Thursday, September 15, 2011

O.C. motorist killed by tree is identified

Car_tree1

A woman who was killed when a 50-foot eucalyptus tree fell on her car in Costa Mesa was identified Thursday night as Haeyoon Miller, 29, the Orange County coroner's office said.

The coroner did not list a cause of death, citing a pending autopsy. Miller was a Tustin resident.

The accident occurred Thursday afternoon at 17th Street and Irvine Avenue.

The tree tumbled on what appeared to be a blue Hyundai Accent GS, crumpling the entire midsection. Workers on Thursday afternoon were cutting up the tree.

A Costa Mesa Urban Search and Rescue unit attempted to lift the tree, but it fell back down, according to witnesses.

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Suspect in toddler shooting has ‘no conscience,’ family says

SpongeBob character's altercation with women caught on video

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: A car lies crushed beneath a fallen tree on Irvine Avenue near 17th Street in Costa Mesa on Thursday.  Credit: Don Barletti/Los Angeles Times.

Holdup suspect caught in chase has prior robbery conviction

Bank robbery suspect surrenders

A suspected bank robber who was arrested Thursday after a high-speed pursuit that began in Fullerton and ended in Los Angeles County is already on federal probation for robbing banks, authorities said.

Joe Pettis is suspected in a recent string of bank robberies in Orange County by the Triple Threat Bandit,  who robbed three banks in Fullerton, Orange and Buena Park, authorities said.

Pettis is on federal probation for a bank robbery conviction, said Sgt. Andrew Goodrich of the Fullerton Police Department.

Earlier Thursday, Pettis allegedly presented a note to a teller at the Popular Community Bank in Fullerton and took an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. He left the bank, got into a maroon Chevy Suburban and drove south as bank employees alerted police,  Goodrich said.

During the pursuit, Pettis drove west on the 91 Freeway and south on the 110 Freeway. He allegedly threw money out the window of his vehicle, according to authorities

As the chase moved into L.A. County, the California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit. The chase ended when Pettis surrendered on a freeway off-ramp. He was taken into custody without incident.

“We’re very pleased to have possibly solved this string of bank robberies” acting Fullerton Police Chief Kevin Hamilton said.

FBI agents were questioning Pettis in connection with the Orange County bank robberies.

Pettis was booked into the Santa Ana jail and is expected to appear in federal court Friday morning in Santa Ana.

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82 LAPD officers honored in Purple Heart ceremony

Redmond O'Neal in custody, faces prison after using meth in rehab 

--Richard Winton

Twitter.com/lacrimes

Senator: Accused campaign treasurer assured staff that funds were fine

State Sen. Ted Lieu said Thursday he was shocked to learn that a treasurer he entrusted on his campaign for attorney general is now accused of fraud.

The treasurer, Kinde Durkee, is accused of stealing perhaps millions of dollars from her clients, who include dozens of prominent California Democrats. Authorities have not laid out the full scale of the alleged crime, but clients including Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Sen. Dianne Feinstein have said that that Durkee nearly wiped out their campaign funds.

Lieu said his office was informed by the state Franchise Tax Board that an audit had discovered discrepancies in deposits to the campaign account for his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for attorney general. In response, his campaign manager quickly called Durkee.

Durkee assured them that everything was fine and that the issues were merely an oversight, Lieu said, and he took her word for it.

He forgot about the incident for months, until Durkee was arrested by federal agents Sept. 2.

Before that, Lieu, like many of Durkee’s clients, assumed his funds were in capable hands.

He didn’t know Durkee when he hired her in 2002 for his Torrance City Council campaign, but more experienced politicians recommended her. Over the years, the money was there when he needed it, and with nearly $2 million in contributions flowing into his race for attorney general, he didn’t have time to count every penny, he said.

“One of the reasons I hired a campaign treasurer is so they handle all the reporting … and all the money matters. So I have a professional doing it,” Lieu said. “In hindsight, it appears she was a crooked professional.”

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Suspect in toddler shooting has ‘no conscience,’ family says

SpongeBob character's altercation with women caught on video

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

--Abby Sewell

Registered sex offender admits making sex tape of 8-year-old

A registered sex offender from Huntington Beach pleaded guilty Thursday to making child pornography and agreed to serve a 26-year prison term for filming an 8-year-old girl engaged in sex acts.

Gary Samuel Cochran, 53, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in federal prison.  In a plea deal filed in United States District Court, Cochran and prosecutors agreed to a 312-month prison sentence.

