Sacto 9-1-1

From Chelsea Phua:

The man who was shot to death during a fight outside a north-area nightclub New Year's Eve has been identified.

The Sacramento County Coronor's Office this morning identified the man as Emmanuel Pickens, 21, of Sacramento.

Pickens was killed late Thursday night outside the nightclub on the 1900 block of Del Paso Road.

Sacramento Police Department detectives continue to investigate what led to the fight between two groups that began inside the club then spilled into the parking lot outside shortly after 10 p.m., police spokesman Officer Konrad von Schoech said.

Von Schoech said Pickens was shot in the upper body and died at the scene.

Police have not provided suspect desciptions yet.

From Tony Bizjak:

A Sacramento-area man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide on a police officer after he and a cohort allegedly tried to break into an automated teller machine in midtown Wednesday morning.

Police said they believe Ronnie Barahona, 31, fired shots at officers during a police chase from midtown Sacramento into West Sacramento. Barahona also could face charges of attempted grand theft and pursuit.

"As he fled, shots were heard," said police spokesman Officer Konrad Von Schoech.

Officers did not return fire, he said.

Sacramento police said that at 4:20 a.m. a neighbor near 16th and P streets reported hearing what sounded like somebody breaking into an ATM. Police later learned that burglars had attempted to use a cutting torch to open the ATM.

When police responded, the suspects fled in a silver Chevrolet pickup. In West Sacramento, the truck crashed into a fire hydrant at Grande Vista Avenue and Clarendon Street.

A police dog was used to search a property where Barahona was found in the 1100 block of Fernwood Street. Police say they believe the suspect used a handgun that was found in an adjacent yard.

The other suspect, identified as John Ditgen, 49, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted grand theft, police said.

From Bill Lindelof:

For those who drink too much tonight, Folsom police have a ride for you -- and it won't be to jail.

Police officers and volunteers with Citizens Assisting Public Safety will provide free rides from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Callers will be taken only to their homes, not to another bar or house party. The service is limited to homes in Folsom, Granite Bay, Rancho Cordova, Orangevale, El Dorado Hills and Fair Oaks.

To request a New Year's Eve ride, call (916) 355-7231.

Folsom police will have extra units on the lookout for drunken drivers tonight.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento police have two New Year's Eve warnings: Don't drive drunk or shoot off weapons.

In addition to the more than 50 Sacramento police officers who will be handling crowd control, parking, traffic and other issues downtown tonight, there will be at least four officers looking for drunken drivers. The officers will try to stop drunken revelers leaving bars and restaurants from driving home or to the next party.

There will also be a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint downtown, but police are not yet disclosing the location.

For some, a toast and a kiss at midnight are enough to ring in the new year. But Sacramento police Officer Konrad Von Schoech noted that some reckless celebrants fire weapons into the air. That can cause tragic consequences as slugs fall to the ground.

Von Schoech noted that in July 2008 someone fired a gun into the air and the slug hit 7-year-old Yamile Leon as she watched her uncle's soccer game at Nuevo Park in Del Paso Heights.

Surgeons were able to remove the .22-caliber slug from just under the skin above the temple and Yamile recovered.

"Obviously, it is against the law and very unsafe," said Von Schoech.

The Citrus Heights Police Department is seeking the community's help for information leading to the identity of the persons responsible for a Dec. 15 robbery, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Authorities provided these details: The two black suspects (right photo) entered a retail store and walked directly to the jewelry display case. After a few seconds, one suspect used a hammer to shatter the glass, then both suspects grabbed several trays of jewelry and fled to a vehicle.

The first suspect (left in photo) is described as age 30, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 210 pounds wearing a black shirt, black pea coat, blue jeans and dark-colored slip-on dress shoes. The other suspect is described as age 22 to 25, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds and wearing black baseball cap, puffy hooded black/gray Raiders coat with a wide gray stripe across the back, Raiders shield on left chest, and "Raiders" across the back, and blue jeans.

The suspects' vehicle is described as a dark blue over gray four-door Chevrolet Tahoe, late 1990s' model with stock alloy wheels, four-wheel drive with both plates.

Anyone with information about the robbery 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.

Bee Staff

A Sacramento Superior Court judge today sentenced a gang member to 17 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to the attempted murder of a police officer, according to a news release from District Attorney Jan Scully.

Jose Angel Gallardo's sentence included a robbery charge that he was convicted on earlier, Scully said.

Scully gave this account of events:

On May 22, 2006, Gallardo was a passenger in a car with three others. The driver, Eugene Gallegos, stopped his car at a bus stop near Truxel and San Juan roads Gallardo and another passenger, Saul Rabago, robbed the a 16-year-old boy using a fake gun.

Gallegos drove to the Natomas Marketplace where Sacramento Police Officer Kevin Howland approached the car on foot. At the urging of Gallardo, Gallegos attempted to run over Howland.

Howland ended up on the hood of the car as it sped through the busy parking lot. Howland fired several shots through the windshield ultimately stopping the car and killing Gallegos.

Gallardo, Rabago and Gallegos were all validated members of the Varrio Gardenland gang.

Rabago was previously sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in state prison for his role in the robbery and attempted murder.

"Thanks to the heroic efforts of Officer Kevin Howland, the lives of many bystanders were kept safe that day," said Deputy District Attorney Curtis Fiorini.

From Bill Lindelof:

A Sacramento County coroner's autopsy has revealed that a 64-year-old Folsom woman found dead in her apartment last week was the victim of a violent assault.

Alice Lynn Murphy, found dead in her home in the 1700 block of Creekside Drive, had bruises to her face and head. She also had broken ribs, according to the autopsy.

A Folsom Police investigation also revealed that Murphy had patronized Folsom-area bars and restaurants in the days before her death. Police are requesting help from anyone who saw Murphy on the weekend of Dec. 19-20.

"We suspect that within the 24 hours prior to her passing away that she either went out alone or found a friend to go to a bar or restaurant," said Jason Browning, Folsom police public information officer. "So what we are asking for is the public help in determining that. Hopefully, somebody saw her out there and will be able to help."

Browning said Murphy might have met the person who killed her a bar or restaurant, although police are not focusing exclusively on that possibility.

"We know she had an interest in going back out the night she passed away," Browning. "It is a good possibility she met somebody or met up with a friend and spent the night on the town, and they may have information that could help us in this investigation."

Murphy's death has been under investigation ever since the Folsom Fire Department found her in her apartment just before noon Dec. 21. Fire officials called in police after noting possibly suspicious circumstances.

Police are asking anyone with information about this death to call the department at (916) 930-1098 or e-mail CrimeTip@folsom.ca.us.

From Bill Lindelof:

The hunt for the second suspect in a police chase involving gunfire in West Sacramento has ended with the man's arrest.

A police dog was used to search a property where the second suspect was found in the 1100 block of Fernwood Street. A handgun police say they believe was used by the suspect, later identified by Sacramento police officials as Ronnie Barahona (left photo), 31, was found in an adjacent yard.

The arrest followed a chase from midtown Sacramento into West Sacramento.

Sacramento police said that at 4:20 a.m. a neighbor near 16th and P streets reported hearing what sounded like somebody breaking into an ATM machine. Police later learned that burglars had attempted to use a cutting torch to open the ATM.

When police responded, the suspects fled in a silver Chevrolet pickup truck. Police followed, chasing the suspects into West Sacramento.

In West Sacramento, the truck crashed into a fire hydrant at Grande Vista Avenue and Clarendon Street. One of the suspects, later identified as John Ditgen (right photo), 49, was arrested, but the other escaped on foot.

"As he fled, shots were heard," said police spokesman Officer Konrad Von Schoech.

Officers did not return fire, he said.

Barahona and Ditgen are in custody in Sacramento County Jail, police officials said.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A 53-year-old woman was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison for embezzling more than $500,000 from an elderly Elk Grove couple and evading taxes on her illegal income, authorities said.

Officials from the Sacramento County District Attorney's office and state Franchise Tax Board said Jocelyn Pascual Wong pleaded no contest to one felony count of grand theft and one felony count of state income tax evasion.

Authorities said Wong, who is an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines, befriended the 89-year-old husband and his 85-year-old wife, both retired school teachers.

She became their in-home health care provider, and the couple started to rely on Wong. They became so fond of her that they would refer to her as their daughter.

Wong asked the wife for money, promising that she would pay back the loan, authorities said. Instead, she used some of the money for living expenses, but gambled away most of it at a local casino. From 2006 to 2009, authorities said Wong stole $527,000 from her victims, by withdrawing cash from their bank account or having them write checks to cash or her family members.

Prosecutors said the victims had saved diligently to secure a comfortable retirement and Wong drained their savings and left them in financial disarray.

Wong later admitted to Elk Grove police investigators that she had no way to repay the couple.

Wong also failed to report $460,000 of the illegal income on her 2006 to 2008 state income tax returns. FTB officials said all income is taxable, including income from illegal sources.

Wong is ordered to make restitution to the victims and the Franchise Tax Board.

Q: East Area Rapist - Did they every identify him and have they closed the case? - Debbie, Sacramento

A: The East Area Rapist has not been caught. Some investigators believe he may be one of the most prolific criminals in California history.

His crime spree may have first begun in the early 1970s with more than 100 home burglaries in Visalia, where his last crime was shooting a man who tried to stop him from abducting the man's daughter.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police say burglars have been targeting area dry cleaners and surrounding businesses the past few weeks.

Since Dec. 15, 14 businesses, most of them dry cleaners, have been burglarized, police said.

The burglars would drive up to the businesses in the early morning hours. One of them would get out of the car, smash the windows of the front door and steal cash. Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said they would take a small amount of petty cash at each location and flee.

Police list the following dates and locations the burglaries have taken place:

• Dec. 15, 4700 block of J Street.

• From Dec. 24 to 26, 7300 and 7600 blocks of Greenhaven Drive.

• Dec. 25 and Dec. 26, 2000 block of Fourth Avenue.

• Dec. 26, 4800 block of Freeport Boulevard, 300 block of Florin Road, 7300 block of Greenhaven Drive and 6400 block of Riverside Boulevard.

• Dec. 28, 4100 block of H Street, 1200 block of Alhambra Boulevard, 5700 block of Folsom Boulevard and 5800 block of H Street.

Police believe that the suspects drove off in a four-door dark hatchback, possibly a Chevrolet HHR (top left photo), with chrome rims. One burglar is described as 6-foot-tall man who weighs 200 pounds. He was wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A 17-year-old boy was shot in what witnesses described as a running gunfight on 47th Avenue this afternoon, according to authorities.

The boy was injured in his buttocks and is expected to survive, said Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

The boy told authorities that he was walking along 47th Avenue when, as he began approaching a taco truck near the intersection of 47th Street and 47th Avenue, two suspects approached and one of them began shooting at him, Curran said.

The boy, who apparently also was armed with a gun, began to run eastbound on 47th Avenue and collapsed about a block away, Curran said. Witnesses told authorities that as the boy ran, he returned fire on the suspects but did not hit them, Curran said.

The suspects were described to deputies as black male adults wearing black hooded sweatshirts and blue jeans, Curran said. They were seen fleeing the scene in a silver sedan.

Deputies have detained two men for questionning but have not confirmed they were involved in the shooting, Curran said.

At this point, neither gangs nor drugs appear to have played a role in the shooting, Curran said.

It's not clear if the victim will face charges. The investigation is continuing.

From Bill Lindelof:

Retiring Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness will be honored as Carmichael's 2010 "Person of the Year." Read the story here.

The Sacramento Police Department is seeking Nicole Thomas (left photo) on a felony arrest warrant for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon with the likelihood of great bodily harm, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Thomas, also known as Ebony Jones, is described as age 28, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 121 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

She was last known to live in the 6400 block of 14th Avenue in the Tahoe Park area of Sacramento, authorities said.

Anyone with information about Thomas 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 Bill Lindelof:

A inmate slashed a correctional officer with a prison-made knife in an attack Sunday night at California State Prison, Sacramento, in Folsom.

Prison officials said that wounds suffered in the 7 p.m. attack required 68 stitches to the 33-year-old officer's neck, jaw and ear. The officer was taken to a Folsom hospital where he underwent treatment and has since gone home.

The inmate suspected of attacking the officer is 39-year-old Jonathan McClaurin, serving a 135-years-to-life sentence from Los Angeles for three counts of first degree robbery, vehicle theft and disregard for safety.

"Basically, he tried to murder the correctional officer," said prison spokeswoman Rhonda Carter. The officer has been with the department for about four years.

The inmate and the officer were moving about a maximum security unit when the attack occurred. Authorities are trying to determine a reason for the attack.

The prison houses maximum-security inmates serving long sentences or those who are management problems at other institutions.

From Bill Lindelof:

The man killed this morning in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 99 has been identified by the Sacramento County coroner as Victor Mendoza, 37, of Sacramento.

Mendoza died after his vehicle hit a freeway divider then was smashed into by an SUV.

A passenger in the car, a four-door Chrysler Cirrus, escaped the vehicle before it was hit by the SUV, an Acura MDX, and was unhurt. Five people in the SUV were hurt, though the extent of those injuries has not been released.

The accident occurred about 1 a.m. on northbound Highway 99 just south of the Stockton Boulevard offramp when the Chrysler swerved to the left and struck the concrete center divider, said CHP spokesman Officer Michael Bradley. The vehicle ended up pointed southwest in a northbound lane.

The car's passenger got out, but Mendoza remained in the vehicle, which then was hit by the northbound SUV driven by a 33-year-old woman from Lincoln. The impact on the driver's side door of the Chrysler killed that car's driver.

The driver and four passengers in the SUV were taken to local hospitals.

From Chelsea Phua

An 81-year-old man being robbed inside his Sacramento home Saturday evening scared off his assailants when he fired several shots, police said.

Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said two black men in their 20s asked to use the phone at the victim's home in the 6000 block of Hollyhurst Way shortly before 6:40 p.m.

When they were inside the house, the robbers pulled a gun on the victim and proceeded to rob the place, Leong said.

However, at some point they left the victim in a room where he kept a gun. The victim fired a few rounds through a door, which caused the robbers to flee, Leong said.

Authorities said the victim, believed to be by himself during the robbery, was not hurt.

It was unclear if he hit either of the robbers, police said.

No other description of the suspects was provided.

From Cathy Locke:

Woodland police are searching for the individuals who stabbed a man as he was walking on West Street early this morning.

The victim, identified as Michael Parks, 19, of Zamora, walked into the Woodland Memorial Hospital emergency room shortly after 2 a.m. with an apparent stab wound in his abdomen, according to a police department news release. A Woodland police officer happened to be in the emergency room on another case and spoke with Parks.

Parks told the officer that he was jumped while walking southbound on West Street, just south of Main Street. He said two African American men and a Hispanic man, all in their early 20s, grabbed him around the neck and checked his pockets, presumably for valuables.

Parks told police that the men didn't say anything to him but punched him in the back and stabbed him in the abdomen. He was unable to provide any further description of the men.

He was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the news release.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800 or police dispatch at (530) 666-2411.

From Bobby Caina Calvan:

A gunfight at a Sacramento cemetery on Christmas Day sent a man to a hospital after he was shot in the abdomen, Sacramento police said.

Investigators were questioning the victim, who was driven to Kaiser Permanente's south Sacramento hospital by his companions, Sgt. Jeff Watson said. The man was in "stable condition," he said.

A witness described by police as a passerby reported the incident at 3:28 p.m. after hearing multiple gunshots from Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery at Stockton Boulevard and Lemon Hill Avenue. Calls also were received from a nearby funeral home.

The witness told police two groups of men, five people in all, were at the cemetery, Watson said.

"The two groups were firing back and forth," Watson said. "We don't know what caused the altercation."

Police rushed to the scene, but the incident was over by the time they arrived. Police later responded to the hospital after being called by hospital officials, Watson said.

From Bill Lindelof, Robert Lewis and April Dembosky:

The Gold light rail line in the Rancho Cordova was back in service at 5:55 p.m. today, after thieves stole copper wire and brought train traffic to a standstill, authorities said.

Buses were ferrying passengers around the line from Hazel Avenue to the Mather Field/Mills station during the more than 12-hour shutdown.

The theft likely happened between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. today, said Regional Transit workers said Thursday afternoon.

The thief or thieves appear to have used a cable cutter to cut sections of wire near the train crossings along Folsom Boulevard at both Kilgore Road and Olson Drive. The wire carries about 750 to 900 volts of electricity back to a substation, workers said, meaning the theft was both costly and dangerous.

When the first train of the morning passed through the affected area, the fuses blew impacting signals and crossing gates.

The first maintenance worker arrived on scene at about 5:30 a.m. A crew worked through much of the day cutting new wire and making a patch.

Crews began repairing the section track affected by the theft of the copper cable at about 8 a.m.

From Bill Lindelof

Twin Rivers police have arrested four young people in two separate recent burglaries at district schools.

In the first incident, on Dec. 16 around 1 a.m. police responded to a burglar alarm at Oakdale Elementary School, 3708 Myrtle Ave., North Highlands. Six classrooms were broken into, window screens removed, windows smashed and at least four laptops and a digital camera taken.

Police arrested a 13-year-old suspect in the break-in who allegedly admitted to have sold one of the school's laptops valued at $1,000.

In a separate incident, police responded Dec. 21 about 10:30 p.m. to a burglar alarm at Westside Elementary School, 6537 West Second St., Rio Linda, where they saw three suspects jump a fence and run from the school.

Police caught and arrested the three young people, ages 12, 13, and 14, on suspicion of burglary, vandalism, trespass and possession of stolen property.

The young people are suspected of entering a classroom, stealing property and defacing windows and whiteboards with ink.

Bee Staff

A man who Sacramento Sheriff's deputies were trying to serve with a domestic eviction notice, threw gasoline into one deputy's face and tried to set himself and the place where he was living on fire, according to a crime summary.

Arrested on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest and attempted arson was John David Powell, 54. He is being held on $230,000 bail.

The summary gives this account:

At about 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 in the 4400 block of Old Dairy Drive, deputies found the suspect barricaded in a bedroom, holding a container of gasoline and a cigarette lighter. He threatened to torch the deputies and himself.

As the deputies forced their way into the bedroom, the suspect threw gasoline into the face of one deputy, blinding him. Other deputies also had gasoline thrown on them.

The suspect also tried to ignite the cigarette lighter but was restrained.

Several deputies were transported to a hospital for treatment from the gasoline.

From Bill Lindelof

A Woodland man suffered injuries to his face when he was pistol-whipped Wednesday night during a robbery.

Woodland police said the 36-year-old man was getting into his vehicle in the 600 block of Cottonwood Street when another man ran up to him with a handgun. The suspect was immediately joined by a second robber.

As the victim turned to look at the second man, he was struck in the face by the gunman with the butt of his weapon. The second suspect jumped on the victim's back, driving him to the ground.

They then took the victim's money and fled west on foot near the intersection of West Cross Street and Daniels Street.

The gunman was described as a male, about 20 years old, about 5-feet, 9-inches tall and 200 pounds. The second suspect could not be described by the victim because he didn't see him before being forced to the ground.

Anyone with information is asked to call Woodland police at (530) 661-7800.

From Bill Lindelof

Rocklin police said Thursday that the number of people reporting that their debit card information was stolen by a sophisticated device hidden in two Rocklin gas pumps continues to grow.

"It's getting more and more scary," Rocklin Police Lt. Lon Milka. "We are getting more and more victims. They are coming out of the woodwork."

At least two dozens victims have come forward since the devices were discovered in the pumps at the AM/PM gas station at Sunset Boulevard and Park Drive on Dec. 21. One victim had $1,416 taken out of his bank account in three days and another had almost $1,000 stolen.

In years past, devices on the outside of a gas pump were used to get pin numbers and information from cards. Tiny cameras and card skimmers were used to steal the information and then dip into a victim's account.

But in this case, somebody has gotten into the gas pump and placed a device inside. Police believe the device intercepts information and sends the pin number and other debit card information to somebody with a laptop.

The criminal then creates a card that allows them to go to an ATM and withdraw money from the victim's account.

"They are able to get into the actual gas pump," said Milka. "So, obviously, those pumps are not very secure. Whoever manufactures them has to come up with something better."

