Sacto 9-1-1

From Kim Minugh:

The Farmer's & Merchant's Bank in Galt was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money this afternoon, according to police.

About 1:30 p.m., an unidentified man entered the bank, located on Twin Cities Road, and demanded money from a teller, according to a Galt police news release. The teller gave the man money, and he left on foot.

He was not seen by any potential witnesses, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident or the robber is asked to call Galt police at (209) 366-7000.

From Kim Minugh:

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are seeking the public's help in figuring out how a 33-year-old Vallejo resident wound up stuffed in the trunk of a car parked in a Fruitridge neighborhood this week.

The body of David Joshua Barreda - also known as "Johnny Vidal" or "King Rizz" - was discovered Wednesday morning when a 40th Street resident called the sheriff's department to report a suspicious car parked on the street, near 44th Avenue. Responding deputies saw what looked like blood leaking from the trunk of the white 1994 Ford Taurus, and found Barreda's body inside.

Detectives found no obvious signs of trauma, other than the blood, but the coroner's office has since determined that Barreda was shot to death.

Detectives believe he was killed elsewhere and moved to 40th Street, according to sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

Barreda has ties to San Pablo, San Jose and East Palo Alto, Curran said.

Residents in the neighborhood where Barreda's body was found have told detectives that they remember seeing the car as early as 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Deputies were called to the scene just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information about Barreda's whereabouts leading up to his death, or details of the homicide itself, are asked to call detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Kim Minugh:

When a drunken neighbor came over and threatened his Thanksgiving guests with a kitchen knife, one Del Paso Heights man allegedly took matters - and a plastic candy cane - into his own hands.

In what police said was self-defense, the man used the two-foot plastic lawn decoration to beat 49-year-old Donald Kercell until police could take Kercell into custody, said Sacramento Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Kercell allegedly became intoxicated, went over to a neighbor's home on the 3600 block of Dayton Street early Thursday evening and began waving a kitchen knife at people gathered on the lawn, Leong said.

When Kercell cut a few people's clothing, Leong said, a man at the home decided to fight back. Other people at the home called police.

Leong said the candy cane-wielding man does not face any charges. The knife-wielding man, however, was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified a man struck and killed by a train while he rode his bicycle in the Florin area Wednesday night.

Michel Lamborn, 55, of Sacramento was killed while attempting to cross the tracks near Gerber Road and Tiogawoods Drive at about 10:20 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

According to a CHP press release, the train's conductor saw Lamborn on the tracks before he was struck, but was unable to stop before hitting him. Lamborn was crossing the intersection while both crossing arms were down and signals were sounding, the release said.

The CHP is currently investigating the accident and is looking for witnesses, the release said. Anyone with information is asked to call (916) 681-2300 during business hours or (916) 861-1300 after hours.

From Bee Staff

SACRAMENTO -- The victim of an early morning shooting today has died from his gunshot wounds, according to Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Police received a call at 2:23 a.m. that a man in his 30s was shot in the street during a dispute in the 4000 block of 35th Street, Leong said. The victim, identified as Augusta James, 32, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where he died later in the morning.

Leong said it appears that James got into an argument with two men. The argument escalated, and one of the suspects shot James multiple times, Leong said.

Police are looking for two men in connection with the shooting. One is described as an African American male, 5-foot-9, in his late 20s with a shaved head and weighing about 130 pounds. There is no description for the second man.

Leong said police are investigating the shooting.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-Crime. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

From Hudson Sangree:

A volunteer firefighter convicted of setting a dozen wildfires in 2006 in the Capay Valley was sentenced today to 40 years in prison.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen L. Mock sentenced Robert Eric Eason to the prison term.

A jury in October found Eason, 39, guilty of setting the fires, including one wind-driven blaze that burned 1,000 acres and killed more than 200 sheep.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said there have been no suspicious roadside fires in the Capay Valley since Eason was arrested in October 2006.

The sentencing closes a three-year investigation that used satellite tracking and hidden cameras to catch a man whom investigators suspected of setting the valley ablaze for years.

"This is one of the most complex cases that Cal Fire has ever undertaken," department spokeswoman Janet Upton said last month.

Jurors found Eason guilty of 12 felony counts of arson, with enhancements for using time-delay incendiary devices, and two counts of possessing the devices. Those charges stemmed from fires in 2006, when officials were closely monitoring Eason's movements.

For years, investigators suspected an arsonist was at work in the rugged Rumsey Canyon at the top of the valley. They focused on Eason starting in July 2006, when surveillance videos showed his blue Ford Tempo making brief trips into the canyon shortly before fires started.

In 2006, they attached a Global Positioning System device to his car and recorded his movements as he drove past sites in the valley that caught fire up to 90 minutes later. A search of Eason's car and home in October 2006 revealed pieces of mosquito coils and other materials.

From Kim Minugh:

Blood leaking from a trunk was the first clue.

Sure enough, upon opening the trunk of a white 1996 Ford Taurus parked on 40th Street, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies found a man's body this morning, according to authorities.

Deputies were called to the Fruitridge neighborhood at 40th Street and 44th Avenue, near Pacific Elementary School, shortly after 7:30 a.m. to investigate a suspicious vehicle, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran. They saw what appeared to be blood leaking from the trunk, and inside found the body of a man believed to be in his mid- to late 20s.

There were no visible signs of trauma, Curran said, other than the blood. Investigators are not sure whether the man was killed inside the trunk, but they do not believe he was killed at that location.

The victim has not yet been identified. The car is registered to someone who lives outside the Sacramento area, but investigators are not yet sure whether the victim is the car's owner.

Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call sheriff's detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From David Richie:

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies were baffled by a man who led them on a dangerous, high-speed chase through downtown Placerville early Sunday morning.

A deputy spotted Steven Mark Gigliello (left photo) behind the wheel of a black 1995 Nissan Maxima just after midnight near Mosquito Road and Broadway. He ran a stop sign, turned on to Clay Street and then sped up to about 60 mph.

The deputy attempted a traffic stop, but Gigliello sped away. The pursuit continued through Placerville on Main Street and other roads. It ended a few miles away near Cool Water Creek and Cold Springs roads, where deputies put down spike strips to stop the man's car.

A that point Gigliello locked himself inside and deputies had to break in and subdue him before he could be arrested, officials said.

A records check revealed that the suspect had no warrants and he is not on probation or parole. No contraband was found in his car. He was not under the influence of alcohol or any other drugs.

If he had pulled over when the deputy put the lights on him, he would have been facing a traffic ticket for running a stop sign and speeding, authorities said. On Wednesday Gigliello was still in custody facing misdemeanor charges of evading a police officer, reckless driving and resisting arrest.

"He turned something relatively minor into something with major consequences," said Sgt. Bryan Golmitz, Sheriff's Office spokesman.

From Niesha Lofing:

Sacramento police are asking for help in locating a car used in the commission of a south Sacramento homicide last month.

Joseph Montoya was gunned down at 10:12 p.m. Oct. 13 while standing in front of a home in the 2600 block of Hing Avenue, Sgt. Norm Leong said.

A car drove up, parked and a person exited the car, approached Montoya and shot and killed him, he said.

Tony Van (top left photo), 21, of Sacramento, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder while driving near 30th and H streets in Sacramento.

Darnell Dabney (top right photo), 18, of Sacramento, was arrested Sunday in Seattle, Wash., with the help of the Tukwila Police Department.

Sacramento homicide detectives are trying to determine a motive, but police say the shooting was "not random," Leong said.

Montoya did not live at the Hing Avenue home, and it is unclear whom he knew at the home. Also unclear is his relationship to the men arrested in connection to his murder.

Police are looking for the vehicle Van and Dabney allegedly used on the night of the homicide. The car is described as a customized white, two-door Acura with large rims and "Lamborghini-style" doors.

"We have no clue where it is," Leong said. "It's definitely a key piece of evidence that we'd like to find."

Van is being held without bail in Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of murder, possession of marijuana for sale, and a re-arrest for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to online jail information.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Dabney is being held on suspicion of murder in Washington and will be extradited to Sacramento.

Police are asking anyone with information about the Acura or who has information about the homicide to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

State Department of Corrections parole agents are seeking Jeffrey Bravo on a felony no-bail arrest warrant for suspected parole violations, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Bravo (left photo) is also wanted on a $30,000 bail arrest warrant for failure to appear in court as ordered, authorities said.

Bravo is described as 38 years old, 5-foot-7, weighing 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last know to live in the 6000 block of Riverside Boulevard in the Greenhaven neighborhood of Sacramento, according to authorities.

From Niesha Lofing:

An Isleton woman is facing up to 10 years in federal prison after embezzling more than $466,000 from a Walnut Grove pear orchard.

Judith Kaye Power, 52, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to one count of making and uttering a forged instrument, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott's office.

Power worked as the bookkeeper for Steamboat Orchards and prepared payroll checks for the business. She was not authorized to sign the checks.

She also prepared all relevant tax forms for the business, including Internal Revenue Service W-2 forms, prosecutors said.

From October 2001 to May 2006, Power wrote extra payroll checks for herself in addition to the payroll checks she was entitled to, and forged the name of the authorized signer on the extra checks, prosecutors said.

Power wrote and cashed or deposited $468,498.22 in extra payroll checks at various banks during the five-year period, the release states.

To support the fraud, Power prepared fraudulent time cards and added more hours to her schedule than she worked, prosecutors said. To further hide her scheme from the IRS, Power prepared fraudulent W-2 tax forms from 2002 to 2006, including the amounts she lawfully earned as well as the fraudulent amounts, the release states.

Power's sentencing hearing before Judge Mendez is scheduled for Feb. 17.

She faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

By David Richie:

A man identified by El Dorado County sheriff's deputies as Sapian Joseph Crespin is being held on $1 million bail after he allegedly forced his girlfriend at knifepoint to drive him from Roseville to Placerville so he could visit a former girlfriend.

Crespin (left photo), 25, was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or co-habitant, making criminal threats and assault with a deadly weapon. A judge found Crespin's behavior so egregious that an enhancement was added to the list of charges bringing his bail up to $1 million, officials said.

The action escalated about 1:45 p.m. Sunday when Crespin and his girlfriend arrived at the other woman's home on Oak Lane Court, off Missouri Flat Road, near Wal-Mart, said Sgt. Bryan Golmitz, Sheriff's Office spokesman.

The other woman lured Crespin out of the vehicle so the kidnap victim could drive away. At that point Crespin, knife in hand, started chasing the vehicle on foot. Responding deputies found the vehicle near the entrance to Wal-Mart, with Crespin still trying to climb in the passenger side door. The store was very busy at the time and the incident drew a crowd.

Crespin was taken into custody. His victim declined medical treatment.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Sacramento police have arrested two men in connection with the Oct. 13 murder of a 22-year-old man in South Sacramento, police said.

Tony Van, 21, and Darnell Dabney, 18, are in custody on suspicion of fatally shooting Joseph Montoya in front of his home in the 2600 block of Hing Avenue, said spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Van was arrested Tuesday near 30th and H streets after he was stopped by officers, said Leong. Dabney was arrested Sunday in Seattle by officers from the Tukwila Police Department, Leong said.

Van also was booked on suspicion of the possession of marijuana for sale, jail records show. Leong said officers found the drugs in Van's car.

Montoya was outside his house about 10 p.m. Oct. 13 when a white sedan pulled up, Leong said. After words were exchanged, someone got out of the car and shot Montoya, Leong said.

The motive for the killing is still unclear, he said, and he would not say who police believe pulled the trigger or why Dabney was in Seattle.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

The Placer County District Attorney's Office has exonerated a Sacramento County Sheriff's detective in the April shooting death of a man suspected to have murdered an elderly man in North Highlands earlier that day.

David Kenneth Hamilton was killed by a detective on April 20 after being confronted at a Roseville motel. Hamilton was being sought as a suspect in the killing of Wilbur Reynolds, 76, who was found dead in his burned house by fire officials earlier that day.

According to a press release from the district attorney's office, Hamilton was confronted by a detective wearing a "raid" vest that clearly marked him as a police officer. Hamilton fled from the detective at night after ignoring repeated calls for him to stop, the release said. He was shot after he appeared to reach for a weapon, the release said.

Found on his person following the shooting were two folding knives, a gray and blue flashlight, a pair of metal pliers and a baggie of methamphetamine, the release said.

The detective was not identified.

From Kim Minugh:

West Sacramento police have identified the woman found in a burning SUV on Saturday morning as 25-year-old Anya Nicole Seferian.

Seferian, who lived in West Sacramento, owned the Ford Explorer her body was found in, according to police spokesman Lt. Tod Sockman. It was parked at Bridgeway Island Elementary School on Half Moon Bay Road when an explosion occurred and the vehicle burst into flames.

The cause of the fire and Seferian's death are still under investigation. Police are seeking the public's help in gathering more information about the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call police detectives Ed Hensley at (916) 617-4955 or Eugene Semeryuk at (916) 617-4931.

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of a midtown Sacramento cook.

Sio Meng Lai (left photo), a cook at the Tea Cup Restaurant, was shot to death Nov. 26, 2007, at 15th and V streets after finishing a work shift. Sacramento police officials said today in a news release that they have exhausted all leads and seek information about the incident.

Citizens with information about the incidentare are asked to call Crime Alert at 1-800-AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP.

Here is The Bee's Dec. 6, 2007, story about the case:

By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com

Sio Meng Lai followed his routine the night he was shot to death.

After finishing his shift as a cook at the Tea Cup Cafe on 21st Street in midtown Sacramento Nov. 26, Lai got into his car and drove home. He parked on 15th Street just after 9 p.m. and walked up the block to lock his wife's car, as he did every night.

But before the 48-year-old father of two could climb the stairs leading to his family's apartment, someone shot him and disappeared into what little darkness existed on the busy urban thoroughfare.

This has become a perplexing case for Sacramento homicide detectives, not only because of Lai's law-abiding and honest background, but because no one has come forward to say they saw what happened to him.

"It's just a true whodunit," said Sacramento Police Sgt. Kirk Campbell, a supervisor of the department's homicide unit. "This was a real hardworking, real family man."

Detectives have been unable to develop a motive behind the city's 42nd homicide this year, which means they have also been unable to rule out anything.

"We're looking to get the public's help to give us some direction," Campbell said.

All that is known is that several neighbors around the 2100 block of 15th Street reported hearing a brief argument just before a single gunshot rang out, killing Lai, police said. The victim's son called 911, but Lai was pronounced dead a short while later.

Many residents in that area speak Cantonese, and police officers have spent the past week canvasing the area with fliers and visiting Asian businesses as they search for potential witnesses. Officers also have visited churches, spoken with shoppers at the farmer's market on Broadway and set up a tip line for Cantonese-speaking residents.

Three detectives, along with as many as six police officers who speak Cantonese, are working the case, Campbell said.

"We feel someone heard or saw something," Campbell said. "But right now, we're at a loss."

From the Associated Press:

MONROE, Ga. -- A Sacramento man accused of gunning down his estranged wife and a man in a New Jersey church told authorities Tuesday in a videotaped confession that he would've killed everyone in the building if he'd had a machine gun, a Georgia prosecutor said.

Joseph Pallipurath (right photo), 27, admitted to Sunday's shooting rampage, which also seriously wounded a third person, hours after he surrendered peacefully at a Georgia motel, Walton County Assistant District Attorney Eric Crawford said.

"He was very emotional and very animated during the course of the interview," Crawford said. "The impression I got was he was waiting to talk to somebody and tell his side of the story."

Pallipurath told authorities he believed church members were blocking his attempts to contact his wife, who had left him three months ago, Crawford said. The prosecutor added that Pallipurath didn't apologize or express remorse for the shootings.

He was arrested late Monday in Monroe, about 40 miles east of Atlanta, after a motel clerk recognized his face from a photograph. During a court appearance Tuesday, he wore a blue jumpsuit and answered only "yes" and "no" when the judge asked him about his charges and extradition process. Pallipurath, who had no attorney, agreed to return to New Jersey.

Pallipurath is charged with shooting and killing his wife, 24-year-old Reshma James, inside the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton, a suburb about 15 miles west of Manhattan. Prosecutors said James had previously taken out a restraining order against Pallipurath.

Also killed was Dennis John Mallosseril, who maintained the church's Web site. Witnesses said he tried to intervene.

James' 47-year-old cousin, Silvy Perincheril, was shot in the head and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Click here for the full Associated Press story.

From Kim Minugh:

The California Highway Patrol is seeking the help of anyone who might have witnessed the fatal motorcycle accident that left a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy dead earlier this month.

Deputy Larry Canfield (left photo), a motorcycle officer assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department, was killed Nov. 12 when his motorcycle struck a vehicle on Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova. The details of that accident are still being investigated.

Anyone who was in the area of Coloma Road and Chardonnay Drive about 1:52 p.m. that day is asked to call CHP Investigating Officer Chris Padilla at (916) 876-8808.

From Andy Furillo and Niesha Lofing:

Police have determined that it was a woman whose body was found inside a burning SUV at a West Sacramento elementary school Saturday.

What caused the Ford Explorer to catch fire and caused the woman's death is not known. Firefighters found the car ablaze at 8 a.m. at Bridgeway Island Elementary School, located on Half Moon Bay Road.

An autopsy Monday determined that the remains were of a woman, according to a West Sacramento police news release.

Authorities have made a "tentative" identification, but are not releasing the information pending confirmation of dental records, police said. The family of the woman police believe to be the victim have been notified.

West Sacramento police detectives continue to work on the case today and are treating the death as being "suspicious, ranging from accidental to a homicide," police said.

Illegal drugs were found near the scene, but police have not determined whether they are connected to the victim.

Detectives are looking for potential witnesses, and anyone with information is asked to call police Detective Ed Hensley at (916) 617-4955 or Detective Eugene Semeryuk at (916) 617-4931.

The fiery death left at least one neighbor on edge this weekend.

"We would like to know it's not something that's going to happen on a regular basis," said Donnice Harrison, amid the uneasy quiet across Half Moon Bay Circle from the school. "We have to live here. We would like somebody to let us know the issue has been resolved."

The only thing the residents in the Southport neighborhood knew Sunday was that the SUV had out-of-state license plates.

Harrison said police found two Ziploc-type plastic bags on her front lawn that contained some kind of white substance. She said police thought it might have been drugs, and they brought their dogs to do some sniffing.

She said police gave no indication whether the bags had anything to do with the body.

A neighbor of Harrison's said he pulled into his driveway about 7 a.m. Saturday after getting off work. The neighbor, who asked that his name be withheld for fear of retaliation by any possible criminal suspects, said he saw the SUV in the school parking lot with its lights on and someone sitting inside when he got home. He said he didn't think anything of it.

"I came inside and was watching TV, then I felt the house shaking," the neighbor said. He said he ran outside and saw the car in flames. "It exploded," he said.

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From Andy Furillo:

A 15-year-old reputed gang member has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult for the Aug. 22 shooting death of a Sacramento High football player.

Marvel Montreal Barksdale, who will turn 16 next month, has a hearing set for Dec. 5 in Sacramento Superior Court.

He is accused of murder in the death of Robert Haynes, 16, who was shot and killed at a Meadowview house party.

Deputy District Attorney John O'Mara, head of the office's homicide unit, described the shooting Monday as "a gang deal between two rival gang sets."

Haynes' friends and relatives and coaches at Sacramento High said the day after the shooting that he had sought to put a troubled past behind him and that he had accumulated a 3.88 grade point average at school.

O'Mara, however, identified Haynes as a gang member who "hadn't completed the turn" in changing his life.

Haynes' grandmother, Josephine Franklin, said he was not in a gang at the time of his death.

From Kim Minugh and Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento man accused of fatally shooting two people, including his estranged wife, in a New Jersey church was captured late Monday in Georgia, authorities said.

New Jersey District U.S. Marshal James Plousis said Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath (left photo) was captured around midnight Monday in Monroe, east of Atlanta. The manhunt for Pallipurath was centered on Georgia because the suspect has relatives in the area, authorities said.

Police said Pallipurath, 27, gunned down three people, including his estranged wife, Reshma James, at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton, N.J., a suburb about 15 miles west of Manhattan.

James, 24 - who family members say, and court records show, was abused by Pallipurath during their arranged marriage - died Sunday afternoon. Dennis John Malloosseril, 25, died that night.

Parishioner Silvy Perincheril, 47, who is James' cousin, remained in critical condition Monday.

Click here to read the full Bee story.

For reports from New Jersey, click here for the story in the Record newspaper in Hackensack.

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From Niesha Lofing:

A Redding man was sentenced this week to nearly 20 years in prison for playing an essential role in a Yuba City drug deal.

Jesus Valencia Ontiveros, 24, was convicted in federal court of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ontiveros, one of seven people indicted in the case, had pled guilty earlier this year before some of his co-defendants came to trial, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott's office.

The situation began to unfold in December 2006, when the Drug Enforcement Agency used an informant to negotiate a methamphetamine deal with a person in Colusa.

Ontiveros emerged as a central figure in the plan to deliver a large amount of meth to the informant, federal prosecutors said.