As part of the plea agreement, Cochran would admit producing sexually explicit videos of the 8-year-old victim while on a trip to the beach with the girl and her family. When investigators searched Cochran’s home in 2008, they reported discovering videos of the girl as well as “hundreds of videos and images depicting what defendant knew was child pornography.”

“Because children are the most precious and vulnerable members of our communities, we will devote everything at our disposal to combat their exploitation,” said United States Atty. Andre Birotte Jr in a statement.

Cochran was previously convicted of child molestation in Orange County Superior Court in 1991.

U.S.District Judge Dean D. Pregerson, however, must agree to the plea deal.  If Pregerson rejects it, either the government or the defendant could back out of the agreement, and the case would go to trial. A hearing is scheduled Nov. 28.

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Suspect in toddler shooting has ‘no conscience,’ family says

SpongeBob character's altercation with women caught on video

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

--Richard Winton

Bookkeeper held in theft of $3 million from La Jolla restaurant

Jack 

When Jack's La Jolla closed abruptly in 2009, local food aficionados were caught by surprise.

The trendy restaurant with the impressive menu  --  and a chef from Jean Georges in New York -- had acquired a growing and loyal clientele in its four years.

Reviews had been good.

The Times critic, while leveling a few criticisms, termed Jack's "sophisticated" with "flashes of brilliance," particularly the sweet corn soup with Alaskan king crab and the Muscovy duck breast with white peach, radishes and ginger-spice jus. The wine list had "some interesting French selections."

News stories about the closure suggested it had been done in by the sagging economy.

On Thursday, San Diego police suggested another reason that Jack's closed. 

Tara Moore, 39, the former bookkeeper, was arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than $3 million from the restaurant. The restaurant closed, police said, "as a direct result of this theft"  -- leaving 120 workers jobless.

Serving a warrant on the home of Moore and her husband, police seized seized more than $400,000 in antiques, furniture, paintings, exotic Italian silk curtains and other fancy furnishings.

The warrant said the objects had been purchased with money stolen from Jack's.

Moore, booked into County Jail on grand theft charges, is being held in lieu of $2.5-million bail. She is set for arraignment Friday in San Diego County Superior Court.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Waiter and restaurant patrons at Jack's La Jolla in 2006. Credit: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times

Man gets 6 years for stealing identities of service members

A Redlands man was sentenced to six years in federal prison Thursday for stealing the identities of about 16,000 reserve and active-duty service members that he used to buy expensive merchandise, authorities said.

Rene Quimby, 42, was charged with using the identities to defraud the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to buy iPods, digital cameras, computers, washers, dryers and other merchandise, the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas said. The items were later sold.

The case was tried in Dallas because the exchange service is headquartered there.

San Bernardino prosecutor vows justice in toddler shooting

Photo: Family members of slain three-year old Nylah Franco-Torrez console each other as San Bernardino Police announce the arrest of murder suspect Brandon Taray Barnes, 19, of San Bernardino. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles TimesA teenage member of a Los Angeles-based street gang was arrested Wednesday on charges of firing a handgun at a porch full of family members in San Bernardino, killing a 3-year-old girl and seriously wounding a pregnant woman and her young daughter.

Police say Monday’s shooting appears to have been a cold act of revenge against a man who lived in the house and – an hour earlier – stopped the suspect from beating a woman on a sidewalk a few doors away.

Investigators with the San Bernardino Police Department, aided by eyewitness accounts of the shooting, identified the suspect within 24 hours and the agency’s gang unit tracked him down Wednesday evening, two blocks from the crime scene.

“I make a commitment: He will never come out to harm another citizen in this county again,” San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said at an afternoon news conference at police headquarters.

“We’re going to make sure justice is done in this case,” he said. “We will not allow this to happen to our citizens, especially our babies.”

Brandon Taray Barnes, 19, of San Bernardino faces one charge of murder and seven counts of attempted murder for allegedly firing a dozen bullets at family members gathered outside the home.

High-speed rail agency ordered to reach more minority businesses

The California High-Speed Rail Authority was ordered Thursday to greatly expand its outreach to and inclusion of small and disadvantaged businesses, concluding a civil rights complaint filed last year with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to the decision released by federal officials, the rail authority -– which is tasked with building an ambitious high-speed line from San Francisco to Southern California that could cost as much as $65 billion -– must create a development program for small and disadvantaged businesses, specify an officer in charge, compile a directory of all firms that are eligible to participate, and create a business advisory council within 60 days.