Milka said other police agencies are battling the same crime. He advises gas station operators to look inside gas pumps for foreign devices.

That is what happened in the Rocklin case: a customer noticed unauthorized withdrawals with his or her debit card. He went back to the AM/PM and the proprietor of the station found the device inside two pumps.

The proprietor then called Rocklin police. It is unclear how long the devices had been inside the pumps, Milka said.

The most fool-proof way to avoid such as scam is to use cash. Or, Milka said, a customer could go inside the station office and have the clerk swipe a debit card, Milka said.

The scam at the AM/PM exclusively involved debit cards, not credit cards, said Milka.

Bee Staff

The Roseville and Citrus Heights police departments are investigating three armed robberies that may have been committed by the same suspects, according to a news release.

The suspects were captured on a neighbor's home surveillance system in Citrus Heights showing the suspects in the area around the time of the robbery (see video below).

The robberies occurred on Brimstone Drive in Citrus Heights, Madden Lane in Roseville and Dante Circle in Roseville between approximately 9 p.m. Saturday night and 12:40 a.m. Sunday morning, the release from the Roseville Police Department states.

In each case, the robbers confronted at gunpoint their lone victims on the sidewalk or in a parking lot near the victims' homes, the release states.

In one of the robberies, the victim had nothing of value, so the robbers accompanied him to his house, where they rifled through his belongings and took his cell phone and wallet.

None of the victims reported being injured, the release states.

The suspects were described as black males in their teens or 20s.

One was described as 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, thin to medium build, wearing a black down-type jacket, and, in at least one robbery, a gray beanie cap. He was armed with a handgun.

The other suspect was described as approximately 6 feet tall with a thin to average build. He wore a dark colored hoodie sweatshirt, possibly with a dark jacket over it, and a ski mask.

No suspect vehicle was seen.

Anyone with any information about these crimes is asked to call Roseville Crimestoppers at (916)783-7867. Callers may be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to arrest.

From Andy Furillo

A Sacramento jury today convicted Albert Arthur Dennis of first-degree murder in last year's drug-related shooting death of Amber Manoa outside a south area apartment complex.

The jury also Dennis (photo left) guilty of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting a man who was with the 27-year-old victim at the time of the 4:39 a.m. attack on April 12, 2008.

Jurors also found to be true the special circumstance allegation that Dennis, 29, murdered Manoa during the commission of a robbery. The finding will qualify Dennis for a life term in prison with no chance of parole.

The panel, however, did not sustain the special-circumstance allegation that Dennis was lying in wait before the killing.

According to the prosecution, Dennis knew that Manoa was about to sell some methamphetamine to a friend of his. Dennis then waited in a backyard across the street from the apartment complex at Southwest Avenue and Nina Way before running over to the parking lot to rob Manoa, Deputy District Attorney Shari Greco said in her closing arguments to the jury last week.

Greco said Dennis then panicked during the course of the robbery and shot Manoa five times as she sat in her car.

From Bill Lindelof:

A Sacramento man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing his wife and then holding a knife to his 3-year-old daughter as he held police at bay.

Manuel Olmos, 40, of Sacramento was arrested at his home in the 4500 block of 14th Avenue and will be booked on assault with a deadly weapon and other charges.

Sacramento police said they learned of the incident when a 33-year-old woman was admitted to UC Davis Medical Center with stab wounds to her torso. The wounds were not life-threatening.

Police went to the couple's home about 8:30 a.m. and were confronted with a dangerous situation.

"He was non-compliant and he had his 3-year-old daughter held at knife point," said police spokesman Officer Konrad Von Schoech. "He was holding her hostage."

Olmos was inside the home when officers first made contact. Officers used a Taser but it was not successful.

However, just as the SWAT team arrived Olmos gave up, said Von Schoech.

The couple's children, ages 3, 9, 11 and 13 were not harmed.

Bee Staff

Sacramento police officers wrote 30 citations Tuesday in a sting operation targeting drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, a police spokesman said today.

Officers also gave seven warnings.

The Traffic POP Team operation consisted of a plainclothes officer crossing the street, within crosswalks at different intersections of the city.

Motorcycle officers and officers in squad cars observed the plainclothes officer and stopped drivers who failed to yield the right-of-way.

The goal of the operation was to educate the public and to reduce the number of accidents between vehicles and pedestrians, the spokesman said.

In 2008, there were 229 reported vehicle accidents involving pedestrians in the city of Sacramento, of which 204 had injuries and 7 resulted in fatalities, he said.

Q: What is the status of the federal case against John Luong? - Anonymous, Elk Grove

A: John That Luong of Elk Grove is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of various charges in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento.

Luong (2001 file photo at left) was among six defendants who have all been convicted of charges ranging from robbery and use of firearms to murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Luong, Minh Huynh, Thongsouk Theng Lattanaphon and Hoang Ai Le were found guilty by a jury on Dec. 14, 2007. They are scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 19.

Thy Chann and Hoang Nguyen were found guilty by jury on June 9, 2003. Chann was sentenced to life in prison on Dec. 17, 2007. Nguyen was sentenced to life on Aug. 20, 2003.

According to Bee reports, Luong and Le were among four men found guilty in federal court in San Francisco of major crimes.

Both were members of a gang that stole millions of dollars in computer parts in three states in the mid-1990s, investigators said.

Luong was sentenced to 88 years in prison and Le to 20 years in prison by a judge in San Francisco in 2001 for conspiracy, racketeering and armed robbery.

The sentences capped a joint federal-state-local investigation, dubbed Bytes Dust, of approximately 30 robberies and attempted robberies of electronics companies from 1994 to 1996 in California, Oregon and Minnesota.

Also sentenced in San Francisco was Mady Chan of Elk Grove to 75 years and Huy Chi "Jimmy" Luong of Elk Grove to 25 years.

John Luong and Le were also convicted of distributing heroin in the San Francisco case and had been serving federal sentences for immigrant smuggling.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

Bee Staff

Claude Montgomery, the 91-year-old Roseville man who was arrested in October for allegedly trying to kill his wife, has pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal injury to a spouse and making criminal threats, according to a news release from the Placer County District Attorney's Office.

Montgomery (photo left) entered the pleas Friday before Placer County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Penney. Montgomery will receive six months in jail and will be placed on formal probation for four years when he returns for sentencing on Feb. 3, the release states.

In an arrangement made with the Placer County District Attorney's Office, Montgomery is expected to serve all 180 days in custody and then move to the Bay Area with relatives and away from the victim in Roseville.

Prosecutor Jim Deslaurier said investigation into the case and its unique circumstances factored into the agreement that allowed Montgomery to plead to the charge of felony assault likely to produce great bodily injury. A charge of attempted murder was dismissed.

The counts of corporal injury and making criminal threats will be misdemeanors on the defendant's record, Deslaurier said.

Montgomery was arrested Oct. 25 after Roseville police responded to a 911 call made by the defendant's 78-year-old wife, who suffered minor injuries in a physical scuffle with her husband, who also threatened her with a knife as she tried to make the emergency phone call.

From Bill Lindelof

Dan Risucci wants the Holy Family made whole.

About 1 a.m. Saturday, Riscucci's daughter heard something outside the house. Riscucci thinks the sound was the rattle of a steadying brick inside the hollow three-feet-tall plastic Joseph as the thief absconded with the religious figure.

The small statue was part of a manger scene that also included the illuminated Christ child, Mary, a shepherd, a camel and three kings. The Nativity display outside the Riscucci home in Rocklin near Johnson-Springview Park had been in the front yard since around Thanksgiving.

"It's a little bit of a shock," he said. "I would figure that if anyone had anything malicious in mind they would take the central focus - the baby."

But he now does not think the theft was an anti-religious statement. He thinks it was more of a nuisance theft.

"Drop him back by, no questions asked," he said Wednesday. "Get the family back together."

From Hudson Sangree:

Yolo County jurors on Tuesday convicted a Winters man of killing his wife, though her body has never been found.

Felipe Cruz Hernandez, 39, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Leticia Barrales Ramos, 28, who disappeared April 12.

The couple's 10-year-old daughter, who prosecutors said may have been asleep in the next room when her mother was killed, testified during the trial.

After weeks of hearing evidence, jurors deliberated for a short time Friday and again Tuesday before announcing in the afternoon that they had reached a unanimous verdict.

Blood stains in the couple's apartment that were genetically matched to Barrales Ramos convinced them she had died and that her husband had killed her, jurors said.

But without a body or a murder weapon, they said, they were unable to determine whether the killing had been premeditated.

"We struggled with the actual event, how it might have taken place," said jury foreman Mike Sullivan. "But there was a small window of opportunity, and it only pointed to one person."

The verdict brought to a close a case that shook the small town of Winters, which had not had a killing in a dozen years.

From Hudson Sangree:

A Davis man is being held in custody in St. Petersburg, Fla., on suspicion of killing his 83-year-old father by suffocating him with a pillow.

Stephen Coffeen (left photo), 41, was arrested Friday and booked into the Pinellas County jail on a second-degree murder charge, according to jail records.

St. Petersburg police wrote in an arrest report that Coffeen claimed he killed his father, Robert Coffeen, in self-defense by suffocating him with a pillow, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Family members in St. Petersburg reported finding Robert Coffeen's body Friday afternoon.

Stephen Coffeen was arrested a short time later without incident, the paper said.

Pinellas County court records indicate that Coffeen had a court date Tuesday, at which a judge appointed a doctor and ordered Coffeen to be evaluated for mental competency. He is being held without bail, the records show.

A police report listed Coffeen's employer as West Yost Associates, a water engineering firm in Davis, the St. Petersburg Times said.

The company's president did not respond to a phone message left Tuesday by The Bee.

No one answered the phone at Coffeen's number in Davis.

From Peter Hecht:

In a major operation targeting child pornography, officers for a Sacramento Valley Internet crimes task force Tuesday arrested 15 men on charges of producing, downloading or distributing sexual images of children.

Meanwhile, a Citrus Heights man was sentenced in federal court in an unrelated case for possessing more than 50,000 pornographic images of minors.

Those arrested in Tuesday's sweep of five Valley communities included a 38-year-old Elk Grove man accused of being directly involved in the production of child pornography.

Sacramento Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said Bradley Dayley of Elk Grove was booked at Sacramento county jail on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography.

He said Dayley is also facing federal pornography indictments and is under investigation for alleged child abuse of two victims younger than 14.

"He was was exploiting children by photographing and filming them in his home," Curran said.

Authorities said suspects were arrested on suspicion of downloading or distributing child porn through the Internet. They were tracked after authorities served 20 search warrants, examined computer equipment and discovered some 50,000 pornographic photos or videos of children.

Two Roseville brothers who were taken into custody had a sizable collection, Curran said.

"They had over 35,000 computer files that they shared between the the two of them," Curran said. And each of those files contains many, many images," Curran said.

Samuel Coburn, 31, and Matthew Coburn, 24, face charges of possessing and receiving pornographic images of children.

Authorities seeking a total of 18 suspects served search warrants in Sacramento, Roseville, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Stockton. Three suspects are still at large.

The Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force undertook the investigation. The unit is composed of officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and 47 other local, state and federal agencies.

Also Tuesday, a 27-year-old Citrus Heights man was sentenced to 13 years, four months in federal prison for possessing and transporting depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Authorities say Nathan Allen, who pleaded guilty in September to child pornography charges, maintained a collection of more than 54,000 sexually explicit images or videos of minors.

Under the sentence handed down by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence K. Karlton in Sacramento, Allen was ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release after his release from prison.

He was also ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to one of the victims depicted in videos he distributed.

From Carlos Alcala:

Sacramento police rescued a 17-year-old driver from his burning car today, saving his life, fire officials reported.

The car crashed at Darnel Way and Riverside Boulevard not long after midnight this morning.

When firefighters arrived, they found the car in flames.

Police officers had already used a fire extinguisher to try to control the flames so they could pull the driver from the car, which had crashed into a concrete wall, according to Fire Capt. Jim Doucette.

Firefighters took the driver to a local hospital with major injuries and burns. Had it not been for the police, the driver likely would have died, firefighters reported.

The rescuers were Officers Kawasaki and Suehowicz, according to Sacramento Police Department spokesman Konrad von Shoech.

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From Carlos Alcala

The death of a 64-year-old Folsom woman is under investigation after the Folsom Fire Department found her in her apartment under possible suspicious circumstances, Folsom police reported.

The woman, identified by Sacramento County coroner's officials as Alice Lynn Murphy, had injuries consistent with assault, though no cause of death has been determined, police reported.

Fire officials called in police after noting suspicious circumstances when they responded to Murphy's apartment in the 1700 block of Creekside Drive just before noon Monday.

Police are asking anyone with information about this death to call the department at (916) 355-7230.

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From Carlos Alcala

A 50-year-old Durham man died after a single-car accident, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Arnulfo Rodriguez was driving south on Midway Road in Durham at 5:15 p.m. Saturday when his car left the road for unknown reasons.

The car spun 180 degrees and slid backward into a tree. Rodriguez was extricated by rescuers from Cal Fire, Butte County Fire and volunteers, and taken to Enloe Hospital where he died.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, the CHP reported.

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From Bee staff:

Two men were arrested on suspicion of identity theft, burglary and other charges after a manager at a Sacramento motorcycle shop followed the suspects to another business, where they were arrested by Sacramento County Sheriff's Department deputies, authorities report.

Gustavo Lopez Castro (top left photo), 34, and Sergio Castro-Vasquez (top right photo), 36, were arrested Saturday night with several thousands dollars worth of merchandise in their vehicle, allegedly obtained fraudulently from area stores, according to a department news release.

The release also provides these details:

About 5:30 p.m., two men were attempting to purchase items at Capital Yamaha with suspected counterfeit credit cards

A store employee called sheriff's deputies and told them he believed the same suspects had made a fraudulent purchase at another area motorcycle shop. He attempted to stall the suspects, but they left in a new Chevrolet truck. The Capital Yamaha store manager followed the suspects to Cycle Gear on Date Avenue.

Sheriff's deputies stopped the vehicle and noticed the merchandise in the truck.

According to authorities, Castro and Castro-Vasquez were in the Sacramento area on visas from Mexico. They possessed counterfeit driver's licenses and counterfeit credit cards, authorities said. Some credit cards had Mexican financial institution emblems on them, but embossed with U.S. financial account numbers, officials said.

Both suspects were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail. They are both ineligible for bail and were arrested on suspicion of identity theft, burglary, possession of counterfeit credit cards, possession of counterfeit driver licenses and possession of stolen property.

From Dixie Reid:

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in finding three men suspected in a Nov. 22 rape.

The trio is believed to have forced a woman, who was walking along Meadowview Road at 2 a.m., into their vehicle. They then took her to another location, where they sexually assaulted her.

The descriptions of the suspects, all believed to be East Indian, are:

The driver is in his late 20s, about 5-foot-7 and weighing 230 pounds with a thick build. His messy black hair was heavily gelled, and he wore a tan long-sleeve shirt and black pants.

The second suspect is 21-22 years old, also 5-foot-7 and weighing 150 pounds. He has short hair and dark rings around his eyes. He wore a long black leather coat.

The final suspect is older, in his late 30s, standing 5-foot-9. He sat in the back seat and wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

The suspects were in a red 1990s Ford Mustang with 20-inch rims and white around the wheel wells. The interior is a dark gray. A Mustang emblem is on the dashboard.

Anyone with information can call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES); enter SACTIP, followed by the tip information.

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

From Dixie Reid:

Citrus Heights police arrested three drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence and towed 15 vehicles during a DUI/driver's license checkpoint Saturday night at Greenback Lane and Arcadia Drive.

Officers issued 24 citations between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m.

In all, 1,523 vehicles passed through the intersection during the six-hour period. Cars were stopped at random.

From Dixie Reid:

Three suspects, average age 14, have been booked into Sacramento County Juvenile Hall, charged with burglary, possession of stolen property, conspiracy and resisting arrest in connection with four burglaries last weekend at an Antelope elementary school.

The Twin Rivers Police Department report that an undercover officer saw the three suspects carrying bags and running from Dudley Elementary, 8000 Aztec Way, at around 4:13 p.m. Saturday.

Two youth were taken into custody soon after, and the third was later apprehended at his home.

Officers recovered four flat-screen monitors, three computers and other computer equipment.

The school was burglarized four times between 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday afternoon. Officers found broken windows and ransacked classrooms.

From Dixie Reid:

The Sacramento County Main Jail inmate found hanged in his cell on Saturday has been identified by the county coroner's office as Anthony Savage, 27.

Sheriff's deputies found him shortly after 4 p.m. with a ligature around his neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Savage, who was alone in his cell, had been housed at the jail since Nov. 16, charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and probation violation.

From Dixie Reid:

The Sacramento region is mostly in line with FBI figures released today, showing that the murder rate across the country fell during the first half of 2009, as did violent crimes, property crimes and car thefts.

Roseville, however, saw 11 more incidents of violent crime from January to June 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.

And in Elk Grove, murders and car thefts were up. Two people were murdered this year vs. none during the first six months of 2008, and motor vehicle theft rose from 190 last year to 230 this year.

In Sacramento, there were 356 fewer incidents of violent crime, 15 fewer murders and 371 fewer car thefts during the first six months of this year. Property crimes dropped, as well, from 11,464 to 10,605, a difference of 859 incidents.

The FBI's figures are based on data from police and law enforcement agencies across the country, and are for communities with a population of 100,000 or more.

The Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime compares January-June 2009 figures with the same period in 2008.

The 2009 crime statistics are preliminary; the final report will be issued next year.

View the FBI crime report here.

From Dixie Reid:

An 11-year-old boy managed to lock himself in a gun safe Sunday afternoon at the Sacramento Costco store, 1600 Expo Parkway.

The child eventually was released unharmed.

Sacramento firefighters who responded to the 1:41 p.m. call found the safe's battery-operated locking mechanism missing or non-operative.

A new battery was installed, and the child was freed, according to Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette.

From Laurel Rosenhall and Loretta Kalb:

An inmate killed himself at the Sacramento County Main Jail on Saturday, sheriff's officials reported Sunday.

Around 4 p.m. Saturday a deputy found the 27-year-old inmate unconscious and not breathing, with a ligature tied around his neck. The inmate was the sole occupant of his cell. Medical staff were unable to resuscitate him and pronounced him dead at the scene, the sheriff's department reported.

The inmate, whose identity was not released Sunday, had been at the jail since Nov. 16 and was facing charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and probation violation.

The apparent suicide was the first of 2009 for the Sacramento jail. Last year, four inmates killed themselves at the main jail and in 2007 one inmate committed suicide, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

The number of annual suicides at the main jail has dropped since 2002, when seven inmates killed themselves, six by hanging and one by overdosing on drugs. The rash of suicides in 2002 prompted the jail to review internal practices and stop issuing long socks and blankets that could be ripped into strips.

From Loretta Kalb:

A Twin Rivers Police Officer fired his handgun this morning, injuring a burglary suspect in the upper body after the North Highlands man drove his car directly toward the officer, Sacramento County Sheriff's officials said.

The officer, a 28-year-old three-year-veteran of the department, was not identified.

The Sheriff's Department said the officer was responding to a residential burglary call at 4:45 a.m. on the 3900 block of Floral Drive when he encountered 40-year-old Bradford Scott Steward, who refused orders to stop and, instead, got into his vehicle and drove toward the officer as he sought to escape.

"Fearing he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury, the officer drew his department-issued semi-automatic handgun and fired multiple shots," the department said in a news release.

Steward was taken to a local hospital with injuries described as not life threatening. He will be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and burglary, the department said.

The Sheriff's Department's Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting. The Sacramento County District Attorney's office is expected to join in the investigation. The Twin Rivers Police Department will conduct its own administrative investigation.

Twin Rivers Police officer involved in this shooting will be placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.

From Loretta Kalb:

Two rebuffed party crashers who returned and fired at a crowd, injuring one man, were booked into custody on attempted murder charges, Elk Grove police say.

Arrested were Steven Brown of Elk Grove and a 17-year-old Sacramento juvenile, both booked on a multiple charges, including carrying a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and conspiracy and attempted murder. Brown was booked into the Sacramento County jail. The juvenile was taken to juvenile hall.

