Bay Area

Probate Court Judge Ruled Unfairly, Asserts Black Beneficiary of $2 Million Estate

When Dr. Laura Dean Head left this earth, she left her estate to the person who had been the most loving to her, Zakiya Folami Jendayi. Head’s former student from San Francisco State University, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister, mentee and friend had known each other for 28 years. During that period, Head had been estranged from her two sisters.

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2023

Oakland Post

Jendayi is reaching out to more than 100 African American respondents who have had the similar experience of losing their estates because of Bean’s, other judges, commissioners, attorneys, and court reporters’ actions against them. Next month Jendayi and other respondents will present their information before the County Board of Supervisors and then possibly a class-action lawsuit.

By Tanya Dennis

When Dr. Laura Dean Head left this earth, she left her estate to the person who had been the most loving to her, Zakiya Folami Jendayi.

Head’s former student from San Francisco State University, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister, mentee and friend had known each other for 28 years. During that period, Head had been estranged from her two sisters.

Not only giving Jendayi power of attorney, Head also made her longtime friend her agent of advance health care, trust administrator, trustee of her estate and sole beneficiary. Head disinherited her two sisters and included a no-contest clause in her trust.

These decisions did not occur in a vacuum: Head told her best friend Dr. Derethia DuVal that she wanted Jendayi to inherit her property and belongings. Head also told the Kaiser Hospice social worker Jenna Noe that she was leaving her belongings to Jendayi.

Head passed away on June 19, 2013. Jendayi took four years to remodel Head’s residence and moved into the home in 2017.

Seven years after Head’s death, her sister filed a petition on May 18, 2020, to invalidate the trust for “undue influence and or forgery.” The Head sisters, Della Hamlin and Helaine Head, when asked for comment, did not respond.

Alameda County Probate Court Judge Sandra K. Bean initially tentatively ruled in the first hearing Aug. 5, 2020, that the sisters were not beneficiaries or trustees, therefore they had no standing.

The sisters’ counsel Daniel Leahy changed the allegation to financial elder abuse, in the second hearing but never amended his petition, or brought the issue of financial elder abuse up throughout the trial.

During the second hearing on May 10, 2021, Bean changed her ruling and scheduled a trial that was supposed to take four days but instead lasted for 18.

Fifteen witnesses testified and not one testified that there was undue influence, according to Jendayi.

Head’s estate planning attorney Elaine Lee entered a declaration, was deposed, and testified during the trial in 2022 that Jendayi had nothing to do with the establishment of the will and trust. Attorney Lee testified, “I met with Dr. Head alone, as well as with Ms. Jendayi and I did not find Head to be a victim of fraud or undue influence.”

Bean then ruled on March 28, 2023, that Head had not lacked mental capacity and there was no forgery but that Jendayi “unduly influenced Head to leave her estate to Jendayi.” When the court-appointed attorney Phillip Campbell was asked for comment, he did not respond.

Bean’s ruling invalidated the trust, taking all of Head’s assets, the car, house, retirement, and investments valued over $2 million, which is likely to end up going to probate attorneys for fees and to the sisters, who Head disinherited. When Head sisters’ attorney Daniel Leahy was contacted, he responded “I cannot comment on an ongoing court case.”

Jendayi decided to appeal the decision and hired attorneys Griffin Schindler and James Decker who filed the appeal on April 17, 2023.

Griffin filed the appeal based on “1. The evidence is insufficient to justify the verdict or other decisions, 2. The verdict or other decisions are against the law, and 3. There was error in the law, occurring at trial and excepted to by the moving party.“

“I am filing a complaint against the judge because Bean withheld evidence supporting my position that there was no undue influence,” Jendayi said. “She added false evidence against me, and Bean’s demeanor towards me was hostile and bias with Bean stating “The court observed the respondent’s strong, authoritative manner throughout trial which the court finds would influence a person in Dr. Head’s state.”

“Dr. Head and I had attorneys in 2013; we did the right thing,” Jendayi says. “The Creator has directed me to fight for my ancestor’s descendants who have also had their estates stolen.

“Unfortunately, our stolen legacy is standard operating procedure within the probate judicial system. I will continue to fight the injustice within the justice system until I am victorious,” Jendayi said.

Although Court appointed attorney Phillip Campbell has filed a petition for Jendayi to surrender all the assets she remains in the home.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

11 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

4 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

4 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.