The rail authority must also conduct an availability and disparity study within one year, according to a copy of Thursday's decision from the Federal Railroad Administration.

"We're very pleased with the decision," said Oren Sellstrom, an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. "It's a complete vindication of what the minority business community has been saying."


Police seek man who used handgun to rob Redlands bank













Redlands police were looking for a man armed with a handgun who fled Thursday morning after robbing a bank.

The man displayed the gun in his waistband and demanded money about 9 a.m. from two tellers at a Security Bank of California branch at 201 E. State St., the Redlands Police Department said in a statement.

Police released video footage that showed a teller placing money in a dark bag that the man was holding.

LAPD arrests suspect in shooting of USC students

Usc A man suspected of shooting and wounding two USC students--one critically--has been arrested by Los Angeles police and charged by prosecutors with attempted murder, authorities said Thursday.

The shooting occurred earlier Sept. 4, when several students confronted a stranger who appeared to be stealing items from an apartment complex in the 1200 block of West 37th Place during a large party.

During the confrontation, the man fired once, hitting a female student in the hand and then seriously wounding a male student in the chest.

Police said they believe the male student survived because of the efforts of the wounded female victim, who despite bleeding from her finger, administered lifesaving CPR.

The male victim later told investigators that as he was losing consciousness, he felt "somebody breathing for me," said LAPD Capt. Melissa Zak.

Investigators tracked down two possible suspects in the case Wednesday night. After further investigation, police arrested 21-year-old Tyson Tryee Smith of Signal Hill. He was charged Thursday afternoon with two counts of attempted murder.

Zak noted that students should be aware that large parties can bring "uninvited guests and unintended violent consequences."

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Bank robbery suspect surrenders after police chase

82 LAPD officers honored in Purple Heart ceremony

Redmond O'Neal in custody, faces prison after using meth in rehab

--Andrew Blankstein (Twitter.com/anblanx)

Image: Map shows location of the shooting in Exposition Park. Source: Google Maps

Two plead guilty to counterfeit money charges in San Diego

In this down economy, people are looking for ways to make money. But when you make your own, the U.S. Secret Service comes knocking.

Two men have pleaded guilty this week in San Diego federal court to manufacturing counterfeit money by scanning real bills into their computers. Each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced.

Kevin Cave, 21, admitted in court Thursday that he made phony $5, $10 and $20 bills by scanning real bills.

On Monday, Erik Wallen, 32, pleaded guilty to a similar scheme, using a real $100 bill, according to federal prosecutors. Wallen passed about $31,500 in phony bills at a retail store where he worked as a cashier, prosecutors said.

Cave is in custody, Wallen is free on $30,000 bail.

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5,000-acre brush fire almost under control in Inyo County

San Ysidro border crossing reopened after scaffolding collapse

All San Diego beaches open after sewage spill caused by blackout

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 258

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments
Cookie!: Cookie Monster makes an appearance at the Casa de Angelopes in Inglewood in this photo by Mikey Wally on June 7, 2011.This image appears in our Hollywood characters come to life gallery of reader and staff photos.

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Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

Dozens charged with vehicle theft in San Diego County

Cars As befits a region that is sensitive about its public image, San Diego County officials generally want their home to be listed at the top of nationwide rankings: most wonderful beaches, most friendly restaurants, most days of good weather, etc.

One listing got under the locals' skin: In 2007, the county was listed third in the nation in auto thefts per 100,000 residents, with 27,073 vehicles stolen.

So a task force of law enforcement agencies was formed to catch the thieves.

Last year, the number of stolen vehicles was 13,707 and the ranking had dropped to 15.

And on Thursday, 33 more indictments were announced after a six-month undercover operation by the Regional Auto Theft Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The operation netted 53 stolen vehicles and a collection of firearms and drugs. Suspects were taped offering stolen cars, drugs and weapons to undercover cops.

Hotspots for vehicle theft, investigators said, were the parking lots of fitness centers, daycare centers and beaches. Residential burglars often take car keys and return later to steal a car.

Of the 33, 27 are in jail, many to be arraigned Friday in San Diego County Superior Court. The work of the task force continues, officials said at a news conference.

"We're on the right track," said Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis.

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Bank robbery suspect surrenders after police chase

82 LAPD officers honored in Purple Heart ceremony

Redmond O'Neal in custody, faces prison after using meth in rehab

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis and law enforcement officials display weapons seized by a six-month undercover probe of vehicle theft. Credit: San Diego County district attorney’s office.