According to police, Andrew Tapalla of Sacramento was shot in the buttock at 11 p.m. Friday. He was taken to Methodist Hospital in South Sacramento for surgery.

The two suspects tried to "crash the party" on the 8300 block Caldicot Drive east of Highway 99 and were angered when they were denied access, police reported.

Minutes after driving away, the two returned and, as they drove by fired shots into a group of people standing in front of the residence, hitting Tapalla, police said.

Police apprehended the suspects fleeing in their vehicle.

Police said when they conducted a pat-down search of Brown, a small-caliber handgun fell to the ground from inside his pant leg.

Additional evidence was found inside the vehicle linking the suspects to the shooting, authorities said.

Anyone with additional information in the case is asked to call the Elk Grove Police Department Detective Bureau at (916) 478-8060

From Anna Tong:

Beware of men lurking outside nightclubs - they might want more than just a date, Sacramento police said.

Thursday night, two men in dreadlocks approached several nightclub-goers at 4th and J Streets downtown. Police said the men asked for the victims' phone numbers.

The victims ignored the two men and tried to drive away. But one of the men grabbed a cell phone and ran off.

The victims ran after him, and when they did, the second suspect stole their purses out of the unattended car, police said.

The suspects fled in a sports utility vehicle.

From Cathy Locke:

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced sentences and a guilty plea in three cases involving trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Sunshine Pascual, 37, of San Francisco has been sentenced to three years of probation for trafficking in counterfeit goods at the Galt Flea Market.

Pascual pleaded guilty in April to selling counterfeit items mimicking merchandise from Chanel, Coach, Gucci, Abercrombie & Fitch and others. Had they been the real brands, their value would have totaled more than $200,000, according to a news release issued Friday by U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

This case and two others are the product of a joint investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, Placer County Sheriff's Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Galt Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office and Sacramento Police Department. The trademark holders cooperated with the agencies in the investigations.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Taylor, who is prosecuting the case, another defendant from the Galt Flea Market, Eric Xu, 38, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to selling counterfeit handbags, wallets and other merchandise bearing the trademarks of Gucci, Coach, Chanel, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. He faces a possible sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $2 million or both. The counterfeit items are also subject to forfeiture.

Michelle Bunfill, 48, of Loomis was sentenced Monday to three years of probation and 10 months of home detention for selling counterfeit handbags, wallets, sunglasses and other merchandise bearing the trademarks of Gucci, Coach, Prada, Burberry, Kate Spade, Chanel and others.

"The counterfeiting problem has become a global concern and presents social and safety problems that adversely affect global and local economies," Wagner said in the news release.

From the Bakersfield Californian:

A 22-year-old man who authorities said was wanted in Sacramento on suspicion of selling cocaine was shot to death in a gun battle with Bakersfield police early Friday morning.

The fatal wounding of Darrin Hogg came after he fired at three officers, police said.

Hogg had no criminal record in the Bakersfield area, police said.

Hogg's bullets struck two patrol cars the officers were in just before the shooting began, police said.

None of the officers were injured in the 12:20 a.m. shooting.

Hogg opened fire with a .45-caliber handgun after one officer, Daniel McAfee, spotted him walking on the street and asked to talk to him, police said.

McAfee was trying to find out about a fight that occurred about 13 minutes earlier in the 300 block of Monterey Street, a few blocks away.

Click here for the complete Californian story.

From April Dembosky:

The California Highway Patrol has received $6.1 million in federal grant money to crack down on speeding.

Funding will be distributed to cover the cost of patrols on state highways and county roads where the majority of speed-related crashes have occurred, particularly fatal crashes, said Fran Clader, a spokesperson for California Highway Patrol.

Only one road has been designated so far - $530,000 is set aside to fund increased traffic enforcement along Highway 12 within Solano, Stockton, and south Sacramento County while CalTrans makes safety improvements. The stretch of highway between Interstate 80 in Fairfield and I-5 near Lodi has been referred to as "Blood Alley" for the number of fatal accidents occurring on it.

The grant, administered through the California Office of Traffic Safety, also includes 42,000 hours of officer overtime to conduct speed enforcement patrols and public awareness activities throughout the state.

Speed is the primary cause of nearly one third of injury-causing collisions in California, according to CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. Between 2006 and 2008, there were 70,265 injury collisions where speed was the primary cause of the accident; 1,133 people died in those accidents.

"Speed limits exist for a reason," Farrow said in a statement. "Drivers simply need to slow down."

From April Dembosky:

Placer County Sheriff's deputies on Friday recovered a van stolen from Auburn, bringing the department's weekly tally of recovered cars to eight.

"The amount of stolen vehicles is usually constant," said Lt. Jeffrey Ausnow of the Placer County Sheriff's Department. "What's unusual is that we're catching so many."

The majority of cars have been stolen in the city of Auburn, which has seen a slight uptick in its theft rate; others were taken from Grass Valley and rural Placer County. Some had the keys left in them, others the windows were broken and hotwired. The cars appear to have been stolen for transportation use or joy riding, as none were found stripped for parts, Ausnow said.

The latest car was taken Thursday when an Auburn woman started her van, then went back inside while the engine warmed. The van was gone when she returned a few minutes later.

Sheriff's deputies recovered the van Friday, after a jogger spotted three youths unloading furniture from it in a field. The driver, whose name is not being released because he is a minor, was booked at Juvenile Hall in Auburn. The other two, also minors, were released to their parents.

Another car, reported stolen from Grass Valley, was recovered Thursday night when a sheriff's deputy noticed a man driving it in north Auburn. After a 20-mile chase, Joseph Golden (left photo), 28, of Auburn was apprehended.

Deputies found another six cars this week, without any changes to their recovery tactics.

"It's hard work by the patrol deputies who are being diligent in checking vehicles and locating ones that are stolen," Lt. Ausnow said. "They're just kind of on a roll."

From Andy Furillo:

The career criminal who ran into his car into "Big Mike" Winnett's motorcycle and left him to die on Madison Avenue last year was sentenced today to 12 years and eight months in state prison.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge David I. Brown told defendant William Roger Lyons that his behavior after the Aug. 24, 2008, collision in the Fair Oaks area "shows an appalling lack of humanity" and "reflects to me callousness and a lack of emotion that are quite extraordinary."

Two of Winnett's sisters, a niece and a friend he took under his wing at Narcotics Anonymous told the court that the death of the king-sized blues harmonica player, Army veteran and salesman by trade left a hollowness to their lives that they said they'll never be able to replace.

"He was a living example for me on how to stay clean," said his niece, Jennifer Sousa, of her 6-foot-6, 350-pound uncle.

Lyons, 56, was under the influence of methadone and was out on bail after having been arrested in Placer County on a heroin charge when, according to the California Highway Patrol, he ran a stop sign onto Madison Avenue and pulled in front of Winnett's motorcycle.

The defendant declined to say anything in court today. His probation report quotes him as suggesting that he felt the collision was Winnett's fault.

"They keep saying in the paper that I made a California stop and I didn't," the report quoted Lyons as saying in a Dec. 4 interview. "I was stopped and I waited for cars to pass and when I pulled out this guy hit me."

A CHP officer testified at Lyons' preliminary hearing in July about Lyons running the stop sign. The officer also testified that Lyons walked away from the wreck even though he heard Winnett "moaning and groaning" in the street. Lyons later told his sister who owned the car to report it stolen to the police, according to his probation report.

Judge Brown sentenced Lyons to three years in prison for felony hit and run and two years for misdemeanor manslaughter. He gave Lyons an additional year each for seven previous prior convictions that landed him in prison. Lyons received the additional eight months for a probation violation.

Lyons has a criminal record that goes back more than 30 years. Most of his convictions are drug-related.

Winnett, 46, was killed almost immediately after coming out of an NA meeting.

Sousa said she was at the same meeting that night with her uncle.

"His last words to me were, 'Stay clean,' " she said today.

From Kim Minugh:

A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy injured his knee today after struggling with a suspect in Carmichael, authorities said.

The deputy was responding to a welfare check on the 5800 block of Sutter Avenue when he struggled with the suspect, injuring his knee, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

The suspect fled, and deputies have set up a perimeter in the area as they search for him.

Curran said deputies have dealt with the suspect before, and in previous encounters the suspect has been armed.

Carmichael Elementary School has been placed on lockdown as the search continues.

From Andy Furillo:

The state Attorney General's Office filed charges Thursday against a Sacramento County prosecutor who was arrested last month on suspicion of drunken driving.

The two-count complaint in Sacramento Superior Court charges that Deputy District Attorney Ross Robert Huggins was driving under the influence and that his blood alcohol level exceeded .08 percent when he was pulled over at 1:44 a.m. Nov. 20 for driving erratically on I Street and 20th Street.

Huggins is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 31.

From Mark Glover:

The California Highway Patrol said today that it will have enhanced presence on state roadways from 6 p.m. Dec. 24 through midnight on Dec. 27.

Officers will focus on possible cases of motorists driving under the influence.

"The holidays are about family, friends and celebration. Unfortunately, it's also a time of year when we see too many alcohol-related fatalities," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

CHP said 37 people died on California roads during last year's Christmas-enforcement period, with 23 being killed in alcohol-related crashes.

Along with increased enforcement, CHP is asking motorists to call 911 to report suspected drunk drivers. Callers should be prepared to provide dispatchers with a description of the vehicle, its location and direction of travel.

CHP said it will conduct a similar holiday enforcement effort from 6 p.m. Dec. 31 through midnight on Jan. 3.

From April Dembosky:

The gunman of a 2005 armed robbery in Davis was found guilty of robbery Thursday by a Yolo County jury, the District Attorney's office reports. He faces a maximum of 18 years in prison.

According to a department news release, on Feb. 12, 2005, Rahat Quraishi, 25, and his accomplice, Masi Mojaddidi drove an SUV into the path of a UC Davis student driving in the parking lot of the University Village Apartments in Davis. Quraishi pointed a 9 mm pistol at the driver and robbed him of his wallet and cell phone. Mojaddidi, armed with a knife, took the passenger's apartment keys.

The two were arrested 30 minutes later by Davis police at a nearby gas station.

Mojaddidi pleaded no contest to the robbery charge and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Quraishi fired his lawyer after the start of his 2008 trial then failed to return to court with a new attorney, authorities said. He was found four months later in San Francisco by the city's Fugitive Recovery Enforcement Team. On Thursday, a jury in Woodland convicted Quraishi of robbery and accessory after the fact to a felony. He will be sentenced Jan. 29. Charges for his failure to appear in court are still pending.

From April Dembosky:

Two puppy dealers were arrested Thursday after buyers complained that their pups died within days of purchase.

Christopher John Derek Ellis and Leeanna Rachelle Kamp sold Yorkshire terriers, French bulldogs and other pedigrees - for $600 to $2,000 each - from their storefront California Pets and Supply in Dixon and online at YorkieAngel.com. They also sold $20 tickets for two puppy lottos.

The Solano County District Attorney's office began investigating after several customers sued the duo in civil court for recovery of veterinary bills and purchase fees.

Ellis and Kamp were arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and violation of lottery laws.

More than 50 dogs were taken into custody and are being examined.

"It reached the point where we felt we had no other alternatives," said David W. Paulson, Solano County district attorney, whose office has been investigating the business for almost two years. "There were some serious issues that could be threats to public health."

Veterinarians are not yet sure of the puppies' exact cause of death, but are concerned that the disease may be communicable to other pets, or even humans.

Customers that stepped into the Dixon pet store could transmit illness from their shoes and are advised to have their own pets checked, Paulson said.

Customers who suffered economic loss from purchasing a sick puppy are asked to contact the District Attorney's Office at (707) 784-6859.

From Kim Minugh:

The 15-year-old boy accused of assaulting the River City High School principal in October has turned himself in to West Sacramento police, according to authorities.

Earlier this month, authorities issued an arrest warrant for the 15-year-old, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile. The boy found out about the warrant, turned himself in Wednesday night and was booked into the Yolo County Juvenile Hall on a felony charge of battery with serious bodily injury, said West Sacramento police Lt. Tod Sockman.

Police say the boy was one of a number of students involved in fights Oct. 28 on the River City High campus. As Principal Stuart McKay tried to intervene, the boy punched McKay in the back of the head, and the principal fell to the ground, according to police.

McKay sustained serious head, neck and neurological injuries as a result of the assault, police said.

Multiple students were suspended because of the fights; the 15-year-old boy was expelled and has since moved, according to authorities.

From Denny Walsh:

Prominent Sacramento accountant William Russell Murray, who is charged with stealing millions of dollars from his clients, made a routine initial appearance this afternoon in federal court.

He was arrested this morning after defense attorney Donald Heller brought him to the courthouse and surrendered him to deputy U.S. marshals.

He entered the courtroom wearing a dark business suit, a white shirt open at the collar and handcuffs.

U. S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan informed Murray of his rights, that he is charged with mail fraud, and that the maximum statutory sentence is 20 years in prison. Brennan then ordered him released on a $300,000 bond secured by three residential properties he owns.

Since he is charged by criminal complaint, he did not enter a plea and a preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 12. However, the complaint will be replaced before then by a grand jury indictment or an information filed by the U. S. attorney's office. An arraignment and a plea will then be required.

Heller told the judge that sale of the client list of Murray's firm, Murray & Young Accountancy Corp., is being handled by the Sacramento office of the international law firm GreenbergTraurig LLP, and 30 percent of the proceeds will be set aside for restitution to the victims of Murray's fraud.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Segal told the judge that he and his IRS case agent, who have debriefed Murray, are a bit uneasy as to whether he has disclosed to them all his assets.

The agent's affidavit in support of the complaint says Murray stole more than $8.5 million from 50 or more clients, most of it in the past five years.

"We just don't understand how somebody could have blown through that amount of money in that period of time," Segal said.

Murray has admitted to Segal and Special Agent Brian Goold that he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle with the stolen money.

Neither the prosecutor nor a Pretrial Services officer objected to his release.

Q: What happened to Christopher Parker who was arrested for bank robbery around 1995? - d.l., Sacramento

A: Parker, now 55, and an accomplice eventually received sentences of around 25 years in federal prison, but not before a judge first dismissed the case and then dealt with the pair too harshly, according to Bee reports.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton in Sacramento was overruled in 1999 when he threw out the bank robbery case and again in 2001 when he set the robbers' sentences too high.

Parker and Spencer Sawyer, now 30, were part of a gang that committed four bank robberies in Sacramento in late 1996 and early 1997 - two at Bank of America branches and two at the same Home Savings Bank office.

But after the U.S. attorney's office repeatedly delayed the trial, Karlton dismissed the charges, accusing prosecutors of ruining his case schedule. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, and the men were tried and convicted.

In sentencing them, Karlton blasted the federal sentencing guidelines by which he said Congress was forcing him to impose long prison terms on young men, leaving them without hope. He sentenced Parker to 84 years and Sawyer to 74 years.

The 9th Circuit sent the case back to Karlton to recalculate the terms, saying certain factors didn't apply.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Kim Minugh

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in identifying three suspects who shopped with a stolen credit card last summer.

The police asked the media today to publish the information.

On Aug. 24, a home was burglarized on the 2400 block of E Street about 12:30 p.m., according to a Sacramento police news release. Several personal items were stolen, including credit cards, the release states.

A witness told police that two male, black adults were seen loading personal items into a green Honda Accord, the release states.

That evening, witnesses saw three suspects enter a store in the 2900 block of Stockton Boulevard, where one of the stolen credit cards was used, according to police.

The suspects were caught on surveillance video. The first suspect is described as a female black adult, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a thin build and black hair pulled back. She had a 3-year-old girl with her.

The second suspect is described as a female black adult, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall with a thicker build and shoulder-length hair.

The third suspect is described as a female black adult, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and heavyset with short black hair. She was wearing a green sweatshirt with the word "Varsity" across the front in yellow letters.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter the word "SACTIP" followed by the tip information.

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

From Bill Lindelof:

Burglars stole laptops from a North Highlands elementary school this week after breaking into six classrooms.

The thieves struck Oakdale Elementary, 3708 Myrtle Avenue, in the Twin Rivers Unified School District, about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Classroom screens had been removed and windows broken in the classrooms in the campus interior. A classroom was rifled and a computer monitor was turned upside down, said Officer William Cho, spokesman for the Twin Rivers Police Department.

An inventory of what was taken is not complete, but Cho said teachers' laptops were stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at 443-4357 or text in a tip to 274637. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

From Bill Lindelof:

Burglars stole laptops from a North Highlands elementary school this week after breaking into six classrooms.

The thieves struck Oakdale Elementary, 3708 Myrtle Avenue, in the Twin Rivers Unified School District, about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Classroom screens had been removed and windows broken in the classrooms in the campus interior. A classroom was rifled and a computer monitor was turned upside down, said Officer William Cho, spokesman for the Twin Rivers Police Department.

An inventory of what was taken is not complete, but Cho said teachers' laptops were stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at 443-4357 or text in a tip to 274637. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

From Bill Lindelof:

A new push to set up more sobriety checkpoints during the holiday season will include the city of Sacramento, where police have had to deal with a high number of drunken-driving deaths and injuries.

"Our whole objective is to let people know that law enforcement is out in full force," said Chris Murphy, head of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "DUI arrests are higher than they have been since 1993. Anyone with a cell phone is looking for a weaving car. The chances of getting caught are better than ever."

A record $8 million will be given to 148 law enforcement agencies -- up from $5 million -- to conduct the most-ever sobriety checkpoints in the state in 2010.

The state plans to make 2010 the "Year of the Checkpoint," during which 2,500 sobriety checks will be conducted through the year. A total of 250 checkpoints are planned through Jan. 3.

At least eight checkpoints will be in Sacramento County in the next two weeks, Murphy said. A sobriety checkpoint is planned for tonight in the south area near 47th Avenue and Highway 99.

Figures from 2007, the most recent statistics available, show that of cities larger than 250,000 population, Sacramento has the highest rate of traffic death and injury and also the highest rate of death and injury in alcohol-related accidents, the state OTS reports.

The National Transportation Traffic Safety Administration reports that 26 people were killed in drunk-driving accidents in 2008 in Sacramento County, down from 36 deaths in 2007.

The California Highway Patrol reports the number of alcohol-involved injuries also fell, from 1,353 in 2007 to 1,237 in 2008 for the entire county.

"Most of our large cities have significant problems," Murphy said. "It just so happens that of the top 13 cities, Sacramento was ranked as having more alcohol-related crashes.

"I know the Sacramento Police Department is doing everything they can. They have new grants that were awarded, and they are stepping up the number of checkpoints in 2010. It's not for lack of effort. They really are working diligently."

Research indicates that DUI checkpoints are a major contributer to the declines. Also important in cutting drunken driving is the ease of calling 911 and the prevalence of cell phones.

"There are so many people who drive our streets drunk," Murphy said. "Anyone with a cell phone could report you to law enforcement."

Bee Staff

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a DUI checkpoint on Friday in the south area of the city, according to a news release.

Officers will also check to make sure drivers have a valid driver's license.

Funding for these programs is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

From Bee staff:

Rocklin police detectives have arrested a Rancho Cordova man suspected of stealing 54 video games from a family during its move into a Rocklin home, authorities report.

According to a police department news release, Angel Sanchez Jr. (left photo), 18, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing stolen property, obstruction of a peace officer with threats and participating in a criminal street gang.

The release provided these details:

On Nov. 5, the video games, worth $2,900, were stolen from the Rocklin home while a moving company was unpacking the family's personal belongings. The family had recently moved to Rocklin from Michigan.

Detectives assigned the case found a business in Rancho Cordova where one of the movers had sold four of the reported stolen video games. These games were sold to the store approximately one hour after the mover left the victim's home.

On Wednesday, detectives served a search warrant at an address in the 2600 block of El Parque Circle in Rancho Cordova. During the search, they found evidence connecting Sanchez to the crime in Rocklin.

Sanchez was booked into the Placer County Jail and his bail is set at $50,000.

Q: Could let me know what happened with the case of James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud? - Anonymous, Marysville

A: James Daveggio, now 48, and Michelle Michaud, now 50, are on death row, according to prison records.