On Feb. 24, 2007, Ontiveros and five other people traveled from Corning to Yuba City to deliver four pounds of meth. The six people traveled in three cars and arrived in a Wal-Mart parking lot just before midnight, prosecutors said.

A co-defendant driving with Ontiveros had a loaded .357 caliber handgun and three other co-defendants, who were on security-detail during the drug deal, arrived in a truck carrying an SKS military rifle and ammunition, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement arrested the six people after the drugs were shown to the informant.

The case was investigated by the DEA and Net-5, a drug task force comprised of Yuba and Sutter county law enforcement.

Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. presided over the sentencing and described Ontiveros as an "enthusiastic participant" whose "role was essential" to completing the deal, the release states.

Four other co-defendants have been sentenced as follows: Jose Luis Villanueva Diaz, more than 11 years, Sabas Miramontes, more than 12 years, Margarito Ramirez Caballero, more than 24 years, Ricardo Diaz, more than 24 years.

From David Richie:

A 21-year old registered sex offender remains in Sacramento County Main Jail on a charge of felony sexual battery after his arrest Sunday afternoon during a bizarre encounter with a woman at Marshall's in the 7900 block of Greenback Lane.

The woman told Citrus Heights police that the man, who officers later identified as Chris Jay Holland of Sacramento, followed her into the store and then followed her around, staring at her intently. Then Holland allegedly approached her from behind, got down on his hands and knees and looked up her dress, police said. When she moved to a cashier, she said Holland left.

But the woman told police that Holland was waiting for her in a car outside the store. The woman ran to her car, locked herself inside. Holland allegedly moved his vehicle to block her in and police officers found him in that position when they arrived.

Holland also was booked on a felony charge of suspicion of false imprisonment and misdemeanor charge of suspicion of probation violation.

The officers' investigation revealed that Holland is on probation for indecent exposure and soliciting a sex act.

From David Richie:

El Dorado County Sheriff's investigators are looking for a Northern Energy Propane service truck reported stolen Thursday.

Company officials told sheriff's deputies that the truck (similar looking to the one pictured at left) was parked in a locked company storage yard on Davidson Road in the community of El Dorado. The company waited a while to inform the Sheriff's Office about the vehicle theft, which occurred between 5 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to a release issued today by the Sheriff's Office.

The company's Truck 8209 is a 2003 white Ford F550 with California license plates 7J43076. It has the company name lettered on both sides. It is equipped with a boom lift crane.

The truck also has the name "Harry" written on driver's side door with a bullet hole sticker underneath.

Detectives are asking for the public assistance. Anyone with information can call the Sheriff's Office at (530) 642-4715.

From David Richie:

Two gunmen robbed Noah's Bagels, 2030 Douglas Blvd., in Roseville about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, police said today in a news release.

The incident occurred as employees were cleaning up after closing. An employee was grabbed near the back door and the two robbers forced their way inside. They took cash and departed without injuring any employees. Both men were armed with handguns, police said.

The robbers are described as white males in their 20s. One was 5-feet to 5-feet-5 inches tall with a thin build. He was wearing black clothing and a black ski mask. The other man was heavy-set, wearing a gray sweatshirt, long blue basketball shorts and brown boots.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Roseville Police Department at (916) 774-5070 or Crime Stoppers at (916) 783-7867. People providing information may be eligible for cash rewards and they can remain anonymous.

From Andy Furillo:

Thanksgiving will slow things down this week at the Sacramento County courthouse, but a few suspects of note are scheduled to duck in for brief hearings this week.

Williams Lyons, accused in the hit-and-run death of bicyclist Michael Winnett over the summer, checks in for a hearing today.

On Tuesday, Fotini Huntley, accused in the attempted drowning of her daughter, and murderer defendants Denisho Collins and Manuel Alvarado-Guerrero have court dates.

David Allen Falls, meanwhile, is back in court on Friday. He's the defendant in an upcoming murder trial resulting from the death of Kebret Tekle, the Sacramento State student who police say was shot in a gang crossfire at a nightclub near campus last year.

From Niesha Lofing:

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are asking for help in identifying a man who robbed a Sacramento Goodwill store at gunpoint Sunday.

Deputies received a call at 7:36 p.m. Sunday that a robbery had just occurred at the Goodwill store at 6648 Franklin Blvd., sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said.

"The caller said an Asian male with a gun took money and fled on foot," he said.

The man is described as 5-foot-6, thin build, wearing a red sweater, jeans and a black beanie.

No one was hurt in the robbery.

The store also was robbed in September, but a different suspect was described in that instance, Curran said.

Deputies need the public's help in solving the latest robbery, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's department at (916) 874-5115.

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Sacramento Police detectives are seeking Andre Davis (left photo) on a felony $50,000 bail arrest warrant for suspicion of inflicting serious injury to spouse or cohabitant, endangering the health of a child and violating a court order, according to Sacramento Crime Alert officials.

Davis, listed as a transient, is described as age 38, 5-foot-9 weighing 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Davis is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Niesha Lofing and Sandy Louey:

Sacramento County Coroner's officials have identified the body of a man found Sunday in his car in the Fruitridge-Pocket area as Khet Finh Saelee, 32, of Sacramento.

An autopsy has not been performed and cause of death remains undetermined, a deputy coroner said.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies continue their investigation, which launched at 10:18 a.m. when deputies received a call about an injured man in a parked vehicle in the alley between Baker and Roosevelt avenues, according to a sheriff's department news release.

Saelee, who was in the driver's seat, was unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics, who arrived shortly afterward, pronounced him dead at the scene.

Saelee was found to have a wound to his upper body when a deputy coroner removed his body from the vehicle, the sheriff's department said.

The deputy coroner was unable to determine if a gun or knife caused the wound. Neither weapon was found at the scene.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call the sheriff's department at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can be anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Niesha Lofing:

A Woodland parolee was arrested early Sunday after allegedly beating his girlfriend and threatening to harm her and her child.

Woodland police were called at 3:30 a.m. to the 1300 block of Elwood Drive on a report of domestic violence, Sgt. Frank Ritter stated in a news release.

Police immediately detained Robert Anthony Jimenez Jr., a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parolee, in the home and found the woman and her child hiding in a bedroom, he said.

The woman had visible injuries that were not life threatening, and the child was not harmed, Ritter said.

Police arrested Jimenez on suspicion of false imprisonment, domestic battery, child endangerment and maliciously obstructing a phone line and placed a parole hold on him.

Jimenez was taken to Yolo County Jail in Woodland.

Woodland police are asking anyone with additional information about the case to call (530) 666-2411 or (530) 661-7800.

Callers may remain anonymous.

From Niesha Lofing and Andy Furillo:

The father of the Sacramento man who fatally shot two people Sunday in a New Jersey church received a restraining order in May against his son, claiming his son was abusive of family members, according to family court records.

However, Mathai J. Pallipurath asked that the order be dropped against his son, Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath, in June, records show. A judge granted his request.

Joseph Pallipurath is accused of shooting three people, including his estranged wife, at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton, N.J., on Sunday.

His estranged wife, 24-year-old Reshma James, died that afternoon, and Daniel John Malloosseril, 23, died that night. Parishioner Silvy Perincheril, 47, who also is James' cousin, is in critical condition, according to Clifton police Capt. Robert Rowan.

The elder Pallipurath filed the domestic violence restraining order request May 23 on behalf of himself; his wife, Thresia; and their son, Lukose, now 21, court records show. The order barred Joseph Pallipurath from coming within 100 yards of those people, their south Sacramento home, and Mathai Pallipurath's workplace and vehicle.

The order also required Joseph Pallipurath to move out from his father's home.

In his request for the restraining order, Mathai Pallipurath wrote that the most recent date of abuse had been May 21, when Joseph reportedly threatened his father's "life and property" in front of Thresia Pallipurath.

Just a day earlier, Mathai Pallipurath wrote, Joseph had "threaten(ed) and abused his wife, ... my daughter-in-law" in front of Thresia and two other sons, according to the records. He also hit his father on the arms and pushed him to the floor, Mathai Pallipurath wrote.

That restraining order, however, was dropped at Mathai Pallipurath request on June 17, records indicate.

Court records reveal a volatile family environment: Also on May 23, Mathai Pallipurath filed a request for and received a restraining order against another of his sons, Kuriyakose Pallipurath, but dropped that order on July 17 as well.

Click here for the full updated Bee story.

Here are two accounts of the shooting from New Jersey newspapers, the Star-Ledger in Newark, and the Record in Hackensack.

From David Richie:

Holiday shopping season is already in full swing and law enforcement agencies throughout the region are reminding residents that the season also spurs an increase in auto burglaries, residential break-ins and street crime.

Here are some tips:

• Criminals are opportunists. Be cautious about locking doors and windows even if you are just stepping out for a few minutes.

• Do not place the Christmas tree and the stack of presents right next to front windows where they are easily seen from outside.

• Don't advertise what you got for Christmas by putting the boxes out on trash day or leaving them in full view in your open garage. Break the boxes down or take them to the dump yourself.

• Think about marking those new high end electronics and similar gifts with your drivers license number or similar identification.

• While shopping, put packages in the trunk.

• Don't carry unnecessary charge cards and don't flash wads of money.

• Women should consider wearing a fanny pack under a jacket instead of carrying a purse. Men should think about carrying their wallets in a front or side pocket instead of their back pocket.

• If your arms are full of packages, you are vulnerable. Limit the number of packages you are carrying at any one time.

• Always be aware of your surroundings and the people around you, especially when you have returned to your car.

• Park in well-lit locations, as close to store doors as possible.

• Report lights not properly working on streets and in parking garages and parking lots.

• Travel and shop with someone else if possible.

From Sandy Louey:

Authorities said a bicyclist struck by a car Friday has been identified as Jose DeJesus Delgado-Aldape of Sacramento.

Around 7 a.m., the 26-year-old man was riding his bicycle west on Edison Avenue and had entered the intersection of Morse Avenue when he was struck by a car, according to a release from the California Highway Patrol.

Joe Ann Lee, 31, of Sacramento was driving south on Morse when she failed to stop for the stop sign, the CHP said. She had just left her home and her car windows still had early morning dew on them, the CHP said.

Delgado-Aldape, who wasn't wearing a bicycle helmet, was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center with major life-threatening injuries. He was taken off life support Saturday evening and his organs will be donated, according to the CHP.

He cleaned homes and would ride his bicycle to his boss' home. From there, she would drive him around, the CHP said.

The accident is still under investigation.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Sacramento Police arrested three juveniles in connection with a holdup at a dry cleaners shop on Natomas Boulevard Thursday morning, according to police officials.

The three boys entered the shop on the 4600 block of Natomas Boulevard at around 8 a.m. and told the clerk they had a gun, according to a police watch summary. The boys then took the money and left the business.

After an investigation, the three youths, aged 14, 14 and 13, were arrested. Two were taken in at Natomas High School and a third was arrested at a Carls Jr. at the corner of Del Paso Boulevard and Natomas Boulevard, police said.

All three face robbery charges.

From Kim Minugh:

Authorities are seeking the public's help in identifying a male patient who is in critical condition after being struck by a car this morning.

The accident occurred about 7 a.m. at the intersection of Edison and Morse avenues in the Town & Country Village area of Sacramento County. The victim was riding a bicycle when he was struck, according to Mercy San Juan Medical Center officials.

The patient is a Caucasian male in his 40s with dark, shoulder-length hair. He is about 5-foot-10-inches tall and 275 pounds. He has a pierced left ear and a tattoo of a lion's head on his left shoulder.

He is currently in critical condition, said hospital spokesman Bryan Gardner.

Anyone with information is asked to call hospital security officials at (916) 537-5025.

From Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento lawyer must stand trial on charges that he inappropriately touched five clients he represented on divorce cases, a judge ruled today.

Gary Michael Appelblatt will face nine felony and four misdemeanor counts as a result of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Charlene P. Kiesselbach's decision after a one-day preliminary hearing. (Court records had his last name spelled as Appelblatt but the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Bar Association has his last name as Appelblatt.)

According to testimony provided by two Sacramento sheriff's detectives, Appelblatt told the women he had a pharmacist's degree and medical training and under that guise he conducted impromptu physical examinations on them in his American River Drive office.

Appelblatt proceeded to get the women partially undressed on his office couch before the clients stopped his sexual advances, the detectives said the alleged victims told them.

"I do believe these are vulnerable people he is taking advantage of," Deputy District Attorney Keith Hill argued at the end of the hearing. "He goes until they say no."

Appelblatt declined to comment after the hearing. His attorney, Tom Johnson, argued that the encounters were consensual.

"These were all adults," Johnson said. "They went into his office voluntarily and they dealt with him."

Detectives James Barnes and Anthony Brantley gave the accounts of the five women based on interviews they conducted with them.

The detectives testified that the four women said in interviews that Appelblatt told them he had a pharmacist's degree and that he further informed them that he thought they looked like they were sick.

They said he took out a stethoscope and a rubber physician's mallet and performed some routine examinations before he proceeded to conduct unrequested breast examinations on the women. He also sought to conduct a pelvic exam on one of the alleged victims, the detectives said.

Each of the four women told Appelblatt to stop, which prompted an apology on his part as well as requests for them to "keep it between them," the detectives testified.

"He asked her not to tell anybody about it," Brantley testified, about one of Appelblatt's encounters.

Johnson elicited testimony from Barnes that the one woman he interviewed told him that Appelblatt never used any force. Barnes also testified under questioning from Johnson that there was no suggestion in a series of e-mails between the woman and Appelblatt that she was offended by his actions.

One of the women told detectives that she was wearing a sundress with no bra and that Appelblatt removed the dress before engaging in sexually explicit behavior with her.

"She just kind of froze and wanted it to be done, to stop," Detective Brantley said.

From Kim Minugh:

Two Lincoln men are in jail today after getting busted for allegedly shoplifting at Target, according to Lincoln police.

Geoffrey Macdonald, 33, and Kevin Doverspike, 43, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of burglary after Target loss prevention officers told police they observed two males concealing merchandise on their persons and leave without paying, according to a Lincoln Police Department news release.

After stopping the two men on their way out of the parking lot, police said they found Macdonald and Doverspike in possession of stolen property from the store. Officers said they reviewed surveillance tapes with Target's loss prevention officers and observed the two men shoplifting on five separate occasions.

Doverspike faces a charge of possession of stolen property and five counts of burglary, and Macdonald faces a count of possession of stolen property and two counts of burglary, the release states.

From Stan Oklobdzija and Niesha Lofing:

A Sacramento man is in jail this morning after allegedly threatening his brother with an axe and engaging in a seven hour standoff with police Thursday.

Steven Jones, 48, is being held on $10,000 bail in Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily injury and resisting or obstructing a peace officer, according to online jail information.

Sacramento police went to the home in the 6700 block of Hogan Drive, near the Sacramento Executive Airport about 4 p.m. on a report of a man threatening his brother with an axe, police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said.

The brother escaped unharmed, but Jones and his elderly father, who is legally blind, stayed behind in the house and refused to leave when police ordered them out, he said.

Police evacuated the entire block around Jones' house because family members told police there was a gun inside, Leong said.

After pleading with Jones to come out, members of the SWAT team deployed flash-bang grenades and a police robot in an attempt to bring the men out about 10 p.m.

Jones and his father surrendered peacefully about an hour later.

Jones is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon.

From Sandy Louey:

A Sacramento gang member was sentenced Thursday to more than 15 years in federal prison for dealing crack cocaine.

U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England sentenced Nicholas Rapier, 33, to 188 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to distributing crack cocaine on May 15, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Rapier, a validated member of the "G MOBB" street gang, has an extensive criminal history of felonies for drug trafficking and violent crimes.

Judge England said Rapier's sentence reflected the need for him to face to consequences of his poor decisions and his long history of committing serious offenses, according to the release.

From Sandy Louey:

The Yolo County District Attorney's Office is holding a mediation session for truant high school students and their parents to make clear the consequences of failing to attend school.

Friday's 2 p.m. session at the West Sacramento Police Department at 550 Jefferson Blvd. is for truant Yolo and River City high school students who have been truant. It will be the first-ever mediation session that the DA's office has had for truants, according to a release from the DA's office.

The truants will be told it is their last chance before their case ends up in court. Consequences for the truants include fines, community service and suspension of or delay in students getting their driver's license.

The mediation will include a panel of representatives from agencies such as the Washington Unified School District, the West Sacramento Police Department and the Yolo County Probation Department.

Last spring, the DA's office started the Yolo Truancy Abatement Committee, which is working to develop strategies to help truants get back in school.

Committee members include the police agencies, the school district, the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services and the Yolo County Child Protective Services.

From Sandy Louey:

Yolo County officials are alerting consumers to be wary of phone solicitation scams in connection to extended auto warranties.

The Yolo County District Attorney's Office reports an increase in consumer complaints and inquiries about such solicitations.

Solicitors are calling car owners on their home or cell phones telling them their service warranty is expiring and offering the opportunity to extend it at a "greatly reduced one-day only cost." The personal and credit card information collected may be used for fraudulent purposes, according to a release from the DA's office.

Telemarketing companies are buying lists of names and phone numbers of people who have had their cars for four years, which is the average warranty expiration date of new cars, the release said.

Consumers should ask the solicitors for a contact phone number before reviewing their auto warranties. Typically, the contact number doesn't work or doesn't accept incoming calls. Such scams that appear odd or too good to be true should be reported, officials said.

From David Richie:

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies and store employees got a good view of a recent rural rip-off that occurred Wednesday night. Two men pulled up outside the Somerset Store on Mount Aukum Road, broke the lock on an outside storage pen and loaded 15 five-gallon tanks of propane into their Ford F-250 truck, according to a deputy's crime report.

The whole caper took about 90 seconds. But it was all caught on surveillance cameras mounted outside the store, right down to the sparks thrown off by the grinding tool that the culprits used to cut the lock.

Descriptions included in the deputy's report are vague. The suspects are described as two white males. One is of "average height and build" and he was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt and light colored jeans. His companion is just described as having a slim build and there is no clothing description.

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From David Richie:

Lincoln police and volunteers will debut their new "If I Were A Thief" program Monday morning in an attempt to curb car break-ins that are especially troublesome during the holiday season.

The crime prevention program is pretty simple. Officers and volunteers are going to walk the parking lot at the Home Depot-Target shopping center on Groveland Lane, looking for the vehicles that would be prime targets for thieves.

Maybe the window is cracked open, the car is unlocked, valuable looking items have been left unattended in full view.

Once the targets are identified, a flier will be left on the windows indicating why those vehicles are prime targets and what the owners might do to cut down their risk of car burglary.

As the holiday season approaches and the economy continues to take a downward spiral, it will be increasingly important for residents to protect their possessions, officials stated as they announced the new program.

"If I Were A Thief" is another example of law enforcement attempting to educate residents and prevent crimes.

Similar efforts include a special patrol launched by Roseville police last year, when officers went through a neighborhood during the predawn hours looking for unlocked vehicles and homes that still had their garage doors open.

Beware of the "Grandma, I need your help/Grandma, I'm in trouble" scam, warn two area women who this week contacted Sacto 911.

An Auburn woman said she fell victim to the scam, which cost her $5,400. A Carmichael woman said she was asked for $8,100, but she ended up not sending the money.

Here, in general, is how the scam works: A caller phones area seniors and immediately states, "Grandma, I need your help," or "Grandma, I am in trouble." The panicked grandmother then is asked to send money via Moneygram for bail or for airplane tickets home. Even after asking several questions and being skeptical, some victims try to send the money. Sacto 911 posted similar stories about this scam in May and August. In the first case, the woman was talked out of sending the funds by a store employee where she had gone to send the Moneygram.

"Law enforcement officials are not certain how perpetrators are obtaining phone numbers for so many senior citizens across the U.S. However, it is believed that scammers are most likely calling random numbers until they happen to reach a senior citizen," Better Business Bureau officials report in an Internet post.

An Internet search shows the scam is being attempted nationwide.

"This scam is just despicable because it preys on the emotions of seniors who want nothing more than to ensure the safety of their grandchildren," said Tim Burns, a BBB spokesman, in a bureau post in the Detroit area. "The key to avoiding this scam is to remain calm despite the 'emergency' nature of the call and to verify the identity of the caller."

The Auburn woman wanted to share her tale as a warning to other seniors. She is not being identified because she was a scam victim. Here is her story:

Cautionary story.doc

Citrus Heights Police detectives are seeking any information leading to the identity of two people suspected of burglarizing the Target Store at 5837 Sunrise Blvd., Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Authorities provided these details of the reported burglary:

On Oct. 29, the suspects, a man and a woman (left photos), entered the Target Store's electronics section. The man selected two laptop computers from a display area. The woman exited the store and entered a green Toyota four-door vehicle.

The man ran from the store with two the computers and entered vehicle's rear passenger seat. The vehicle left the parking lot at a high rate of speed.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspects is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Sandy Louey:

Sacramento police are seeking help indentifying a serial robber (photos at left and bleow) believed to have hit five businesses in the past week.