Arctic ice shrinks to near-record low

Walrusice
A blistering summer melted Arctic sea ice to near-record lows, and scientists say two more weeks of high temperatures could bring ice coverage in the polar region to the lowest since satellite measurements were first taken in 1979.

That's the grim assessment released Thursday by the National Climatic Data Center, which also calculated that last month's global temperatures amounted to the eighth-warmest August on record. Federal forecasters predicted a return to La Nina conditions, bringing slightly drier and warmer weather to much of the country.

The sea ice melt in August was the second most extensive, and with a few more weeks left of melting it's possible that the record lows of 2007 could be matched, according to Jake Crouch, a climate scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Heat and aridity records were bested across the United States this summer where every state except North Dakota and Vermont reported at least one day of 100-degree readings. Texas was the hardest hit: 88 of 92 days of summer exceeded 100 degrees in Wichita Falls.

Texas state climatologist John  Nielsen-Gammon said an average of 10 inches of rain has fallen across the state in the last 11 months. If Texas does not receive 3-1/2 inches of rain in the next two weeks, 2011 will go in the record books as the state's driest ever.

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Global warming effect seen in pole-to-pole data-gathering flights

-- Julie Cart

Photo: From 3,000 to 4,000 walruses died in stampedes on the Russian side of the Chukchi Sea in 2007, after they were stranded on land due to a lack of sea ice. Credit: Anatoly A. Kochnev / Pacific Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography

New Evidence for an Apple a Day

The old adage promoting an apple a day for better health just got a boost from science. A large Dutch study has found that eating apples and pears is associated with a lower risk of stroke.

The findings counter the widespread belief that the most healthful fruits and vegetables are those that come in deep, rich colors inside and out. The dark green of spinach and deep red of raspberries are produced by phytochemicals that are associated with better heart health and lower rates of cancer, prompting the common advice to “eat your colors.” Apples and pears, although red, light green or yellow on the outside, are typically considered “white” fruits because the inside of the fruit, which represents the largest edible portion, is white.

Researchers in the Netherlands decided to track fruit and vegetable intake based on the color of the largest edible portion of the food. The categories were green (broccoli, kale, spinach and lettuce), orange/yellow (oranges, carrots and peaches), red/purple (cherries, grapes, beets and tomatoes) and white (apples, pears, bananas and cauliflower).

The investigators analyzed data collected from 20,069 men and women who took part in the Dutch Morgen study, which stands for Monitoring Project on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases. All the participants, aged 20 to 65, were healthy and free of cardiovascular disease at the start. The study subjects all filled out food questionnaires detailing their eating habits.

During the next 10 years, the investigators documented 233 strokes among the study participants. There was no relationship between stroke risk and consumption of any of the brightly colored fruits and vegetables. However, people who consumed at least 171 grams of white produce daily — equal to about one medium to large apple — had a 52 percent lower risk of stroke than those who ate less than 78 grams of white fruit a day. On average, every 25 grams of white fruit eaten daily was associated with a 9 percent lower risk for stroke.

The findings were published today in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Although the white category contained a number of foods, the investigators found that apples, pears and applesauce were the most common foods eaten in that category. When analyzed separately, apples and pears accounted for a 7 percent decline in stroke risk for every 25 grams eaten each day.

The strength of the research is that it is based on a large, population-based study group. The downside is that eating habits were based on people’s own recollections of fruit and vegetable consumption, so the data may not be reliable. For instance, vegetables like onions or peppers that are often chopped and mixed in with foods are not as easy to remember when filling out a dietary questionnaire, so it may be that those foods are underrepresented compared to apples, which are relatively easy to remember eating.

Why apples and pears might reduce stroke risk isn’t known, though both fruits are rich sources of dietary fiber, which is associated with lowering blood pressure. Both fruits also contain a number of nutrients and phytochemicals, including the flavanol quercetin, which may have anti-inflammatory properties.

The investigators noted that the findings should be replicated in other large studies before specific recommendations are made about consumption of white fruits.

“Previous prospective cohort studies found that high fruit and vegetable consumption lowers the risk of stroke,” said Linda Oude Griep of the division of human nutrition at Wageningen University, in an e-mail. “This is the first study on color groups of fruits and vegetables and stroke, so yes, these results were surprising. However, these findings need to be confirmed in more prospective cohort studies before definite conclusions can be made.”

The study was funded by several Dutch and European public health agencies, although a portion of the cost was paid for by an unrestricted grant from the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture, which promotes agricultural interests in the region.

