BART trains, stations stay open throughout protest

Although transit officials warned Bay Area travelers about protests that could disrupt train travel through downtown San Francisco on Monday night, the evening commute went off with little difficulty.

The protests against the Bay Area Rapid Transit District began about 5 p.m. as expected; it was the third round of demonstrations in the last three weeks, stemming from the July 3 fatal shooting of an intoxicated, knife-wielding transient by a BART police officer.

Although several dozen protesters gathered at the Civic Center BART station and marched along busy Market Street, BART officials said that all stations stayed open and all trains ran on time.

No damage or injuries were reported.

BART police arrested two people for marching into the paid area of the Embarcadero Station, where demonstrations are prohibited.

 RELATED:

BART commuters turned away by police

Protesters shut down BART station in San Francisco

3 BART stations shut down amid San Francisco protest

-- Maria L. La Ganga in San Francisco

Ex-Laker Javaris Crittenton arrested on murder warrant

Former Laker Javaris Crittenton was arrested Monday evening at John Wayne International Airport on a murder warrant in connection with a slaying in Atlanta, the FBI said.

He was taken into custody without incident by a fugitive task force of FBI agents and Los Angeles Police Department officers, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. He was being booked Monday night by LAPD officers.

Crittenton, 23, allegedly shot Jullian Jones, a mother of four, on Aug. 19 as she stood outside her home with two other people, authorities said.

Earlier Monday, police said Crittenton may have been hiding in the L.A. area and was considered armed and dangerous.

Atlanta homicide detectives said Crittenton was trying to shoot someone he believed had stolen jewelry from him in April, according to Georgia law enforcement sources.

Jones was caught in a hail of bullets from the driver’s side of a sport utility vehicle. She was hit multiple times and declared dead at a hospital, according to authorities.

Crittenton, of Fayetteville, Ga., was drafted by the Lakers in 2007 but was traded in his rookie year to the Memphis Grizzlies. His NBA career sputtered with the Washington Wizards in 2009 when he and then-teammate Gilbert Arenas pulled guns on each other.

ALSO:

Rose Bowl tailgaters face new restrictions

Rare birds found taped to passenger's body at LAX

Ex-Laker Javaris Crittenton, wanted in slaying, may be in L.A.

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Former Lakers player Javaris Crittenton. Credit: FBI

Yosemite fire now at 4,700 acres; 300 people evacuated

 
A wildfire, touched off when a propane tank on a motor home traveling one of the main highways into Yosemite exploded, was in its fifth day Monday, but visitors to the national park could be forgiven if they didn’t notice.

Smoke from the rugged slopes burning in a box canyon along the Merced River didn’t even tinge the skies above Yosemite Valley, said Scott Gediman, Yosemite National Park spokesman.

“The sky is blue,” Gediman said. "There’s water in the waterfalls, the trails are open and it does not affect them in any way, shape or form.”

The motor home went up in flames Thursday afternoon on Highway 140 between Yosemite and Mariposa, spitting embers that started separate fires on both sides of the river, Gediman said. There were no injuries in the vehicle fire, he added.

By Monday, the blaze had eaten more than 4,700 acres of manzanita, scrub oak and Ponderosa pines. Highway 140 remained closed, but the other major routes into the park –- highways 41 and 120 –- were still open. And park services were unaffected.

“It’s business as usual,” said Lisa Cesaro, spokeswoman for Delaware North, the park concessionaire.

About 300 people, mainly park service and concession employees, were under an evacuation order covering El Portal, Rancheria, Cedar Creek Lodge and the Merced River campgrounds.

Most of them were placed in empty cabins, tents or other lodgings in the valley, or found space with family and friends, park authorities said.

Brush fire flares up, forces part of Highway 138 to close

A wildfire that burned 345 acres near the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line was 85% contained Monday, but the blaze flared up Monday evening, forcing the closure of a segment of Highway 138, fire officials said.

The blaze originally began along the highway south of Pinion Hills, east of Palmdale and west of Victorville, on Saturday after a series of lightning strikes from violent thunderstorms hit the desert areas, although the official cause has not been determined.