The latest one was an armed robbery at 10:55 p.m. Tuesday at Walgreens, 1401 Broadway.

According to authorities, the other businesses robbed were:

-- Papa Murphy's Pizza, 5618 Folsom Blvd., Nov. 10
-- Shari's Restaurant, 960 Florin Road, Nov. 13
-- Papa Murphy's Pizza , 4424 Freeport Blvd., Friday
-- Round Table Pizza, 5101 Folsom Blvd., Monday

In all the robberies, the robber went inside the business, walked up to the counter and handed an employee a demand note. The employee then handed over cash, and robber left on foot. He has displayed a gun in several robberies, police said.

Police said the robber is described as an African American man in his 30s, about 5-feet-10 and between 150 and 170 pounds. He has a faint black mustache and a chinstrap beard.

He wore a gray zip-up hoodie pulled up over his head, black pants and a black-and-white scarf or mask over his face. He also has been seen in a Oakland Raiders hoodie and a black beanie. The robber also has worn a faded denim jacket with a black beanie, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at 1-800-AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From David Richie:

Home surveillance cameras may help El Dorado County Sheriff's investigators crack a series of car burglaries that occurred last week in Cameron Park. Vehicles were hit late Wednesday or early Thursday on several streets near Valtara and Montero roads, according to Sheriff's Office incident reports.

At least one homeowner was able to provide deputies with video clips and still photos of possible suspects. That evidence has been passed on to burglary detectives, and the spree is still under investigation.

The incident reports indicate that homeowners are still leaving valuable items in their cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

A homeowner in the 4200 block of Valtara Road reported the loss of a laptop computer and other items that were left overnight in his unlocked car, parked in his garage with the door open.

Deputies also investigated a truck break-in on Montero Road, where the driver's side window was smashed. The thief then defeated the truck's built-in alarm system by crawling into the vehicle through the window and not opening the door - which would have triggered the alarm, deputies stated.

A laptop computer, an expensive battery pack and cash also were taken from another work truck parked in a driveway. The owner told deputies that he was sure that he had locked it, but there were no obvious signs of forced entry.

Law enforcement officers always warn residents to take everything of value out of their vehicles, even if they are parked in the garage. Car burglars are looking for items that are visible and they also may seek paperwork out the glove box that they can use for identity theft. Garage door openers are another highly sought item because often they end up being keys to the house where the vehicle is parked.

From Sandy Louey:

A serial bank robber was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for robbing and trying to rob banks in Sacramento and Tulare.

Miguel Kercherval, 44, who is from the state of Washington, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty on June 13, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office.

All the bank robberies occurred in 2006. On Sept. 20, Kercherval attempted to rob the California Bank and Trust at 1800 Arden Way in Sacramento. He ended up robbing the Citibank location at 1116 Alhambra Blvd. in Sacramento later that day, the release said.

On Oct. 2, he attempted to rob a Washington Mutual Bank in Tulare. During this robbery, he punched a teller in the face. On Oct. 5, he robbed a U.S. Bank at 2851 Del Paso Blvd. in Sacramento, authorities said.

Kercherval admitted to committing two other robberies in Reno after the robberies in Sacramento and Tulare, the release said.

The case was an investigation of the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. The Reno and Tulare police departments also helped with the case.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

A teenager shot in a running gun battle last night at 5000 block of Sky Parkway is still alive, sheriff's officials said.

The teenager was shot a little after 8 p.m. at an apartment complex while allegedly involved in a running gun battle, said Sgt. Tim Curran, sheriff's spokesman.

The investigation is slow going, Curran said, because witnesses and those involved are refusing to cooperate.

Curran said the victim described one of the shooters as a light-skinned African-American man who stands between five-feet-nine-inches and five-feet-eleven-inches. He had a chunk build, twisted dreadlocks and was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants, Curran said.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police have arrested a 16-year-old boy who allegedly pulled a boy off his bicycle and stole his cell phone.

The incident occurred at 4:38 p.m. Tuesday at Sheldon Creek Drive and Silvery Blue Way. A 12-year-old boy was riding his bicycle on a trail when the teen ran up to him and pulled him off the bicycle, according to report from the Elk Grove Police Department.

Police said the teen, who wore a beanie cap and a bandana covering the lower part of his face, held the boy down and searched his pockets. He verbally threatened to harm him before stealing his phone.

After the victim told his parents what happened, they drove around looking for the teen. Police were called and the teen, who was hiding in a nearby home, was taken into custody after the boy identified him as the robber, police said.

The 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of robbery and taken to juvenile hall.

From David Richie:

A 21-year-old parolee remains in Sacramento County Main Jail today after being arrested early Saturday by Citrus Heights police with evidence police said links him to a string of area car burglaries.

Officers responded to a call about a prowler and confronted Dustin Kenneth Schwindt about 4 a.m. in the neighborhood near Valeriana and Amsterdam avenues, just south of Antelope Road, east of Interstate 80. They determined that several cars in the area had been entered. Schwindt's vehicle also was found nearby with stolen property inside, officials said.

Schwindt was booked on suspicion of burglary, six counts of suspicion of petty theft with priors as well as suspicion of parole violation.

He has been deemed ineligible for bail and he has a court date set for Dec. 9.

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From David Richie:

Citrus Heights police said they arrested a car theft suspect Friday after a short pursuit.

Anthony Russell Taylor, 18, was spotted on Auburn Oaks Court, behind the wheel of an Acura that had been reported stolen in Roseville. When officers tried to stop the car, it sped away. Taylor and another man then exited the car and ran into a nearby apartment complex.

Officers caught up with Taylor, who was standing with two other people in the apartment complex. They told the officers that Taylor had run up to them and told them that the police were chasing him because he had just stolen a car.

Taylor was taken into custody at that point and booked into Sacramento County Main Jail. His partner was not apprehended. Taylor was released from custody Tuesday.

From Niesha Lofing:

Cordova High School will transform into a disaster zone Thursday as students there participate in a fake evacuation for their graduation drill.

More than 100 students and emergency personnel will take part in dealing with the mock disaster Thursday morning at the high school at 2239 Chase Drive in Rancho Cordova.

The drill is meant to demonstrate skills of the school's Teen Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT.

The school's Teen CERT program is the first to be implemented in Rancho Cordova and within the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District, said Carol Willis, the Sacramento Region Citizen Corps Council's Teen CERT coordinator, in a news release.

The drill will begin at 8:15 a.m. with an "explosion" in the culinary classroom.

The campus' fire alarm will activate, students and staff will be evacuated, a 911 call will be made, and the school's emergency system will alert parents, the release states.

The scenario includes an overwhelmed emergency response system, so when 911 is called, emergency personnel will be busy working on a multi-casualty collision on Highway 50.

Teen CERT members will be notified and will go to the command center at the school to conduct "size-up, light search and rescue, triage and treatment," the release states.

Thirty teens will perform search-and-rescue functions and more than 75 students will act as victims, the release states.

Teen CERT is part of the Sacramento Region Citizen Corps Council. The first Teen CERT class began in 2007, and six schools have implemented the program. There are 130 Teen CERT members, the release states.

Teen CERT members also are trained to assist fire department CERT teams.

For more information about the Sacramento Region Citizen Corps Council, click here or call call (916) 264-8650.

Sacramento County Sheriff's burglary detectives are seeking Chavez Wasaw Millican (left photo) on a felony $25,000.00 bail arrest warrant for suspicion of burglary and receiving stolen property, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Millican, also known as "Outlaw," is described as 24 years old, 5-foot-11, weighing 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

He was last known to live in the 7000 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael, according to authorities.

Anyone with information about Millican is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Sacramento Police Capt. Daniel Hahn shares updated crime statistics with Natomas residents via Robslist, a listserv about crime in that area:

I have attached the crime stats (see below) for October. You will see on the chart that I compare crime in October '08 to Crime in October '07. But, you can also see how it has progressed from month to month this year.

Below I have listed some highlights from the report.

Police Beat 1A (North Natomas)
* Residential burglaries have decreased for the last 3 months. October is tied for the 2nd lowest total (18) all year.
* Vehicle burglaries were the lowest all year (22).
* The number of stolen vehicles has gone down every month this year and has decreased 37% for the whole year.
* Robberies (unspecified) stayed the same in October (3) but has increased 85% (21 to 39) for the year

Police Beat 1B (South Natomas)
* The number of residential burglaries is the lowest (14) since April.
* Business burglaries went up for the first time all year and October was the highest number all year (8)
* Vehicle burglaries went up for the first time all year (33%)
* The number of stolen cars was the lowest (11) since April.
* Robberies (unspecified) increased 100% and was the highest all year (10)

Police Beat 1C (Gardenland/ Northgate)
* Business burglaries have gone up each of the last 3 months
* Vehicle burglaries went up (300% from 1 to 4) for the first time since April
* Stolen vehicles have gone done every month this year.
* Robberies (unspecified) went down in October (25%) and is down 35% for the year.

Stay vigilant.... I have received several emails recently with suspicious cars and license plates....That is great! We have made some good arrests on some of these robberies and past home invasions in the last couple of weeks....but, we need to stay vigilant and trust our instincts.

Click below for selected crime statistics:
crimestatsdist1oct.xls

From Niesha Lofing:

The shooter responsible for critically wounding a boy Tuesday night remains on the loose today.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies have not arrested anyone in connection with the shooting that occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in the 5000 block of Sky Parkway, a sheriff's dispatcher said.

The victim, a boy whose age is not yet known, was shot and is in critical condition in an area hospital.

Further details about the shooting are not yet known.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police arrested four people Tuesday in connection with a shooting.

Around 3:03 a.m., police responded to a caller who was in the area of Elk Grove Boulevard and Waterman Drive. The man, who was delivering The Sacramento Bee, told police he was shot at by two men who got out of a silver Pontiac Grand Am.

The victim wasn't injured, according to Officer Christopher Trim, spokesman for the Elk Grove Police Department.

The man followed the car as it headed west on Elk Grove Boulevard. Officers said they found the Grand Am with four people inside it at Elk Grove Florin Road and Second Street.

During a search of the car, officers located two loaded handguns and property that didn't belong to the four, according to a press release from the Police Department.

Trim said the stolen property belonged to people who had been robbed in Sacramento and Sacramento County.

Vance Hicks and Antwaan Anderson, both 18 and from Sacramento, and two 17-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon or firearm, shooting at an inhabited vehicle, receiving stolen property, carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a loaded firearm not listed with the state Department of Justice.

Hicks was also arrested on suspicion of possession of firearm by a driver or occupant of a vehicle. One of the 17-year-old boys was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police at (916) 714-5115 or its detective bureau at (916) 478-8060.

From Sandy Louey:

TRUCKEE -- Truckee police are investigating a body found over the weekend in a camper trailer behind a private home.

Police were called around 3 p.m. Saturday to a home in the Olympic Heights area. The homeowner found the body after opening the camper, which had been weather sealed for more than a year, according to a press release from the Truckee Police Department.

The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, but there was no immediate evidence of a crime. Truckee police are working with the Nevada County coroner to identify the body and determine the cause of death, the release said.

From Kim Minugh:

Sacramento County sheriff's officials have released details of the processional route planned in connection with Thursday's memorial services for Deputy Larry Canfield, and residents should expect traffic delays in those areas.

The processional is expected to start about 12:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, 8939 East Stockton Boulevard. It will follow this route:

- North on East Stockton Boulevard

- West on Sheldon Drive

- Enter southbound Highway 99

- Exit Liberty Road

- West on Liberty Road

- North on Lower Sacramento Road

- West on Kost Road

- End at Galt Arno Cemetery, 14180 Joy Drive in Galt.

Residents are invited to the memorial service, which begins at 10 a.m., and to line the processional route, but are encouraged to make plans according to expected traffic delays. The entire procession is expected to last about two hours.

Canfield, 43, died in a motorcycle accident last week while enforcing traffic laws on Coloma Road. He was a 13-year veteran of the sheriff's department and had been assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department's motorcycle unit since 2004.

The Sheriff's Department provides police services to Rancho Cordova under a contract.

From Andrew McIntosh:

A former Consumer Affairs employee was sentenced to a year in the Sacramento County Jail and put on five years probation today for illegally downloading a personnel file with the names and Social Security numbers of 5,500 state employees and sending it to her private email account.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Steve White gave Rachael Dumbrique, 33, the maximum sentence and ordered her to pay full restitution of up to $122,000 to the state of California. The judge ignored a plea from defense attorney Jeremiah Van Etten to give her a sentence of between six and nine months because she had no prior criminal record and was the mother of three children.

"This is a serious matter with a number of significant consequences," White told Dumbrique as he sentenced her.

"Your crime compromised the ID and security of 5,500 state employees."

Rather than the mistake that Dumbrique claimed it was, White said that the evidence suggested that the crime was planned and that Dumbrique had also misappropriated other confidential state documents in the past, including what he described as "highly confidential" records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

In his pre-sentence remarks, Van Etten said that Dumbrique "may have been a pawn and preyed upon by another individual" and that some documents found in her garage during a raid "may have been placed there by another person."

He did not name the person in either of those two cases, but The Bee has reported that Dumbrique a year ago married a member of the Mexican mafia member convicted in a street gang killing and serving a life sentence at Corcoran State prison. She and her convicted felon husband filed for divorce earlier this month.

Dumbrique appeared at the hearing in a wheelchair, sporting a temporary brace on her lower right leg. Medical reports cited by the judge said Dumbrique twisted her ankle last week but no broken bones were discovered when X-rays were taken.

White agreed to Dumbrique's request to delay beginning her jail term until Dec. 9 so she can get additional medical care and possible surgery to avoid long-term damage.

From David Richie:

Christmas came early for the Citrus Heights Police Department on Thursday evening as the City Council approved an $117,575 spending plan, encouraging police brass to shop Citrus Heights for as many of the items on their wish list as possible.

The money for the police shopping is the remainder of the department's 2007-2008 state Citizens Option for Public Safety grant. The total grant received by the city was $167,326. So far the department has spent $49,751.

"The remaining balance must be spent by June 30," Commander Bryan Roberts told the council members.

Two of the more expensive items on the long list are battery powered, three-wheeled "personal mobility vehicles" the police want to buy for patrolling shopping malls and special events. Projected cost is $20,000 for two fully equipped vehicles.

Councilman Jeff Slowey suggested that the Police Department might check with Carmichael Honda, which is actually in Citrus Heights, near the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Greenback Lane.

Mayor Steve Miller also noted that many merchants in Citrus Heights can use the business if there is any way for them to provide what the Police Department is looking for.

Roberts noted that the terms of the COPS grant require that all items purchased be for "front line" law enforcement and all of the items on the department's list meet that requirement.

Much of the equipment is specialized and might not be available locally.

The shopping list includes:

- Various types of communications equipment - approximately $50,000

- Computer equipment - approximately $17,000.

- Five additional patrol rifles - $4,000

- Five patrol handguns - $3,250

- Five leg-restraint devices - $4,000

- Four Heat sensing devices for K-9 unit patrol cars - $3,300

- Two ballistic vests for the SWAT team - $5,000

- SWAT team rain gear - $4,500

- Two bicycles for School Resource Officers - $3,000

Click here for the complete police staff report and spending list.

From Niesha Lofing:

A Davis man convicted of murdering his infant son in 1994 will spend four more years in prison, a parole board has decided.

The state Board of Parole Hearings' commissioners denied Manuel Bermudez's request for parole at a hearing Wednesday at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.

Bermudez was convicted of murder and child abuse in November 1994 for the beating death of his 14-month-old son, according to a news release by the office of Yolo County District Attorney Jeff W. Reisig.

The baby had been severely abused, with injuries from head to toe, including some that were weeks old and others a few hours old, court records and officials said. At least two fatal wounds were observed.

"The emergency room doctor reported that the offense was the worst case of child abuse he had seen in 17 years of practice," the release states.

Child Protective Services removed two of the child's siblings from the home.

Bermudez's parents appealed to the parole board for their son's release, but parole was denied because of the crime's severity, Bermudez's "callous indifference to human suffering," his lack of remorse and failure to address issues that may have preceded the crime, the release states.

"There is no greater a victim than a helpless infant who looks to his parents for protection," District Attorney Reisig said in a written statement.

Elk Grove police have released surveillance photos (top) of a gunman who they said tried to rob the Bank of America last week.

Authorities said that at 4:11 p.m. Thursday, the suspect went into the bank at 7707 Laguna Blvd, displayed a handgun at the teller and demanded money.

When the teller dropped to the floor in fear, the man left without taking any money, according to a police report.

Police described the suspect as an Asian male between 30 to 40 years old. He was 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-3 and had facial hair. He wore a black hat, gray sweatshirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (916) 714-5115.

From Sandy Louey:

The Elk Grove Police Department and the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department have kicked off their annual Community Toy Project.

The nonprofit effort provides Christmas toys for children of families in need. Delivery of the toys will take place Dec. 20.

Police officers and firefighters will accept donations throughout Elk Grove during the holiday season.

New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the front counter of the Elk Grove Police Department, 8400 Laguna Palms Way, or at any CSD fire station in Elk Grove until Dec. 19.

Donations also will be accepted during the annual Santa & Sirens Parades, 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 10 to Dec. 12 in neighborhoods throughout town.

The CSD fire stations in Elk Grove where donations can be dropped off are:

• Fire Station 71, 8760 Elk Grove Blvd.

• Fire Station 72, 10035 Atkins Drive.

• Fire Station 73, 9607 Bond Road.

• Fire Station 74, 6501 Laguna Park Drive.

• Fire Station 75, 2300 Maritime Drive.

• Fire Station 76, 8545 Sheldon Road.

Monetary donations can be mailed to: Community Toy Project, c/o Elk Grove Police Department, 8400 Laguna Palms Way, Elk Grove, CA 95758.

Elk Grove families who are interested in receiving toys can pick up applications at the Elk Grove police department or the CSD Fire Department Administration building, 8812 Elk Grove Blvd.

For more information, contact the Police Department at (916) 478-8117.

From Niesha Lofing:

Placer County authorities cited three people for furnishing alcohol to a minor during an under-age sting operation last week.

Rocklin, Roseville and Lincoln police officers, along with Alcoholic Beverage Control investigators, conducted the minor decoy operation in Rocklin and Lincoln Thursday.

The operation targeted restaurants and bars that sell alcoholic beverages. The under-age decoys were truthful about their age and produced valid identification if asked, a Rocklin police news release states.

Officers conducted the operation at 15 locations in Rocklin. Employees at two restaurants sold alcohol to a decoy and each were cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor, the release states.

Officers also conducted the operation at nine locations in Lincoln and cited one employee at a restaurant for furnishing alcohol to a minor, the release states.

Letters were sent to all the businesses involved in the operation, telling them about the visit and how the business fared.

The operation is part of a program to combat alcohol-related violations in south Placer County and is funded through a grant from the Alcoholic Beverage Control. The operations will continue each month through June.

So far, 14 people have been cited during minor decoy operations at 113 locations. Authorities also have contacted 366 people at 32 locations in "shoulder tap operations," which have netted 23 citations or arrests, the release states. Those are where a minor walks up to a stranger and asks him or her to buy alcohol.

From Sandy Louey:

A Sacramento man whom authorities dubbed the "Straw Hat Bandit" (left photo) was sentenced Monday to three years and 10 months in federal prison for a series of bank robberies.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton also sentenced Michael Edward Osgood, 47, to three years of supervised release for his involvement in six bank robberies in Sacramento County and one in San Joaquin County. He has paid full restitution for the robberies, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

Authorities gave Osgood, a former groundskeeper for California Family Fitness and Roseville High School, the nickname because he wore large brim straw hats during his robberies.

He was arrested June 9 after he robbed the U.S. Bank at 3320 Arden Way in Sacramento, which he admitted to. He also pleaded guilty to robbing the Sterlent Credit Union at 2648 Watt Ave. in Sacramento on May 12 and the U.S. Bank at 2808 County Club Blvd. in Stockton on June 4, the release said.

As part of the plea agreement, Osgood admitted to committing four other bank robberies: Tri-Counties Bank at 4650 Natomas Blvd. in Sacramento on April 30; Wells Fargo Bank at 8870 Madison Ave. in Fair Oaks on May 16; Citibank at 436 Howe Ave. in Sacramento on May 21; and U.S. Bank at 5021 Laguna Blvd. in Elk Grove on May 24, the release said.

The case was part of an investigation by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Roseville Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

From Sandy Louey:

Redding police are looking for a man who robbed a Bank of America earlier this month.

Around 10:06 a.m. Nov. 4, a man entered the bank at 1300 Hilltop Drive and demanded money from a teller. He told the teller he had a gun, but no gun was seen.

The robber then left with an undisclosed amount of money, according to a press release from the Redding Police Department.

Police described the robber as a white man in his 30s from 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-10 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. He wore a dark green shirt over a black T-shirt, green camouflage ball cap with the San Francisco 49ers emblem and dark sunglasses.

He was last seen riding what possibly was a blue-and-white sport-type motorcycle, according to police.