The Sacramento couple were convicted in 2002 of abducting, raping and murdering a Pleasanton woman in a minivan rigged for torture, The Bee reported.

Daveggio (photo bottom left) and Michaud (photo bottom right), boyfriend and girlfriend, kidnapped Vanessa Lei Samson, 22, in December 1997.

The couple kept Samson inside their minivan, rigged with hooks and ropes, where they repeatedly tortured her with curling irons while driving east toward the Sierra.

Samson's body later was discovered in a snowbank along a rural road in Alpine County.

During the lengthy trial, several women testified that they also had been kidnapped and raped by the couple.

Until the series of violent crimes surfaced, Michaud, a single mother, was active in her daughter's Catholic school, served as a crossing guard and was an altar society member at her church. At night, court records revealed, she worked as a massage parlor prostitute.

Daveggio was described as a bartender and biker.

The couple were arrested in South Lake Tahoe by Placer County authorities, the day before Samson's body was found, as suspects in the kidnapping and rape of a Reno student in September of that year.

Daveggio was convicted of that crime in 1999 and was sentenced to 25 years, and Michaud, who pleaded guilty, was given 13 years.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Kim Minugh

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the victims in Tuesday morning's double homicide as 54-year-old Clifford Eugene Brown and 60-year-old James Edward Turner.

The two men were gunned down inside an 18th Avenue apartment about 1 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sacramento police. Neighbors said the two men lived there with Brown's wife.

Two other unidentified people were home at the time of the shooting but were uninjured, police said.

Late Tuesday night, police arrested 37-year-old George Wallace in connection with the shooting. Sgt. Norm Leong said Wallace is the boyfriend of 21-year-old Bryanna Warren, who is accused of shooting two people - one of them was a victim in the Tuesday morning homicide - at the same apartment Nov. 28.

That shooting stemmed from a fight between two women a few days prior, Leong said.

Warren has been in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail since Dec. 2 and has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Wallace is being held at the jail on suspicion of murder and illegally possessing ammunition as a felon, according to booking records.

Wallace declined an interview with The Bee on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Warren told The Bee she didn't know anything about the double-homicide and said the Nov. 28 shooting was an act of self-defense.

Bee Staff

A second pedestrian has reported being robbed by three suspects on Monday, police reported today.

The latest reported robbery took place about 1:15 p.m. near the intersections of Oak Avenue and East Street, police said. The first reported robbery occurred as the victim walked along Matmor Road about 10 p.m. The second robbery was not reported until Tuesday.

Neither of the victims was injured.

A Woodland police spokesman said investigators are trying to establish if the robberies are related.

In the latest case, the 47-year-old victim said one of the robbers displayed a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded his wallet.

All three suspects fled eastbound on East Oak Avenue

He described the suspects as:

- White male, 17-18 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall, thin build, tattoo on the left side of his neck, wearing a brown and black checkered hooded flannel jacket that zips down the front. He was the gunman.

- Hispanic male, 14-15 years old, 5 feet tall, skinny build, short black hair combed back, wearing black shorts and a silver sweatershirt without a hood.

- Hispanic male, 18-19 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, thin build, short black hair cut in a "military style", thin mustache, medium-dark toned skin, wearing a hooded sweatshirt with white and brown stripes and squares.

In the first robbery, the suspects were described as:

- White male, early 20s, thin build, 5 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a black hat covered by a black hoodie sweat shirt and black pants. This subject spoke English and some broken Spanish.

- White male, early 20s, thin build, 5 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a white shirt covered by a white long sleeve button-up shirt. He had black short hair and a thin beard that followed the jaw line. This subject brandished a full size black colored pistol similar to a Glock semi-automatic.

- White male, maybe 14 years old, thin build, 5 feet tall, wearing a black long sleeve shirt and unknown color pants.

Anyone with information regarding these robberies is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800.

From Kim Minugh

Sacramento police have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the fatal shooting of another man in November 2008.

Detectives allege Arthur Alexander McCall killed 20-year-old Jonah Simms after the two argued on Bowles Street, near Traction Avenue, the night of Nov. 21, 2008, according to Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

McCall confronted Simms prior to the argument, and then shot Simms, Leong said. Simms died at a local hospital.

Detectives suspect the shooting was motivated by gang affiliations, Leong said.

Police arrested McCall on unrelated drug charges on Dec. 9. The murder charge was added Tuesday, and he is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again Friday.

In a brief interview with The Bee at the jail on Tuesday night, McCall denied knowing Simms or having been at the scene of the shooting. Asked what he had to say about the allegations made by police, he shrugged his shoulders, said an expletive and hung up the phone.

McCall has a criminal history dating back to 2005 and including weapons, drugs and arson charges, according to Sacramento Superior Court records.

From Denny Walsh:

A federal magistrate judge issued a no-bail arrest warrant this morning for a Sacramento tax preparer and investment counselor accused by the Internal Revenue Service of stealing more than $8.5 million from his clients over the past five years.

William Murray has told tax agents that he used much of the money to support an extravagant lifestyle of "fine dining, travel, entertainment, attendance at professional sports events, the purchase and maintenance of three residential properties, and the establishment of a 10-vehicle-fleet limousine service called Luxury Limousine," according to an affidavit of an IRS special agent filed in support of the arrest warrant.

Special Agent Brian Goold said in the affidavit "it is possible substantial undisclosed funds remain available to (Murray) even now. (I) cannot say for certain. For this reason, the United States attorney's office has instructed (me) to seek an arrest warrant" to protect evidence, prevent further dissipation of assets, and assure that Murray doesn't flee.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Segal approved the affidavit.

The limo company he runs, Luxury Limousines of Sacramento, is apparently closed.

Last week, the financial allegations were reported by News10, where Murray, 55, has been an on-air financial expert giving tax tips for the TV station's midday news program.

According to complaints by at least two individuals in the News10 report, Murray placed thousands of dollars from his clients into a trust to pay their state and federal taxes but never delivered. They claim they're now stuck with unpaid tax bills and penalties.

Callers to his Fair Oaks Boulevard office, Murray & Young Accountancy, hear this message on Murray's personal voice mail: "I am temporarily away from the practice."

Murray, a licensed CPA, has a clean record of disciplinary action by the California Board of Accountancy, according to its Web site.

From Bill Lindelof

Sacramento police have questioned and released a man in the death of 4-year-old Jonathan Vazquez, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver and dragged several feet last month.

"He is not the suspect," said Sacramento police spokesman Konrad Von Schoech. "He was released."

Police also released today an artist's sketch of the suspect.

Police had been looking for a suspect since Nov. 30 when Jonathan, a preschooler at Smythe Academy in north Sacramento was killed. The youngster was riding his scooter to school followed by his grandmother and 7-year-old brother, when a male driver exiting the parking lot struck him and dragged him several feet.

The suspect fled.

On Wednesday, a Twin Rivers Unified Police officer spotted a car matching the description of the wanted vehicle and pulled the driver over at an AM/PM store at Marconi Avenue and Interstate 80.

The man's car, which was similar to the suspect vehicle, was towed away.

The description of the car involved in the incident that killed young Jonathan was a dark red or burgundy 1995-1997 Nissan Maxima with a black-tinted rear window, police said.

"We were following all the proper investigative protocol to determine if he was a suspect or eliminate him as a suspect," said Von Schoech. "Detectives talked to him and based on some of the information he provided, they were able to verify that and eliminated him as a suspect for now," said Von Schoech.

The Sacramento Police Department asks that anyone with information to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) or call the traffic detectives directly at (916) 808-6030. Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

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

From Bill Lindelof:

A teenage girl who was struck by a small pickup truck was conscious today and appeared to be doing better, police said.

The 13-year-old Roseville girl was hit by a pickup driven by a 17-year-old boy from Roseville shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday as the girl walked onto westbound Pleasant Grove Boulevard between Woodcreek Oaks Boulevard and the Mahany Park complex.

The pickup driver did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was not traveling at a high speed, Roseville police said.

The girl, who initially was described as unconscious but breathing, was taken by ambulance to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where she is being treated.

Police said the girl was crossing the road to an apartment complex across from the Mahany complex.

Bee Staff

The Rancho Cordova Area office of the California Highway Patrol will conduct a DUI checkpoint Friday night and into early Saturday morning somewhere within the unincorporated area of Sacramento County, according to a news release.

"All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by intoxicated drivers," said Lt. Greg Ferrero, Rancho Cordova Area commander. "By publicizing our efforts we believe that we can deter motorists from drinking and driving," Ferrero said.

From Bill Lindelof:

One woman was killed and another injured in a traffic collision this morning at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Auburn Boulevard near Interstate 80.

The crash killed Monica Colton, 36, of Sacramento and hurt Kym Goodman, 49, also of Sacramento.

The California Highway Patrol said Colton was driving west on Madison at 12:45 a.m. when her car slammed into a vehicle driven by Goodman. The CHP says Goodman had been eastbound and was turning through a signalized intersection north onto Auburn when the collision occurred.

One of the cars ran a red light, though authorities don't know which, said CHP Officer Lizz Dutton.

Colton was killed in the collision.

Goodman's vehicle caught fire, and passers-by pulled her from it. The people who aided Goodman left the scene before officers arrived.

Goodman was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center complaining of pain in her chest and leg.

From Bill Lindelof and Kim Minugh:

A man suspected of killing two people in a small Sacramento apartment Tuesday has been arrested.

Sacramento police today announced the arrest of George Ellis Wallace, 37. Authorities say Wallace gunned down two men, one 60 years old, the other 54, who both lived in the 18th Avenue apartment where the killings occurred. The identities of both victims have not been released.

Two other adults inside the apartment, at least one of whom lived there, were uninjured in the 1 a.m. Tuesday attack, Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong said.

Wallace was taken into custody without incident and booked on two murder counts in the Sacramento County jail.

Detectives do not believe robbery or gangs played a role, Leong said.

Police say the suspect reportedly forced his way into the apartment through a side door but provided few other details. They confirmed, however, that they were investigating a possible link between Tuesday's double homicide and a shooting at the same address in November.

Neighbors who live in the six-unit cinder-block complex said a female resident was wounded, possibly in the foot, in that incident and returned home with crutches.

Arrested in connection with that shooting was 21-year-old Bryanna Nadine Warren. She faces two charges of attempted murder and one count of burglary and is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where she was booked Dec. 2, booking records show.

George Wallace is the boyfriend of Warren, police say.

Sacramento County coroner's officials have not released the victims' names pending notification of kin.

Javier Meza, who owns the apartment complex, would not identify his tenants because, he said, he did not want to "interfere with police activity."

Meza said only that a married couple had moved into the apartment about a month and a half ago. He doesn't know anything about them, he said, because he lives in the Bay Area and visits the complex only once a month.

Neighbors also knew little about the tenants, except that they were a married couple and another man and appeared to be friendly. One neighbor said the female resident offered her a turkey before Thanksgiving.

Juanita Wagner, 76, said she didn't hear any gunfire early Tuesday morning and grew concerned only after police arrived.

"I saw the red lights shining through the window, and I knew something was wrong," Wagner said.

Another neighbor said the victims' dog awakened her, barking loudly, but she never heard gunfire.

Warren, the suspect in the November shooting, said in an interview with The Bee that she didn't know anything about Tuesday's events.

She admitted to the earlier shooting but said she had acted in self-defense. A few days before, Warren said a woman she didn't know had jumped her and beaten her badly.

Warren said she was at the 18th Avenue apartment days later -- she would not say why -- when she saw the woman who allegedly had beaten her.

Warren said the woman, much bigger than she is, "was coming toward me." Warren said she pulled out a gun she had begun carrying after the beating.

"I got scared and -- you know what happened," she said.

Asked if she knew why anyone else would try to harm the apartment residents, she said, "They're not good people."

Warren began to cry during the interview.

"Nobody's telling me anything," she said, sobbing.

Warren said she's never been in trouble with the law before, "not even a ticket." She has no criminal history in Sacramento County, Superior Court records show.

"I want to see my kids," she said. "My family's broken up because I was defending myself."

Warren is due in court again on the attempted murder charges Jan. 13.

From Chelsea Phua:

A 19-year-old man was fatally shot in the South Natomas area of Sacramento late Tuesday night, about two weeks shy of when he expected to become a father.

The young man - identified by Sacramento County Coroner's officials as Perell Marquise Waters - and his 21-year-old girlfriend were expecting a baby girl on Dec.31, said the girlfriend's father, Daryl White.

Authorities said it's still not clear what prompted the shooting that happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the 1900 block of San Juan Road.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the victim and a friend were leaving the parking lot of the Woodbridge apartment complex in the victim's car when three men approached on foot and fired numerous gunshots at his car.

Descriptions of the suspects are vague, but police said they were wearing dark clothing.

Waters was taken to an area hospital where he died, authorities said.

Late Tuesday night, a section of the parking area was cordoned off with crime scene tape as detectives investigated. A blood-stained blanket lay bundled beside Waters' burgundy car. Nearby, Waters' girlfriend, Ligaya White, sat grieving inside a vehicle surrounded by her friends and family members.

Daryl White said his daughter and Waters, known by acquaintances as Marquise, have known each other for about year. Ligaya White moved in with Waters into the two-bedroom Woodbridge apartment about six months ago. Waters previously shared the apartment with his grandmother, Daryl White said.

Daryl White said Waters was a "nice kid" who treated his daughter well.

"He tried to do right by her," Daryl White said.

Ligaya White has a child by another man, but Waters treated the child as if he or she was his own, Daryl White said.

"He provided for her and her first born," Daryl White said.

Ligaya White was doing laundry at her father's house on Tuesday, when Waters called her at about 5 p.m. to ask if she was coming home for dinner. She waited for the laundry to dry, and before returning to the Woodbridge apartment, she and her father stopped at a grocery store off of Truxel Road in Natomas to buy food.

Daryl White said his daughter was shopping inside the store when he got a phone call from one of her friends, telling him that Waters had been shot.

When his daughter returned to the car, Daryl White said he started to drive back to his home, only to be quizzed by his daughter about why he was doing that. When he told her the news, she broke down, he said.

"She kept asking, 'Who would do this?'" Daryl White said. "All she can talk about is the baby's never going to know (her) daddy, never get to see him, touch him."

Today, Ligaya White called The Bee to say that she doesn't know why someone would shoot her boyfriend. He never told her of any threats, White said, and his death is a mystery to her.

"He was trying to get stuff together ever since we found out we were having a baby," said White. "He just settled down."

The couple were living together and Waters was looking for work, she said. She does not know what she will do now without him.

"I just don't know," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357 or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Chelsea Phua:

Woodland police arrested a 62-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property, using an acetylene torch during a burglary and resisting arrest.

According to a department news release, Jose Luis Rangel and his wife, Eleanor Rangel, had property stolen in a March 2009 commercial burglary. Eleanor Rangel was arrested Thursday.

Detectives were attempting to conduct a probation search and contact Jose Rangel at his home when he fled through the back yard and tried to climb over a 6-foot wooden fence.

Police said Jose Rangel allegedly burglarized a Bank of America automated teller machine kiosk on Oct. 5, 2008. He reportedly used an acetylene torch to cut into the kiosk, but wasn't able to obtain any money.

In addition, Jose Rangel was arrested earlier this year for his involvement in a November 2007 burglary of the Holy Rosary Church, police said. He allegedly used an acetylene torch to force open the church's safe.

He posted a $125,000 bail for that crime. Bail for his most recent arrest has been set at $500,000, authorities said.

From Ed Fletcher:

A 64-year-old Roseville man who choked and threatening his wife with a hatchet is free on informal probation after being credited for serving 216 days in jail while his case was being decided, the Placer County District Attorney's office repots.

Ronald James Gonzales was arrested March 24 after Roseville Police responded to a 911 call. His wife had red marks on her neck from being choked, according to authorities.

In addition to time served, Gonzales will remain on probation for three years, is barred from owning firearms, must perform 20 hours of community service and pay $500 to domestic abuse programs.

From Bee staff:

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives have arrested two San Francisco men in connection with the June 22 homicide of Sevon Boles in south Sacramento, officials report.

According to a sheriff's department news release, 26-year-old Dominique Lavance Givens (top left photo) was arrested Friday at his home. That same day, London Shaw (right photo), 21, was arrested at the San Francisco County Sheriff's Department's custody facility in San Bruno, where he had been in custody on unrelated charges.

The suspects were booked into the San Francisco County jail system and will be transferred to the Sacramento County Main Jail to face the charges of murder and attempted robbery.

At 10:50 p.m. June 22, Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call regarding gunshots being heard in the apartment complex in the 6700 block of Sunnyslope Drive. Deputies arrived and found Boles lying on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Investigators believe robbery was the motive for the killing.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department gang unit detectives have arrested a teenager on suspicion of killing a young man in October.

The 17-year-old, who was in Sacramento County Juvenile Hall on unrelated charges, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of homicide and gang-related charges.

Detectives believe he shot to death Carlos Cervantes Jr., 23, who died Nov. 27 after being taken off medical life support.

About 4 a.m. Oct. 31, deputies responding to reports of a shooting in the Fruitridge neighborhood found Cervantes on the ground outside a home, suffering from a single gunshot wound to his upper body.

Cervantes was taken to the hospital, where medical staff cared for him until he was taken off life support and died.

Investigators have learned that on Oct. 31 Cervantes was attending a party at a home in the 5900 block of Clover Manor Way with several family members and friends. Detectives say they believe he became involved in an altercation with an uninvited party goer.

During the dispute, the suspect pulled a handgun, shot Cervantes and then fled.

Information gathered by homicide and gang unit detectives led them to believe the 17-year-old suspect was responsible for Cervantes' killing, a department news release states.

Detectives say they believe the motive for the shooting was gang-related.

From Bill Lindelof

A Gridley man has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after the pickup he was driving at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area on Monday night tipped over in a canal, drowning a passenger.

About 10:30 p.m. Monday, Aaron J. Weatherford, 25, was driving along a dirt levee road at the wildlife area, 60 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County, when his pickup veered to the right, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The truck went into a canal and rolled onto its right side. Weatherford and two passengers were able to get out, but a third passenger was trapped inside the rear of the cab.

The pickup rolled onto its roof and became completely submerged.

The trapped man who drowned was identified by the Butte County coroner as Nicholas Howell, 27, of Sutter in Sutter County, the CHP said.

The two other passengers were treated for minor injuries.

Weatherford was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. An investigation is being conducted to determine whether to charge him with gross vehicular manslaughter.

From Bill Lindelof:

A man was robbed at gunpoint Monday night in Woodland by three suspects who first offered to sell him a portable MP3 player, police said.

The victim told Woodland police that three men approached him as he walked along Matmor Road about 10 p.m. and offered to sell him an iPod. When he declined, however, the three men blocked his way.

One of the robbers pointed a gun that resembled a Glock semi-automatic at the victim, who was robbed of a cell phone and a wallet with cash. The robbers fled on foot and did not injure the victim, police said.

Police said the robbers were white and two of them were in their early 20s with thin builds and about 5-feet, 6-inches tall, and one wore a black hat covered by a black hooded sweatshirt. The other wore a white shirt, had black short hair and a narrow beard trimmed along his jawline.

The third suspect was described as 14 years old and about 5 feet tall. He wore a black, long-sleeved shirt.

From Bill Lindelof:

The Yolo County District Attorney is warning that there is a rise in cell phone "vishing," attempts to extract personal information and then use that for financial gain.

In vishing, a scam artist tries to get the victim to call a phone number to provide personal information to solve a fictional problem at a bank or with a credit or debit card. The scammer tries to get the possible victim to verify or reactivate an account.

Recently, an 80-year-old Knights Landing resident said she received four vishing text messages on her cell phone in one day. The messages asked her to call her bank and provided a phone number she should call.

However, the savvy woman was not tricked. She recognized the text as a possible scam and called her bank using a number she knew was correct.

The bank confirmed there was no problem.

District Attorney Jeff Reisig said in a press release that consumers should "never release your personal identifying information like bank and credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or secret passwords in response to an unsolicited request of any kind."

From Kim Minugh:

Two men were shot to death in a south Sacramento apartment early this morning, three weeks after a shooting was reported at the same apartment, according to neighbors.