Firing of one Glendale police officer for Vegas joyride reversed

Civil Service commissioners on Wednesday voted to reinstate one of three Glendale police officers who were fired for allegedly taking a patrol car on a joyride to Las Vegas.

Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to reinstate Patrick Hamblin as a Glendale police officer, city spokesman Tom Lorenz said. A 90-day work suspension without pay would still be enforced, Lorenz told the Glendale News-Press.

"We support the findings of the Civil Service Commission," Lorenz said. "It's their job to make these determinations …. It's obvious in their findings; they do uphold very strong standards for employees in the city of Glendale."

Hamblin, who stopped working April 1, will also be reduced from a Step 6 police classification to Step 3 officer, Lorenz said. Step 1 is reserved for probationary officers while Step 6 is for the highest performers.

Alleged bank robber leads police on chase, tosses cash on freeway

Triple Threat Bandit police pursuit

A suspect in at least three Orange County bank robberies was leading authorities on a high-speed chase through Orange and Los Angeles counties on Thursday, at one point reportedly tossing money out his car window.

Police dubbed the man the "Triple Threat Bandit." He allegedly struck a Banco Popular on Euclid Avenue in Fullerton just after 1 p.m. and fled in a maroon Chevy Suburban, Fullerton Police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said.

He hit the Orange County Credit Union in Fullerton, the Union Yes Federal Credit Union in Orange and the U.S. Bank in Buena Park within a two-hour span on the same day last month, according to the FBI.

The man, in his thirties with a muscular build, bright white teeth and freckles, passed a note to the teller demanding large bills, "100s and 50s," according to authorities. He was wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans, and possibly carried a black backpack.

Authorities said no weapon was spotted on the man during the robberies but cautioned that he could still be violent.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that committing three bank robberies within two hours is rare -- occurring once or twice a year at most -- and that it was "clearly an indication of desperation."

Eimiller said that as a policy the FBI does not release information about how much money is taken, but that the sums are low in most bank robberies. Anyone with information was asked to call the FBI at (888) 226-8443.

Officers spotted him driving southbound on Euclid near the 91 Freeway and tried to stop him.But he fled onto the 91 Freeway and has traversed the 105 and 110 freeways as well as surface streets.

Goodrich said there were also some reports that money was thrown out the window of the vehicle while it was traveling on the 91 Freeway.

Fullerton

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-- Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton

Photos, from top: The so-called Triple Threat Bandit leads authorities on a pursuit Thursday afternoon, with live coverage on KTLA; suspect at the Orange County Credit Union in Fullerton. Credits: Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times; FBI

Suspect in toddler shooting has ‘no conscience,’ family says

San Bernardino police arrest suspect in toddler shooting
A relative of the victims in the San Bernardino shooting that claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl said investigators informed the family on Wednesday about the arrest of a suspect.

The suspect, a 19-year-old man whose name has not been released, fired shots at a crowded front porch on Monday, apparently in an act of revenge, also injuring a pregnant woman and her 3-year-old daughter, police said. An hour before, a Good Samaritan who lives in the house saw the suspect beating a woman down the street and stopped the assault, allowing the woman to escape.

"We're happy, of course. This individual can't hurt anybody else,'' said John Prendergast of Hesperia, the uncle of La-Donna Howie, the 21-year-old pregnant mother who was shot. "To shoot a little child, this guy has no conscience whatsoever."

Prendergast said he and other family members where returning from making funeral arrangement for his 3-year-old grand-niece when they saw the suspect being chased and arrested by police.

Prendergast said investigators told family members that video surveillance from a security camera at a nearby store helped them identify the suspect. The video showed the suspect beating the woman, and also showed the Good Samaritan rescuing her.

"They found the girlfriend first, and they were working on her to give information about the guy, but she didn't want to at first,'' Prendergast said. "I guess that changed."

A police news conference is scheduled at 4 p.m.

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FBI investigating allegations of celebrity phone hacking

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

Asteroid near Earth: Fireball in Southwest prompts talk of UFO, aliens

-- Phil Willon in Riverside

Photo: San Bernardino Police Department officials held a news conference Tuesday to provide details of the shooting. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

82 LAPD officers honored in Purple Heart ceremony

Officer Randall Simmons is one of the officers who was honored Thursday Eighty-two Los Angeles police officers were honored Thursday at a first-ever Purple Heart ceremony held to pay tribute to their acts of heroism and bravery that resulted in injury or death.

The ceremony, hosted by the Los Angeles Police Foundation at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, was attended by hundreds of people, including LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles City Council members.