Updated photos of the bank robber and the motorcycle that he may have been riding can be viewed at the police department's Web site at www.reddingpolice.org.

The Secret Witness of Shasta County is offering a $3,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the robber.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (530) 225-4214.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police are looking for a man who tried to rob a Bank of America last week.

The incident took place at 4:08 p.m. last Thursday at the bank located inside the SaveMart Supermarket at 7707 Laguna Blvd.

A man approached a teller and displayed a semi-automatic pistol that was partially concealed inside the sleeve of his sweatshirt. He demanded money from the teller, who dropped to the floor.

The man left without any money, according to a press release from the Elk Grove Police Department.

Police said the attempted bank robber was an Asian male between 20 to 40 years old, 5-feet-7-inches tall with a medium build.

He had collar-length bushy hair, a mustache and a goatee. He wore a black or dark blue baseball cap, a gray hooded sweatshirt with a design or writing on the front and dark pants, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department's Detective Bureau at (916) 478-8060 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

Callers to Crime Alert can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Sandy Louey:

Davis authorities are investigating a series of trash and garbage bin fires that broke out last week behind local apartment complexes and businesses.

The Davis Fire Department reported that shortly before 10:30 p.m. Nov. 9 someone set fire to a mattress and sofa behind the Dollar Tree store at 1800 E. Eighth St., according to a release from the Davis Police Department.

Davis fire said three others were set in less than half an hour of each other on Nov. 10. The first was a trash can fire at 9:27 p.m. at 419 I St. A cardboard fire broke out at 9:39 p.m. at 1333 Colgate Drive, with the third one occurring 10 minutes later with a trash bin fire at 770 E. Eighth St., according to the release.

No one was injured in any of the fires. Most have not caused any additional property damage except the fire behind the Dollar Tree spread to an adjacent fence.

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call the Police Department at (530) 747-5400.

From David Richie:

Kristina Lynn Fuelling, the Granite Bay mother who drowned her 8-day-old daughter in a bathroom sink, will spend a maximum of 15 years in custody under the terms of a comprehensive plea deal approved Monday in Placer Superior Court.

Her actual sentence will be decided after a hearing scheduled for Jan. 23.

"We believe that this was a fair resolution," said Tom Johnson, Fuelling's attorney.

During a brief, emotional court proceeding on Monday afternoon, Judge J. Richard Couzens accepted a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Faith Fuelling on Jan. 19.

The court discussion also revealed that Fuelling's sanity was disintegrating over the course of several days leading up to the death of her baby.

Fuelling's insanity plea will not cover several incidents that occurred on Jan. 16 when she started hurting Faith, according to court testimony.

Scott Owens, assistant Placer County district attorney, said more information about the earlier incidents came to light during the murder investigation. It was not clear who knew about them when they happened, but Placer County sheriff's deputies evidently were not called on Jan. 16, Owens said.

Fuelling entered guilty pleas to charges of attempted murder and child abuse stemming from the incidents on Jan. 16.

The prison time for those offenses will be "no less than six years and four months and no more than 15 years," Couzens said.

He will make a final decision on sentencing after the Jan. 23 hearing.

Fuelling will begin her time in custody in a state mental hospital, where she will spend at least six months. She will be transferred to a state prison to serve the remainder of her term if and when doctors determine that she has regained her sanity, Couzens said.

Fuelling, 27, waived her right to a jury trial.

That allowed Couzens to move ahead with a determination that Fuelling was legally insane when she killed her baby. He made that determination based on two separate medical and mental evaluations of Fuelling written by court-recognized experts. "The reports are in uniform agreement," Couzens said.

The judge noted that a third report is still being prepared. He reserved the right to alter his determination if the third report changes his mind.

Fuelling, clad in a red Placer County jail jumpsuit, sobbed throughout the 20-minute proceeding that was attended by about a dozen members of her family.

The agreement hammered out among the DA's office, the defendant and her attorney provides society with the protection it needs while also addressing the needs of Fuelling and her family, Owens said.

Johnson described his client as "a lamb" who "broke" under the strain of postpartum depression that escalated into full-blown psychosis.

A clearer picture of the week leading up to the drowning of Faith Fuelling is expected to be provided during the sentencing hearing. Johnson expects Fuelling to testify.

The key point in the sentencing agreement is the maximum of 15 years in custody, Johnson said. That gives Fuelling the hope of getting some of her life back if she can regain her mental health and successfully complete her prison sentence, Johnson said.

From Kim Minugh:

Elk Grove police will be conducting a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Saturday night.

The checkpoint, which will begin at 8 p.m. at an unspecified location, will focus on drunk or impaired drivers and unlicensed drivers.

The effort is funded by the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant, made available by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Police ask that the public call them at (916) 714-5111 or 911 if they see impaired drivers on the road.

From Andy Furillo:

Napa State Hospital's attempt to release a killer into community treatment in Sacramento was based on the "horrifying" testimony of a psychiatrist who "clearly committed perjury in this court," a judge said Monday.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McCormick made his comments about the Napa psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan Thuma, when he ruled from the bench that Ronald Benjamin Toppila is not fit for outpatient treatment and must remain in the mental hospital for killing his mother four years ago.

In a decision that will keep Toppila confined indefinitely on a jury's verdict that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, McCormick lashed Thuma for recommending in March that the defendant be released into community treatment even though at that time the psychiatrist had examined the client for barely a half hour.

McCormick said Thuma "could not have had enough information" to make the recommendation and that it was "beyond belief" the doctor could have reviewed Toppila's medical records in the short time he'd been on staff at Napa.

Thuma demonstrated "a total lack of independence and judgment" by concluding that Toppila did not present a danger because, in quoting the psychiatrist, "we all trust Mr. Toppila," McCormick said. The judge said Thuma's "demeanor and manner" in court "could only be described as horrifying."

"He clearly committed perjury in this court," McCormick said of Thuma. "He testified inconsistently at varying times. He showed a complete lack of any insight whatsoever into Mr. Toppila's history."

Thuma did not return a telephone call for comment Monday. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Mental Health said agency director Stephen Mayberg plans to review the judge's comments about Thuma.

"He would take it very seriously and look into it," the spokesman, Nancy Kincaid, said.

"If the judge expressed concern over someone's testimony or professional performance, that would be looked into both by the director of the department and by the executive director at the hospital."

McCormick did not specifically identify areas of Thuma's testimony where he thinks the psychiatrist lied under oath. In Thuma's testimony on Oct. 27, however, he wound up on both sides of a question on whether he thought Toppila had "malingered" to sway the therapists who were evaluating him. There were also inconsistencies in Thuma's testimony over whether he was aware of evaluations done on Toppila before the Oct. 7, 2004, beating death of his 86-year-old mother, Hilma Tone.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet hailed the judge's ruling, saying in an e-mail: "Toppila's continued confinement in Napa State Hospital is necessary to protect the public safety interest."

"Hopefully, Mr. Toppila and his treatment team will take some directive from the detailed ruling of this court and take steps to address the inadequacies in Mr. Toppila's treatment and the deficiencies in the recommendations made by the professionals who testified on his behalf," Bladet said.

Toppila's lawyer, Robert J. Saria, said Toppila and his client's family were disappointed by the ruling. Saria said Toppila "is committed to returning to Napa and pursuing his treatment plan and engaging in all the treatment he is required to."

Toppila, 68, a long-time licensed clinical social worker, stabbed his mother 52 times and also bludgeoned her in the fatal attack in her South Land Park apartment. A psychologist who examined him before trial found him to be a paranoid schizophrenic. That diagnosis helped a jury find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Earlier this year, the Napa treatment team that included Thuma found that he only suffered from major depression with psychotic features that were in remission. They said they did not believe he would present a danger if returned to a group home setting in Sacramento or elsewhere.

Judge McCormick said he was also disturbed by the testimony of Antonio Alocer, an official from the Central Valley Conditional Release Program, which would have coordinated Toppila's community placement if he was released from Napa. McCormick said no treatment plan had been determined for Toppila in the event of his release. The judge said Alocer "could not tell me" where Toppila would be placed.

Alocer could not be reached for comment Monday.

"I cannot state with any degree of certainty based on the evidence that I heard in this courtroom that Mr. Toppila no longer poses a danger to the health and safety of others," McCormick said. "I certainly cannot say that he would benefit from that status."

From Kim Minugh:

A funeral service for the Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy killed in a motorcycle accident last week has been scheduled for Thursday morning in Elk Grove.

Larry Canfield's memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, 8939 E. Stockton Blvd. The public is invited to attend.

A processional will follow, leading from the church to Galt Arno Cemetery, 14180 Joy Drive. Details of that processional, and involved road closures, have not yet been determined by sheriff's officials.

There also will be a law enforcement reception after the graveside services at Littleton Community Center, 410 Civic Drive in Galt, but it is not open to the public.

On Wednesday, a viewing will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the East Lawn Elk Grove Memorial Park, 9189 East Stockton Blvd.

Canfield (top photo), a 13-year veteran of the sheriff's department and son of a retired sheriff's sergeant, died Wednesday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with a car on Coloma Road, near Sierra Madre Court, in Rancho Cordova.

Since 2004, Canfield had been assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department's motorcycle unit, and he had been enforcing traffic laws on Coloma Road at the time of his accident. The California Highway Patrol's investigation continues, but preliminary findings show the collision was an accident.

The deputy is survived by his wife, Michelle, and sons Tyler, 12, and Bryce, 10.

A Larry Canfield Memorial Fund has been set up through Exchange Bank, which has two branches in the area: 2320 Sunset Blvd., Suite 100, Rocklin; and 1420 Rocky Ridge Drive, Suite 190, Roseville. Checks can be delivered in person or mailed. The account number is 1205001934.

The Oakland Police Department 38 added police officers to its force Friday, beefing up the department's ranks to a record-high of 837 officers, the Oakland Tribune reports.

"This has been a historic achievement, a tremendous amount of work to get to this point, to finally get to the 803 officers mandated in 2004 by the voters in Measure Y, and even going beyond that to 837," said Mayor Ron Dellums after (Friday's) graduation ceremony ... "In reality, we don't have money to employ officers beyond 803," he told reporters. "At a minimum, we're looking at postponing the next academy and saving a significant amount of money that way. But there comes a point where that money goes away."

Click here for the full Tribune story.

Sacramento and Oakland provide an interesting contrast in terms of comparing police departments, especially as cities grapple with thorny budget issues. Sacramento is the state's seventh-largest city, Oakland is the state's eighth largest city.

Last month in a mayoral election story focusing on public safety, Bee reporter Ryan Lillis provided these public safety statistical comparisons between California cities with similar populations:

BUDGET 2008-09 IN MILLIONS
CITY / POLICE
Long Beach / $193.3
Oakland / $192.4
Fresno / $139.3
Sacramento / $131.6

CITY / FIRE
Oakland / $108.2
Sacramento / $97.4
Long Beach / $73.1
Fresno / $47.4
Source: Cities' budget offices

CITY / POPULATION / PERCENTAGE OF GENERAL FUND SPENT ON POLICE AND FIRE
Fresno / 472,170 / 68%
Long Beach / 473,959 / 66%
Oakland / 396,541 / 63%
Sacramento / 460,546 / 54%
Source: FBI data, 2007

CITY / POPULATION / POLICE OFFICERS / OFFICERS PER 1,000
Long Beach / 473,959 / 970 / 2.05
Oakland / 396,541 / 722 / 1.82
Fresno / 472,170 / 817 / 1.73
Sacramento / 460,546 / 712 / 1.55
Source: FBI data, 2007

CITY / POPULATION / VIOLENT CRIMES / VIOLENT CRIME RATE PER 100,000
Oakland / 396,541 / 7,605 / 1,917.8
Sacramento / 460,546 / 5,128 / 1,113.5
Long Beach / 473,959 / 3,426 / 722.8
Fresno / 472,170 / 3,043 / 644.5
Source: FBI data, 2007

CITY / POPULATION / PROPERTY CRIMES / PROPERTY CRIME RATE PER 100,000
Oakland / 396,541 / 23,664 / 5,967.6
Sacramento / 460,546 / 24,399 / 5,297.8
Fresno / 472,170 / 20,969 / 4,441.0
Long Beach / 473,959 / 12,979 / 2,738.4
Source: FBI data, 2007

CITY / FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
Sacramento / 634
Oakland / 596
Long Beach / 580
Fresno / 453
Source: Cities' budget offices; Bee research by Ryan Lillis

From Andy Furillo:

It's a big week for accused murderers in Sacramento Superior Court.

For openers, the murder trials of Sertice Melonson and Sara Weeden continue in Department 12, while the murder trial of Wayne Albert Caskey and Bennett Louis Kovac resume after a week's break in Department 31.

Meanwhile, a new murder trial is supposed to get under way Wednesday on Vardan Abramyan. The 21-year-old defendant is accused of paying some teenagers $4,000 to kill his father July 31, 2006. The trial will be assigned out of Department 4.

Six other accused murderers also are in court this week for assorted proceedings.

They are Brandon Chatman and Shawn Jones (Department 62 on Tuesday, for the Oct. 25 light-rail shooting death of Ricky Buford); Ofiu Edwards Foto (Department 63 on Wednesday, for the Sept. 5 bludgeon death of group home worker Pausta Theresia Sibarani); Thomas Jerome Martin (Department 4 on Wednesday, for the Feb. 5 beating death of 3-year-old Valeeya Brazile); Jonathan Lamar Perry (Department 61 on Friday, for the July 21 beating death of 4-year-old Jahmaurae Allen); and Jimmy Siackasorn (Department 61 on Friday, for the Dec. 19 shooting death of Sacramento sheriff's Det. Vu Nguyen).

Maureen Hoffart also is in Department 61 on Wednesday for the death of her 2-month-old baby, Olivia Rose Dipinto, who died Jan. 1. Coroners established the cause of death as methamphetamine intoxication ingested through her mother's breast milk.

The week also includes Judge Kevin McCormick's expected ruling today on whether to keep Ronald Toppila in Napa State Hospital for the beating death of his mother four years ago or accede to the hospital's wishes and transfer him to a community care facility.

Also this week, attorney Gary Appleblatt also is scheduled for a Friday preliminary hearing on charges of sexual battery.

The Sacramento Police Department sexual assault detectives and the Department of Corrections are seeking Fred Gonzales on a felony no-bail arrest warrant for suspicion of parole violations and failure to register as a sex offender, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Gonzales (left photo) is described as 41 years old, 5-foot-7, weighing 160 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information about Gonzales is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From David Richie:

Police agencies in Placer County continue to test local restaurant and store employees for their willingness to sell alcohol to minors. The decoy operations are funded through a grant from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln police officers teamed up with ABC investigators and underage decoys Thursday to check on businesses in Lincoln and Rocklin. Underage decoys were sent into 15 establishments in Rocklin. They were served at two restaurants, officials said. The decoys visited nine locations in Lincoln and successfully purchased alcohol at one restaurant. A similar operation was carried out recently in Roseville with several citations issued.

The results indicate that most local restaurants are aware of the potential penalties and check IDs.

Employees are cited whenever alcohol is served. The decoys carry valid identification and they are truthful about their age if they are asked. So far the teams have visited 113 locations in Placer County and cited 14 people for violations.

The teams also conduct "shoulder tap" operations where decoys approach strangers outside a store and ask the adults to buy alcoholic beverages for them.

So far 23 people have been caught in the shoulder tap stings, which can result in citations or arrests, officials said.

From David Richie:

Police officers will answer questions about Citrus Heights' increasing use of cameras to ticket drivers who run red lights Tuesday during the monthly meeting of the Northwest Neighborhood Association. The group meets at 7 p.m. in the community room at Sierra Meadows, 7600 Daly Ave.

Also known as Citrus Heights Area 1, the group serves Citrus Heights neighborhoods west of Interstate 80. The meetings are open to the public and residents from other areas of the city are invited to attend.

Problem-Oriented Policing Officers Ryan Kinnan and Alexi Fanopoulos will lead the discussion.

Citrus Heights police have the go-ahead from the City Council to install the cameras at up to 20 intersections. So far about a half dozen locations have been equipped, including several intersections on Greenback Lane, Sunrise Boulevard and Antelope Road.

The POP officers will provide details about other locations where red light cameras are proposed.

The officers also will talk about holiday safety and answer any other questions.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police are widening their search for a gunman who they said tried to rob the Bank of America last week.

Authorities said that at 4:11 p.m. Thursday, the suspect went into the bank at 7707 Laguna Blvd, displayed a handgun at the teller and demanded money.

When the teller dropped to the floor in fear, the man left without taking any money, according to a police report.

Police described the suspect as an Asian male between 30 to 40 years old. He was 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-3 and had facial hair. He wore a black hat, gray sweatshirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (916) 714-5115.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Placer County sheriff's deputies arrested a 21-year-old woman on suspicion of attempted homicide after she set her boyfriend on fire while he was driving with her in a car, sheriff's officials said.

Traci Nicole Gilson was taken into custody today, sheriff's officials said.

She and her boyfriend, Alan Lane Scott, 19, were seen arguing earlier in the morning, sheriff's officials said. Deputies learned that Gilson had doused Lane with gasoline while he was driving on Foresthill Road in Foresthill, officials said.

Lane fled before medics arrived, officials said. He was found at a relative's house where he had gone seeking help. Lane was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for treatment, officials said.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a five-man bank robbery crew from the Bay Area who they allege robbed a bank in the Foothill Farms area, sheriff's officials said.

Around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, three robbers entered the Bank of America at the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard, said Sgt. Tim Curran, sheriff's spokesman.

Brandishing guns, they took over the bank and demanded money, he said. Sheriff's deputies arrived, but the robbers had already fled, Curran said.

Using witness descriptions of the men and their getaway car, deputies tracked the men to a house on the 3800 block of Kern Street in the Del Paso Heights area, Curran said.

All three of the suspected robbers and two men suspected of being getaway drivers were arrested, Curran said. The crew used two cars, leaving the bank in one and ditching it for another at another location, Curran said.

Taken into custody were Anthony Flynn, 33, of Pittsburg; Mashai Hall, 29, of Oakley; Coray Johnson, 29, a transient originally from Sacramento; Edwolon Beshears, 28, of Sacramento; and Donte Beshears, 22, of Bay Point

The crew might also be responsible for other robberies in Sacramento and surrounding areas, Curran said.

From Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento judge today ordered the owners of a North Sacramento apartment building called "The Compound" that is the hub of neighborhood gang and drug activity to live on the premises until the case goes to trial next month on the city's efforts to shut the place down completely.

Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster had issued a tentative ruling granting the city's motion to close down the complex on Dixieanne Avenue. He stayed that order today, however, until the trial scheduled to begin Dec. 9 - with the caveat that either William or Blessing Iyasere be on the property 24 hours a day until then.

McMaster allowed provisions for the owners to attend to jobs or transporting their children to school, but he insisted that either one or the other remain at the complex around the clock.

The judge said he took the action because the Iyaseres have failed to comply with the terms of an injunction that they stop renting to parolees and probationers.

City of Sacramento officials, who last year sought and received court sanctions to eliminate criminal activity at the apartment building, said that nothing has changed at The Compound in spite of the legal action taken against it.

Editor's note: Notebook is an occasional series on slices of life found by The Bee's police reporters.

From Kim Minugh:

The sight of a cat's bloody carcass - and the tears of its mourning family - just about broke Sacramento police Officer Balwant Jagur's heart.

It was the sad setting he stepped into in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, when Becky Hildebrandt called police to her Las Animas Circle home in Del Paso Heights. She had been woken up at 3 a.m. by the sound of two stray pit bulls tearing apart her garage.

They also tore apart her 10-year-old daughter's cat.

"It was horrible," Hildebrandt remembered this week. She was so hysterical, she said, that dispatchers couldn't understand what she was calling to report.

"(The mother and daughter) were really distraught over the whole thing," said Jagur, 29, who works graveyard patrol in the city's north end.

At his own home, Jagur had six 8-week-old kittens looking for a good home. So he offered one to Hildebrandt, who later said she was hesitant to accept after the loss of Little Ben had caused so much trauma for the family.

She also wasn't so sure he'd actually follow through.

But true to his word, Jagur returned home and picked out his most handsome kitten, a black-and-white cat with a marking that looked like a mask. He returned to the Las Animas home the next day - his day off - and dropped off the kitten.

He hoped the gift would bring "a little more joy to their life."

"I think they were surprised to see me," Jagur said.

Hildebrandt said the new kitten is making a happy addition to the family. They no longer let any of the family cats into the garage, and her daughter has become very protective of her new friend, whom she is calling Scooby.

"But I call it Chubby Bunny," Hildebrandt said, "because it's getting fat."

By Kim Minugh:

The second suspect involved in last Saturday's fatal home invasion robbery in south Sacramento is in custody, authorities said.

On Thursday, the Sacramento Police Department's Career Criminal Apprehension Team arrested 22-year-old Gary Hobbs in connection with the home invasion robbery targeting a home on the 4000 block of 51st Street.