About 1 a.m., a male suspect broke into the apartment at 2205 18th Avenue and shot two men inside, said Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The men have not been identified, but Leong said one man is 60 years old and the other is in his 50s.

Two other adults were in the house at the time of the shootings but were not injured, Leong said.

The motive for the killings is unknown; however, Leong said the victims likely were not randomly chosen.

Leong said there is only one known suspect at this point, although "we are not ruling out the possibility that there are more."

Two neighbors in the five-unit cinderblock complex said a shooting occurred within the same unit three weeks ago, in which at least one woman was shot. Leong declined to discuss the shooting and said only that detectives are looking at prior calls to that unit and investigating whether there is a connection to the double-homicide.

"Everything's open," Leong said.

From Chelsea Phua:

Sacramento County authorities have identified a 1997 homicide victim and are looking to solve the 47-year-old man's murder.

G. "Steven" Yager's body was found June 14, 1997, in a field in the 4300 block of Garden Highway, Sacramento County Sheriff's officials said. Authorities say they could not identify the remains then because of the condition of the body.

Recently, a cold case detective reviewed the case and thought there could be a connection to a June 1997 missing person case. The physical descriptions did not match exactly, but the detective took tissue samples from the autopsy to the California Department of Justice laboratory for comparison.

One of Yager's relatives had submitted a DNA sample to authorities, which was logged into the missing person database.

A match was found and investigators determined that the unidentified remains belonged to Yager (top left photo), who had been missing since 1997.

Investigators have reopened the case and are looking for information about Yager and the circumstances surrounding his death. They say Yager lived in the area of Fulton and Marconi avenues when he was killed, and frequented pool halls and card rooms in the same area.

A vehicle, described as possibly a 1969-1973 Chrysler New Yorker or looking similar to one, was seen leaving the area where the body was found, officials said. The body of the vehicle was light blue and the top was a darker blue.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's homicide detectives at (916) 874-5057 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP, or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From John Parker:

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating whether a Christian Brothers High School employee inappropriately touched a student athlete, spokesman Konrad von Schoech said Monday.

He declined to identify the target of the investigation.

Christian Brothers officials said Monday the school had investigated a student's complaint made Dec. 7, two days after the varsity girls volleyball team lost the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV championship match in Irvine.

After a one-day investigation, the school ended its relationship with Minh Nguyen, a freshman girls volleyball coach and history teacher.

Nguyen no longer works at Christian Brothers, school president Lorcan Barnes said.

"We're all broken-hearted by this," Barnes said.

Barnes said no current Christian Brothers employees are being investigated.

Nguyen could not be reached for comment. He began teaching at Christian Brothers in the fall of 2004 and this past season guided the Falcons' girls freshman volleyball team to a 13-1 record in the Sierra Valley Conference. He also was an assistant coach on the varsity squad.

From Bee staff:

The Sacramento Police Department is seeking help to identify a robbery suspect (top photos).

A police department news release provides these details:

At 10:36 p.m. Dec. 1, officers responded to the 2200 block of Howe Avenue on a robbery. The suspect entered a gas station and requested cigarettes from the clerk. The suspect brandished a knife and demanded money. The clerk complied and the suspect fled the store with cigarettes and cash.

The suspect is described as age 18 to 22 years, 6 feet tall, weighing 180 pounds with a clean-shaven appearance. He was wearing a white beanie cap, a brown sweatshirt, jeans and Converse brand shoes.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information about the crime to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Bee Staff

An automated pharmacy at the Sacramento County Sheriff Department's jail facilities is projected to be self-funding and will pay the county back its initial cost in four years, according to a report released Monday.

The pharmacy program at the Main Jail and the Rio Consumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove is run by the sheriff's Correctional Health Services (an earlier version of this story mistakenly said the program was only at the RCCC facility).

The unit reported that the pharmacy program:

- Saved $2.1 million in a year and is expected to continue this level of savings the elimination of drug waste. This reduction in drug expenditure has allowed the project to be self-funding.

- Expected to pay for itself in four years.

- Saved $400,000 in year in less need for nursing resources.

- Reduced inventory levels by $100,000 this fiscal year. That was a one-time savings.

- Reduced medication errors to below industry standards.

The project was approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2008 and was awarded to McKesson Provider Technologies for $5.4 million, the report states.

AnnMarie Boylan, the director's chief, will present the report 11 a.m. Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.

Bee Staff

Using a commercial airliner as a getaway vehicle is not a good idea, as one Sacramento theft suspect found out recently, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

At about 2 p.m. on Dec. 1, a woman attempted to use an airline ticket purchased online with a stolen credit card at Sacramento International Airport, according to a crime summary released Monday.

An alert United Airlines employee contacted the credit-card holder who confirmed the ticket was not hers. The suspect fled before sheriff's deputies responded.

However, the suspect only went as far as another terminal where she bought a second airline ticket with a different credit card, the summary states. But before she board the plane, deputies arrested her, the summary states.

Arrested on suspicion of charges related to credit-card theft was Jeanine Fuell, 31, according to the crime summary.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento police are investigating a couple suspected of erratic and dangerous actions, including ramming a car, auto theft and attempted purse snatching.

The incidents began about 3:40 p.m. Sunday near Franklin Boulevard and 23rd Avenue in South Sacramento when a man in a vehicle waiting at an intersection was approached by a 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman on foot. The male suspect ordered the driver out of the vehicle, but when he refused the suspect grabbed the vehicle keys.

The two suspects fled to a red Kia Spectra, where unidentified women waited. Before they could get away, police said, witnesses used their own vehicle to block the Spectra.

The suspects then rammed the witnesses' vehicle until it moved out of the way. The suspects fled but surfaced not far away, in the 4000 block of Florin Road at 4:05 p.m, police said.

There, the same red Spectra pulled up to a vehicle in a parking lot. The 19-year-old woman allegedly tried to take the driver's purse but was unsuccessful.

The suspects fled in the Spectra and police soon received a report of the car driving recklessly on Mack Road. Officers found the unoccupied Spectra in the 6000 block of Mack.

A security guard told officers where the suspects were, and the man and woman were taken into custody.

Sacramento police were not releasing the names of the suspects Monday because the investigation is ongoing.

From Andy Furillo

Inmate-rights lawyers and Sacramento County have agreed to settle a 2006 lawsuit that accused the Probation Department of running an overcrowded juvenile detention program that featured illegal use of excessive force and an inadequately-run educational program, officials said today.

In a consent decree expected to be filed today in Sacramento Superior Court, the county agreed to keep the population levels in its two primary juvenile detention facilities "at or below" the ability of its staff to handle.

The county also agreed to disband two emergency response squads that the plaintiffs linked to use of force complaints.

It will also install a video recording system in common areas of its main Youth Detention Facility and to design and put in place a new use-of-force policy.

"The consent decree provides a blueprint for a transformation from a punitive environment to one where the focus is on protecting the kids and rehabilitating them," said Donald Specter, the plaintiffs' attorney from the Prison Law Office in Berkeley. "It provides for experts to come in and develop new policies and programs and it also provides a lot of stringent focus on excessive force and tries to cut down on that."

The expected agreement calls on the county to minimize its use of pepper spray and chemical agents and to train its staff in "alternative intervention techniques" as a way to deal with troublesome wards.

It also will require the Probation Department to hire a "youth advocate" to handle grievances and investigate complaints against staff, employ a fulltime "trainer" and retain two outside experts to review its use of force policies and its mental health program.

Under the terms of the agreement, the county will provide its staff "weaponless defense training," eliminate verbal abuse of wards and reduce the time its confines youth in "extreme isolation." The lawsuit said some youths are confined to their cells all day, with no showers or recreation.

The consent decree also calls on the county to review its rehabilitation programs and make sure its toilet facilities in living areas are sanitary.

Probation Department spokeswoman Erin Treadwell said the county has already begun making the changes called for in the consent decree.

"We've been working on this for the last four years," Treadwell said.

Attorneys for the county agreed to a three-year duration on the consent decree and to allow plaintiffs to monitor the Youth Detention Facility where wards are held while awaiting trial as well as the Sacramento County Boys Ranch. The ranch is a the locked facility in eastern Sacramento County that serves as a last-chance local stop for youthful offenders before they are sent off to either the prison-like Division of Juvenile Justice or even state prison.

The population in the Youth Detention Facility, which once regularly exceed its 270-ward limit, has been reduced to a count today of 207, Treadwell said. The Boys Ranch, with a capacity of 125, held 94 wards as of today, according to Treadwell.

The document also was expected to provide for new oversight of the of the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center for younger incarcerated teens, but that facility has been closed down due to county budget cuts.

Under the terms of the 25-page document, the plaintiffs' lawyers "shall be compensated for their reasonable time and reasonable expenses relating to monitoring and enforcing this Consent Decree."

Attorneys' fees in the case so far have come to $700,000, to be paid for by a county that has struggled in recent years with multibillion dollar budget deficits and has laid off staff in the Probation Department and elsewhere.

The 2006 lawsuit named both the Probation Department and the county's Office of Education as defendants. The consent decree only applies to the Probation Department. Both Specter and Treadwell said the plaintiffs are still negotiating with the county education officials to resolve those portions of the lawsuit. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the decree also applied to the Education Office.)

An amended complaint charged that probation officers engaged in twisting wards' arms behind their backs and smashing youths face-first into the ground, a practice employed on a "frequent" basis that the suit called "dipping." The suit said the officers used the practice on wards for minor rules violations such as talking during movies or looking the wrong way at staff.

The complaint also charged that staff members were too quick to trigger pepper spray devices. The suit said wards "are sprayed with chemical agents for fighting, and also for offenses such as talking back to staff, often without warning."

Officers in the juvenile detention centers verbally harass youths as "an everyday occurrence," the suit said.

In papers filed in defense of the juvenile detention program, county lawyers said the actions of probation and educational officials "were based on a reasonable belief that the actions were lawful, proper and based on a good faith exercise of responsibility."

The county's lawyers argued that the "Sacramento County Juvenile Hall, the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center, and Carson Creek Boys Ranch have been found, by reviewing agencies, to be in compliance with the law."

As for school programs, the lawsuit said that youths are "regularly sent back to their housing units from school on 'overflow' status, when the classrooms are 'too full.' When this happens, the youth do not receive school."

It said the educational program in some facilities "often several days a week" consists of watching movies or doing crossword puzzles.

From Bee staff and wire reports:

Eight people, including two art students from the University of California, Davis, were arrested and charged with rioting and other offenses after a Friday night rampage outside the home of the UC Berkeley chancellor.

The students were taken into custody Saturday for suspicion of rioting, threatening an education official, attempted burglary, attempted arson of an occupied building, felony vandalism, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer in Berkeley.

Julia Litman-Cleper of San Francisco and Laura Thatcher of Rolling Hills Estates, listed among those arrested, were identified Sunday as undergraduate students in Davis.

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said Sunday evening she was "was appalled to learn of the attack on Chancellor Birgeneau's home, and that two of those arrested were UC Davis students."

"Such violence cannot be justified," she said. "It's now up to the judicial process to determine appropriate action."

UC Davis spokeswoman Claudia Morain said the women also were among the dozens of protesters arrested in mid-November after they refused to leave Mrak Hall in Davis. That event was part of a wider UC system protest over UC Regents $2,500 increase in student fees.

UC system spokesman Dan Mogulof said 40 to 70 protesters also threw lighted torches at police cars and the home of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau on Friday shortly before midnight. There were no fires or injuries.

The eight arrested were held in lieu of $132,500 bail, with orders not to return to campus if they were released, Mogulof said.

The Berkeley campus newspaper, the Daily Californian, reported that Litman-Cleper was among those released midday Sunday.

In Davis, a programmer at the campus public service radio station KDVS FM 90.3 said Litman-Cleper serves as that station's production director.

Authorities said protesters broke windows, lights and planters outside the chancellor's home.

Earlier in the day, police arrested 66 protesters at a campus classroom building that was partially taken over for four days.

Demonstrations have been waged over state funding cuts that led to course cutbacks, faculty furloughs and sharp fee increases.

"The attack at our home was extraordinarily frightening and violent. My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives," Birgeneau said in a statement.

Two others among the eight arrested after the Birgeneau home attack are Berkeley students, authorities said. The remaining four are from Oakland, San Francisco, Fullerton and Brooklyn, N.Y.

"Most of what you have here are people from outside the university," Wendy Brown, co-chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association and a professor of political science, said in criticizing the violence.

Agnes Balla, a junior public health major, said she walked out of classes weeks ago and joined peaceful protests that united the campus community and brought attention to a serious problem.

"With this turn of events, that's not what's going on anymore," Balla said. "I'm in support of bringing attention to this, but it's gone too far."

UC system President Mark Yudof, in a statement, called the latest attack "appalling" and "far beyond the boundaries of public dissent."

From Bee staff:

Woodland police detectives have arrested two men in connection with the robbery of a Taco Bell restaurant earlier this week.

Arrested were Aaron Christian Dufour, 24, of Woodland and Nathan Alexander Espinoza, 23, of Sacramento, according to a Police Department news release.

Dufour was arrested at the Monroe Detention Center where he was booked just a few hours earlier on Wednesday by members of the Davis Police Department following a vehicle pursuit shortly after the robbery had occurred, the release states.

The vehicle involved in the pursuit was found to be registered to Espinoza, the release states.

Espinoza was arrested at the Davis Police Department on Thursday after he arrived to inquire about his car which had been towed by Davis Police then later impounded by the Woodland Police Department, the release states.

The vehicle is believed to be connected to the robbery.

Detectives searched the vehicle and Espinoza's apartment. During the searches, detectives recovered items of evidence, including cash taken during the robbery, the release states.

On Wednesday, an armed robber held up the Taco Bell at 411 Pioneer Ave., escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured.

Dufour is being held at the detention center on $45,000 bail while Espinoza is being held on $50,000 bail, officials said.

From Andy Furillo

A Sacramento gang member convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy near McClatchy High School six years ago was sentenced today to 26 years to life in prison.

Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly handed down the term to Bobby Chiu, 22, for the Sept. 30, 2003, killing of Robert Treadway.

A jury convicted Chiu in October in the retrial of the case.

He had previously been convicted in the case, but the verdict was overturned by a state appellate court on grounds that the previous trial judge, Trena H. Burger-Plavan, had improperly instructed the jury.

Q: What happened to Nathaniel Guidi, who was accused killing his newly born child? - kps, Fair Oaks

A: Guidi pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse, according to court records.

On Feb. 1, 2006, a Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced him to 18 years and four months in prison.

His 6-month-old son was found not breathing in his crib in Guidi's Orangevale apartment. Days later Sacramento County sheriff's detectives arrested Guidi on suspicion of killing the infant, The Bee reported on Jan. 29, 2005.

After the coroner reported finding two of the infant's ribs broken, Guidi admitted he had lost control, just for a moment, and slammed his fist into his baby son's chest, investigators told The Bee.

"He just snapped," said Detective Sgt. Connie Merkins. "And he did something that you just can't take back."

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Andy Furillo

The younger brother of a Sacramento sheriff's deputy accused in the shooting death of a California correctional officer has been convicted of another murder in Minnesota.

A Hennepin County jury returned the verdict Thursday against Gary Vue (photo left), 28. He and his brother, Chong Vue, were accused in the July 10, 2001, slaying of a man they mistakenly believed belonged to a rival street gang in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County Judge Mel I. Dickstein sentenced Gary Vue today to life in prison with a chance of parole after 31 years, according to a court clerk who asked that her name not be used.

Chong Vue is scheduled to go to trial in February, the clerk said.

Gary and Chong Vue are accused along with their older brother, Chu Vue, in the Oct. 15, 2008, shooting death of correctional officer Steve Lo in the garage of the victim's home in south Sacramento.

Police and prosecutors believe that Gary and Chong Vue carried out the killing, although officials have not identified which of the brothers actually pulled the trigger.

Chu Vue is accused of arranging the killing because Lo was having an affair with the former deputy's wife, who worked as a medical technical assistant at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, the same prison where Lo also was employed.

The Sacramento Police Department Neighborhood Crimes Unit is seeking the community's help for information leading to the identity of the persons responsible for the armed robberies of the Wing Stop restaurant chain in the city of Sacramento, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

The robberies took place at 9:57 p.m. Nov. 10 at 2992 65th St., No. 400; 11:15 p.m. Nov. 18 at 3541 N. Freeway Blvd., No. 115; and 10:21 p.m. Nov. 21 at 1052 Florin Road.

In each incident, one of the suspects held a gun on employees while the other suspect took the cash. In the Nov. 18 incident, the armed suspect fired a round in the air of the restaurant during the robbery.

The armed suspect, pictured at right, is described as a black man age 18 to 23, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing 165 to 23 pounds, officials said. The second suspect is described as a black man age 18 to 24, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 160 to 215 pounds, officials said.

Anyone with information about the suspects or robberies 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 Bee staff:

A suspected drunken driver was arrested Thursday afternoon after reportedly striking a woman twice with her car after a collision on Watt Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Bianca Carranza, 19, of Sacramento was arrested on El Camino Avenue after fleeing the collision, according to a CHP news release, which provided these details:

About 3:08 p.m., Carranza was driving a blue 1999 Ford Contour northbound on Watt Avenue just north of Kings Way when she struck the rear of a silver 1997 Ford Taurus. After the collision, the victim, a 21-year-old Sacramento woman, exited her vehicle and tried to talk to Carranza.

While the victim was out of her car, Carranza backed up the Contour, turned to the right and began to accelerate in attempt to flee the scene. Carranza's vehicle struck the victim and knocked her to the ground. The suspect then backed up her vehicle and drove forward again, striking the victim a second time. The victim's body came to rest in the No. 3 lane of northbound Watt Avenue.

Carranza fled the scene in her car and was later located on El Camino Avenue just east of Eastern Avenue. It was also determined that Carranza struck a light pole a short distance from where officers found her.

Carranza was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving with injuries, felony hit and run and assault with a deadly vehicle, CHP officials said.

The victim was transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Hospital with major head injuries and is listed in critical condition, according to the CHP.

The collision is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call the CHP at (916) 338-6710 or after hours, (916) 861-1300.

From Chelsea Phua:

A 58-year-old Reno woman who was convicted in October of endangering her Down syndrome child by letting him wander away at a shopping center was sent to jail without bail on Wednesday for failing to keep a court-appointed interview with the Placer County Probation Department, authorities said.

According to a news release by the Placer County District Attorney's office, Mary Ellen Stamp had also missed her own trial one afternoon. Stamp was to sentenced Wednesday on a felony count of child endangerment likely to result in great bodily injury or death, but because she had skipped her probation interview, Placer County Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis could not refer to a pre-sentencing report for the proceeding.

Her sentencing is rescheduled for Jan. 5.

Stamps was convicted for a March 25 incident where she took her son, then 7, to the Village at Northstar in Lake Tahoe and allowed the child, who is non-verbal and non-communicative, to run off unsupervised, prosecutors said.

Stamps then left Northstar to pick up her 14-year-old daughter at a home nearby, but without reporting to Northstar security that her boy was missing, said prosecutor Estelle Tansey.

When Stamps returned to Northstar an hour or two later, the boy was in the care of security officials, who had found him in an underground parking garage without identification on him.

From Andy Furillo

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet today denied a motion to exclude Elk Grove residents from sitting on the jury in the murder trial of a man accused of killing two people in the community three years ago during a Saturday night shooting spree.

Attorneys for Aaron Norman Dunn asked for the exclusion during a two-day hearing on a change of venue motion. But in denying the motion as well as the request to exclude people from Elk Grove from the jury pool, Sweet said that he will put safeguards in place to try and ensure that Dunn gets a panel that will give him a fair trial.

Among the safeguards, Sweet said, would be individual questioning of potential jurors to determine if they can still judge the case fairly in spite of what they've read or seen about it.

Dunn, 31, is accused of shooting and killing television cameraman Johnie Ray Johnson and salesman Michael John Daly in a March 25, 2006, attack while the two victims were eating dinner with their families in popular Elk Grove restaurants. He is facing the death penalty.

