Sacto 9-1-1

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are continuing their search today for two vehicles associated with the discovery of man's body after a fire in an Arden-Arcade apartment Sunday.

They also seek to narrow the time frame for when 60-year-old Stephen Sieck was killed, authorities said.

Sieck was found dead Sunday afternoon after firefighters arrived to extinguish a blaze at his Shelby Ranch Road apartment. Authorities initially described his death as suspicious but later classified it as a homicide.

A man and woman were taken into custody after gunshots were fired during a police pursuit this morning in Sacramento County.

The incident began about 8:10 a.m. in the Arden Arcade area when police tried to pull over the driver of a suspected stolen pickup.

Officers followed the suspects to a neighborhood near Howe Avenue and Highway 50 where gunshots rang out, although a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said that it was unclear if officers fired or if the suspects in the pickup fired a weapon. The spokeswoman also said the pickup came dangerously close to ramming officers.

Officers then chased the suspect vehicle to the South area. Near French and Gerber roads, the suspects in the pickup ran from officers.

Eventually, after nearly two hours of searching, both a man and a woman were taken into custody. Their names were not immediately available.

Photo caption:Sheriff's deputies and a K9 dog search fort suspects at the Cedarwood mobile home park on Gerber Road in Sacramento Tuesday morning. Photo by Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

Sacramento police K-9 Bodie is still in stable but critical condition after being shot Friday in a confrontation with an auto theft suspect, officials said Saturday.

The suspect was shot and killed by the officer handling Bodie after the dog was shot.

The suspect has not been identified, nor has a female arrested in connection with the car theft.

Bodie received another transfusion overnight. He is being treated by the Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center in Rancho Cordova.

Bodie, the Sacramento Police Dog that was shot by a suspect yesterday, rests at the VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center in Rancho Cordova. His condition has been upgraded from critical to serious and stable. May 19, 2012. Sacramento Bee/Autumn Cruz

A free community safety event in Rancho Cordova on Saturday will bring together first responders and others.
The "Proven Insurance Services Community Safety Saturday" occurs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Proven Insurance headquarters, 2721 Citrus Road. Among the activities scheduled at the event sponsored by Capital Insurance Group:
- KlassKids Foundation will provide digital photo ID and fingerprint kits for children.
- The California Highway Patrol will operate a child safety/booster seat inspection station.
- Sacramento Police Department volunteers will provide safety information.
- Sacramento Metro Fire Department will bring along a fire engine.
- The California Department of Boating and Waterways will be encouraging safe boating practices with educational materials and by raffling off 30 life jackets.
- The American Red Cross will provide information on flood and earthquake preparedness and other information.
A raffle will be conducted at the end of the event with prizes such as a solar flashlight, emergency radio and a roadside emergency kit. In addition, four grand prize winners will be chosen to receive a Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch.

Cameras on the cars of Sacramento County probation officers have snagged another stolen vehicle - this time a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

Cameras on two probation department cars automatically focus on license plates of cars and trucks as officers go about their regular duties on the streets of Sacramento County. More than 3,000 license plates can be scanned in an hour.

Every so often they get a hit, matching a vehicle with cars and trucks on a statewide list of stolen vehicles. Since April 2010, the department has found 193 stolen vehicles using the plate-matching technology.

Sacramento County is forming a volunteer parks ranger program to help fill the enforcement gap caused by budget cutbacks to staff.

Once formed, the reserve rangers would not be paid but would perform similar duties as salaried rangers.

A county staff report notes that the number of paid rangers has been reduced from 25 to 14 positions. At the same time, the public has continued to call upon rangers for safety and enforcement needs.

In a news conference this afternoon, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones formally introduced his new anti-gang "Impact Division," and announced preliminary results from the team's efforts.

Since the division began its work in January, gang detectives assigned to the division have seized more than 100 guns, some of which are pictured at left, and arrested nearly 125 suspects, Jones said.

In addition, deputies have seized 4.3 pounds of cocaine, 153 pounds of marijuana, 29 grams of heroin and almost a pound of methamphetamines, Jones said.

"Can I say we've beaten the gang problem? No," said Jones, flanked by commanders from partnering agencies. "We have a lot of work to do."