The victim fired a gun at the two men, who police say were acquaintances of his, as they entered his home. One of the suspects was hit and pronounced dead at the scene; the other fled.

On Friday, the Sacramento County Coroner's Office identified the dead man as Aaron Markson, 40, of Sacramento.

Police say the homeowner acted in self defense.

Hobbs is being held in the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of robbery, burglary and violating the terms of his parole.

From Andy Furillo:

A judge today sentenced a Sacramento gang member to life in prison without parole for the June 2006 shooting death of Serge Zubenko.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena R. Gweon characterized Jeffrey Deane Ward's murder of the 24-year-old Zubenko as a "cold-blooded, cowardly act" and "so brazen, so senseless."

Ward and some friends had been in a fight with some people at a park in Antelope before they encountered Zubenko, whom the judge described as a "good man" and an innocent victim.

Ward, now 22, killed Zubenko with a blast from a shotgun.

From Andy Furillo:

A 29-year-old Sacramento murderer learned today that he'll probably be spending the rest of his life in prison.

Tousaun Devone Stewart received a 75-to-life term, plus 19 more years, for the Aug. 25, 2007, shooting death of 20-year-old Sione Lomano.

The killing took place outside a gated apartment complex across Meadowview Road from the Panell-Meadowview Community Center.

From Andy Furillo:

A former Rio Americano High School history teacher who tried to get female students to dress up in skimpy military outfits for photo shoots found out today that his own picture will be posted in perpetuity on the state attorney general's Web site - as a sexual predator.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena R. Gweon listed the lifetime sexual predator registration requirement as one of the many conditions that went along with the sentence she imposed today on Gregory Jackson Rayburn. A jury convicted Rayburn last month on 11 counts of annoying or molesting children and on one count of sexual battery, all misdemeanors.

Already dressed in jail-issue orange, Rayburn, 54, was further remanded into custody to begin serving a three-years sentence at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center.

The judge ripped Rayburn for "manipulating" the trust embedded in his as a school teacher "in a profound and perverse way."

"You've done a great disservice to your very noble profession of teaching," Gweon told Rayburn.

Gweon also told Rayburn he shamed the military he professed to love by using its aura, as well as his position as a veteran and as a teacher, "to prey on these girls."

Gweon recalled the testimony of one of the victims in the case who said she felt "weird" when Rayburn asked her to pose in a military-styled miniskirt with high heels, but at the same time "not so weird" because the guy who would be taking the picture was a teacher she thought she could trust.

The judge noted that the victims in the case have had their credibility questioned by other Rio Americano students who liked Rayburn. She sought to dispel the notion of Rayburn's innocence, insisting instead that he exhibited "perverse conduct."

"You are a predator," Gweon told Rayburn. "Not the kind that jumps out of bushes, but you picked vulnerable victims. You absolutely should register as a predator. You're not stupid of naive. You chose to ignore their hesitation, discomfort, even their disgust.

"You clearly have a problem," the judge said.

Editor's note: Notebook is an occasional series on slices of life found by The Bee's police reporters.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Being a good cop means walking the line between knowing when to lay down the law and knowing when to bend to defuse a volatile situation.

On the corner of Sonoma Avenue and Callecita Street in North Sacramento Thursday night, about 15 angry residents crowded on the outside of a police perimeter while Sacramento Police searched the neighborhood for a burglary suspect they who they thought migh have hid in one of the nearby houses.

It was near dinner time and many had been evacuated from their homes, forced to stand and wait while police combed the neighborhood. Some had small children with them and others didn't even manage to get their shoes on before police ordered them out.

Police wanted to search the house of one man standing on that corner. An officer manning the line asked the resident for permission, which he refused.

"Don't you want to be safe?" asked the officer, explaining that the suspect could be hiding somewhere inside his home, waiting to harm him or his family once they got back in.

"You don't need to go through my house," the man said. "If someone's in there, I'll get him myself."

The officer grew indignant, asking the man for his name, which he refused to give.

Several people in the crowd gathered behind the man, yelling obscenities at the officer. The residents told the officer that they wanted to go back home.

The officer went back to his car and returned a short time later.

"What's your name?" he demanded from the man.

He was going to write him a citation, he said, for spitting on the ground earlier.

The crowd became angrier, demanding the officers badge number and hurling expletives with even more vigor than before.

Two other officers arrived.

After a brief discussion among themselves, the original officer backed away and Officer Kurt Wilhite turned to the man.

"If you don't want us searching your house, we won't. But we just want to make sure the neighborhood is safe," Wilhite said.

He then spoke to the crowd.

"I'm sorry we're putting you out," he said, drawing murmurs of support from the assembled residents. "We'll be done here really quick."

"And look," Wilhite said, all eyes on him.

He took a step back from the crowd and spat on the ground.

From Stan Oklobdzija

Sacramento Police are asking the public for help in solving the killing of a 18-year-old man on Halloween night.

Colin Reid Jr. was shot in the head outside an apartment complex on Lampasas Avenue in the North Sacramento area. Police have described his killer as possibly being an Asian male with a thin build, 16 to 19 years old and between 5-foot-6 and 5-8. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, police said.

Having exhausted all leads, homicide detectives need the public to help solve Reid's killing, said Det. Kyle Jasperson.

"We've worked several theories and interviewed about two dozen people," Jasperson said.

Jasperson said about when Reid Jr.'s killer showed up at the apartment complex on foot, a light-colored, four-door, late-1990s model car was seen on the block.

"It arrived in the area at near the same time (as Reid Jr.'s killer)," he said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Sacramento Police are hunting for a serial cat burglar who has been working his way through the McKinley Park neighborhood since July, police officials said.

The suspected burglar possibly travels the neighborhood via bicycle, said Sgt. Norm Leong, Sacramento Police Department spokesman. Since July, he has hit 12 homes, Leong said.

The burglar usually makes his way into the house via an unlocked door or window, Leong said. Once inside, he usually takes whatever is in plain view near where he entered the home, stealing items such as iPods and laptop computers, Leong said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sacramento Police Department at Crime Alert, (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-Crime.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Police have ended their watch of a house in which a burglary suspect fled, causing an authorities to evacuate several houses and set up a perimeter around the house around 6:45 tonight.

About 15 neighbors of the house, in the 1200 block of Sonoma, were evacuated. One of them said the suspect was armed, which is why police ordered the evacuations.

A little after 8 p.m., police discovered that the suspect was not in the house, and lifted the evacuation.

From Sandy Louey:

A federal grand jury indicted 10 people Thursday for allegedly selling counterfeit goods in Northern California.

The ten indicted were arrested last month as the culmination of a several month undercover operation.

They allegedly sold a volume of counterfeit merchandise including counterfeit bags, wallets, jewelry, clothing and trademarked emblems, labels and badges and UL power strips. The items were sold at the Galt Market and elsewhere, according to a release from U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

The indictments charged all 10 with trademark violations and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The 10 indicted were: Griselda Avila, 30, of Elk Grove; Elisa Ching, 58, of San Jose; Maria "Pala" Brosnan, 68, of Fremont; Qi Jin Chen, aka Jimmy Chen, 36, of Stockton; Dong Hun Jun, 63, of Union City; Kyong Yong Kim, 60, of San Jose; Raymond Mao, 58, of San Jose; Yi Ni, 44, of San Gabriel; Sunshine Pascual, 37, of Sacramento; and Jose Quevedo-Meza, 33, of Elk Grove, according to the release.

Chen was also indicted on the charge of structuring financial transactions over $100,000. He allegedly illegally structured $132,921 into United Commercial Bank to circumvent bank-reporting requirements, the release said.

Avila, Ching, Mao, and Quevedo-Meza were also charged with conspiracy to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

These cases are the result of investigations by the California State Parole, Elk Grove Police Department, FBI, Galt Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigations, Lodi Police Department, Placer County Sheriff's Office, Roseville Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, Sacramento Police Department, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service

From Sandy Louey:

A Folsom father and son pleaded not guilty Thursday to allegedly removing archeological artifacts from public lands.

Donald Woodworth Parker, 69, and Steven Woodworth Parker, 42, were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd.

An Oct. 23 indictment charges the Parkers with conspiracy, unlawful transportation of archaeological resources removed from public lands, unlawful interstate transportation of archaeological resources removed in violation of state law, and possession of stolen property, according to a release from U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

The case is a result of an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Sacramento County Parks Department.

The Parkers allegedly unlawfully collected archaeological items that were at least 100 years old and had archaeological interest including Native American projectile points, stone tools, bifaces and flaked or ground stone from Nevada. Those artifacts were taken to their Folsom home, the release said.

The indictment seeks the forfeiture of the items, which were stored in the Folsom home, to the United States. The two men face a potential prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $850,000, according to the release.

The Parkers' next court date is Dec. 5.

From Sandy Louey:

A joint effort between federal and local authorities have led to prison sentences for two Sacramento men.

The cases against Marshall Lynn McCarter, 30, and Marques DeWayne Watkins, 22, were the product of an effort between the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

McCarter was sentenced Wednesday to nine years and two months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

He was arrested in south Sacramento in September 2007 after being found with a loaded revolver. During his arrest, he fought with deputies and tried to gain control of his handgun and a deputy's service weapon, the release said.

Before the arrest, he had two convictions each for assault with a deadly weapon and driving while under the influence of alcohol. McCarter also was convicted for possession of crack cocaine, selling crack cocaine and car theft, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Watkins was sentenced Nov. 5 to eight years and four months for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.

He was arrested in south Sacramento in September 2007 after he was found with 48 grams of crack cocaine and a loaded .357 caliber handgun. He had prior convictions for methamphetamine sales, marijuana possession and domestic violence, the release said.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police have arrested a 16-year-old girl for hitting a bus driver in the face, police said Thursday.

The incident occurred at 3:32 p.m. Wednesday at Big Horn Boulevard and Bruceville Road. The girl was causing a disturbance on the "e-tran" bus that she was riding, according to a police report.

When the female driver told her she would no longer be allowed to ride the bus, the girl walked up and struck the driver in the face with a fist, the report said.

The girl was arrested on suspicion of battery on a bus driver and taken to juvenile hall.

From David Richie:

At least 100 law enforcement officers from a half dozen agencies fanned out over Yuba and Sutter counties today making 25 arrests while seizing large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana as well as heroin, guns and money in a gang crackdown, the attorney general said.

"Tragically, gang activity is deeply embedded in many communities and is spreading throughout rural California," said California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. as he announced the results of "Operation Showdown."

The 25 suspects under arrest include at least six gang members and eight gang associates - Nortenos and Surenos active in Yuba City, Marysville and the surrounding county areas, Brown said. Investigators confiscated almost six pounds of methamphetamine, 42 pounds of marijuana, 21 guns, an unspecified amount of heroin and about $101,000 in cash.

One of the search warrants yielded what agents described as "186 gigantic marijuana plants capable of producing up to eight pounds of marijuana buds per plant," according to a press release.

Agents said the methamphetamine also was high quality. "A lot of it was Crystal Ice," said Michelle Gregory, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.

Five children also were taken into protective custody during the sweep, Gregory said.

The raids were the culmination of a three-month investigation, Gregory said. During that interval undercover agents made more than 50 drug buys as well as gun purchases. Guns bought during the investigation included assault weapons.

From Hudson Sangree:

Yolo County jurors returned guilty verdicts Thursday against four young men accused of attacking an Amtrak engineer last year in West Sacramento.

Three of the defendants - Pauliton Nunes, 20, Austen Nunes, 18, and Orlando Javier Ramos, 16 - were convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter.

A fourth defendant - Daniel Bonge, 18 - was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.

Jurors found all four were members of the Broderick Boys street gang.

A fifth defendant, Robert Reynolds, 17, was acquitted on all charges.

Jurors rejected attempted murder charges against all of the defendants.

The five were accused of severely beating engineer Jacob Keating, including hitting him on the head with a vodka bottle and a fire extinguisher.

Keating testified he stopped the Capitol Corridor train on the night of April 16, 2007, after the group of teens threw rocks at the train as it slowed near the I Street Bridge.

The engineer admitted he threw the first punch, but said the group attack that followed left him begging for his life.

From Kim Minugh:

The day after a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy died in a traffic accident on Coloma Road - and area residents began decrying it as an example of the street's dangerous nature - Rancho Cordova officials said the road does not stand out as one of the city's most dangerous.

The number of accidents on the stretch of Coloma Road where Deputy Larry Canfield's motorcycle collided with another vehicle has decreased 40 percent in the last four years as a result of traffic enforcement and education efforts, said Public Works Director Cyrus Abhar.

And while the road is a congested one - 21,000 vehicles travel it daily - its accident rate is consistent with that of comparable streets city- and countywide, Abhar said.

"Coloma Road really has no engineering problems. There are no obstructions, no safety hazards, no sharp turns," he said. "It's a straight, flat section of the road - and the accident occurred on a clear, sunny day."

Canfield's fatal accident was a tragedy that likely had nothing to do with the road itself, Abhar said.

"It was just a very unfortunate circumstance," he said.

Canfield, a 13-year veteran of the sheriff's department and son of a retired sheriff's sergeant, died Wednesday at Mercy San Juan Medical Center shortly after the 2 p.m. accident. He was 43 and leaves behind a wife and two young sons.

Mark Kopang, who runs a Web site for motorcycle police officers, has posted a photo gallery of Canfield participating in various events, including motorcycle events. His photos can be seen here.

From David Richie:

Avoiding preventable deaths and injuries is the goal of a crackdown on seat belt and child safety seat violations planned by Roseville police Monday through Nov. 30.

"Hundreds are still dying every year because they didn't buckle up," Police Chief Mike Blair states in a news release on the special enforcement effort. "Our officers will not accept excuses or give warnings. It really is 'Click It or Ticket.' "

California law requires seatbelt use by every passenger in the car, as well as the driver. Tickets range from $80 to $91 for adults, but then may increase for children 15 and younger, depending on the county. Those fines can range from $330 to $401.

Studies indicate that teen drivers and occupants of cars traveling at night are the worst offenders.

The Roseville Police Department is one of more than 280 police agencies statewide participating in the Thanksgiving holiday "Click It or Ticket" mobilization. The program uses officers working overtime. Those costs are covered by a federal grant, administered through the state Office of Traffic Safety.

A deputy parole commissioner in Tracy today has revoked the parole of Quintin J. Watts, driver of the bus that crashed en route to a Colusa casino last month, killing eight passengers. The judge then ordered that Watts spend a year in jail for violating terms of his parole.

Deputy Commissioner Stewart Gardner ruled that Watts (left photo) violated his parole the night of the bus crash by being more than 50 miles from his Stockton home.

The state Board of Parole appeal hearing was at the Deuel Vocational Institution, where Watts has been held since Oct. 13, when he was arrested on suspicion of parole violation.

Watts was driving the bus Oct. 5 when it overturned, killing the passengers, including Daniel Cobb, the owner of the bus. Another passenger died later.

No charges will be filed until an investigation into the cause of the accident is complete, which could take months.

Watts' lawyer, Lynnette Vincent, said she was upset with the jail time Watts must serve. She said it was out of line with the approximately four months normally handed for "technical" violations of their parole.

Watts initially was arrested on suspicion of violating his parole because he was driving the passenger bus without the proper permit. The board ruled against the traffic ticket as a parole violation.

The board determined, however, that he violated two terms of his parole: He failed to tell his parole officer he had changed jobs and that he was going more than 50 miles from his Stockton home.

Click here for Bee story updates.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Eighteen people, including a Richmond parks and recreation employee, were arrested today in connection with a crackdown on a violent street gang in the city, authorities said.

Kaisha Hill, 29, who works as a juvenile group counselor with the parks department, was found at a home in the 400 block of Eighth Street with a kilo of cocaine and three guns, one of which was a MAC-11 automatic weapon, investigators said.

Hill is an associate of a Richmond gang called Deep C or Deep Central, authorities said as they announced arrests wrapping up a yearlong investigation.

Some 200 state and local law-enforcement officials conducted raids in two waves, serving 43 arrest warrants in Richmond - predominantly in the city's crime-plagued Iron Triangle neighborhood - as well as elsewhere in Contra Costa County and Alameda, Marin and Sacramento counties.

The 18 people in custody were arrested on suspicion of a variety of crimes, including murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at a vehicle and drug possession. About two dozen suspects are outstanding.

Investigators seized more than two pounds of cocaine, a pound of marijuana, $17,000 in cash and eight guns, including a fully automatic weapon, said Sara Simpson, a special agent in charge with the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

Members or associates of the gang have been linked to more than half the city's 47 homicides and 350 shootings last year, authorities said. The gang has about 100 members and associates and engages in drug trafficking, robbery, assault and prostitution-related activities, said state drug agent Michael Mattson.

Click here for the complete Chronicle story.

From Kim Minugh and Chelsea Phua:

A fund has been established to assist the family of Sacramento County sheriff's deputy Larry Canfield, who died Wednesday in a motorcycle accident while on duty in Rancho Cordova.

Also, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags lowered across the state.

Donations can be made to the Larry Canfield Memorial Fund by visiting an Exchange Bank branch, or by sending a check. The bank has two locations in the region, one at 2320 Sunset Blvd., Suite 100, Rocklin, CA 95765; the other at 1420 Rocky Ridge Drive, Suite 190, Roseville, CA 95661.

The account's number is 1205001934 and the routing number is 121101985.

Canfield died at Mercy San Juan Medical Center shortly after he collided with a vehicle while riding his motorcycle eastbound on Coloma Road, near Sierra Madre Court. Early findings in the investigation indicate he was in pursuit of a speeding motorist and was attempting to pass another vehicle when that vehicle made a left turn and they collided.

The 13-year veteran and second-generation sheriff's deputy is survived by his wife, Michelle, and sons Tyler, 12, and Bryce, 10.

In ordering the flags lowered, Schwarzenegger expressed his condolences to family, friends and colleagues of Canfield.

Flags will be flown at half-staff in the deputy's honor.

Schwarzenegger said Canfield put his life on the line every day to protect people in his community.

"We are thankful for his commitment to public safety and know that Rancho Cordova is a better place because of his service," he said in a written statement. "Maria and I send our deepest condolences to Lawrence's family, friends and fellow deputies during his difficult time."

The Sheriff's Department provides police services to Rancho Cordova under a contract

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is seeking Darren Leroy Guthrie (left photo) on a felony $45,000 bail arrest warrant for suspicion of burglary and obtaining controlled substances by fraud, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Guthrie is described as 39 years old, 6-foot-1, weighing 215 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Guthrie is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From David Richie:

A ball field at Pleasant Grove Middle School in Rescue has been wrecked by vandals for the third time in less than three months.

A school official reported the damage to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office on Monday, indicating that the damage must have occurred sometime during the previous weekend.

Someone in a vehicle had driven over the school's north ball field numerous times to destroy the playing surface before driving away. Muddy tire tracks indicated that the driver traveled east on Green Valley Road.

Cost of the damage was estimated to be at least $5,000. Officials noted that the field had just been reseeded after the last incident.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Three suspected burglars were nabbed by Sacramento police Wednesday afternoon after being spotted in the act by officers from Sacramento County's Probation Division, police said.

Officers saw the three in the middle of burglarizing a home about 2 p.m., said Sgt. Norm Leong, Sacramento Police Department spokesman. Police caught two of the suspects, Leong said.

A third, identified as Frederick Patton, 21, managed to elude the probation officers, Leong said. Because he was seen dropping a shotgun during the chase, Sacramento Police set up a large perimeter around the area, Leong said. A handgun was also reported missing from the home, which also made police cautious, Leong said.

Eventually, officers from the Sacramento Police Department's SWAT team found Patton hiding in a backyard, Leong said. He was arrested and charged with burglary, Leong said.

From Niesha Lofing:

Employees at two restaurants and two bars in Roseville failed an underage decoy sting operation this week.

Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln police conducted the operation on Tuesday, using minors as decoys to target restaurants and bars, according to a police news release.

The decoys were told to be truthful about their age and produce valid and accurate information if asked, the release states.

Officers conducted the operation at 24 locations, resulting in four citations. Employees at two restaurants and two bars sold alcohol to a decoy. Each was cited for furnishing alcohol to person under 21 years old, the release states.

Officers also sent letters to all the businesses involved in the operation, advising them about the visit and how each establishment fared.

The decoy operations are scheduled to continue every month through June 2009 and are funded through a grant from the Alcoholic Beverage Control.

To date, officers have conducted minor decoy operations at 89 locations and cited 11 people. Officers also have contacted 366 people in "shoulder-tap" operations at 32 locations and issued citations or arrested 23 people, the release states.

From Sandy Louey:

A 28-year-old Woodland man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of rape, according to a Woodland Police Department news release.

Joshua Gautreaux was arrested about 11 a.m. in connection with the September incident, the release said.

The woman, who was a workplace acquaintance of Gastreaux, was assaulted in her Woodland home, the release said.

Gastreaux was booked into Monroe Detention Center and is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to authorities.

From Kim Minugh and Stan Oklobdzija:

For the fourth time in four years, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is preparing a funeral for one of its own.