Authorities said that Dunn was distraught from the break-up of his marriage and that he had been ingesting methamphetamine before going on the rampage that left the two men dead.

A defense expert witness on the effects of pre-trial publicity testified in the change of venue hearing that a survey he conducted showed an unusually high number of Elk Grove residents - 84 percent - knew something about the case. And 88 percent of those believed Dunn is guilty, according to the survey conducted by the expert, retired Chico State political science Professor Edward Bronson.

A similar number of people from the larger county of Sacramento also had pre-judged Dunn's guilt, according to Bronson's survey. But a much smaller ratio of county residents - 54 percent - were aware of the case, Bronson testified.

Sweet said there was no case law to support what he characterized as the "novel" attempt to exclude a portion of the county's population from sitting on the jury.

Still, the judge said he will permit attorneys to prepare a lengthy questionnaire for jurors to fill out before they are questioned for the panel and that he will allow the lawyers to ask them additional questions out of the presence of other potential jurors if they know something about the case.

"I obviously recognize the need to impose adequate safeguards to make sure Mr. Dunn gets a fair trial," Sweet said.

From Chelsea Phua:

An unlicensed contractor who was accused of bilking an elderly Sacramento couple of more than $180,000 and leaving their home in shambles will be facing 11 years in prison, authorities said.

According to a news release by the Contractors State License Board, Keith Lidell McGowan, 53, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to several charges, including financial elder abuse. He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 8 before Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan.

McGowan, a "two-strike" convicted felon who had served time in San Quentin for manslaughter, had his license revoked in 1996, authorities said.

McGowan approached Oliver Davis, 89, and his wife Patsy Davis, 70, in 2006 and offered to remodel their property. After collecting $252,650 from the couple and only performing $72,000 of work, McGowan abandoned the project in October 2007.

More than 150 volunteers donated $125,000 worth of materials and labor to help the couple rebuild their home, which they moved into recently.

"While justice has been served on McGowan, it's important to remember that the hardship continues for the victims, Oliver and Patsy Davis," said CSLB Registrar Steve Sands. "It's heart-breaking. Their life savings is gone."

CSLB officials advise consumers to check the license number of contractors on the agency's Web site at www.cslb.ca.gov and not to hire the first contractor who comes along. They also advise consumers to solicit at lease three bids, check references and get a written contract, and don't let payments get ahead of work.

Bee Staff

Rocklin police officers arrested a 55-year-old man who allegedly was stalking his 19-year-old daughter on the campus of Sierra College, according to a police spokesman.

Bogdan Ignacy Ambrozewicz was booked into Placer County jail Wednesday on suspicion of stalking, disrupting a school and obstructing a police officer, according to online records. He made bail and was freed late Thursday afternoon.

Lt. Lon Milka of the Rocklin Police Department said a friend of the man's daughter told officers patrolling the campus that she had seen the father on campus. The woman was afraid of her father and the daughter knew he had been looking for her since she moved out about seven months ago, Milka said police were told.

An officer spotted Ambrozewicz on campus and saw him "seemingly going from building to building looking for someone."

When the officer tried to contact the man, he fled on foot but was apprehended by other Rocklin PD officers.

Rocklin police learned that the victim has been "in hiding" from her father - not telling him where she lives or what times she attends the Sierra College campus, Milka said.

According to friends and associates of the victim, the father has been posting signs on roadsides in areas where she has frequented in the past - asking her to contact him, Milka said.

Signs have been left at the church she attends in Meadow Vista, as well, Milka said.

The father reportedly has sent the woman rambling letters through her friends and associates by leaving the letters for delivery on their porches day and night, Milka said.

Some letters stated that God was speaking through the father and that God wanted the victim to return home, Milka said.

"Friends of the victim said that Bogdan was extremely controlling and manipulative of the victim and that he needed to know where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing at all times," Milka said.

Rocklin Police Department provides campus security under a contract.

Bee Staff

The Citrus Heights Police Department will be conducting a DUI and drivers license checkpoint on Dec. 17 from 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Greenback Lane, west of Arcadia Drive.

The checkpoint is one in a series that is being funded by a grant from the University of California at Berkeley Traffic Safety Center through the California Office of Traffic Safety, according to a Police Department news release.

Q: What happened to Freddy Gomez, the man accused of shooting the doorman at the Torch Club in January of 2005?

A: A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted Freddy Lebatique Gomez of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and carrying an illegal concealed weapon.

A judge sentenced Gomez, now 60, on Nov. 22, 2005 to 25 years to life in prison.

Gomez, who witnesses said was drunk, was turned away from The Torch Club in downtown Sacramento on Jan. 21, 2005. He returned with a sawed-off shotgun and shot the club's doorman, The Bee reported.

The doorman survived his wound, The Bee reported.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Andy Furillo

A Sacramento judge today sentenced Kevin Wayne Dunigan to 25 years to life in prison for the April 1995 stabbing death of Gary Patrick Veirs.

Superior Court Judge James L. Long imposed the term on the 46-year-old defendant who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for killing Veirs in a street fight 14 years ago. Dunigan (photo left) instigated the fight by first propositioning and then cursing the 34-year-old victim's girlfriend.

Sacramento police arrested the already-imprisoned Dunigan earlier this year on a cold DNA hit.

Dunigan, who was behind bars at Pelican Bay State Prison, had been required to submit his genetic material to authorities when he was incarcerated under the requirements of Proposition 69, which California voters passed in 2004.

His DNA markers matched those of the materials found underneath Veirs' fingernails.

Dunigan represented himself at trial and startled the courtroom with a closing argument in which he claimed he had been "running the country" during the presidency of George W. Bush.

Bee Staff

Folsom police assisted by officers from other agencies will conduct a DUI checkpoint Friday on East Bidwell Street at Orchard Drive.

The checkpoint will run from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., according to a Folsom Police Department news release.

Members from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) will also be in attendance, the release states.

As are many DUI checkpoints in the region, this action is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

From Kim Minugh

A 10-year-old boy who was reported missing yesterday has been found safe, according to Sacramento police.

Family members located Dshaun Pickens this morning, said Officer Konrad von Schoech.

He was reported missing from his Valley Hi area home since Tuesday.

From Kim Minugh

Two more suspects have been arrested in the Dec. 19, 2008 killing of a 30-year-old man in Rancho Cordova, according to authorities.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives on Wednesday night arrested 27-year-old Gennel Edward Miles Jr. (photo bottom left) and 33-year-old Shanon Shorter (photo bottom right) in connection with the death of Timothy Lance Brodie, whose body was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Laurelhurst Drive, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

That brings to three the total number of suspects in custody for Brodie's killing: In January, detectives arrested 31-year-old Derrick Sam. Curran said detectives suspect more people might have been involved in the crime and are looking for the public's help in identifying those people.

Detectives allege the suspects kidnapped Brodie from an unidentified person's home during a drug deal gone bad, killed him, and then dumped his body in the Rancho Cordova parking lot. Brodie's car, which had been set on fire, was found in Carmichael.

Brodie suffered fatal gunshot wounds to his chest, as well as blunt force trauma to his head, according to Sacramento County coroner's records. The motive for the homicide likely was robbery, and the victim knew at least one of his assailants, Curran said.

Miles and Shorter were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail this morning on suspicion of murder, robbery, kidnapping, torture, arson, carjacking and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to jail booking records. Both are being held without bail.

Sam was arrested on similar charges, including murder and kidnapping.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call sheriff's homicide detectives at (916) 874-5057 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

From Bill Lindelof:

A chimney fire that spread into the walls of an Elk Grove home Wednesday night has prompted fire officials to issue a safety reminder to help prevent such accidental blazes.

The fire in a two-story home in the 8400 block of Blue Maiden Court in the West Vineyard neighborhood of northeastern Elk Grove at about 10 p.m. forced firefighters to cut into the wall. The fire then was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

The house suffered an estimated $50,000 in damage. Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department firefighters were assisted by personnel from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

Cosumnes CSD officials provide these safety tips:

• Get wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and chimney connectors inspected annually by a professional cleaner. Have them cleaned when advised by a chimney pro.

• Don't forget to open the fireplace damper before lighting.

• Don't light a fireplace fire without a screen in place to stop sparks from flying into room.

• Only use seasoned wood. Green wood, with high moisture content, is likely to lead to a creosote build-up in a chimney and might result in a chimney fire.

• Make sure ashes are completely cooled before disposing of them. Douse them and allow overnight cooling in a metal container.

Q: What happened to Charles Ng? - dulcefreak, Stockton

A: Ng (photo left from 2001) has been on California's death row at San Quentin since June 30, 1999, the day he was sentenced in an Orange County courtroom to die for 11 Calaveras County murders.

Ng, a Hong Kong native and former U.S. Marine, was convicted after 14 years of court delays. Ng, now 48, had fled to Canada, where he was soon jailed on a theft charge, but he avoided extradition for years because of Canada's reluctance to extradite prisoners to face the death penalty.

Ng and Leonard Lake killed six men, three women and two baby boys. They also held two of the women as prisoners in a bunker at Lake's cabin near Wilseyville.

Ng appeared with Lake on a homemade videotape, taunting the two women and threatening to kill them. Both women were murdered, and prosecutors claimed their bodies and the bodies of all but two of the victims in this case were burned.

Lake committed suicide shortly after his 1985 arrest.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From the Oroville Mercury-Register:

OROVILLE -- Sometime during the night Monday, someone entered two parking lots at Oroville Rescue Mission on Lincoln Avenue and cut more than two dozen tires on vehicles owned by the mission and people staying at its shelters.

"It's random violence," said Adrienne Hengel, who works for the mission. "We don't know who did it."

The Rev. Stephen Terry, executive director of the mission, said he first learned of the incident at about 6:40 a.m. Tuesday after a person staying there went out to his car to go to work and discovered he left front tire was flat.

When the man looked further, he discovered all four tires were destroyed.

The guest's car wasn't the only one struck -- seven other vehicles, including four belonging to other residents and two mission-owned vans and a truck -- also had slashed and flattened tires.

Twenty-six tires on eight vehicles were destroyed. Five cars had all four tires damaged. The mission's three vehicles, parked in front, each only had two flat tires.

No one at the mission is certain who did the deed, but there is a suspicion.

Terry said the tires were cut sometime between 9:30 p.m. Monday and 5 a.m. Tuesday. He said it may be related to an incident that occurred Monday night over a vehicle at the mission that a person may have wrongfully tried to sell.

Most of the vehicles vandalized belong to homeless people staying at the shelter. In some cases, those are their only possessions, Terry said.

"Slashing tires of people who can't afford to fix their vehicles, that's a moral outrage to me," he said. "A moral 'travesty' would be a better word."

From Bee Staff

A Roseville woman was convicted today of first-degree murder in the killing of her longtime friend, whose body was founded beneath a pile of trash with a slit throat in 2008, the Placer County District Attorney's Office reported.

The jury also determined that the defendant, Stephanie Nicole Erends (photo left), 26, used a deadly weapon to kill Alicia Ernst, 24, of Citrus Heights and that Erends was "lying in wait" when the crime was committed on March 8, 2008, according to a news release from the DA's Office.

The murder conviction and the two enhancements are expected to send Erends to prison for life without possibility of parole when she returns for sentencing before Placer County Superior Court Judge Colleen Nichols on Feb. 10 (an earlier version of this story had the incorrect sentencing date).

The victim's brother, Brandon Ernst of Citrus Heights, said: "We are relieved that it's over," he said. "Justice has been served."

Alicia Martens, the victim's mother, said the verdict "won't bring my daughter back, but at least we know that (Erends) won't be able to hurt anyone else."

During the trial, prosecutor Garen Horst of the Placer County District Attorney's Office introduced evidence and called witnesses to establish that Erends had killed Ernst in a surprise attack while the victim was sitting unaware in the front passenger seat with her seat belt strapped on, the release states.

According to Horst, a razor-sharp scraping tool was used in the murder. Erends had broken the handle of it and placed the tool in the back seat prior to the attack, he said.

In her interview with detectives, Erends had stated that she planned to kill Ernst because Ernst had allegedly poured acid down her throat.

At trial, Horst argued that the alleged motive was more complex and that it involved a long-term resentment culminating on the night of the murder when Ernst had teased and humiliated Erends in front of Ernst's boyfriend, the release states.

There was also evidence that Erends believed that Ernst had had an affair with a former boyfriend of Erends', the release states.

After killing Ernst, Erends pulled the body from the car, tried to cut the victim's fingers off to prevent fingerprint identification, poured ammonia on the victim and then tossed garbage on the body to keep it from being discovered, the release sates.

After her arrest several days later, Erends told Placer County Sheriff's detectives Don Murchison and Christina Woo that she drove Ernst to a remote location on Walerga Road, parked where she knew there was trash on the side of the road and climbed into the back seat of the car to carry out the attack from behind.

Recordings of the interviews with the detectives were played during the trial and the jury was provided with transcripts.

Erends, who hoped for a verdict of voluntary manslaughter, which carries a far less sentence, testified in the trial and tried to recant the incriminating statements she had given to the detectives, the release states.

She denied planning the attack, saying she had reacted in anger as she and Ernst sat in the car on Walerga Road at about 3:30 a.m. Erends said she confronted her friend over making fun of her several hours earlier at the home of Ernst's boyfriend.

The two began fighting and pulling each other's hair in the front seat, Erends testified. She then reached into a door panel for the scraping tool and began slashing at Ernst but did not intend to kill her, she said.

Erends said she panicked after realizing what she had done and tried to cover up the crime. Erends said she initially gave detectives the more incriminating story about planning the crime because she felt it was what they wanted to hear and because she felt guilty about what she had done, the release states.

Erends stated that she didn't listen to her Miranda Rights warnings and didn't know that she could stop talking to the detectives.

Bee Staff

Dr. David Allen, a Sacramento medical doctor, has been arrested in Mississippi on multiple felony counts accusing him of bribery and tampering with witnesses, according to a newspaper.

Allen already had been charged with possession of marijuana and hashish in Mississippi authorities seized his home and ranch this year.

In Sacramento, where he now lives, Allen is a licensed physician.

He recently opened a cannabis evaluations clinic on Auburn.

To see the Sun Herald story, click here.

Q: What happened to the case of Arthur Gonzalez, who was killed on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard? - missj, Sacramento

A: Raymond Muhammad Ward, now 33, was convicted by a Sacramento Superior Court jury of murdering Gonzalez on Oct. 14, 1993 for the victim's customized Oldsmobile with shiny gold-colored wheels, The Bee reported.

Ward proclaimed his innocence even as he was handed a sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Ward walked up to a 1984 Oldsmobile at a red light at Fruitridge Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard shortly after 11 a.m. Arthur Gonzalez was waiting for the light to change on his way to work at an automotive shop. Ward shot Gonzalez in the head, dumped the body in the busy intersection and drove off.

Statements from Ward's friends said he bragged the day of the shooting and joked at how television reporters had messed up details of the slaying, testimony indicated.

Ward's friends also said he admitted that he killed Gonzalez to steal his deep green customized car with gold-colored rims and trim.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Bill Lindelof

Detectives are investigating the stickups of young people by a group of hooded robbers at a North Laguna Creek park.

In the first robbery a 16-year-old boy walking at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday just south of North Laguna Creek Park was approached by the five males wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts and dark bandanas or masks, according to a Sacramento Police Department crime summary.

One of the robbers had what appeared to be a handgun and demanded the teen's property. He turned over his wallet.

Just a little while later, two other teens walking near the basketball courts in North Laguna Park were approached by four or five men dressed the same way: dark, hooded sweatshirts. Again, one suspect was armed with a handgun.

The victims - a 19-year-old woman and her 15-year-old male cousin - turned over a backpack and school supplies, police said.

No other suspect descriptions were provided.

From Bill Lindelof:

A church deacon has been arrested on suspicion of child molestation by Sacramento County Sheriff's detectives.

Robert Lindsay Cowan (photo left), 65, of Cool, El Dorado County, was arrested at his home on Tuesday on five counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14 years.

Cowan, a deacon in the Baptist Church of Cool, on occasion traveled to the Sacramento area for in-home Bible study sessions. It was during one of these in-home meetings that the molestations are suspected to have occurred.

Cowan was booked into Sacramento County Jail and is being held without bail. The sheriff's department investigation is on-going with detectives looking into whether Cowan might be a suspect in other molestations.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Linke at (916) 874-5964.

Q: Is Martin Kuwabara still in prison? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: Kuwabara, now 49, is still in prison.

Kuwabara, convicted of attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon and infliction of great bodily injury on his wife, was sentenced March 11, 1994 to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, The Bee reported.

The sentence - the maximum permitted by law - was handed down by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey L. Gunther who said it was the most heinous crime that he had seen in his 10 years on the bench.

Kuwabara attacked his wife with a 10-pound steel dumbbell, dumped her into an Elk Grove ditch, choked her and left her for dead.

Note: Sacto911 thanks members of the area district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies who take the time to help this feature locate prisoners in and out of the state's prison system.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Chelsea Phua

Sacramento County Sheriff officials said two missing 11-year-old girls returned to their home late last night.

Authorities said the girls were reported missing by their families after they couldn't find the pair, who left their homes in unincorporated Sacramento County at about 4 p.m. Tuesday.

From Bill Lindelof

A Yolo County jury has convicted a West Sacramento man of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

Louis Charles Romano, 63, was convicted Monday of assaulting the teen, a daughter of an acquaintance, the Yolo County District Attorney's office said in a news release.

Romano assaulted the 15-year-old on April 12, 2008, the release states.

After the older daughter reported the assault, her 10-year-old sister told her mother that the man also assaulted her. The sisters also said that Romano showed them pornography.

The Yolo County District Attorney's Office charged Romano with committing sex crimes against the girls and possessing child pornography.

The 15-year-old's testimony was bolstered by DNA evidence, the release states.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charge of assaulting the 10-year-old sister, the release states. The jury found Romano not guilty of possessing child pornography.

From Bill Lindeof:

Woodland police are looking for someone who got cash in their bag instead of Mexican food at Taco Bell.

Police said an armed robber walked up to the counter of the Taco Bell at 411 Pioneer Ave., shortly before 1 a.m. today and held up an employee. The masked man left with an undisclosed amount of money in a plastic Taco Bell bag.

He is described as white, about 170 pounds and about 5-feet, 10-inches tall. He drove away in a silver sedan, possibly a newer model Mercedes with tinted windows.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the investigations division, (530) 661-7800.

By Chelsea Phua

A 19-year-old man who said he was kidnapped by robbers intentionally drove into a Sacramento County sheriff deputy's patrol car Tuesday evening to alert authorities, officials said.

Department spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said the deputy was assisting Rancho Cordova police with a vehicle accident at Folsom Boulevard and Manlove Road when his patrol car was struck shortly after 6:30 p.m.

The 19-year-old, who was the driver, said two men had kidnapped and force him to drive to an ATM to get money, so he drove into the patrol car to get police's attention.

The deputy was outside his car and no one was injured.

The two men had fled on foot after the collision and were still at large Tuesday evening, officials said.

It's unlikely the 19-year-old will be arrested for this incident, Curran said.

Bee Staff

The Sacramento Police Department released today photos of a vehicle break-in and is asking for help the public's in identifying the person responsible.

At 8:30 a.m. Monday, the victim parked his vehicle in the parking lot of 5600 H Street to run errands only to return to find his passenger side window was broken and that personal items had been taken.

Police said the incident was captured on surveillance video (see photo below) and released photos of a person they say is a suspect driving a small pick-up truck that was already parked in the parking lot before the victim arrived.

Once the victim parked his car, the suspect moved his truck to a parking space next to the victim's car, broke the victim's car window, reached inside the car and took a canvas briefcase, police said. The suspect then fled in the truck.

Police described the suspect as a black male, 24 to 30 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds. He was wearing a white t-shirt, white and orange checkered baggy shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. The truck he was driving was a 1998 dark gray Ford Ranger.

The Sacramento Police Department asks anyone with information to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

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

From Ed Fletcher

Two Loomis teens are in juvenile hall after their stolen credit card spree quickly ran out.

According to authorities, the two Loomis 16-year-olds stole a wallet from a vehicle in Folsom some time after the 7 p.m. kickoff of the Dec. 4 football game between Del Oro and Folsom high schools. (The Bee is not identifying the pair because they are under the age of 18.)