A small spot fire apparently leaped across the containment lines Monday, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Still, the blaze was enough under control for officials to redeploy some resources to other fires in the region.

ALSO:

Wildfire near Yosemite forces evacuations

Southern California brush fires getting under control

Cardiff State Beach closed after sewage spill in Escondido       

Heat wave hits Day 6 in Southern California; warning issued

-- Phil Willon

twitter/LATimesWillon

Man sentenced in stabbings outside USC-UCLA football game

A Winnetka man convicted of attempted murder in connection with a fight outside the Rose Bowl before the USC-UCLA football game last year was sentenced Monday to 15 years, four months in prison.

Anthony Richard Cisneros, 23, pleaded no contest last month to two counts of attempted murder. He was arrested in the wake of a Dec. 4 fight that broke out after a football hit a Mercedes-Benz.

Joshua Dirling, a Cal State Fullerton student, was stabbed in the cheek, and Vimal Patel was stabbed in the back during the melee.

Two of Cisneros' older siblings also pleaded no contest to lesser charges stemming from the brawl.

Arthur Joseph Cisneros, 26, pleaded no contest to an assault charge and was ordered to serve a year in County Jail and three years' probation.

Akira Sheree Cisneros, 24, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery count shortly after the incident. She was sentenced to three years' probation and 40 hours of community service.

ALSO:

Wildfire near Yosemite forces evacuations

Rare birds found taped to passenger's body at LAX

O.C. prepares to welcome home Little League world champs

-- Richard Winton 

Photo: An empty beer carton sits next to a Pasadena police car during a USC-UCLA game after two people were stabbed in a parking lot at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Dec. 4, 2010. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

California 140 to Yosemite expected to reopen Tuesday

A main road to Yosemite that has been shut down since last week by a large wildfire is expected to reopen Tuesday, officials said.

California 140 was expected to reopen at 6 a.m. because fire crews had made progress in beating back flames in the area, the U.S. Forest Service said. The highway had been closed since Thursday afternoon from about four miles east of Midpines to about four miles west of the park boundary.

Officials also were planning to lift an evacuation order Monday night that had affected about 300 people, most of them park service and concession employees, in the El Portal, Rancheria, Cedar Creek Lodge and Merced River campgrounds.

The blaze, known as the Motor fire, began along the Merced River on Thursday afternoon and had scorched about 5,230 acres of pine and brush by Monday evening, officials said. The blaze was 50% contained.

Fire officials credited a massive air assault that involved large tanker planes and helicopters that made repeated water and retardant drops with helping crews make progress in their efforts to battle the blaze.

ALSO:

Wildfire near Yosemite forces evacuations

Southern California brush fires getting under control

Cardiff State Beach closed after sewage spill in Escondido       

Heat wave hits Day 6 in Southern California; warning issued

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Crews work a fire line during the Motor fire. Credit: U.S. Forest Service

Brush fire north of Murrieta fully contained

A 160-acre grass fire north of Murrieta was fully contained in just over five hours but forced the evacuation of nearly a dozen homes as well as road closures in the Riverside County town of Menifee, authorities said.

More than 160 firefighters were called in to fight the blaze, which damaged two outbuildings, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials. No injuries were reported.

The fire was reported in Menifee about 1 p.m. and spread quickly.

Meanwhile, a wildfire that burned 345 acres near the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line was 85% contained Sunday evening, after 555 federal, state and local firefighters were call in to battle the blaze, according to information released by the forestry department.

The fire began near Highway 138, south of Pinion Hills, east of Palmdale and west of Victorville, on Saturday after a series of lightning strikes from violent thunderstorms hit the desert areas, although the official cause has not been determined.

A second wildfire at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains in the community of Mentone burned 67 acres and was expected to be completely contained by Monday night, fire officials said.

Also:

Wildfire near Yosemite forces evacuations

Rare birds found taped to passenger's body at LAX

O.C. prepares to welcome home Little League world champs

-- Phil Willon in Riverside