Tragedy hit the department once more Wednesday afternoon, when 13-year veteran and second-generation sheriff's Deputy Larry Canfield (left photo) struck another vehicle while conducting traffic enforcement as part of the Rancho Cordova Police Department's motorcycle unit.

His death, pronounced shortly thereafter at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, is the fifth line-of-duty loss suffered in the Sheriff's Department's ranks since 2005.

"I don't think you ever get over it. It's just a numbing effect," said Deputy Kevin Mickelson, president of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association. "Here we think we're going to make it through a year, and here we are again."

Wednesday's accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. along a busy stretch of Coloma Road, just a few hundred feet from Mills Middle School.

Click here for the complete Bee story.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

Tony Morgan, the person believed to have evaded Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies during a massive search at a south Sacramento strip-mall weeks ago, was arrested Tuesday on unrelated charges, jail records indicate.

Morgan was picked up by the Sacramento Police Department on charges of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, records show. He is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Jail. Sacramento police are investigating whether Morgan is the same person sought by Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies in connection with the shopping center incident, said Sgt. Norm Leong, police spokesman.

Morgan was allegedly involved in a botched shoplifting job at Ross Dress for Less on Florin Road in the Southgate Plaza on Oct. 22. That robbery shut down the shopping center for hours as SWAT teams combed the stores looking for Morgan.

The other two men, Jason Billy Washington, 20, of Sacramento and a 17-year-old boy from Utah, were captured almost immediately, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

From David Richie:

At least six El Dorado County sheriff's deputies and a sheriff's sergeant were involved in the arrest of a Camino man suspected of firing off several rounds from a pistol outside a bar Friday night.

On Wednesday afternoon, Michael Joseph Barrett, 52, was still in jail facing a felony charge of suspicion of illegal and negligent discharge of a firearm.

The deputies responded to the Pine Lodge on Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines just after midnight Saturday, but Barrett and his friend had already departed. While deputies interviewed witnesses at the bar, another deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspects' vehicle at a nearby convenience store.

The deputy ordered the man and woman in that vehicle to the ground at gunpoint. They were held until it was determined that they had been nowhere near Pine Lodge that night.

Eventually deputies determined that the two suspects were regulars that usually do their drinking at a different time of day. Bartenders knew their first names, but not their last names or where they lived.

As the investigation continued, the suspect vehicle was spotted parked outside a unit in a nearby mobile park. Barrett was found asleep on the floor inside the mobile home. He initially denied any involvement in the shooting. Witnesses, however, positively identified him and he was taken into custody.

During a second interview with deputies, Barrett said he was "plastered" when he stumbled across the parking lot to retrieve a Makarov 9 mm pistol from his friend's truck. Barrett could not remember how many shots he fired in the air as they made their exit.

No weapon was recovered during the investigation.

From Sandy Louey:

A shopping center in Elk Grove was evacuated for about two hours today after a suspicious package was discovered.

The package, a suitcase, later was found to be harmless.

The suitcase was found at 11:43 a.m. in a planter area near the Bank of America at 5001 Laguna Blvd. The shopping center at Laguna and Franklin boulevards, which contains a Safeway, was evacuated as a precaution, said Officer Christopher Trim, spokesman for the Elk Grove Police Department.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad was called out to check the suitcase, which turned out to be empty. Everyone was allowed back into the center at 1:45 p.m., Trim said.

Sacramento Police detectives are seeking David Huitt (left photo) on a felony $25,000 bail arrest warrant for suspicion of burglary, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

At about 3:14 a.m. Sept. 7, a business was burglarized and office equipment, including business checks, was taken. The investigation and evidence points to Huitt as the suspect, authorities said.

Huitt is described as 21 years old, 5-foot-6 weighing 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Huitt is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Niesha Lofing:

Sixteen Placer County law enforcement officers, volunteers and staff will be honored tonight at an awards ceremony for going above the call of duty.

The Placer Law Enforcement Agencies ceremony is scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Rocklin Sunset Center, 2650 Sunset Blvd. The public is encouraged to attend the free event.

Officers who have served in the U.S. military and four officers who died this year also will be recognized, said Dena Erwin, a Placer County sheriff's spokeswoman.

The awards will be given to officers from the sheriffs department, Placer County Probation Department, Placer County Chaplaincy and the Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Auburn police departments.

The awards are for valor, life-saving and distinguished service, she said. Several volunteers also will be honored for donating thousands of hours of service.

The ceremony will begin with an address from U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Richard A. Pittman, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor shown during the Vietnam War.

The award recipients, along with their rank, agency they work for and their award are:

Carol Walsh, deputy, Placer County Sheriff's Department, Distinguished Service Award; Tobias Williams, deputy, Placer County Sheriff's Department, Lifesaving Award; Shawn Rosner, deputy, Placer County Sheriff's Department, Placer County Chaplaincy Community Service Award; Howard Stoltz, volunteer, Placer County Sheriff's Department, Recognition of Volunteer Service; Beverly Gable, youth and family services therapist, Roseville Police Department, Mark White Community Policing Award; Michael Lackl, officer, Roseville Police Department, Lifesaving Award;
Maria Richardson, sergeant, Roseville Police Department, Silver Medal of Honor; Vic Pelton, volunteer, Roseville Police Department, Recognition of Volunteer Service; Brandon Olivera, officer, Rocklin Police Department, Bronze Medal of Honor; Frank Yoschak, volunteer, Rocklin Police Department, Recognition of Volunteer Service; Dan Groff, officer, Rocklin Police Department, Lifesaving Award; Ricky Martino, probation officer, Placer County Probation Department, Distinguished Service Award; David Keenan, probation officer, Placer County Probation Department, Distinguished Service Award; Art Unger, volunteer, Lincoln Police Department, Recognition of Volunteer Service; Aillene Cole, volunteer, Auburn Police Department, Recognition of Volunteer Service; Patrick Bertholf, chaplain, Placer County Chaplaincy, Recognition of Volunteer Service.

The following officers, who died this year, also will be honored:

Brad Marenger, captain, Placer County Sheriff's Department; Arthur Ermshar, deputy, Placer County Sheriff's Department; Steven Hildebrant, correctional officer, Placer County Sheriff's Department; Charles Knuthson, captain, Roseville Police Department.

For a description of what each recipient is being recognized for, click on the following document:

PLEA Award 08.doc

From Niesha Lofing:

The school day at Del Campo High School is returning to normal after a search by Sacramento County sheriff's deputies revealed no guns on campus.

Authorities locked down the campus just before 9 a.m. today after sheriff's deputies received a tip from a male caller from a gas station at the intersection of Manzanita Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

"He gave us a first name only and said that a person by this first name had brought a gun to school," Curran said.

But a school-wide search by close to 50 law enforcement officers from three agencies revealed no guns, Curran said. By noon, authorities determined the threat to be unfounded.

"At this point, there's nothing to it," said Trent Allen, spokesman for the San Juan Unified School District.

Allen said classes are resuming as scheduled and students are encouraged to stay in school. However, parents are welcome to pick up their students if they feel it is necessary, he said.

From the Associated Press:

A Clearlake man will be serving time behind bars and will have to give up two rifles after being sentenced for poaching.

Lake County prosecutors say Jose Manuel Hernandez-Medina was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to taking deer out of season and other related charges.

Hernandez-Medina was arrested after a witness saw him and several other men standing around three dead dear in the Clearlake Oaks area in July.

The 53-year-old Hernandez-Medina also was fined $2,205 and ordered not to hunt or possess firearms in an area inhabited by game animals for three years.

The Sacramento Police Department homicide detectives are seeking information about an Oct. 18 homicide, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

As reported in The Bee, Emanuel Michel (left photo), 18, was attending a party at a friend's house when he was shot in the head early that Saturday.

At 12:38 a.m., Sacramento police received several calls reporting multiple shots had been fired near Tamoshanter Way and Florin Road.

While officers were en route, additional information was received indicating someone had been shot inside a home in the 2100 block of 57th Avenue in Sacramento's Golf Course Terrace neighborhood.

About 20 young people were socializing inside the house when an unknown group of males tried to enter the party but were asked to leave, police said.

According to authorities, the suspects began to threaten the victim's group and started yelling references to local area gangs. The suspects retrieved an unknown number of weapons from the trunk of one of the vehicles and fired rounds into the house.

The vehicles involved were a 2003 silver Chevy Impala and an early 1990's burgundy colored Buick or Oldsmobile with a chrome luggage rack on the trunk.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Kim Minugh:

The Sacramento police continued their investigation Tuesday into the suspicious death of a 3-year-old Natomas boy on Sunday - a case that began unfolding with a routine traffic stop.

The boy died at the UC Davis Medical Center about 9 p.m. Sunday after suffering undisclosed injuries Friday morning.

The Bee is not naming the boy because no crime has been alleged to date. Sacramento police, however, have described his death as suspicious and are waiting for the Sacramento County Coroner's Office to determine how he died.

Authorities were first alerted to the boy's injuries on Friday morning, when a California Highway Patrol officer made a traffic stop near the boy's apartment on the 2100 block of Zurlo Way.

The officer pulled over a car after its driver crossed double lines, said CHP spokeswoman Officer Lizz Dutton.

The boy's grandmother was a passenger in the car, and her boyfriend was driving, Dutton said. They told the officer they were heading to the Zurlo Way apartment for a medical emergency.

They said someone already had called 911, but the officer could find no record of the call, Dutton said. He followed the car to the apartment, where they were met outside by somebody carrying the boy.

He was breathing, but not well, Dutton said.

The officer called for medical aid, and the boy was transported to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District captain at the scene had concerns about the boy's injuries and asked for police to respond as well, said city fire spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette.

Doucette also could find no record of any 911 calls about the boy's injuries, other than the CHP officer's call to his dispatch.

Sacramento police declined to discuss the case in further detail, citing an ongoing investigation.

From Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento jury convicted one man and acquitted two in the shooting death of a Southside Park man in March 2006, defense attorneys said today.

Edwin Arthur Stevenson, 19, is scheduled for a Dec. 12 sentencing as a result of his conviction in the death of Hector Manuel Barrera, 25. The jury returned the verdicts Monday in Sacramento Superior Court.

The two men acquitted in the case were Panfilo Torres, 23, and Kenneth Anderson, 32. Torres was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in the case, however.

Torres' attorney, Olaf Hedberg, said his client shot Barrera and grazed him in the stomach after the victim had punched him at a party.

From David Richie:

How many tough guys does it take to steal a banana?

At least four, according to Citrus Heights police.

Officers responded to a burglary alarm about 1:45 a.m. Sunday at AT&T Wireless, 5454 Sunrise Blvd. The suspects had fled.

Officers reviewed a surveillance video that showed four men in dark, hooded sweatshirts force open a back door and enter the store. But, once inside, the suspects could not find anything to steal - except for a banana left on a desk. The suspects departed with the banana, officials said.

They probably still face felony burglary charges if captured, but at least one of them got a nice snack out of the caper.

From David Richie:

Citrus Heights police are looking for a suspect who may be driving a flashy sports utility vehicle after five car burglaries early Saturday in the neighborhood near Dewey Drive and Greenback Lane.

All the car break-ins happened before 5:30 a.m. with power tools, hand tools, and various types of commercial equipment the main targets, police said.

One witness described the suspect as a white male, 35- to 45-years-old, with brown hair and a dark complexion. He is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 170 to 180 pounds, and he was wearing a white, long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. His vehicle is described as a 2000 to 2004 Jeep Cherokee with after-market chrome wheels.

From Niesha Lofing:

Authorities stopped more than 100 motorists in Davis and surrounding areas during a saturation patrol Saturday, but didn't arrest any drunken drivers.

Officers from several Yolo County law enforcement agencies conducted the special patrol during the Causeway Classic football game between University of California, Davis, and California State University, Sacramento.

Officers stopped 116 vehicles, put five drivers through the field sobriety test, issued 12 citations for vehicle code violations and didn't arrest any drunken drivers, according to a Davis police news release.

The patrol was part of the "Avoid the Eight" program, funded with a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The California Highway Patrol conducted a DUI enforcement in the Woodland area from Saturday night and made 33 drunken driving arrests.

Sacramento Police auto theft detectives and California Department of Corrections' agents are seeking Kinnith Bell (left photo) on a felony no-bail arrest warrant for suspected auto theft, parole violations and fleeing parole, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

According to authorities, while officers were en route to arrest Bell on auto theft charges Oct. 22, he cut off his ankle GPS monitor and fled.

Bell is described 39 years old, 6-foot-4, weighing 250 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information about Bell is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Jane Braxton Little:

QUINCY - A Plumas County jury found Willard Bradley, 22, guilty of voluntary manslaughter in last year's shooting death of Dominik Lamar Wolfe, 19.

Charged with first-degree murder and intentionally using a firearm, Bradley was celebrating his 21st birthday with Wolfe and other friends when Bradley's .357-magnum revolver discharged into Wolfe's head.

Wolfe died several hours at a Chico hospital.

After deliberating for a day and a half, the jurors on Friday found that Bradley had no prior intent to murder Wolfe, convicting him of the lesser charge of manslaughter and using a gun.

Bradley is scheduled to appear in Plumas County Superior Court on Nov. 13, when Judge Ira Kaufman is expected to set a date for sentencing.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

A man is in serious condition and undergoing surgery at UC Davis Medical Center after being shot once in the mid section in a drive-by shooting in South Sacramento, sheriff's officials said.

The shooting took place at about 5 p.m. on the 4000 block of 44th St., sheriff's officials said. No other information was available at this time.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

A 24-year-old man committed suicide in a Natomas apartment while Sacramento County seriff's detectives knocked at his door to question him about a weekend homicide, sheriff's officials said.

The man, whose name the sheriff's department is not releasing, was staying with friends at an apartment complex on the 2000 block of San Juan Road, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran. Detectives hoping to talk to him about the death Saturday of 21-year-old Jamay Sticca in the 7500 block of Diamond Ranch Road, Curran said.

That death was determined to be a stabbing homicide this afternoon, Curran said.

Through the course of their investigation, detectives determined the 24-year-old man was living with Sticca, Curran said. About 3:45 p.m., detectives showed up at the Natomas apartment to question the man, he said.

When detectives knocked at the door, another resident opened it, Curran said. One of them saw motion in the back of the apartment and went inside, he said. There they found the man in the act of committing suicide with a knife, Curran said.

The man was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, Curran said.

From Denny Walsh:

The family of an Elk Grove man shot and killed more than two years ago by a sheriff's deputy has agreed to accept $35,000 from Sacramento County in settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit.

U. S. District Judge William B. Shubb approved the settlement at a brief hearing Monday.

Just before the Aug. 26, 2006, incident in Fair Oaks Park, Michael Douglas Riley's mother, Lynn Taverna, who witnessed the shooting, told a 911 operator her son had talked of "suicide by cop."

In an interview after Monday's hearing, Michael Haddad, one of the family's attorneys, said, "I don't know that it was suicide by cop. We'll never know what was going through his head."

Haddad acknowledged the settlement amount is extraordinarily little "for a death."

"The only thing (Riley) had in his hand was a pen," the attorney said. "The officer said he thought it was some sort of weapon, and he seemed sincere in that."

Taverna will receive $2,814.75 of the settlement proceeds.

An annuity will be purchased for Riley's 12-year-old daughter, Julia Garcia-Riley, at a cost of $3,645.25, and it will fund a payout of $4,415 to her on her 18th birthday. There will also be an immediate payout of $5,000 for orthodontic work she needs.

An annuity will be purchased for Riley's 9-year-old son, Michael Garcia-Riley, at a cost of $8,645.25, and it will fund a payout of $13,298.16 to him on his 18th birthday.
The family's attorneys will receive $14,894.75.

Riley, who was 33 when he died, was a parolee and officers summoned to the park were told by a dispatcher he should be considered armed and dangerous, sheriff's officials said at the time of the incident.

Taverna called 911 and said her son was acting "crazy" and that she "thought" she had wrestled a knife away from him, Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said at the time.

He said then a deputy chased Riley, who turned and walked toward the officer through a parking lot with one hand raised and holding what the deputy believed was a weapon. Riley was ordered to stop but didn't, and the deputy fired several shots at him, Curran said then. Riley was hit four times.
Riley had a criminal record that included charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery. His family claimed that history influenced the way police handled the situation and his death was avoidable.

From Sandy Louey

Elk Grove police are looking for five men involved in an armed robbery Sunday.

At 2:28 a.m., five men entered a home in the 9500 block of Hickory Rail Way through an open roll-up garage door, according to a report from the Elk Grove Police Department.

Three of the robbers pointed handguns at the three people in the home. One of the robbers struck a resident in the head with a firearm when he tried to flee from the home, police said.

Police did not list what was stolen.

From David Richie:

A Roseville police school resource officer has been reassigned after her arrest Thursday night on suspicion of drunk and disorderly conduct at Arco Arena.

The incident occurred after the Kings game, when the off-duty police officer, Christine Eastman, 38, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Paul Winkler, 36, went to one of the Arco Arena suites to pick up Winkler's child, said Sgt. Tim Curran, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

A dispute erupted and off-duty deputies working as arena security were called to the suite. The incident escalated when Winkler threw a punch at one of the deputies, Curran said. He was eventually taken into custody and Eastman was told repeatedly to leave.

After leaving the arena Eastman started making a disturbance outside and tried to get back inside. Deputies were called to that location and took her into custody. She was booked at Sacramento County Main Jail and released a few hours later.

Eastman had been working as a school resource officer at Oakmont High School, said Dee Dee Gunther, Roseville Police Department spokeswoman. She is back to work in another assignment. A separate internal affairs investigation continues, Gunther said.

From Sandy Louey:

Elk Grove police are investigating the robbery of two teenagers Saturday who were robbed as they waited in a drive-through lane at Carl's Jr. restaurant.

The incident occurred at 3:07 a.m. when a man approached two boys, ages 17 and 18, sitting a vehicle at 8401 Elk Grove Florin Road.

The robber asked the two multiple times for cigarettes, then opened the passenger side door and threatened to shoot both of them if they didn't give him money. The man put his right hand in the waistband of his pants as though he had a gun, but no weapon was seen, according to a police report from the Elk Grove Police Department.

Police said the victims gave the man money. The robber left in a white Cadillac.

The robber is described as Latino man who is about 5 feet ,10 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. He is 20 to 25 years old. He had short-shaved brown hair, brown eyes and slice-mark scars on both cheeks, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (916) 714-5115.

From Kim Minugh:

Sunday's suspicious death on Salmon Falls Drive is being investigated as a homicide, according to authorities.

Neighbors found the 52-year-old victim, Edward Chaney, unconscious in his duplex on the 9000 block of Salmon Falls Drive shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department first called the death suspicious, but today, spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said the victim had been shot multiple times and his death is being investigated as a homicide.

Detectives are seeking help from the public in obtaining more information about the victim and his death. They particularly are interested in speaking with anyone who had contact with the victim between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detective Elaine Stoops at (916) 874-6881 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Kim Minugh:

Sacramento police say they are investigating what they believe to be the suspicious death of a 3-year-old boy Sunday night.

The boy died at an area hospital after sustaining injuries Friday, said Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Leong said police were contacted Friday morning by the California Highway Patrol after a CHP officer stopped a speeding vehicle in Natomas. The driver of that vehicle was en route to a home on the 2100 block of Zurlo Way, where the 3-year-old reportedly was injured, Leong said.

The boy was transported to a local hospital, where he died about 9 p.m. Sunday.

Leong declined to discuss the toddler's injuries except to describe them as "severe." The boy's death has not yet been ruled a homicide, though homicide detectives are investigating the death.

Editor's note: Notebook is an occasional series on slices of life found by The Bee's police reporters.

From David Richie:

Unlike TV shows, real-life cops face a lot of situations that are far from clear cut.

A Citrus Heights police report indicates that police and school officials were not sure what to do with an 11-year-old boy who had threatened to "bring a gun to school and put it to his teacher's head."

School administrators' first choice was to suspend or expel the student.

But, when they told the boy that they were going to call his father, the boy said he was afraid to go home because his father had already punched him in the mouth, officials said.

Officers could find no marks or visible injuries and the boy's story seemed to have an inconsistent time frame.

But, since the father could not be located, officers decided to leave the boy in the school's custody, the report states.

The report did not identify the school or whether it was private or public.

From David Richie:

One of two men arrested early Sunday in Auburn returned to the scene of the reported crime to retrieve identification papers he dropped nearby, including what turned out to be his passport to Placer County Jail, sheriff's officials noted in a news release.

At about 4:30 a.m., Orangevale residents Timothy Fredrick Gault, 28, and Derek Keith Berset, 27, allegedly tripped a burglary alarm at All Seasons Pools and Spas on Lincoln Way. The business manager checked the alarm, spotted a back door that had been forced open and called the Placer County Sheriff's Office.

Responding deputies determined that both suspects were still inside. During the subsequent rush, Berset eluded them while Gault was taken into custody. Deputies also found what they described as "a significant amount of stolen property" stashed near the business.