But Jones said he has high expectations for the division and believes it is off to a strong start.

"Hopefully it gives people optimism we are taking the youth violence problem seriously," Jones said.

Last fall, the Sheriff's Department was awarded a $11.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Office. The money was to fund a collaborative anti-gang approach that Jones said he began crafting after he took office in 2010.

The division is made up of 31 sheriff's employees and 10 officers from outside agencies. Those partnering with the Sheriff's Department are: Police departments from Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Galt; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Special Service Unit; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and homeland security.

Jones also announced a new tipline for information about gang-related activity. The tipline is also designed for youths who want help getting out of the gang life, Jones said. That number is (855) 2NO-GANG, or (855) 266-4264.

"It's never too late to turn around," Jones said.

To those who have no interest in changing their habits, Jones had a message: "We will find you, we will identify you, and we will arrest you."

The division has a three-pronged approach: gang suppression, intelligence and youth outreach. To read more about the Impact division, go here.

Photos show some of the guns seized by members of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Impact Division. Photo by Bee staff writer Kim Minugh.

A Rancho Cordova woman has died from injuries suffered in a crash on Highway 99 in South Sacramento on Saturday night.

The California Highway Patrol said that Gloria Woods, 41, was observed driving recklessly on southbound Highway 99 about 8 p.m. She apparently turned around and headed northbound, according to a CHP spokesman.

Once near the Turnbridge Pedestrian Crossing, between Florin Road and 47th Avenue, she lost control of her vehicle at a high rate of speed. Her car hit the center median and then careened across the northbound lanes, where the vehicle hit a guardrail, rolled over and then crashed through the soundwall.

She was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead on Monday.

Saturation patrols on surface streets and Sacramento freeways are scheduled for Cinco de Mayo.

The deploying of saturation patrols to cut down on drunk driving begins at 7 p.m. Saturday. Friends gather to celebrate the Mexican holiday with barbecues, beer and margaritas, but be careful after the party ends, warned law enforcement.

"Everyone, including hosts, local bars and restaurants must be sure to promote designated sober drivers in advance, before the festivities begin," said Citrus Heights Police Chief Chris Boyd.

The greatest number of DUI deaths and injuries occur late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, according to a press release from the police department.

A woman was taken into custody for allegedly cutting her brother with an electric fan.

A Sacramento County Sheriff's Department watch summary said about 6:40 p.m. Thursday police were called to Terra Loma Drive in Rancho Cordova.

When authorities arrived, they discovered that Tabitha Dean, 43, and her 41-year old brother had both been drinking when an argument began.

Some time during the argument, Dean allegedly struck her brother on his legs with a running electric fan, producing a large laceration, according to the watch summary.

She was taken into custody but has since been released from Sacramento County Jail.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office has released the name of a teenager shot to death last night in Rancho Cordova.

Jorden Benedict, 19, of Rancho Cordova was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday night.

Benedict was shot about 9 p.m. Tuesday not far from W.E. Mitchell Middle School in Rancho Cordova. Police found him in the street next to the sidewalk on Campana Way east of Biscay Way, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos, who also is a spokesman for Rancho Cordova police.

Benedict had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper body, Ramos said.

Few details about the shooting were available today. Witnesses did report seeing a dark-colored vehicle drive away from the area of the shooting, Ramos said, though it was not clear how many people were in the car or who they were.

Detectives do not know the motive for the shooting, Ramos said.

Efforts by The Bee to reach Benedict's family today have not been successful.

Benedict was on probation after pleading no contest in 2010 to a second-degree robbery charge, a felony offense for which he was sentenced to a year in jail, according to Sacramento Superior Court records online. A felony assault with a deadly weapon charge associated with that case was dismissed, records show.

At that time, a misdemeanor petty theft charge also was dismissed, according to the online records.

This post was updated by Bee staff writer Kim Minugh.

An early morning fire at a vacant Rancho Cordova motel was probably caused by a homeless person, according to investigators.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters responded to the motel at 10271 Folsom Boulevard about 5:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, four rooms were burning.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze at the motel, the scene of other fires since the First Value Inn closed nearly two years ago.

