Crime & Safety

Transient Arrested Following Walnut Creek Murder

Police say 63-year-old Mark Banducci is being held on $1 million bail.

The unconscious victim was found at Civic Park Tuesday morning.
The unconscious victim was found at Civic Park Tuesday morning. (Courtesy Walnut Creek Police Dept.)

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A suspect has been arrested in connection with a homicide Monday at Civic Park, Walnut Creek police said Tuesday.

A witness helped with the identification of 63-year-old Mark Banducci, described as a transient, as the suspect in the fatal assault early Monday at the park.

Police were notified at 5:36 a.m. about an injured man in the gazebo at Civic Park.

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Officers located a man unconscious with a head injury, according to police. Paramedics were called and the victim was taken to a hospital where he was initially listed in critical condition, police said.

Once Banducci was identified, plain clothes officers checked the area and located him walking on Contra Costa Boulevard near Crescent Drive in Pleasant Hill. Uniformed officers were summoned to take him into custody.

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Banducci was booked for murder at the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held on $1 million bail, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Detective Gerstner at (925) 256-3578.

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