{"id":599,"date":"2026-05-27T11:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=599"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:36:40","slug":"sent-to-prison-for-crimes-in-contra-costa-theyre-now-trying-to-make-amends-from-behind-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=599","title":{"rendered":"Sent to prison for crimes in Contra Costa, they\u2019re now trying to make amends from behind bars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN QUENTIN \u2014 Troy Makanski has not been back to Contra Costa County since the 2013 shootout with Pittsburg police that sent him to prison for life.<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: Ranked choice voting can save San Jose taxpayers millions<\/a><\/p>\n

Since that night in 2013, Makanski has had years to think about the crimes and choices that led him to San Quentin, he said in a recent phone interview.<\/p>\n

He admits he was a \u201cnuisance\u201d and a \u201cselfish person\u201d who earned a long prison stint in 2013 by shooting a sheriff\u2019s deputy who was trying to detain him. The deputy\u2019s life was spared when the bullet hit an armored vest, and Makanski was eventually convicted of attempted murder. But now he sees himself as someone trying to give back to Contra Costa County, where he committed the crime and can no longer visit because he\u2019s incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison.<\/p>\n

Today, the work he does inside prison helps improve the community outside the prison \u2014 even drawing the attention and support of a juror who helped send him away years ago.<\/p>\n

Makanski is one of several East Bay natives who\u2019ve come up with the idea to \u201cmake amends\u201d behind bars. It started with a simple project to gather one to two hygiene products from each prisoner inside and donate them to homeless people. That evolved into a recurring project: making furniture \u2014 mostly chairs and park benches \u2014 for a tiny-homes village in Richmond meant to provide transitional housing. The furniture project was run by Contra Costa natives, all of whom are serving life sentences inside San Quentin for serious crimes, and has inspired similar work by men from Alameda County, the group\u2019s organizers say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to actually do things for somebody instead of the opposite, being a nuisance out there,\u201d said Makanski, who racked up several prior felony cases in East Contra Costa for drugs, grand theft, and other property crimes. \u201cIt felt good to actually give back to my community, somewhere where I did a lot of destruction \u2026 I read somewhere that in order to change you have to replace negative thoughts and actions with good things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, they delivered 16 chairs and four picnic tables, which the Tiny Homes executive director, Sally Hindman, called \u201ctruly inspirational.\u201d She said the village on 23rd Street in Richmond contains transitional housing and a garden, aimed at supporting young people who are unhoused.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys have truly been selfless, they\u2019re thinking about how they can support young people doing better than they did,\u201d Hindman said. \u201cIt\u2019s really been so moving that they really took from their own commissary supplies to make five boxes of items \u2026 Here in California, we have close to 200 billionaires and here we have these San Quentin residents who have very little and they\u2019ve gone the second mile to do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Building wood furniture inside prison has its own unique challenges.<\/p>\n

The necessary tools \u2014 screw guns, saws, hammers \u2014 aren\u2019t easy to come by in San Quentin, California\u2019s oldest prison; the lockup has a long history of violence, gang wars, executions and murder. More recently, under a moratorium on executions instituted by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, the prison has been rebranded as a \u201crehabilitation center\u201d intended for inmates \u2014 known in San Quentin as \u201cresidents\u201d \u2014 who have shown promise.<\/p>\n

Those incarcerated in San Quentin are given more time outside their cells than at most facilities, special events, educational programs and privileges, all part of the so-called California Model, championed by Newsom. It emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment, with the hope of getting prisoners ready for re-entry into society some day.<\/p>\n

In February, Newsom spoke at the opening of a new Learning Center at San Quentin, which was built on the grounds of the old death row. Newsom cleared out the execution chamber and replaced it with a modern-looking building that\u2019s equipped with a cafe and library, in the hopes of teaching college-level coursework to incarcerated people.<\/p>\n

Read more Walters: Education is vital and costs California billions, so why aren\u2019t candidates for governor talking about it?<\/a><\/p>\n

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Still, every part of the furniture-building process had to be carefully checked. Supervisor approval was needed to dole out tools to the participants. The wood had to be delivered and inspected on its way in \u2014 and out.<\/p>\n

There was also the matter of going to every cell to collect donations from the entire prison, which were also presented to the tiny homes center in Richmond. It was a \u201chectic\u201d but worthwhile process, said Angelina Torres, the prison staffer who sponsored the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had so much fun doing this and it was absolutely amazing to watch these guys support their outside community. I feel that this was a great opportunity for them to give back to their communities they once harmed \u2026 making a big difference in the lives of the youth,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

That opportunity \u2014 to support their communities from afar, and to show young people that a better way is possible \u2014 carries a lot of meaning for inmates once convicted of serious violence.<\/p>\n

Coby Phillips, a San Pablo native, had much to atone for: He was originally sentenced to 105 years to life for the 2004 murder of an Aryan Brotherhood drug dealer in Crockett. More recently, he earned praise from his trial judge, who noted Phillips\u2019 recent confession and volunteer work at San Quentin, before re-sentencing him with a chance for parole.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to give back for me, due to I caused total chaos to my community for 40 years,\u201d Phillips said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Makanski\u2019s actions have gotten attention not just from prison staff, like the program\u2019s sponsor, but from one of the women who helped put him in prison. Pamela Abbey, a Methodist pastor in Walnut Creek, served on the jury that convicted him of attempted murder of peace officers, assault with a firearm and gun possession as a felon.<\/p>\n

Years later, she reached out to him in a letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, I wanted to tell him we had passed judgment on what happened that night in Pittsburg, but that there was more to him than that, and that he should not define himself by that nor should he let others define him by it,\u201d Abbey said in an email to this news organization.<\/p>\n

They recommended books to each other and she\u2019d suggested ways he could contribute to society from behind bars, she said. His involvement in the Making Amends group has been encouraging, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a real joy to watch Troy grow and gain confidence in himself,\u201d Abbey said. \u201cHe has worked hard.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more Horoscopes May 27, 2026: Shanola Hampton, set yourself up for success<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Quentin prisoners serving life sentences for East Bay crimes are donating supplies and building furniture for a Richmond tiny-homes village as part of an effort to give back to the communities they harmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSent to prison for crimes in Contra Costa, they\u2019re now trying to make amends from behind bars - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=599\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sent to prison for crimes in Contra Costa, they\u2019re now trying to make amends from behind bars - 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