Over the next several hours the teens bought three tanks of gas, pigged out on food and drink and then tried to rent some video games from Blockbuster, said Lt. Lon Milka, a spokesman for the Rocklin Police Department.

The victim, who still had her purse, hadn't noticed that her wallet was gone, Milka said.

An alert Blockbuster video employee called the victim to OK the purchase, Milka said.

The juveniles fled the store, but were quickly arrested at a nearby 7-11 convenience store on Sierra College Boulevard after using another one of the victim's credit cards, he said.

The teens are accused of using the victim's cards 11 times over a three-hour period.

They were arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy, Milka said.

Bee Staff

District Attorney Jan Scully said today that the State Board of Prison Terms has denied parole for a man convicted of killing an Orangevale pizza restaurant manager in 1987.

Damian Toyebo, now 48, could not reapply for parole for an "unusually long ten-year period of time," Scully said.

The victim - Matthew Donovan, 22 - was the manager of a Domino's pizza outlet on Madison and Hazel avenues when Toyebo entered and demanded money at gunpoint, The Bee reported. Donovan was the only employee in the restaurant.

Toyebo ordered Donovan to turn around and then shot him in the back, according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.

Donovan was able to crawl for a phone and call 911, the release states.

"During his call, Toyebo could be heard yelling obscenities at him and threatening to shoot him a second time," the release states.

Donovan died shortly thereafter.

The Bee reported that at the time of his arrest, Toyebo had a .26 percent blood alcohol level, more than two and half times the then legal level of intoxication, according to investigators.

During the hearing, the members of the Prison Terms Board commented on the brutality of the crime, Toyebo's violent behavior since arriving in prison, and his failure to address his addiction issues, the release states.

The hearing was attended by the victim's father and Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Marv Stern.

Stern said: "We will seek justice for our victims and their families no matter how long it takes. The twenty-two years that have passed since this terrible crime have not diminished the tragedy and senselessness of this act."

Bee Staff

A 41-year-old man is facing potential DUI and obstructing police charges after a traffic accident last week in Roseville that sent two other people to the hospital, according to police and jail records.

Robert Bewley drove into the rear of a vehicle waiting on a stoplight at the intersection of Foothills and Junction boulevards around 6:20 a.m. Thursday, according to a Roseville police spokeswoman.

Bewley, driving a 2006 Ford F-350 pickup, set off a chain reaction that involved two other vehicles, the spokeswoman said.

She said Bewley "appeared highly intoxicated. He threatened and refused to comply with officers, and was eventually subdued after officers used a Taser on him."

Bewley was transported by ambulance to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for medical clearance and then booked into the Placer County Jail on suspicion of DUI causing injury, and obstructing/resisting executive officers, she said.

The driver and a passenger in the vehicle that Bewley hit were transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with what appeared to be minor injuries, she said.

The other people involved in the chain-reaction collision did not report being injured, she said.

From Denny Walsh:

Kenneth Jerome Nelson, widely known as self-appointed guardian of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to wearing a Silver Star he did not earn.

Nelson, 60, of Sacramento, had garnered coverage by local television and The Bee as the unofficial caretaker of the memorial. He posed as the recipient of medals from his time as a Marine in Vietnam.

According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Camil Skipper, he wore the Silver Star, the military's third highest decoration, and claimed to have earned three Purple Hearts, the third one after he stepped on a spike while carrying a wounded soldier on his back for 26 miles.

But it was all a charade; he never served in a combat zone. Nelson was prosecuted under the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2006, which makes it a misdemeanor to wear medals not awarded or to falsely claim they were awarded.

"The Silver Star is a symbol of heroism, patriotism, and honor," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner. "Mr. Nelson would seek to diminish the sacrifice of others by wearing the unearned medal. He received years of praise and admiration from the public that he did not deserve, and now he is exposed as a fraud."

Nelson is scheduled to be sentenced March 1.

From Andy Furillo:

A once-promising former quarterback for Grant High School's renowned football team and another man were each sentenced to 21 years to life in prison today for the 2005 gang-related shooting death of an innocent victim on Sacramento's north side.

Tommy Keith Hall, 23, who was the starting signal-caller for the Pacers as a sophomore on the 2001 team, and co-defendant Dontae Sultan Stirgus, were convicted of second-degree murder by a Sacramento Superior Court jury last month in the Dec. 23, 2005, killing of Donikos Kentrell Jones, 23.

"It's a tragedy," Grant High football coach Mike Alberghini said today about Hall. "He had everything going for him. He made a bad choice about how he wanted to run his life, and it's unfortunate."

Jones, a plumber who had helped support his wife in her pursuit of her undergraduate degree at UC Davis, also played football at Grant, a couple years ahead of Hall, Alberghini said.

"He never got a chance to life," Alberghini said. "It's very tragic."

Neither Hall nor Stirgus were believed to be the gunman in the shooting death on Longshore Court.

Police and prosecutors say the shooting took place after Stirgus got in a confrontation with some residents of the street when he had visited there to buy some of the psychedelic drug Ecstasy. Authorities said Stirgus left the street, but returned in a car with Hall and at least one other person. Somebody inside their car then shot and killed Jones, who friends said had gone outside a house on the street to play basketball just before he was gunned down.

In imposing the term today, Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan said that Hall and Stirgus "an utter disregard for the rights of others" in what she characterized as a "shocking, senseless crime."

From Kim Minugh:

A 14-year-old from Orangevale was killed Sunday when the pickup truck he was riding in slid off snow-covered Interstate 80 near Blue Canyon and struck a tree, the California Highway Patrol says.

The victim, Jack Conner, died at the scene, a CHP news release states.

Paramedics used a hydraulic prying device to extricate the driver, 62-year-old Jess Valencia of Orangevale, from the 2003 Toyota Tacoma pickup. He was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries, the release states.

Valencia was driving west on Interstate 80 about 11 a.m. when he apparently lost control, the release states. The pickup spun, sliding off the road and down an embankment before striking the tree.

Valencia and Conner wore seatbelts, but the pickup's airbags did not deploy, the release states.

The CHP's preliminary investigation indicates excessive speed on a steep and snow-covered downhill grade caused the accident, the release states. Neither drugs nor alcohol are believed to have been factors.

After the collision, CHP's Gold Run area Commander John Arrabit reminded drivers to exercise caution while driving in inclement weather. Among his tips: Drive slower, leave more distance between you and the car you're following, allow extra travel time, and check your antifreze and windshield wiper blades before traveling in snow.

From Andy Furillo:

A Sacramento gang member has been sentenced to prison for 39 years to the rest of his life for shooting and killing a 17-year-old youth who was walking along the street near the Wildhawk Golf Club almost three years ago.

Anh-Tuan Dao Pham, 19, received the term Thursday from Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy W. Frawley for the Feb. 22, 2007, shooting murder of Dominique Hickman, 17.

Pham's term also includes time on an additional attempted murder conviction for shooting and wounding two people in the unincorporated south area less than an hour after he killed Hickman.

From Loretta Kalb:

A thief made off with more than $10,000 in musical equipment this morning, shortly before the Sacramento Youth Symphony held its annual free concert in the Sacramento Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in Sacramento, the board president of the Youth Symphony said.

Cathy Taylor, board president, said she learned of the theft this morning about 10 a.m. after a staff member went to symphony offices on Romona Avenue near Power Inn Road and discovered that a U-Haul truck packed for the concert had been stolen. On board the U-Haul were tympanis - also known as copper kettle drums - a bass drum and conductor's podium.

The concert was conducted, Taylor said, but required musicians to borrow replacement musical instruments from the Music Department at California State University, Sacramento.

"It's a loss," Taylor said of the instruments. "They were old but well kept."

Depending on the group's insurance coverage, she said, it could face heavy replacement costs. "They're a lot more expensive today than they used to be," Taylor said.

Sacramento Police Officer Konrad Von Schoech confirmed that someone found the symphony's U-Haul this morning in the 4900 block of Stockton Boulevard, still running, with the ignition punched, or hot-wired.

The theft was under investigation, he said. He urged anyone with information to call police Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

Editor's note: This is another report in an occasional series on unusual events or people found by The Bee's police reporters and editors.

From Ed Fletcher

Last week, Rocklin's Police Department issued a press release reporting that detectives navigated the popular online free classified web site Craigslist.com to catch a bike theft.

"Detectives, posing as potential buyers, contacted the Lincoln-area seller. The stolen bike was identified by distinctive markings and it was recovered for the victim. The case has been forwarded to the Placer County District Attorney's Office for possession of stolen property charges," reads the Nov. 25 press release from Detective Sgt. Scott Horrillo.

The bike - valued at $1,000 - was stolen the evening Nov. 16 from the back of the victim's truck while it was parked at the Sierra College dorm parking lot.

Could anyone not named Lance Armstrong one expect similar service from the Sacramento Police Department - the area's largest police department?

One sacbee.com reader responding to the Sacto911 blog post thinks not.

"I had two very valuable, custom-built bicycles stolen a few years back and the Sacramento PD wouldn't even respond to my call," wrote epremack.

In 2008, some 616 bikes were reported stolen to the Sacramento Police Department, reports Norm Leong, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. Through August, 404 bikes had been reported swiped, putting the city on pace to reach that number again.

While there is a clear disparity in how Rocklin treats stolen bikes compared to Sacramento, the chasm isn't as deep as the impression you'd get from the press release.

Rocklin officers do take police reports on stolen bikes. While Sac PD ask victims to come to them or fill out a form online, but like Sacramento, Rocklin's PD they don't regularly assign a detective to investigate, said Lon Milka, a spokesman for the Rocklin Department.

"We don't recover that many that are stolen, maybe 20 percent," said Milka.

He said in the last 12 months they had 42 bikes reported stolen, 19 of which were recovered. He said the previous 12 months were not as good with 42 bikes stolen and 9 recovered.

In the November incident, a detective was assigned because the victim - who had his bike's serial number - had already found the hot bike posted for sale on craigslist.

Leong said Sac PD might do the same thing, assuming detectives aren't too busy.

"It's all based on priority calls and the availability of detectives," Leong said. "It's not out of the realm (of possibility), but were a lot busier than Rocklin or Roseville."

In February, Lance Armstrong's time-trial bike (photo left is of the bike after it was recovered by police) was stolen from a truck behind a downtown hotel while he was competing in the Amgen Tour of California. The bike, valued at more than $10,000, was eventually recovered when the person who bought the stolen bike turned it in.

In June, the two men arrested in the theft were sentenced for their roles

From Jim Wasserman

Folsom police detectives are investigating a decayed body found by three boys riding bicycles early this afternoon near the intersection of East Natoma Street and Blue Ravine Road, police spokesman Sgt. Rick Hillman said.

Hillman said it's not known if it's a man or woman.

"The remains are decaying," he said.

"There are no signs of foul play at this time, but we're treating it as a suspicious death because of the location." Hillman said from the scene.

The brushy area is near a grocery store and several houses.

Hillman said police received a call at 1:30 p.m. alerting them to the discovery.

"Three young boys were riding bicycles and went into the bushes and found what they thought to be a body. "Their mom was nearby and called police."

Hillman said Folsom police have no cases of missing persons, but are checking reports elsewhere.

The Sacramento County Cororner's office is expected to take possession of the body, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Folsom Police Department Criminal Investigations Bureau hotline at (916) 980-1098.

From Ed Fletcher:

The Woodland Police Department is looking for help in finding the assailant in a reported stabbing of a 17-year-old boy.

At 9 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to Woodland Memorial Hospital to speak to a 17-year-old Woodland resident who was reportedly stabbed. The teen suffered a large cut to the left side of his chest.

The victim said he was walking with his girlfriend in the northeast corner of the city. According to the department news release, the exact location is unknown to the victim. The release made no mention whether the girlfriend was interviewed.

The victim said an unknown assailant came up to him from behind and stabbed him. The release offers no further description of the incident or the attacker.

The officers involved were not available Friday evening.

The release notes that they are continuing to investigate and ask that anyone with information about the incident to contact the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800.

Bee Staff

Citrus Heights police investigators are seeking two suspects in three armed robberies that occurred Thursday night within a span of about 22 minutes.

In the first robbery at 7:58 p.m., the victim was walking home near Birdcage Street and Greenback Lane when a subject pointed a handgun close to the victim's face and demanded the victim's property, according to a news release. The victim complied and was not injured. The suspect fled the release states.

The suspect is described as a white male, about 20 years old with brown hair, 6 feet to 6 feet 5 inches tall.

At 8:16 p.m., a robber pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the employees of a business at Madison Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash and without injuring anyone.

At 8:20 p.m., a robber who may be the same man who committed the 8:16 robbery, point a black semi-automatic handgun at the head of a victim in the 5600 block of Mariposa demanded his wallet or he would shoot him. The victim complied and was not injured.

The suspect is described as a black man, about 20 years old, 6 feet to 6 feet 3 inches tall with an athletic build. He was wearing a dark coat, brown pants, and a red knit cap.

Anyone with any information about these crimes is asked to call the Citrus Heights Police Department at (916) 727-5500.

Q: Is Robert Huston, who was convicted of attempted murder in 1994 of his girlfriend, still in prison?

A: Huston, now 53, is still in prison, records indicate.

On March 4, 1994 a Sacramento Superior Court judge gave him consecutive sentences, which means one sentence must be served before the other one begins, of life in prison and of 19 years four months in prison.

A Sacramento District Attorney's Office prosecutor said when Huston was sentenced that the earliest he would be eligible for parole would be 2010.

Huston was convicted of 13 felonies, including the attempted murder of his former girlfriend and the assault of her 13-year-old daughter. Police said the daughter's screams scared Huston off from what investigators believe was a plan to rape her.

A terror campaign culminated on April 27, 1993, when Huston shot his ex-girlfriend with a shotgun as she emerged from her car.

The blast nearly blew off her arm, which was reconstructed with tissue and bone from other parts of her body, leaving her disfigured and in pain. She also was wounded in the abdomen.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Tony Bizjak

The man charged with running over a security guard outside a midtown nightclub in September has been released from jail on $400,000 bail, pending a court hearing in January.

Michael Weisz, 21, is charged with homicide in the death of Leroy Fisher, a security guard and bouncer at several midtown night clubs.

Fisher was run down in the parking lot of the Badlands club at 20th and K streets on Sept. 23. Police said Weisz and a friend had been bounced from the club for unruly behavior, and contend Weisz purposely hit the 64-year-old Fisher before fleeing the parking lot.

Leroy Berry Fisher III, known as "Pops" among clubgoers for his fatherly ways, died in an area hospital less than an hour later.

Weisz was released from jail on Wednesday, according to the District Attorney's office.

From Bill Lindelof

Woodland police have arrested a woman who is suspected of hiding with a shotgun in the home of her estranged husband.

Holly Ford, 36, of Natomas was arrested on various charges including, suspicion of committing burglary and carrying a firearm to commit a felony.

Police said that they were called about 9 p.m. Thursday by someone who reported a woman with a gun in the 1000 block of Lexington Way in Woodland.

An off-duty state police investigator said that he and a retired sheriff's captain were holding a woman at gunpoint in front of the home.

Woodland officers who later pieced together what they believe happened allege that Holly Ford, who is estranged from her husband, Jared, broke into his home.

While hiding inside, police say that she loaded a shotgun and chambered one of the rounds.

When Jared Ford later arrived at the residence, one of the men who would later detain Holly Ford, told him not to enter the home because the off-duty officer had heard the house being broken into.

Moments later, police said, Holly Ford left the residence holding a shotgun. She was then detained by the off-duty investigator and retired sheriff's captain who disarmed her and called 911.

A Woodland police officer who took Holly Ford into custody found her in possession of methamphetamine, a press release said.

She was booked into Monroe Detention Center on $100,000 bail.

From Bill Lindelof:

The California Highway Patrol was to swear in 163 new officers this morning at the CHP academy in West Sacramento, including two dozen cadets from the Sacramento region.

The majority of the cadets will be assigned to duty in the Los Angeles region and Bay Area, the two divisions with the most officers.

"We are looking forward to getting these new officers on the street," said CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader. "Especially with the holidays approaching, these officers will help provide an additional presence on the roadways."

The patrol has a total of 6,402 officers statewide. The class that graduated Tuesday is the fourth contingent to complete the 27-week academy training this year.

Tuesday's class was composed of 156 men and seven women. Among the graduates: a cadet who was a child actor in the movie "Little Giants," a U.S. Olympic baseball pitcher and a Muy Thai kickboxer, the CHP says.

From Ed Fletcher:

A 52-year-old Georgetown man was arrested Thursday for what El Dorado County Sheriff's office suspects was an "ongoing sexual relationship" with a 14-year-old girl.

Stuart John Porter (left photo) was booked into the jail after being charged with "numerous charges relating to lewd acts with a child," officials said in a news release. He is being held pending bail of $65,000.

The molestation was first reported Nov. 13, officials said. The reporting party said the sexual relationship had continued over a period of months, officials said.

The nature of the relationship between the victim and the molester was not disclosed in the release.

From Ed Fletcher:

A Roseville couple is in custody for allegedly taking part in a drive-by shooting of a neighbor's home, Roseville Police officials report.

Authorities suspect Stephen Anthony Komara (left photo), 25, of Roseville, fired a shotgun blast Nov. 24 into the opened front door of a Duranta Street neighbor

His wife, Lindsy Ann Komara (right photo), 27, of Roseville is suspected of driving him to the victim's residence.

The resident who opened the door that evening was uninjured, authorities said.

The couple, according to the Roseville Police Department, was upset about an earlier argument with another resident of the home. They were arrested Wednesday evening without incident and are being held without bail in Placer County jail for attempted murder, assault with a firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and conspiracy, police officials said in a news release.

From Lodi News-Sentinel

A Lodi man whose car was hit by a train early Thanksgiving morning has been cited for hit-and-run, according to police.

Abel Rodriguez, 27, admitted that he drove his car through the train station parking lot, up a handicapped parking ramp and over a train platform, said Lodi Police Motor Officer Chris Kaufman.

The silver 2001 Honda Civic became stuck on the railroad tracks, and Rodriguez and his passenger fled when they heard a train coming around 1:20 a.m., Kaufman said.

A patrol officer heard the crash and screeching train brakes and then saw sparks as both the train and car moved toward him.

The train pushed the Honda northbound until the car broke loose and came to rest 542 feet from the starting point, Kaufman said.

The car's owner went to police later that day and admitted to driving the car, Kaufman said.

The car was totaled. The train did not appear to have any damage.

From Kim Minugh

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the woman who was struck and killed on the Capital City Freeway last month as 36-year-old Maricela Aldana-Babreras of Sacramento.

Early Nov. 7, Aldana-Babreras was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by a friend when the truck lost part of its load, which had not been properly secured, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver pulled over, and Aldana-Babreras tried to retrieve a box from a lane when she was struck by multiple cars, the CHP said.

CHP spokeswoman Officer Lizz Dutton told The Bee that the box was carrying sweatshirts that Aldana-Babreras and her friend might have been on their way to sell at a flea market.

It took several weeks for the coroner's office to positively identify her because they had trouble finding "biometric" evidence - such as dental records or fingerprints - to confirm her identify, said Assistant Coroner Kim Burson.

Burson said Aldana-Babreras does have family in the Sacramento area, but The Bee was unable to locate them.

Q: What happened to George Bouras who beat his girlfriend to death in 1981 near the Sacramento State University campus? - Anonymous, Sacramento.

A: Bouras, now 61, is still in prison, records indicate. On Nov. 21, 1988 he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for beating Nancy Gayle Nelson, 42, to death with a hammer.

It took six years to find Bouras and more than a year to bring him to trial, but a jury needed little more than half a day of deliberation to convict him of first-degree murder, The Bee reported.

Bouras, a native of Greece but a citizen of both Australia and the United States, assumed at least seven different identities during his lengthy flight from justice that took him to Greece and then Australia.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Diana Lambert

The Yolo County Superior Court has issued an arrest warrant in the Oct. 28 assault of River City High School Principal Stuart MacKay Oct. 28.