Seventy-two incidents of bravery that occurred over a 90-year period dating back to 1921 were highlighted, according to police officials.

Among the honorees were Det. Arleigh McCree and Officer Ronald Ball, who were killed while attempting to diffuse booby-trapped pipe bombs found in a garage on Feb. 8, 1986.

Officer Tina Kerbrat, was the first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty. She was fatally shot on Feb. 11, 1991, when she and her training officer stopped to question a man they suspected of being a criminal.

Officer Randy Simmons became the first SWAT team member to be killed in the line of duty when he was gunned down on Feb. 7, 2008, by a man hiding in a Winnetka home after he killed three relatives.

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Suspect in toddler shooting has ‘no conscience,’ family says

SpongeBob character's altercation with women caught on video

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

-- Ann M. Simmons

Photo: Officer Randy Simmons, a 20-year veteran of LAPD's SWAT team, was one of the officers honored Thursday. This is a 2008 photo from a news conference shortly after Simmons was killed. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Mom who accidentally ran over, killed toddler struggling to cope

Child
An Orange woman who killed her 3-year-old daughter when she accidentally struck the girl with her sport utility vehicle was being comforted by friends and family Thursday, as she struggled to come to terms with tragedy.

"She's really sad," Tene Tafuma said of his mother, 37-year-old Kalesita Niupuivaha, who police said unintentionally ran over her toddler, Anna Niupuivaha. "She's not doing too well."

The accident occurred at around 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday in the 800 block of Adele Street in Orange. Niupuivaha was behind the wheel of an SUV when it apparently rolled forward and struck the girl, police said. The girl was taken to a trauma center, where she died.

Authorities told The Times on Wednesday that for now the toddler's death was being treated "as a tragic accident." The incident was being investigated by the Orange Police Department's Major Accident Investigation Team.

Interstate 10 in Redlands briefly closed for shooting probe

The California Highway Patrol closed all westbound lanes of the Interstate 10 in Redlands on Thursday morning to investigate a shooting that took place overnight on the freeway.

Traffic was diverted to the 210 Freeway for about 45 minutes while Redlands police and Highway Patrol officers searched an area between Alabama and California Streets, said Redlands Police Department spokesman Carl Baker.

As the search continued, authorities reopened several lanes of the 10, an important transportation artery, Baker said.

The investigation grew out of a shooting that was reported to Redlands police just before 3 a.m. Baker said that authorities received a call from a gas station near the California Street exit that someone had been shot through the door of his vehicle.

There was no suspect or vehicle description, Baker said. The condition of the victim, who underwent surgery, was not immediately known.

Baker said anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Det. Tony Ortiz at (909) 798-7659 or Redlands police dispatch at (909) 798-7681. Anonymous tips can be provided by texting 274637 using the keyword "REDTIP."

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FBI investigating allegations of celebrity phone hacking

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

All San Diego beaches open after sewage spill caused by blackout

--Andrew Blankstein
Twitter.com/anblanx

Art dealer charged with selling forged Monet, Van Gogh paintings

A former art dealer was arrested Thursday on a federal indictment that alleges he sold paintings stolen from a Los Angeles art gallery as well as forged pieces he claimed were by Monet and other artists.

Matthew Taylor, 43, of Vero Beach, Fla., was arrested without incident by the FBI in Florida

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Taylor last week on seven felony charges related to art theft and a long-running fraud that targeted a Los Angeles art collector.

The indictment charges Taylor with defrauding the art collector victim out of millions of dollars by selling him forged artworks. Taylor allegedly sold the collector more than 100 paintings -- including works that he falsely claimed were by artists such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko -- for a total of more than $2 million, according to prosecutors.

The indictment charges that Taylor altered paintings from unknown artists to make them appear to be the products of famous artists, and then sold the bogus artwork to the victim at higher prices than their actual worth.

Taylor allegedly put forged signatures on the paintings and painted over or concealed names of the actual artists. The indictment also alleges that Taylor attached labels that falsely represented that the artworks were once part of prestigious collections at famous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Museum.

Taylor is accused of stealing a Granville Redmond painting called "Seascape at Twilight" from a gallery in Los Angeles. Taylor later sold that painting to a different gallery for $85,000, claiming that his mother had owned it for several years, the indictment says. The indictment also alleges that Taylor stole a painting by Lucien Frank titled "Park Scene, Paris" from the same L.A. gallery and was seen several years later in possession of the painting. Taylor allegedly laundered and transferred across state lines proceeds from his fraud including $105,000 obtained through sales of four forged paintings in September 2006.