The deputies were still at the scene about 9:30 a.m. when Berset returned to pick up his passport and other identification that also had been left behind earlier that morning.

Gault and Berset were both booked on multiple charges, including suspicion of burglary, conspiracy and resisting arrest.

Deputies determined that Berset has a felony warrant out of El Dorado County for burglary and Placer County warrants for driving on a suspended driver's license and possession of marijuana.

Sunday morning Berset was riding a green mountain bike that deputies said may have been stolen from the Bowman area. If any residents are missing a bicycle, they are encouraged to call the Sheriff's Office.

From Niesha Lofing:

A North Highlands man is facing felony drunken driving and other charges after crashing his sport utility vehicle Saturday on a levee road, a collision that killed his girlfriend.

Charles Garcia, 29, was driving his gray 2004 Dodge Durango at 11:25 p.m. Saturday when the crash occurred on Elkhorn Boulevard, west of East Levee Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Lizz Dutton stated in a news release.

Garcia was westbound on Elkhorn, going about 45 mph, when the vehicle crossed over the eastbound lane and went over an embankment, she said.

The left rear of the SUV spun around and collided with the embankment.

Garcia's girlfriend was sitting in the front passenger seat and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, Dutton said.

The woman was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where she died from injuries sustained in the crash. The woman's identity is not yet being released, pending notification of her family.

Garcia was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving, gross vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended license. Garcia's drivers license has a restriction on it that requires him to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, but the vehicle he was driving was not registered to him, Dutton said.

The CHP is investigating the crash.

From David Richie:

Citrus Heights police are investigating two home-invasion robberies that occurred Tuesday.

The first incident occurred about 6 p.m. at a home in the 6500 block of Greenback Lane. Several officers responded to the call. They were told that two men forced their way into the home, forced the female occupant to the floor, then took the male occupant upstairs, where he was ordered to open up dresser drawers for the suspects. They then fled in the man's car, which was later recovered.

The two suspects were described as an African-American man in his mid-20s, about 6-feet tall and 160 pounds, and a Latino in his mid-20s, about 5-4 and 150 pounds.

The second incident occurred about 11 p.m. as many as four men forced their way into a home in the 8100 block of Sunrise Boulevard. The residents were ordered to the floor at gunpoint and various items were taken from the home, police said. Only very vague suspect descriptions were available.

From David Richie:

Taking a cue from banks and businesses, more residents are hooking up home surveillance gear to scan property and catch crooks in the act.

Recently Roseville police released photos of two burglary suspects caught in the act. The man (see bottom of this story) and the woman (left) allegedly broke into a residence north of Highway 65, near the Roseville-Rocklin border.

On home surveillance video, recorded at 10:38 a.m. Oct. 20 in the 6100 block of Grand Canyon Drive, the suspects were seen using the homeowner's own luggage to haul off laptop computers, jewelry and clothing, said Dee Dee Gunther, Roseville police spokeswoman.

A similar video helped Roseville investigators crack a car burglary case last summer. In that incident, police released a lengthy clip depicting a man and a woman ransacking a sport-utility vehicle in east Roseville.

"The resident left his vehicle unlocked, but he a had pretty good system mounted in his driveway," Gunther said. (To see the video, click here.)

Other suburban police agencies have not had the success enjoyed by Roseville police, but they've noticed the trend.

"There seem to be more homes out there with home surveillance cameras," said Officer Michelle Beattie, Folsom Police Department spokeswoman. "It is potentially a very valuable tool."

Her best recent example is a "clear picture" of a vehicle Folsom investigators have linked to a recent residential burglary.

More homeowners are likely to arm themselves with the relatively low-cost systems - as little as a couple hundred dollars - available at retail outlets, Beattie said.

The problem for local police is that many photos taken by home surveillance cameras are of poor quality. If the picture is blurred or the camera is not mounted in a good position, the images are not of much use, Beattie said.

Surveillance equipment was discussed last month during a presentation by Citrus Heights police officers at a community meeting on a recent rash of tire slashing.

Problem-oriented policing specialists Ryan Kinnan and Alexi Fanopoulos also are leading Citrus Heights' resurgent Neighborhood Watch movement. The officers noted that new watch groups also can pool money and then mount a surveillance camera in a strategic location.

"I've already bought my system," said one resident in the audience.

He told the officers that he lost tools worth thousands of dollars recently when his work truck was looted in his driveway.

Businesses also are hearing from more residents interested in installation of surveillance equipment, especially with the recent advances in "IP camera" - technology that can be hooked up to home computer systems.

"The cost has gone down, and it is relatively easy to do," said Leon Soohoo, co-owner of Paradyme Sound & Vision.

Surveillance equipment is not his company's main product, but homeowners will often request it as part of larger projects like installation of a home theater system, Soohoo said.

The equipment can have many applications, especially when combined with motion detectors. It allows homeowners to scan for suspicious activity while still safe inside their homes. Parents with small children also may place a camera near a sensitive location like the backyard swimming pool, Soohoo said.

He recently experienced the crime-stopper applications of his own equipment when Paradyme's Sacramento store was burglarized. The culprits walked throughout the store, evidently oblivious to the cameras.

The photos were broadcast via local news outlets. Paradyme immediately got an anonymous call that led to the arrests of the suspected burglars.

"They did not even cover their faces," Soohoo said.

From Niesha Lofing:

California Highway Patrol officers arrested 33 people Saturday in connection with alcohol and drug-related offenses in Yolo County.

The arrests come as a result of the CHP's Rapid Apprehension of Impaired Drivers, or RAID, program in the Woodland area.

Officers conducted a saturation patrol in Woodland Saturday due to several activities being held in the area, including a big college football game in neighboring Davis.

"We thought it'd be a good way to shake this sleepy town up," said CHP Officer Steve Merchant.

Twenty-two of the arrests were for drunken driving, while the other 11 were for drug-related offenses, he said.

Merchant said the effort was very successful.

"It just goes to show you that at any given time, there's someone around you who could take your life or the life of someone you love," he said.

The RAID program uses grant-funded overtime from the state Office of Traffic Safety to help augment the number of officers on patrol.

The officers are deployed to locations that have seen a high number of DUI-related traffic collisions in the past, the release states.

From Andy Furillo:

More murder sentencings and a date with "The Compound" are among the high-profile cases this week in Sacramento Superior Court.

The rundown:

Tuesday -- Jayshawn Pierce is scheduled to be sentenced for the robbery-murder of Kevin Wilson, 4 p.m., Department 29.

Tuesday -- Three reputed street gang members (Quentin Carthen, Deon Hampton and Mack Williams) are up for a preliminary hearing in a gun case, to be assigned out of Department 4 at 8:30 a.m.

Friday -- Tousaun Devone Stewart will be sentenced for the Aug. 25, 2007, murder of Sione Lomano, 9 a.m., Department 17.

Friday -- Jeffrey Ward will be up for his much-delayed murder sentencing in the 2006 shotgun killing of Serge Zubenko, 10 a.m., Department 15.

Friday -- Bail hearing on murder suspect Victor Anthony Ortega, 1:35 p.m., Department 63.

Friday -- Ruling due on City of Sacramento's effort to shut down "The Compound" apartment complex in North Sacramento, Department 53.

Continuing: Murder trial of Sertice Melonson and Sara Weeden in Aug. 5, 2005, shooting death of Navnil Chand, Department 12. (Murder trial of Wayne Albert Caskey and Bennett Louis Kovac in June 11, 2006, shooting death of Gary R. Brooks, will resume next week in Department 31.

From Niesha Lofing:

Sacramento County Coroner's officials have identified a Sacramento man who was shot dead while allegedly trying to rob a home in south Sacramento.

Coroner's officials today released the man's name, Aaron William Markson, 40, of Sacramento. His cause of death is listed as a gunshot wound to the chest.

Police say Markson was one of two men who on Saturday morning allegedly tried to rob a man in his home in the 4000 block of 51st Street in the Colonial Heights neighborhood off Stockton Boulevard.

The robbery victim acted in self-defense, police said.

The men tried to rob the resident, who retrieved his gun and fired a shot, wounding one of the robbers, police said. The wounded man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are looking for the other robber, who fled when the shot was fired. Police describe him as a Caucasian man in his late 20s, 5-foot-6 and 135 pounds.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-Crime. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

San Francisco's 98 homicides last year, the highest number in 12 years, were anything but random. According to a new study, the violence was concentrated - routinely involving the same gangs and featuring suspects and victims with long rap sheets.

Nearly three-fourths of the 38 suspects arrested so far in the killings had criminal records, according to the study by the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, a research and policy group at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The average suspect had 12 previous arrests.

Click here for the full Chronicle story.

From Matt Weiser:

Neighbors found a Sacramento man dead in his home in the 9000 block of Salmon Falls Drive Sunday evening, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reported.

The 52-year-old victim was found when neighbors in the area near Watt Avenue and Highway 50 arrived for a visit shortly before 6 p.m. The man did not answer the door, so the neighbors looked through the front window and saw him lying motionless on the floor. They entered the home and were unable to wake him up.

When medical help arrived, the man was unconscious, unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not yet been released.

Deputies who arrived on the scene said there were no signs of trauma to the victim. But the incident is considered suspicious until a cause of death is determined, and an investigation is under way.

According to neighbors, the man had lived alone in the duplex since June 2007. Anyone with information about the death is urged to call detectives at (916) 874-5115, or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

From Andy Furillo:

Prosecutors today tacked another weapons charge on a former Sacrament sheriff's deputy who has been named as a "principal" in the shooting death of a California correctional officer.

The deputy, Chu Vue, 43, had initially been accused of possession of an unregistered assault weapon. The additional charge is that he actually converted the gun into something other than its manufacturers' design.

Conviction on the new charge would result in a sentence of four, six or eight years. The original charge carried a range of 16 months, two years or three years.

"We had an expert examine the weapon and his opinion was that it had been converted," Deputy District Attorney Robert Clancey said.

Vue has been named as a "principal" in the investigation into the Oct. 15 slaying of correctional officer Steve Lo in the garage of his Sacramento home, according to an investigator's search warrant affidavit filed in Sacramento Superior Court.

It was during the service of the search warrant that investigators found the unregistered .223 caliber assault weapon, court documents said.

Vue, who is free on $500,000 bail, has since been fired from the sheriff's department.

From Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento gang member received a 40-to-life sentence today in the shooting death two years ago of an Elk Grove man who was about to go into the Navy.

Manuel Jose Cervin stared straight ahead when Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet imposed the term for what he characterized as the defendant's "act of cowardice" in the Dec. 22, 2006, murder of 21-year-old Marc Grimes in the driveway of his home.

Cervin, 25, was the driver in a car filled with Norteno gang members that got in a confrontation with Grimes at 11:45 p.m. the night of the shooting. Grimes had just gotten home after a night out with his girlfriend when a minor traffic dispute with Cervin escalated into the killing.

During the confrontation, Cervin rolled down his driver's side window while a passenger shot from inside the car and killed Grimes. The shooter has not been arrested.

Three friends and relatives of Grimes read written, tearful statements to Cervin during the sentencing, expressing their pain and sense of loss in the death of a friend, brother and son.

Grimes' mother, Jody Lawson, told Cervin he could have continued to drive away from the scene of the confrontation but instead backed his vehicle toward the victim to continue the argument in the seconds before the shooting.

"You could have let it go," the tearful Lawson told Cervin.

Police and prosecutors said Cervin's gang affiliation would not allow it.

"You should come up for parole," Lawson continued, "when Marc returns to his family on this earth."

From Sandy Louey:

A Sacramento County jury on Thursday found a former Sacramento Police Department officer guilty of grand theft.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena Gweon remanded Sean Julian Lewis, 36, into custody without bail.

Lewis faces 16 months up to three years in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12, according to release from the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.

Lewis, a patrol officer who was on the force for eight years, was given $50,000 in cash by a woman on Jan. 11, the DA's office said.

The woman was a former girlfriend who allegedly sought to commit welfare fraud by having Lewis hold the money while she sought public assistance, authorities had said earlier.

Between Jan. 11 and the time that the woman asked for her money, Lewis misappropriated $20,500 of the funds without her permission or knowledge. She filed a complaint with the police department's Internal Affairs about the theft, the DA's office said.

During an interview with investigators, Lewis denied he had any of the woman's money and claimed he returned all $50,000 after she had asked for it back. But, the $20,500 was never returned, the release stated.

Authorities said Lewis, who was arrested April 29 on a warrant for the grand theft, resigned from the police department.

From Denny Walsh:

Laurel White, an assistant U. S. attorney in Sacramento who has been a national force in prosecuting crimes against children, is the recipient of the 2008 FBI director's Community Leadership Award.

The annual award recognizes achievements in the areas of drug and violence education and prevention.

White has been a federal prosecutor for 19 years, and for the past nine years has focused primarily on crimes against children and Internet predators.

She also has been in the forefront of efforts to educate parents, children and schools about the dangers of the Internet and what can be done to keep children safe, the FBI said.

Acknowledging "we're not going to prosecute our way out of this crisis," White has worked tirelessly on her own time to prevent the exploitation of children through education, the FBI said.

From Sandy Louey:

An 18-year-old Woodland man will spend from 18 years to the rest of his life in prison for his violent sexual assault on a young woman.

Yolo County Superior Court Judge Thomas Warriner on Wednesday sentenced Timothy Thompson for the Nov. 26, 2006, attack in which Thompson kidnapped a woman from her Woodland apartment complex and sexually assaulted her, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office press release.

In March, a Yolo County jury convicted Thompson on the charges of forcible rape, attempted digital penetration and two counts of forcible oral copulation, the DA's office said. The jury also found he committed the sexual assault during the course of a kidnapping, the DA's office said.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence that Thompson grabbed the victim and took her from her apartment, taking her around the corner of her apartment building where he sexually assaulted her, the DA's office said. He also dragged her to Prairie Park where the sexual assault continued, the DA's office said.

Thompson's sentencing had been delayed so he could file a new trial motion that was denied, the release said.

From Sandy Louey:

A Woodland man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl while she was home alone.

Woodland police on Wednesday arrested Richard Gordon Torrey III, 34, on suspicion of committing a lewd act with the girl and committing the lewd act during the commission of a burglary, according to a press release.

Torrey was arrested in connection with an Aug. 22 incident. He allegedly entered a Woodland apartment, knowing the girl was home alone, and sexually assaulted her while she was in bed, police said.

Police said Torrey was a acquaintance of the victim's family.

From Andy Furillo:

The psychologist whose diagnosis of Ronald Toppila led a jury to find him not guilty of murder by reason of insanity testified today that he thinks state psychiatrists have blundered in their more recent, more favorable findings about the defendant's mental health.

Forensic psychologist Paul G. Mattiuzi had diagnosed Toppila, who killed his mother in October 2004, as a paranoid schizophrenic. It was that finding that led a Sacramento Superior Court jury in 2006 to divert Toppila into the state mental health system instead of prison.

Earlier this year, Napa State Hospital psychiatrists said Toppila has responded to medication and now suffers from major depression with psychotic features that are in remission.

"Are they wrong?" Toppila's lawyer, Robert J. Saria, asked Mattiuzi in a hearing today in Sacramento Superior Court.

"Yes, they are," Mattiuzi answered.

The distinction between paranoid schizophrenia and a mood disorder like major depression is critical to whether the hospital succeeds in its effort to discharge Toppila from their locked facility into a community, group-home setting.

The Napa psychiatrists testified that Toppila would not be a danger if he is put in a group home.

The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office is opposing the move.

Testimony in Toppila's placement hearing concluded today. Judge Kevin J. McCormick said he will rule on the issue on Nov. 17.

By Andy Furillo:

DUI fixer Hector Whitley was sentenced to six years in state prison today for his role in a courthouse scam to dismiss cases on drunken drivers.

Whitley "admitted to having a part in the crime," but claimed that he "did not know all that was going on," according to his probation report.

Superior Court Judge Gregory F. Haas imposed the sentence on the 27-year-old Whitley, who was convicted by a jury on Oct. 10.

Prosecutors portrayed Whitley as the idea man in the scam and presented evidence that he worked with a court clerk to get the cases dismissed. Whitley testified in court that he collected $11,300 from a half dozen or so people arrested for drunken driving.

The clerk who pleaded no contest in the case, Fernando A. Catlin, was sentenced in August to five years in prison.

From Niesha Lofing:

Four Woodland teens were arrested Wednesday after police allegedly found narcotics and drug paraphernalia and discovered that three of the teens had allegedly been involved in two home burglaries, police said Thursday.

Police responded at 11:55 a.m. Wednesday to the area of Hutchinson Valley and Bourn drives on a report of a suspicious vehicle with four people inside, police Sgt. Dan Letamendi said in a news release.

Officers found the car and the teenagers nearby. When they searched the car, officers found a substantial quantity of marijuana and smoking paraphernalia, Letamendi said.

Amaris Rodriguez, 18, Resendo Altamirano, 19, Rafael Ramos, 18, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of possession and transportation of more than an ounce of marijuana, Letamendi said.

The juvenile, Ramos and Rodriguez also were arrested on suspicion of residential burglary after detectives searched three homes and found items allegedly stolen during burglaries on Friday and Wednesday, he said.

Detectives confiscated a television, X-Box, video gaming system and several DVDs that had allegedly been taken during the burglaries, he said.

Police are still investigating the case and are hoping to make more arrests soon, he said.

From Niesha Lofing:

Woodland police are asking residents to protect themselves burglars and thieves targeting one of the city's neighborhoods.

The department has seen an increase in home and vehicle burglaries and vehicle theft in recent weeks, police Lt. Charlie Wilts stated in a news release.

Between the nights of Oct. 29 and 30, there were 14 reported vehicle thefts, many of which happened in the Presidents Park residential development, east of the County Fair Mall. People believe a few individuals are responsible for the crimes.

In nearly all of the thefts, the vehicle was unlocked or there was no sign of forced entry, he said.

The thieves do not appear to be targeting a specific make or model vehicle and do not appear to be looking for specific property to steal. In some of the cases, the stereo was stolen or attempts were made to steal it, Wilts said.

The police department is dedicating specific enforcement activities in order to catch the thieves.

Police also are asking residents to take preventative measures to protect themselves. Tips include the following:

• Lock unattended vehicles day and night. Make sure locks work properly.

• Lock doors and windows when leaving home.

• Lock side access gates to rear yards when not in regular use.

• Keep high value jewelry or significant amounts of cash in safes that are internally bolted in place.

• Keep firearms in gun safes when possible. If a gun safe is not available, guns should be equipped with gun locks.

• Record and keep serial numbers on high-value electronics.

• Become a "nosey neighbor" and report unusual or suspicious activity in neighborhoods to the police. Write down license plate numbers of suspicious vehicles and note the color and make of the vehicle. Call 911 or the police department's non-emergency line at (530) 666-2411.

• Start participating in Neighborhood Watch programs or start one in neighborhoods without one. Call (530) 666-7854 for more information.

Editor's note: Notebook is an occasional series on slices of life found by The Bee's police reporters.

From Stan Oklobdzija:

David Penn and his family have the usual home safety drills. They check their smoke alarms and know what to do in case of a fire. Penn also has another drill, he said, one he's gotten all to good at lately - what to do in case of gunshots.

Penn was at home when shots rang out at his complex near the corner of Folsom Boulevard and Mills Park Drive.

Tossing laundry into a dryer at his Rancho Cordova apartment complex, Penn said the shots he heard on Tuesday were just the latest in a long line of gunshots he's been hearing lately.

"I heard 4-5 shots," he said.

Penn did what he'd done in the past. He killed the lights in his apartments and got on the floor. When the shooting stopped, he opened his front door a crack and looked for his son, who was out at a friend's house, he said.

"I wasn't trying to be outside," he explained. "You don't know what's going to happen."

It could have been a running gunfight, he said. There had been one of those since he moved in about a year ago. Or it could be shots coming from out in the street, he said.

Thankfully, he said, his son came home about 10 minutes later. A 19-year-old, the target of Tuesday's shooting, was not so lucky. He was struck once in the chest and is currently in the hospital recovering.

"There's gunplay around here," Penn said. "I'm just trying to keep my family safe."

From Bill Enfield and Anthony Sorci:

Here are answers to some questions posed by Sacto911 readers. If you have a question, please post it to the Comment section of this story.

Comment about announcement of a DUI checkpoint: Hi Bill. Why does the Bee warn people about these again? - JoeSacramentoDotCom.

Answer: Law enforcement agencies ask us and other media to publicize DUI checkpoints. Several officers told me the main reason is to discourage people from drinking and driving.

Comment about a crash story that gave make and year of vehicles involved: Why the detailed descriptions of the vehicles? Isn't "motorcycle" and "pickup truck" good enough? - okdcodyjr.

Answer: Reporters and editors have debated the value of giving make and year of vehicles in the crash on and off for the 24 years we've been at The Bee. The consensus is we should always err on the side of giving as much information as possible unless there is a good reason not to do it.