Arson investigators determined the fire began in a downstairs room on the back side of the complex. A squatter staying in the room likely caused the fire, according to a fire district press release.

A motorcycle collided with an SUV at a Rancho Cordova intersection Friday, killing the motorcyclist, according to a spokesman for the Sacramento Sheriff and Rancho Cordova police.

The SUV driver appears to have been legally traveling through a green light at the intersection of Bradshaw and Gore roads at 7 p.m. when it was hit by the motorcycle, going north through the intersection.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office have identified the victim as Christopher Shurrum, 32, of Sacramento.

The crash is under investigation by Rancho Cordova police.

Homicide detectives have taken over the lead role in the investigation of missing 22-month-old Dwight Stallings.

However, Sacramento County sheriff's officials stressed that giving homicide detectives command of the search for the little Dwight, does not mean that it is a death investigation.

"Due to the unusual circumstances present in this case, the decision was made that homicide detectives would be better equipped to handle the investigation from this point forward," said a press release this morning from the department.

First order of business for homicide is a morning meeting with volunteers in the south area. The volunteers will help detectives hand out and post flyers with Dwight's picture and information about the case.

A Sacramento man is headed to prison for of making counterfeit checks.

U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. today sentenced Oliver A. Chapman III, 44, to four years and five months in prison for making and possessing counterfeit, forged securities.

According to court documents, law enforcement agents found Chapman in a Rancho Cordova motel room where he was using a laptop computer and stolen financial information to create fraudulent checks. Agents found $123,857.89 in completed checks that were counterfeit, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

The case resulted from an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Grant Line Road in rural eastern Sacramento County will remain blocked until at least early afternoon after a big rig broke off a power pole.

The accident happened about 4:30 a.m. when a big rig driver failed to negotiate a curve when he was traveling northbound on Grant Line Road south of White Rock Road. The truck hit a power pole and lines started to arc.

The lines lowered and blocked Grant Line Road. The driver was not injured.

It is estimated that Grant Line will remain closed until at least 2 or 3 p.m., according to a Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Alternate routes are Douglas Road, White Rock Road or Sunrise Boulevard, according to California Highway Patrol officer Rich Wetzel.

A rural stretch of road often used by commuters between Folsom and Rancho Cordova is blocked this morning after a big rig sheared off a power pole.

The accident happened about 4:30 a.m. when a big rig driver failed to negotiate a curve when he was traveling northbound on Grant Line Road south of White Rock Road. The trailer hit a power pole and lines started to arc.

The lines lowered and were still blocking Grant Line Road two hours later. The driver was not injured.

No estimate was available for when the road would re-open. Alternate routes are Douglas Road, White Rock Road or Sunrise Boulevard, according to California Highway Patrol officer Rich Wetzel.

PHOTO CAPTION: A SMUD worker evaluates the situation before a power pole can be lifted from atop a big rig. Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee

Police in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova will be on the lookout for impaired and unlicensed drivers Friday night.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint at Florin Road and 24th Street beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing for five to seven hours. Motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will be looking for alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers. Officers also will check to make sure all drivers have a valid driver's license.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department Traffic Unit will conduct a checkpoint at an undisclosed location within the Rancho Cordova city limits from 7 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday. Authorities warn that motorists caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension and insurance cost increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

A St. Patrick's Day and night crackdown on drunken driving in Sacramento County resulted in nearly a dozen DUI arrests.

Sacramento's DUI Task Force was made up of officers from Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Twin Rivers and Rancho Cordova police department. The task force's next enforcement operation is planned for Cinco de Mayo.

Results of the St. Patrick's Day saturation patrols:

DUI arrests: 11

Citations: 22

Non-DUI-related arrests: 1

Vehicles towed: 6

Sacramento County Sheriff's department officials say the body found in a Rosemont park this morning is that of a juvenile female.

A sheriff's spokesman said the victim was found about 6:30 a.m. today at Rosemont Community Park, near Mayhew Road and Kiefer Boulevard.

Her body was found in a dugout area of a baseball field. The girl had suffered trauma to her body but detectives have not labeled her death as a homicide.