Taylor is charged with three counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of possession of stolen property. The mail fraud charges each carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The remaining counts carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

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FBI investigating allegations of celebrity phone hacking

Woman thinks she won lottery jackpot after newspaper misprint

-- Richard Winton

Cat Found 5 Years, 1,800 Miles and One Microchip Later

Any pet owner still debating the merits of the microchip will be swayed by the story of Willow the Calico cat.

Willow disappeared from her home in Boulder, Colo., five years ago. Her owners thought she had been killed by coyotes and had moved on. And Willow, apparently, just moved. She turned up this week in Manhattan, 1,800 miles away from where she was last seen. A microchip implanted when she was a kitten helped track down her owners.

Jamie Squires said she and her husband, Chris, were shocked when they received a call about Willow on Wednesday from Animal Care and Control, which runs New York City’s animal rescue and shelter system. Ms. Squires said that when they saw a picture of the cat, they knew it was Willow.

“All our pets are microchipped,” Ms. Squires said. “If I could microchip my kids, I would.”

The ASPCA recently reported on the story of Roxy the Boxer, a pet that disappeared from her Staten Islan, home during a blizzard and showed up 20 miles away in Guttenberg, N.J. in March, where a policeman asked his vet to check to see if Roxy had a microchip.

Microchips, which cost about $50 to implant, are tiny transponders about the size of a grain of rice. Using a large needle, a veterinarian injects the chip under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades. Pet owners register the chip, which carries a tracking number linked with the owner’s contact information. When veterinarians or animal control officials find a stray animal, they typically will use a handheld scanner to determine if the pet is carrying a microchip. The Humane Society of the United States says that microchips should be viewed as a backup identification and that collars and tags are still the best and fastest way to retrieve a lost pet.

Read more about Willow’s incredible journey, and then please join the discussion below.

Baby boom among Grand Cayman blue iguanas at San Diego Zoo

Iguanas 
No one is sure why, but a baby boom is underway at the San Diego Zoo for the critically endangered Grand Cayman blue iguanas.

Nine of the lizards have hatched in the last two weeks -- double the number of any previous year since the Grand Cayman breeding program began in 2007.

There are now 17 blue iguanas at the zoo's Reptile Conservation Center, which is not open to the public.

Native to an island south of Cuba, the blue iguanas can grow up to 4 feet in length and weigh more than 20 pounds. The blue coloring develops as they mature.

The boom surprised reptile specialists at the zoo. "It was a little chaotic," said Jeff Lemm, a research coordinator for the zoo's Institute for Conservation Research.

The San Diego Zoo is among 13 organizations outside the Grand Cayman with blue iguanas. The San Diego hatchlings will be kept as breeding stock to ensure that the lizard survives outside of its native island, officials said.

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Photo: Grand Cayman blue iguanas. Credit: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo

Glendale mayor seeks alternative solution to coyote problem

Glendale mayor seeks alternatives to coyote problem

Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman is calling on city officials to use the techniques of animal welfare groups when dealing with coyotes in the future rather than turning too hastily to traps.

During a City Council meeting Tuesday, Friedman said several animal welfare organizations contacted the city after a media flap broke out earlier this week as Los Angeles County officials prepared to catch a pack of coyotes that was roaming a North Glendale neighborhood and using a fire-gutted house as their base, the Glendale News-Press reported.

The coyotes were to have been euthanized.

Some of the organizations offered to come to Glendale and help residents, Friedman said.

And while she's willing to consider assistance from animal welfare groups in the future, Friedman said she wanted city officials to vet them first.

Traps were set earlier this summer on a resident's private property in the Brockmont Drive neighborhood after he requested them, officials said, but no coyotes were caught.

All San Diego beaches open after sewage spill caused by blackout

Beaches repoened after blackout caused a sewage spill

The final two beaches in San Diego County that had been closed because of sewage spills caused by the massive regional power failure have been reopened, environmental health officials announced Wednesday night.

The last to reopen were Bayside Park in Chula Vista and the stretch of beach from Torrey Pines Beach at the Los Penasquitos Lagoon outlet to 15th Street in Del Mar.

Ocean samples at all beaches have shown the water safe for human contact, officials said.

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego 

Photo: Beach closure signs were posted Friday on Del Mar Beach due to fear of contamination caused by massive power outage. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Inglewood police nab suspect in gold chain thefts

Suspect in Inglewood snatch-and-grab gold thefts Inglewood police have arrested a suspect in connection with a series of snatch-and-grab gold chain thefts that have been occurring in the city since the beginning of the year, authorities said.