Comment on story about Sacramento sheriff's narcotics unit: Hey Bee, why don't you get your links to the photo gallery right! - thebronze

Answer: It was correct when we posted the story but the gremlins got to it, we guess. Here's a link to the (I hope) photo gallery:

http://www.sacbee.com/photos/gallery/1351506.html

Comment about announcement of arrests in a slaying at a light-rail station: Wonder if those ladies whose pics were posted the other day were ever located? Hope they were able to help and were not involved in any way with this young man's death. - warmjet

Answer: Here's what Sgt. Tim Curran, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman wrote in a note after announcing the arrests: Detectives asked me to pass along their thanks to all members of the media for your assistance in helping them identify the three female witnesses caught on light-rail surveillance video shortly after the shooting. All three witnesses were identified and interviewed by the detectives. The identification of these witnesses was instrumental in the rapid progression of the case.

From Niesha Lofing:

Two Granite Bay teens are in police custody today in connection to a shooting at a Roseville fast-food restaurant Wednesday afternoon.

Roseville police arrested Justin Mathew Wittkop, 18, and a 17-year-old girl on suspicion of attempted murder and conspiracy shortly after midnight today, said Dee Dee Gunther, spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department.

Wittkop is being held without bail in Placer County Jail in Auburn, and the girl was booked into the county's Juvenile Hall.

The two are being held in connection to a shooting Wednesday afternoon that wounded a 16-year-old boy. His wounds were not life threatening.

The incident began about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at a fast-food restaurant in the 8600 block of Sierra College Boulevard, she said.

Two groups of teenagers fought outside and inside the restaurant. The restaurant's manager stopped the fight, and one of the groups left.

Members of the other group came out of the restaurant about 20 minutes later and were standing near the street when a silver sedan cruised by. Handgun shots were fired from the vehicle, striking a 16-year-old Roseville boy in the back and leg, Gunther said.

The boy was taken to a local hospital and treated for his wounds. His condition is not being disclosed.

Wittkop is believed to have been driving the car, Gunther said.

The shooting does not appear to be gang-related, she said.

Police are still investigating whether he was the shooter.

From Sandy Louey:

An 85-year-old Sacramento man died Wednesday after his van collided with a pillar at a strip mall building in the Arden Arcade area.

Around 10:05 a.m., William Huggins was driving a white 1987 Chevy van that exited out of the north side of the Bel Air parking lot at Arden Way and Eastern Avenue, according to a release from the California Highway Patrol.

The van continued north on Eastern before going into the shopping center where Whole Foods Market is located. The market is at the northeast corner of Arden and Eastern, the CHP said.

Authorities say Huggins' van struck three vehicles before colliding with the concrete and brick pillar of a strip mall building. He had a possible heart attack that may have caused the accident.

Huggins was taken to the Mercy San Juan Medical Center where he died. It is unclear whether his medical condition or the trauma from the accident caused his death, the CHP said.

The accident is under investigation.

From Sandy Louey:

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint in the southern part of the city Friday.

The checkpoint will focus on removing impaired and unlicensed drivers from the roads. Money for the checkpoint comes from a California Office of Traffic Safety grant.

From Sandy Louey:

The Sacramento Police Department is looking for a robber who failed in his attempt to rob a Folsom Boulevard bank, thanks to an alert teller.

Police were called at 1 p.m. Oct. 23 to the El Dorado Savings Bank, 5801 Folsom Blvd., where an alert teller noticed the man was unarmed.

When the man opened his briefcase at the deposit slip counter, a teller saw only paperwork was inside, according to a press release.

The man then approached a teller, saying he was robbing the bank. The teller told him he wasn't getting anything and told the other tellers she was being robbed.

He said "Happy Halloween" and left the bank, the release said.

Police said the attempted bank robber is described as a white man about 50 years old who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has gray hair and wore sunglasses. He wore a green hooded jacket, blue jeans, tan boots and a black baseball cap with the words "purple heart" written on it. He also carried a brown, hard leather suitcase.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-Crime. Callers can be anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From David Richie:

Roseville police are warning residents about the importance of having their cats vaccinated for rabies.

Last week a local family made the painful decision to have the family cat killed after it was found playing with a dead bat. The bat tested positive for rabies - common in local wildlife, including bats, rats, skunks, raccoons, and other wildlife even a backyard cat may encounter in Roseville, officials said.

A low-cost rabies vaccination clinic will be offered from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Placer Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 150 Corporation Yard Road, off Junction Boulevard, behind the police station. Shots will cost $5 and residents also can get microchips implanted in their pets for $20.

From Niesha Lofing:

A 20-year-old bicyclist died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run crash in the Foothill Farms area of Sacramento Saturday.

Sacramento County Coroner's officials identified the man as Clark W. Trainer, who has no permanent address.

Trainer died at 9:26 a.m. Tuesday at Mercy San Juan Medical Center.

He was hit about 12:52 a.m. by an unknown vehicle driving north on Watt Avenue, near Karl Drive, California Highway Patrol Officer Lizz Dutton stated in a news release.

The vehicle fled the scene of the crash without stopping, Dutton said.

A witness who was driving north on Watt saw the Trainer lying in the road and called 911 at 12:54 a.m. Trainer suffered major injuries and was taken to Mercy San Juan for treatment.

Officers found the bike at the scene and the bike had minor damage, but didn't appear to have been run over, Dutton said.

The CHP is investigating the crash and is asking that anyone with information call the North Sacramento CHP office at (916) 338-6710.

From Andy Furillo:

The judge presiding over a hearing to release a killer from Napa State Hospital questioned today whether the matricidal Ron Toppila might be hiding his psychosis from his psychiatrists.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McCormick said that transferring from Napa to a community placement setting in Sacrament is "something he desires," that Toppila is "a smart man" and that he has the capacity to make the move happen by covering up his symptoms.

"Doesn't that concern you?" McCormick asked Napa's acting chief of forensic psychiatry, Katherine Warburton, who testified today in Toppila's transfer hearing.

"It really doesn't," Warburton replied, about her one-time patient who was convicted in the Oct. 7, 2004 murder of his mother, 86.

Warburton testified that Toppila, 68, has since worked to repair his relationship with his remaining family members, that he "values his family" and that he "doesn't want anything like this to happen again."

She said it would be "possible," but unlikely for Toppila to conceal any psychotic symptoms. It was Warburton and another psychiatrist at Napa who have diagnosed Toppila as suffering from "major depression with psychotic features, in remission," due to anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications.

Napa's has improved its ability to assess the risk of patients' propensity toward violence, Warburton testified. But she said the predictability of the assessments is difficult to determine, much like nobody could say for sure whether a cardiac patient might suffer a heart attack of he or she stopped taking their medications.

"I'm taking in all those risk factors," Judge McCormick said. "But it's not going to be Mr. Toppila that is going to have the heart attack. It's somebody else who is going to have the heart attack."

From David Richie:

A 31-year-old man remains in jail on an immigration hold after allegedly crashing into several cars and fighting with police officers early Sunday night during a drunken driving spree that started in unincorporated Sacramento County and ended on Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights, police said.

Police officials said the arrest of Nolberto Pacheco Ortez was not related to the Proposition 8 demonstrations occurring at the same time near the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane.

Police dispatchers began relaying information about Ortez as his Ford 150 truck headed east on Greenback Lane. Officers said they spotted him turning south from Greenback Lane on to Sunrise Boulevard but Ortez initially did not yield when they attempted to pull him over.

The truck stopped just north of Madison Avenue and Ortez fought with officers before he was taken into custody, police said.

He was booked on felony charges of suspicion of evading police officers in a reckless manner and resisting arrest as well as misdemeanor suspicion of drunken driving, police said.

He has been deemed ineligible for bail because of the Immigration and Naturalization Service hold, police said.

From Sandy Louey:

Authorities have found a relative of a baby boy found Monday afternoon in a flower bed on the side of a road in Chico.

At 12:45 p.m., Butte County sheriff's deputies were called out to the Butte Creek Country Club, 178 Estates Drive, about the baby, according to a press release.

The resident who found the child on Estates Drive between Players Lane and Highway 99 took him to the country club and called authorities, the Sheriff's Department said.

The boy, who had no signs of illness and injury, was taken to Enloe Medical Center as a precaution. He was placed in the custody of the Butte County Children's Services Department, the release said.

The boy will remain in protective custody until the investigation, which is being turned over to the District Attorney's Office, is complete, officials said.

The child is 6 to 9 months old with blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing blue pants with baseball symbols and a blue shirt with the cartoon character Tigger on it.

Anyone with information about him is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (530) 538-7321.

From Sandy Louey:

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department announced Monday that a human skull found on Echo Summit has been identified as that of 59-year-old Rio Vista man who was reported missing four years ago.

The California Department of Justice's DNA lab positively identified the skull found on Aug. 23 as that of Andrew Willard Sewell. There was no evidence of trauma or foul play, according to a release from the sheriff's department.

A search was conducted for Sewell, who was reported missing after apparently getting caught in a blizzard in October 2004 while mountain biking near Lake Tahoe.

Sewell's remains and property were located in July 2005. His death was ruled accidental due to exposure, according to the release.

From Sandy Louey

The past president and chief financial officer of a Shasta County company was sentenced Monday to three years and 10 months in prison for federal wire fraud and tax evasion charges, the U.S. attorney in Sacramento said.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. sentenced Peggy Kaye Witts, 62, of Redding for embezzling more than $824,333 from the Voorwood Company Inc. of Anderson and failing to report the stolen money as income on her federal tax returns, according to release from the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

The case resulted from a investigation by the Anderson Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service, the release said.

Witts, who pleaded guilty to the charges on July 21, started working for Voorwood in 1992, the release said. She became chief financial officer in 1999 and president in 2002.

Prosecutors said she admitted to defrauding Voorwood by issuing duplicate paychecks to herself for more than four years and issuing company checks to herself, family members and others for her personal expenses. She also failed to report the embezzled funds as income and to pay taxes on the money, the release stated.

Witts was ordered to pay full restitution for her crimes in the amount of $824,333 to Voorwood and $199,858 to the IRS, the release said.

After her guilty plea, she turned over to Voorwood, in partial satisfaction of her restitution, the proceeds from the sale of her Redding home, other Shasta County real estate, all interest in her Voorwood retirement plan and a Roth IRA, the release said.

Voorwood is owned by its employee stock ownership plan. Witts had been president of the employee stock ownership plan's board of trustees, the release said.

Authorities said as a result, she is prohibited for 13 years from participating in any way with administering an employee benefit plan, acting as an adviser to an employee benefit plan or serving in any capacity involving controlling assets of any employee benefit plan.

From Sandy Louey:

A 58-year-old Rancho Cordova man pleaded guilty Monday to transporting child pornography and possession of material that contained child pornography, the U.S. attorney said.

Prosecutors said George Stohlberg III, who was a computer technician for the Elk Grove Unified School District, admitted to collecting images of child pornography since 1993 or 1994, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

Stohlberg came to the attention of law enforcement late last year after America Online intercepted two videos distributed by an AOL subscriber later identified as Stohlberg, the release said. The videos depicted young girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the release said.

Law enforcement officials obtained warrants to seize and search his computers, the release said. His computer hard drives and a DVD were found to contain 13 videos and more than 30,000 still images of child pornography depicting previously identified child sexual abuse victims, the release said.

From Sandy Louey:

A group of masked men robbed three teens who were trick-or-treating in Elk Grove Friday night.

At 9:30 p.m., three young men -- two who are 18 years old and one 19-year-old -- were trick-or-treating in the 8500 block of Shasta Lily Drive when four or five men in masks approached them from behind, an Elk Grove Police Department report states.

The men demanded candy from the trio, but one of the 18-year-olds refused. Two men punched and kicked him, while one robber pulled a knife. The men also punched the other victims, the report said.

Police said the men left with candy, cell phones and a wallet.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (916) 714-5115.

From David Richie:

Christopher Ryan Helmer, 16, of Roseville, has died of injuries suffered July 28 in a traffic crash at Galleria Boulevard and Roseville Parkway, Roseville police announced today.

The crash occurred about 11:59 p.m. when the driver of a Honda Accord in which Helmer was a passenger attempted a left turn onto westbound Roseville Parkway from northbound Galleria Boulevard. The car was struck broadside by a full-size Chevrolet pickup truck that was southbound on Galleria Boulevard, officials said.

The Roseville Police Department Major Accident Investigation squad has conducted an extensive investigation, but has not yet been able to determine which driver was at fault, officials said.

Investigators have ruled out alcohol or other drugs as a factor, and all the involved parties were wearing seatbelts. The investigation is continuing.

Sacramento Police real estate fraud detectives are seeking India Slaughter (left photo) on a felony $15,000 bail arrest warrant for suspicion of grand theft by fraud and deceit, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

According to authorities, Slaughter is representing herself as the owner of real property, then renting the property and collecting deposits and rent. Slaughter is also known as Tara Johnston, Lisa Bowman and India Singh.

Slaughter is described as 42 years old, 5-foot-1, weighing 160 pounds with green eyes and brown hair.

Anyone with information about Slaughter is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) AA-CRIME or (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Andy Furillo:

Here are some of the highlights this week on the Sacramento Superior Court docket:

Tuesday, 2 p.m., Department 53: Hearing on city of Sacramento effort to shut down "The Compound," a North Sacramento apartment notorious, police say, for drug dealing and gang activity.

Wednesday: Murder trial scheduled to begin on Denisho Collins, accused in June 27, 2005, shooting death of David Perkins.

Friday: Scheduled sentencings on convicted murderers Manuel Cervin (Dept. 20), Jamil Stevens (Dept. 16), and Robert Paul Snyder (Dept. 20).

Continuing: Murder trials of Sertice Melonson and Sara Weeden in Aug. 5, 2005, shooting death of Navnil Chand, Dept. 12; and Wayne Albert Caskey and Bennett Louis Kovac in June 11, 2006, shooting death of Gary R. Brooks, Dept. 31.

Thursday, 9 a.m.: Scheduled sentencing on Hector A. Whitley, on convictions related to fixing of drunken driving cases, Department 27.

From Niesha Lofing:

California Highway Patrol officers and Caltrans crews will be taking down political signs and banners from freeway overcrossings today.

The signs are illegal and cause a public nuisance as motorists try to read them, CHP Officer Michael Bradley stated in a news release.

Anyone caught posting the banners can be cited, he said.

The vehicle code prohibits posting such signs, and authorities are authorized to remove them without notice.

Vehicle Code section 21467 states:

"Every prohibited sign, signal, device, or light is a public nuisance, and the Department of Transportation, members of the California Highway Patrol, and local authorities are hereby authorized and empowered without notice to remove the same, or cause the same to be removed, or the Director of Transportation, the commissioner, or local authorities may bring an action as provided by law to abate such nuisance."

From Niesha Lofing:

Sacramento police will be honored today at an appreciation event hosted by the Target Corp.

The breakfast and barbecue event will take place at the police department's south area facility, 5303 Franklin Blvd., Sgt. Matt Young stated in a news release.

Target has given more than $8,000 to the Sacramento Police Foundation to assist with a variety of community programs, including National Night Out, Safe Night and Kops N Kids.

Chief Rick Braziel will accept a check this afternoon on behalf of the foundation in recognition of Target's contributions, Young said.

Target has partnered with local, state and federal law enforcement through an initiate called Target and Blue, which provides agencies with equipment, grants, training and forensic support.

From David Richie:

After three burglaries in a week, Roseville police are asking for help from residents living near Oakmont High School.

Break-ins occurred at the school and the adjacent school district administration office in the 1700 block of Cirby Way about 1:44 a.m. Oct. 30, and about the same time Oct. 27. The first burglary occurred late Oct. 23 or early Oct. 24, officials said.

The burglars have not been subtle and they have not been deterred by alarms that have been activated during the incidents. Windows have been broken during several incidents and a chain-link fence also was cut to gain access to one building. Items stolen include a laptop computer, a video projector and a television set.

Residents who hear or see suspicious activity are asked to call the police department at (916) 774-5070. They can remain anonymous and may be eligible for cash rewards.

From Sandy Louey:

A 34-year-old West Sacramento woman who allegedly was involved in a hit-and-run accident that injured two people has turned herself into authorities.

Jennifer Moran was booked Saturday at the Yolo County jail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run charges, according to a release from the West Sacramento Police Department.

The accident occurred at 9:40 p.m. Friday when two female pedestrians, ages 17 and 19, were walking on the south side of Sacramento Avenue near Douglas Street when they were struck by a pickup truck, police said.

The driver of the pickup truck didn't stop to check on the pair, police said.

On Saturday, the 17-year-old was on life support, while the 19-year-old had severe injuries, according to police.

Police are investigating the accident, but say alcohol may have been a factor. Officers located the pickup involved in the accident a few blocks from Moran's home. The pickup had moderate front-end damage, they said.

From Sandy Louey:

Authorities said a 27-year-old Marysville man died in a rollover accident in Yuba County Saturday night.

Terry D. Sutton was driving south on Rancho Road just south of Bernice Avenue around 11:15 p.m.

He was traveling at high rate of speed and fishtailing when his vehicle ran off the road, went into a ditch and rolled over, according to a release from the California Highway Patrol.

Sutton, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown to the passenger side. He was partially ejected and became trapped within the passenger side window when the vehicle was on its roof, the CHP said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

From Sandy Louey:

Authorities have dismantled a methamphetamine drug trafficking organization in Winters, leading to 12 arrests last week, according to a press release.

The arrests, which took place Monday and Tuesday, were the culmination of a two-month investigation, according to the release from the Yolo Narcotic Enforcement Team.

On Monday, task force members from YONET and officers from the West Sacramento Police Department and the California Highway Patrol arrested Jesus Miranda, 33, Samuel Medina, 21, Martin Cardenas, 22, and Jose Torres, 18 after they allegedly sold 1/2 pound of methamphetamine to an undercover operator at a location in Sacramento, according to the release.

All four were arrested on suspicion of selling methamphetamine and conspiracy. Miranda, Cardenas, and Torres were also arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm while committing drug-related sales. Miranda was arrested on two additional counts of selling methamphetamine, while Cardenas and Torres had one additional count of selling methamphetamine, according to the release.

On Tuesday, YONET task force members and representatives from the Yolo County Sheriff's Department served search warrants at five locations in Winters and ended up arresting eight people.

Joyce Creamer, 40, David Martin, 49, Lupe Escarsega, 34, Alfredo Valencia, 40, Myra Guerrero, 25, Juan Chavez, 27, and Adeline Deleon, 44, were arrested on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the release.

Creamer, Martin, Escarsega, Valencia and Chavez were arrested on suspicion of possession for sales of methamphetamine. Deleon was arrested on two counts of selling methamphetamine, according to the release.

Creamer, Martin, Guerrero and Deleon were also arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine, according to the release.

Guerrero was also arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, according to the release. Yolo County Child Protective Services placed her child, who was about age 3, into protective custody, according to the release.

Gabriela Garcia, 27, was arrested for being at a location where drugs were sold, according to the release.

Authorities said the investigation is continuing and additional arrests are expected.

Agencies that are part of the YONET include the Yolo County District Attorney's Office, Yolo County Sheriff's Department, CHP and the Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento police departments.

From Sandy Louey:

Woodland police are reminding people to take preventive steps after a recent increase in vehicle break-ins and residential burglaries.

Overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, there were 14 reported thefts from vehicles, many of which took place in the Presidents Park residential development located east of County Fair Mall, according to a press release.

In most cases, vehicles were left unlocked or there was no forced entry. The thefts from the vehicles are taking place during the dark, police said.

During the same two-week period when vehicle break-ins have risen, eight residential burglaries took place south of Main Street and east of College Street that share the same characteristics, officials said.

Police said the home burglaries have been between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Items such as cash, jewelry, firearms and electronics have been taken.

Burglars are entering rear yards through side gates. They're also looking for unlocked windows and doors and in some cases have forced windows, according to police.

Police are encouraging people to lock up their vehicles and homes.

High value jewelry and cash should be kept in safes that are internally bolted in place.

Firearms should be in gun safes. Residents should record and keep serial numbers of high value electronics.

People should report unusual or suspicious behavior and if possible, write down license numbers of vehicle including the make and color.

Residents can call 911 or the non-emergency phone number at (530) 666-2411.

From Sandy Louey:

A Yuba County Child Protective Services worker has been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from a Placer County man.

Yolanda Perez Fryson, 41, was arrested on Thursday in Rocklin on suspicion of extortion, accepting a bribe as a public official and possession of stolen property, according to a release from the Placer County Sheriff's Department. She took $10,000 from the victim, according to the release.

Fryson, who had been on administrative leave from her job as a case agent since June, contacted a Placer County man and told him he was suspected of sexual and physical abuse, according to the release.

She told him she could make the charges go away, according to the release.

The man contacted Yuba County officials, who in turn contacted the Sheriff's Department.

A meeting was set up between Fryson and the man Thursday in which she accepted a $10,000 bribe, the release said. Detectives were watching and took her into custody immediately afterward, according to the release.

In 2005, she had reported that her badge was lost or stolen. The badge was found after a search of her home after the arrest, according to the release.