Police are seeking a 15-year-old Asian male for felony battery for allegedly punching the West Sacramento principal in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain serious head and neurological injuries, said Tod Sockman, police spokesman.

Sockman would not release the name of the teenager because he is a juvenile.

MacKay's injuries took place at the end of a half day of school, when students - usually divided into two lunch sessions - were served lunch at once, Sockman said. A food fight broke out inside the cafeteria and three separate physical altercations began outside, Sockman said.

MacKay was trying to break up one of the fights when he was attacked, reports said.

To read an earlier story, click here.

Bee Staff

Citrus Heights police investigators have arrested four suspects in two recent home-invasion robberies, one in which a resident was assaulted, according to a news release.

Arrested according to the news release and jail booking arrested were Cresa Landis, 26; Jacob Gartrell, 21; Larry Austin, 24, all on suspicion of five counts of robbery and one count of carjacking.

Also arrested was Fareed Burrell, 30, on suspicion of dealing in stolen property.

Property stolen in the two home invasions also was recovered, the release states.

The release gave this account of events:

The first home invasion was on Nov. 17 in the 6200 block of Burich Avenue at an apartment.

The victims reported two men and a woman entered their unlocked apartment without their permission.

One of the suspects assaulted one of the victims by punching him. The suspects then stole money, victim's identification, credit cards, and the victim's computer. They then fled.

The second home invasion was on Nov. 24 at an apartment in the 5800 block of Birdcage Street.

The victim heard a knock at his front door. The victim looked through the peep hole and saw a woman who looked familiar to him.

When he opened the door, two men and the woman forced their way into his apartment. One man held a knife to the throat of the victim.

The suspects stole the victim's computer, cellular phone, and money. The suspects also obtained the victim's car keys and stole his 1993 Honda Civic. The suspects then fled.

The stolen car was recovered later that day nearby in the 7700 block of Greenback Lane.

A combination of efforts from a team of patrol officers and detectives lead to the arrests and recovery of the property, the release states.

From Bill Lindelof:

Woodland police arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of assaulting another teen at Pioneer High School earlier this week.

Sgt. Anthony Cucchi said the incident began Monday with an argument between the two boys during physical education class. The argument escalated into a fight in the locker room after class, and the 15-year-old student allegedly knocked the 14-year-old boy unconscious, Cucchi said today.

The incident was not reported to police until the next day. The 15-year-old was arrested for suspicion of felony battery.

The 14-year-old was taken to the hospital for treatment and was then released.

By Stephen Magagnini, Ed Fletcher and Kim Minugh:

The search for a man suspected of shooting and killing two men Saturday night at a Quinceañera celebration in Galt ended Thursday evening with Alfredo Daniel Tafoya (left photo), 18, behind bars.

At 5:50 p.m., Tafoya, 18, was pulled from an apartment complex in the 4900 block of Mack Road in south Sacramento by Sacramento police officers. Agencies throughout the region, including the FBI, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and Galt Police Department, were involved in the hunt.

Officials said they just missed an opportunity earlier Thursday to apprehend Tafoya at a Rancho Cordova home by a matter of minutes.

As the manhunt wore on, Esperanza Chavez - who was standing behind her husband, Carlos Alonso Montes, 24, the moment he was shot to death - cried out for justice.

"It's not fair he's running around living his life," Chavez told The Bee hours before Tafoya's arrest while their 2-year-old son, Carlos Jr., cried " Mama, Mama" in the background.

"It's just heartbreaking - he was the best person in the world," Chavez said of her husband. "A fight broke out, he tried to separate the people, and somebody fired some shots and unfortunately hit my husband."

At least four or five people were involved in the fistfight inside the Estrellita Ballroom, according to video viewed by police, said Galt Police Lt. Kenneth Erickson.

Chavez said her husband, who drove up with the family from La Puente near Los Angeles, didn't know anybody involved in the 11 p.m. shooting.

Also slain was Efrain Zambrano, 20, who had just finished training to become a mechanic.

Both died as their cousin's Quinceañera party attended by 300 was winding down. A Quinceañera is a coming-of- age ceremony when a girl turns 15.

Montes was slain in front of his entire family, said his shaken sister, Mayra Guerrero. "My mom, his wife, his son and my three little brothers were all there."

Neither victim had any gang ties, relatives said.

Police agreed. "We haven't identified any gang connections," Erickson said.

Q: Did they ever catch the killer of Ogden Miles? He was a popular TV announcer in Sacramento in the 1950s. - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: Roy Victor Olson, then 23, was convicted of slaying Miles on Oct. 1, 1958 after Miles offered him a ride in the Antelope area. Olson stabbed Miles repeatedly with a large kitchen knife.

Olson was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to five year to life in prison.

Olson also was convicted of stabbing to death a Seattle restaurant worker on June 20, 1958. Sometime in the 1970s, Olson apparently was paroled from California and began serving a 75-year sentence in Washington state.

Records indicate that he was paroled from Washington in the mid-1990s and died in 2001.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

Bee Staff

The Galt Police Department is asking the public's help in finding a suspect in the shooting deaths of two men Saturday night at a15-year-old girl's quinceanera.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 18-year-old Alfredo Daniel Tafoya on suspicion of two counts of murder, police said. Tafoya should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about this crime or Tafoya's whereabouts is asked to call Galt police at (209) 366-7000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 393-8477.

An earlier report in The Bee gave this account of the homicides:

Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, Galt police received calls of shots fired at the Estrellita Ballroom on downtown's C Street. Officers arrived to find two victims -- Carlos Alonso Montes, 24, of La Puente and Efrain Zambrano, 20, of the Galt area -- on the ballroom floor. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

The ballroom had been rented by a family celebrating a quinceanera, a traditional 15th birthday party and rite of passage for Latina girls.

The suspect was not invited, but was eventually let in by people screening partygoers at the door, police said.

After the suspect arrived, police allege a fistfight broke out between him and the victims. The suspect eventually pulled out a gun and fired on the men before leaving, police said.

From Kim Minugh

The Roseville Police Department today thanked the Sacramento Sheriff's Department and other agencies for capturing a bank robbery suspect on Wednesday.

The suspect was taken into custody after a roughly three-hour standoff with officers from three law enforcement agencies at the Tradewinds Motel on Auburn Boulevard according to authorities.

The 52-year-old man had been barricaded in his room since about 12:30 p.m. Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran identified the suspect as Steven Kenneth Holmes (see photo) of Sacramento.

Curran said the incident began with a bank robbery on Douglas Boulevard in Roseville shortly after 10 a.m.

A man entered the bank and produced a note demanding money. No weapon was seen, Curran said.

When he left the bank, he was seen getting into the driver's seat of a cab. Roseville detectives contacted the cab company, who identified one of their drivers that fit the description provided by witnesses, Curran said.

Authorities traced the suspect to the Tradewinds Motel. As detectives were in the motel's office shortly after noon, they saw the suspect come out of a room, Curran said. They tried to make contact with the suspect, who ran back into his room and barricaded himself inside.

Roseville police contacted the Sheriff's Department for assistance, which provided deputies, K9 officers, the helicopter (in the air today for required training) and the SWAT team. Roseville police and officers from the Twin Rivers Unified School District police force also are on scene.

From Bee staff:

A woman reported missing Wednesday from a Rio Linda care home has been returned to her residence, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reports.

Roberta Ann Clooney, 69, left her care home at 11:30 a.m. in the 500 block of K Street in Rio Linda and was later found by Sacramento Police officers, Sheriff's Department officials report in a news release.

Sheriff's officials said Clooney was considered an at-risk missing person because she has been diagnosed with dementia and schizophrenia.

From Cathy Locke:

One man was arrested and another cited Monday night after a Rocklin Police officer saw two people spraying graffiti onto a brick wall.

Officer Jeff Kolaskey was on patrol about 8:45 p.m. in a darkened alley behind a large commercial building at 6681 Stanford Ranch Road. When the two men spotted the officer, they ran off, leaving behind cans of spray paint, according to a Police Department news release. Kolaskey chased one of the men and caught him a short distance from the building.

The man had cans of spray paint, large marking pens and a "head" lamp, according to the release. The other man was identified a few hours later following an investigation by officers.

Brandon Russell Arellano, 18, of Rocklin was arrested and booked into Placer County Jail on suspicion of vandalism, resisting a peace officer in the performance of his duty and conspiracy. He has been released on $4,000 bail.

Kristopher Robert Hart, 21, also of Rocklin was cited for the same offenses and will appear in court later.

The unfinished "tags" were about 5 feet-by-5 feet in size, police said.

From Cathy Locke:

Placer County Sheriff's officials have arrested a second suspect in connection with the Sept. 14 bludgeoning death of Rudy Ramos in Loomis.

Anthony Michael Cordero (left photo), 23, of south Sacramento was arrested late Monday after information was developed indicating he was involved in Ramos' death, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. Cordero was booked into Placer County Jail on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail. He is to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Earlier Monday, Placer County detectives, with the help of the Sacramento Police Department, arrested Kenneth Lewis Massey Jr., 22, also of south Sacramento, in connection with the homicide. He is being held without bail in Sacramento County Jail.

Placer County Sheriff's officials have declined to release information about the motive for the crime, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ramos was found in his home in the 3700 block of Berg Lane by a friend who stopped by to check on him because Ramos had not answered the phone.

From Kim Minugh:

In the final chapter of the emotional drama that was Norik Abramyan's killing, a Sacramento Superior Court judge today sentenced the man's son to life in prison for arranging and paying for the murder in 2006.

The sentence, handed down by Judge James L. Long, allows 22-year-old Vardan Abramyan (photo right taken at a 2006 court appearance) no possibility for parole.

Other than denying motions for a new trial by the defense, Long offered no comments about the case in the brief sentencing. No victim impact statements were read, and Abramyan made no statement. His sisters wept quietly in the audience.

In August, a jury convicted Abramyan of first-degree murder with special circumstances that he planned his father's murder for financial gain and that he lay in wait. A life sentence without possibility for parole was expected because of the special circumstances.

Abramyan testified that he felt he had to have his father killed or his father might kill him, his mother or his sisters. He described his father as abusive - physically, financially and psychology - and said his family had been terrorized by his father for many years.

He paid $4,000 to Isaiah Dupree Barron to arrange the murder, and Barron in turn paid $500 each to Arthur James Battle and Jason Dillingham to carry it out. The men shot the 45-year-old man on July 30, 2006 in the parking lot of the Hollywood Video on Watt Avenue.

The younger Abramyan brought his father to the video store under the guise of renting a movie. While in the bathroom, he called the hired guns and told them of his father's whereabouts. He testified later that he could not bear to watch the shooting.

Baron, Battle and Dillingham all have been sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the murder plot.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are looking for the suspect in the killing of a young man who died last week after being taken off medical life support.

About 4 a.m. Oct. 31, deputies responding to reports of a shooting in the Fruitridge neighborhood found Carlos Cervantes Jr., 23, on the ground outside a home suffering from a single gunshot wound to his upper body. Cervantes was taken to the hospital where medical staff cared for him until he was taken off life-support Friday and died.

Investigators have learned that on Oct. 31 Cervantes attending a party at the home on the 5900 block of Clover Manor Way with several family members and friends. Detectives say they believe he became involved in an "altercation" with an uninvited party goer, a sheriffs department press release states.

During the dispute, the suspect pulled a handgun, shot Cervantes and then fled. No detailed description is available.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

From Kim Minugh

Two alleged gang members are in custody today in connection with last month's shooting death of a 16-year-old boy in south Sacramento, according to authorities.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives arrested Jose Gutierrez, 21, and Juan "Little Danger" Gonzalez, 20, and booked them into the Sacramento County Main Jail this morning on suspicion of murder, according to jail booking records. They are being held without bail.

They are accused of gunning down Francisco Medina-Tomas the night of Nov. 21 as the 16-year-old waited for a friend in the Bowling Green Village apartment complex on 49th Avenue, according to sheriff's homicide Sgt. Drew Wyant.

Gutierrez and Gonzalez are validated members of the Sureno gang, Wyant said, and detectives allege the killing was gang-motivated. Medina-Tomas was a validated member of the Varrio Gardens subset of the Norteno gang, Wyant said.

The two men face charges of murder, conspiracy and participating in a criminal street gang, according to booking records. They are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

To read a previous story about the victim, click here.

From Bill Lindelof:

Investigators say excessive speed might have caused a motorcycle crash Tuesday night in Folsom that killed a 24-year-old Orangevale man.

Sacramento County coroner's deputies today identified the victim as Lawrence Joseph Schumacher.

Folsom polce say their investigation so far shows Schumacher might have been speeding on his black 2003 Kawasaki Super Sport RS motorcycle along Glenn Drive west of Sibley Street when the bike left the road and struck a tree.

A motorist came upon the accident at 7:08 p.m., called 911 and performed CPR until emergency personnel arrived, Folsom police Sgt. Rick Hillman said, but despite those efforts, Schumacher died at the scene.

Police don't know of any witnesses to the accident and are asking anyone with information to call the investigators at (916) 351-3553.

From Hudson Sangree:

A man armed with a knife robbed the 76 gas station at 2200 Fair Oaks Blvd., according to Sacramento police.

At 10:36 p.m., the man fled southbound toward a Safeway supermarket.

He is described as a white male in his 20s, 6 feet tall weighing 180 pounds, wearing a brown beanie, a brown hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Police are still searching for him.

From Hudson Sangree:

Sacramento police apprehended two armed men who they say robbed a Blockbuster video store in the 4600 block of Natomas Boulevard.

The call came in at 10:42 p.m., a police dispatcher said.

The suspects were two men, armed with handguns, wearing masks and dark clothing.

They fled in a gold Lexus, and a witness followed them to Interstate 5 and Arena Boulevard, the dispatcher said.

Officers spotted the suspects' car on the freeway and followed them without a chase.

Multiple police units pulled over the suspects on southbound I-5 just before Florin Road, where they were taken into custody, the dispatcher said.

From Stephen Magagnini:

Police are asking for help in finding the hit-and-run driver who killed Jonathan Vazquez, a joyful, popular 4-year-old who loved life.

Jonathan, a preschooler at Smythe Academy in north Sacramento, was riding his scooter to school Monday morning followed by his grandmother and 7-year-old brother, when a male driver exiting the parking lot struck him and dragged him several feet.

The suspect - described as a dark-skinned male in his 40s - fled south on Northgate Boulevard in a dark red or burgundy 1995-1997 Nissan Maxima with a black-tinted rear window, police said. Police officials released a surveillance video of the suspected vehicle south of the accident location (see below).

"We don't know if he was a parent or simply turning around in the parking lot," said Sacramento Police spokesman Konrad Von Schoech.

During a press conference at Sacramento's Mexican consulate, Von Schoech urged any witnesses to the incident to come forward without fear of having their immigration status questioned.

From Kim Minugh:

The man suspected of fatally shooting his former girlfriend's husband in Elk Grove four years ago has been arrested in another country and is awaiting extradition, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Nasir Fazel, who turned 54 on Tuesday, has been on the lam four years, since he allegedly shot 60-year-old Mohammad Nasim Samimi to death on Samimi's front lawn on Nov. 10, 2005, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Steve Dupre, a spokesman for the Sacramento office of the FBI, confirmed Fazel is in custody in another country, though he declined to say which one, or what agency arrested him. Dupre said the FBI is in the process of trying to get Fazel, who was a resident of Fremont at the time of the homicide, back to the United States.

"It's not an easy process," he said.

After the shooting, sheriff's officials said Fazel, Samimi and Samimi's wife had known each other for about 20 years, beginning in Afghanistan. Fazel and Samimi's wife were romantically involved at one point, but the relationship had ended and there had been conflict between the couple and Fazel since.

Officials said Samimi and his wife had planned to file for a restraining order against Fazel the afternoon of Samimi's death, but Fazel showed up at the couple's home on Bertolani Circle before that could happen.

The men argued before Fazel allegedly shot Samimi, officials said.

Upon returning to Sacramento, Fazel faces one charge of murder, according to Superior Court records.

From Kim Minugh:

A 22-year-old man is in custody in connection with the fatal beating of a Loomis man earlier this year, according to authorities.

Sacramento police officers arrested Kenneth Lewis Massey Jr. (left photo) at his south Sacramento home this morning on a warrant issued out of Placer County. Sheriff's detectives there allege Massey bludgeoned 34-year-old Rudy Ramos to death in Ramos' Loomis home on Sept. 14, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Ausnow.

Massey was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he is being held without bail, according to jail booking records.

Ausnow said Massey knew Ramos and is an "associate" of the Ramos family. However, he declined to release information about the motive for the crime or any further information about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

Massey has no criminal history in Sacramento County, according to Superior Court records.

Ramos was found in his home in the 3700 block of Berg Lane by a friend who came by to check on him after Ramos had not answered his telephone.

From Ed Fletcher:

A Roseville woman is in critical condition after being struck by a bus Tuesday afternoon at Vernon and South Grant streets, near Roseville City Hall.

The woman, who is her 80s, was a pedestrian in the intersection about 1:50 p.m. when an Amtrak bus struck her and crushed her lower leg, officials said.

She was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

Roseville Police officials said they do not know if she was crossing with a light or against it.

By Andy Furillo

A driver under the influence of methamphetamine and alcohol who ran a red light and killed an 87-year-old woman last year was sentenced today to seven years and eight months in state prison.

Clifton Dale Swick, 33, pleaded no contest Oct. 27 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the Nov. 19, 2008, death of Mildred Coleman. The victim was a passenger in a car that was struck by Swick's vehicle at the intersection of Macready Avenue and Old Placerville Road near Mather Field.

Swick also pleaded no contest to a separate count of driving under the influence and causing an injury. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Laurie M. Earl imposed the term on Swick.

"Those who commit DUIs that result in death or serious injuries in Sacramento County should expect to be aggressively prosecuted and ultimatley held accountable for their actions," Deputy District Attorney Allison Dunham said in a press release.

Dunham is one of two prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office who work exclusive on DUI death and injury cases. The team is funded by California Office of Traffic Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants.

From Bill Lindelof:

The Yolo County Coroner's Office has identified a Dixon man as the motorist killed Monday on Interstate 80 in Davis.

Lawrence James Heynen, 46, was driving west on I-80 near Mace Boulevard about 8:20 a.m. when his car went off the road and struck a tree. Heynen died at the scene.

It is unclear why Heynen's vehicle left the roadway, CHP Officer Ken Walter said, and no witnesses reported that he was cut off by another vehicle.

From Bill Lindelof:

The father of Jonathan Vasquez, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his scooter to school Monday in North Sacramento, said his family is mourning and trying to make funeral arrangements.

Jonathan Vasquez, 4, died at UC Davis Medical Center after he was hit near Smythe Acaemy charter school on Northgate Boulevard. Police continue to search for a suspect who fled after hitting and dragging Jonathan with sedan.

"My boy was very happy," said Sergio Vasquez, 29, a house painter. In halting English, the grieving Vasquez said Jonathan loved going to school.

"Oh, sure," he said. "We are very sad."

Vasquez said that he might take his son's body to Mexico for burial. The boy's mother is in Mexico.

"I don't know what we will do right now," said Vasquez. "We don't have the money right now. If you can help me, it is very important."

Vasquez aksed that anyone who can offer assistance call him at (916) 927-5985.

Mexican Consul General Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez said the consulate has established the Vasquez Family Fund - Wells Fargo Account Number 7143473283 - to assist with funeral arrangements here. For more information call 916-329-3533.

From Bill Lindelof:

A Sacramento woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to bank robbery and lying to FBI agents.

Yulila Stepanisko, 20, entered her plea Monday before U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez said Stepanisko gave a note demanding money to a teller at the Washington Mutual Bank, 5801 Sunrise Blvd., in Citrus Heights. She fled the bank on foot with $1,740.

Stepanisko turned herself in later that day and falsely told Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that two Hispanic men had forced her to hold up the bank. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 8 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The Sacramento Police Department is seeking Michael McCune (left photo), whose bail has been set at $1 million, on a felony warrant for suspicion of burglary with prior offenses, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

McCune is described as age 54, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last known to live in the 1600 block of Roanoke Avenue in the Del Paso Heights area of Sacramento.

Anyone with information about McCune 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.