Maleek Lawaun Thomas, 18, of Inglewood was arrested on Sept. 9, after he forcibly stole a gold necklace from a 59-year-old woman, the Inglewood Police Department said.

Lt. James D. Madia, a police spokesman, said the robbery was part of a pattern of snatch-and-grab thefts of gold necklaces that have plagued Inglewood and the Los Angeles County area this year.

"Law enforcement officials surmise that the robberies are the result of skyrocketing gold prices," Madia said in a statement.

Thomas was spotted by a citizen as he snatched the necklace from the victim’s neck and ran from the area of Prairie Avenue and 107th Street, Madia said. The witness followed Thomas and called police as the victim's adult son chased the suspect. Police arrived quickly and detained Thomas, Madia said.

After being identified, Thomas was arrested and booked for suspicion of robbery. He is being held on $350,000 bail, according to authorities.

Madia said Inglewood police had assembled a task force to address the spree of gold chain robberies, and extra personnel were on duty when Thomas was apprehended.

Inglewood has had more than 35 similar robberies since the beginning of the year, Madia said. As a part of the task force operation, citizens have joined police in distributing fliers warning residents of the crime spree and offering tips on how to avoid becoming a victim, Madia said.

Investigators collected evidence linking Thomas to three robberies and were tracking other leads that might connect him to additional crimes, Madia said. Authorities said they believed other gold chain snatch-and-grab suspects remain at large.

Anyone with information about these crimes is urged to contact Inglewood police at (310) 412-5249. Tips can also be left anonymously on the 24-hour hotline number: (888) 412-7463.

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Photo: Maleek Lawaun Thomas Credit: Inglewood Police Department

San Ysidro border crossing reopened after scaffolding collapse

 










Officials reopened the San Ysidro border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico early Thursday morning, a day after a scaffolding collapse injured 11 people.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency said 13 lanes were reopened. The far right northbound lanes, however, will remain closed.

The collapse of the construction scaffolding occurred about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, trapping vehicles and people under the rubble, officials said.

Rescuers assessed 24 people for injuries and 11 were taken to hospitals. Four of them were construction workers, one of whom was injured seriously, officials said.

The cause of the collapse was under investigation. Federal engineers were called in to assess remaining hazards at the site and develop a cleanup plan.

-- Robert J. Lopez

5,000-acre brush fire almost under control in Inyo Conty

Inyo County brush fire A fire that has burned more than 5,000 acres south of Big Pine in Inyo County was 95% contained Thursday morning.

With control of what’s being called the John fire seemingly imminent, officials lifted all evacuation advisories and opened all roads. Highway 395, which is near the fire, never had to be shut down, said Glenn Barley, a public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The blaze started about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The cause is under investigation.

Early on, wind conditions challenged multiple agencies and hundreds of firefighters.

“The wind was initially pushing it to the west, then shifted and started pushing it to the south,” Barley said. “Then it burned back to the north the first night of the fire.”

He added: “The weather is working in our favor right now. Things are improving. Temperatures are down. There was pretty good humidity recovery overnight. No extraordinary winds at this point.”

Officials hope for full containment by Friday morning. Two firefighters were recovering from minor injuries. There are no reports so far of property damage.

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Image: Map shows the area where the Big Pine brush fire broke out. Credit: Google Maps

A lucky squirrel survives the La Brea Tar Pits

La Brea Tar Pits

The California Wildlife Center in Malibu has cleaned up its share of birds rescued from oil spills. But last month, a goo-covered squirrel arrived, freshly plucked from the La Brea Tar Pits, the famous tomb of   prehistoric animals. 

The young female fox squirrel was rescued by staffers at the nearby Los Angeles County Museum of Art who saw her struggling in the pool of tar. She went under, managed to pop back to the surface and then was lifted out with a stick.

Once at the wildlife center, hospital manager Jo Joseph and animal care coordinator Christina Van Oosten attacked the black goop that coated the unrecognizable animal from head to claw tip. Their 90 minutes of scrubbing, first with mineral oil and then with a mixture of Dawn dish detergent and water, was recorded on video.

The center kept the squirrel for two weeks to make sure she didn't grow ill from her dunking and then released her on the tar pit grounds, presumably the wiser. 

--Bettina Boxall

Photo: Replica of a prehistoric animal stuck in the tar pits. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

 

 

 

 

 

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