wouldn’t charge Coleman-Clark after investigators from the District Attorney’s Office and Antioch and Oakley police concluded there wasn’t enough evidence.

An administrator for the “Recall District Attorney Diana Becton” Facebook page declined comment Wednesday, but said the group plans to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Saturday in Oakley. They said they haven’t announced the location because they haven’t confirmed the venue.

The county’s registrar of voters’ office said Becton has seven days from Monday’s filing of the notice to file a response to the petitioner’s stated grounds for recall with the elections office, which is then attached to the notice of intent.

The notice of intent’s proponents have 10 days from that filing to submit the proposed recall petition, then 160 days to circulate it.

To qualify for the ballot, signatures are required from 10% of the county’s registered voters — so about 72,000 signatures. The county then has 30 business days to verify the signatures and, if verified, the Board of Supervisors has 14 days to call the special election.

The election must be held between 88 and 125 days from the supervisors’ approval, which the county elections office said would likely mean a special election in March 2026 if it qualifies for the ballot.

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