Detectives are working to identify the girl, whose body was found by a woman walking in the park, which is adjacent to Albert Einstein Middle School. Sheriff's deputies have enlisted the help of the school's resource officer, a Sacramento police officer, to help in identification.

Deputies will be checking attendance records to see who did not show up for school today.

"We don't know for sure if she is a student there but we are checking schools in the area and cross-referencing missing person reports," said sheriff's department spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos. "Hopefully we will have her ID'd fairly quickly."

A teenage boy who failed to return home from school Monday afternoon is now back with his family.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said early this morning that Edward "Eddie" Lewis 16, has returned home. He was unharmed.

The teen had last been seen at Rosemont High School in the 9500 block of Kiefer Boulevard about 2:45 p.m. Monday. Sheriff's officials said he was considered to be at risk due to a diminished mental capacity.

A 42-year-old Rancho Cordova man was arrested Friday evening after he led authorities on a pursuit while chasing a social worker who had taken his children into protective custody, according to authorities.

The pursuit came two days after Joseph Angel Rodriguez's first arrest this week. On Wednesday afternoon, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested Rodriguez, pictured at left, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly hit his 19-year-old son with a baseball bat during an argument, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

On Friday, a Child Protective Services case worker went to Rodriguez's home on Mills Acres Circle in Rancho Cordova to take his other children into protective custody, based on Wednesday's incident, Ramos said. Deputies accompanied the CPS worker, as is standard for such calls.

Nobody was inside the home, but while deputies and the case worker were there, four of Rodriguez's children walked up, Ramos said. As the case worker was putting the kids in a car, Rodriguez drove up, left his car running in the street and began arguing with authorities, Ramos said.

As the case worker left, Rodriguez ran to his car and sped after the case worker's car. Deputies followed suit, Ramos said.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department and Police Activities League are seeking bicycle donations for a bike rodeo.

The event is scheduled April 28 as part of Kids Day in the Park.

Bike rodeo participants will learn about bicycle safety and maintenance, and how to fit bike helmets. They also will have an opportunity to run through a bike safety course. Afterward, each youngster will be entered in to a chance to win a free bicycle and helmet.

A group that provides train rides to boys and girls has had a vintage tractor stolen that was essential to keeping their Rancho Cordova excursion railroad in good running order.

The Sacramento Valley Live Steamers, a nonprofit organization runs a scale-model steam train in Hagan Community Park, has been delighting children since the early 1970s with train rides through the trees with glimpses of American River.

The railroad line has endured vandalism and the theft of tools and track before, but never something like what happened last week when somebody took their vintage tractor.

A week ago, somebody broke into a locked shipping container and took the group's red-orange 1951 Ferguson farm tractor with a front loader. The tractor is used for a variety of tasks, including carrying gravel ballast that is used under the tracks.

The group is in the process of replacing track. That's when the sturdy workhorse comes in handy.

But now it is gone, apparently driven away down the bike trail.

"I'm told that the transmission is worth $1,000 on its own," said Bill Yoder, president of the Live Steamers. "As heavy as that thing is, they will probably chop it up and sell it for scrap."

Yoder wanted help in making the public aware of the theft in hope that somebody spots the hard-to-hide tractor. The group has offered a $1,000 reward for its return in good condition.

Any information about the stolen tractor should be provided to Rancho Cordova Police, Yoder said.

Starting in March, the group plans to start excursion runs again. Yoder will use his small tractor to move gravel.

PHOTO CAPTION: The stolen vintage tractor. Sacramento Valley Live Steamers

A man who allegedly accosted people outside the home of a former juvenile dependency court referee arrested earlier this week was taken into custody this morning after he was observed by Sacramento police officers waiting to serve a search warrant.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said a preliminary investigation indicates the John Parlante (pictured), 46, may have been the recipient of an unfavorable decision in Referee Daniel Madden Horton's court sometime in the past few years.

Horton was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of trying to entice underage girls to strip for an adult magazine. A court spokeswoman said he resigned from his court referee job last weekend.

Two reputed street gang members were ordered today to stand trial for murder in last year's shooting deaths of three bicyclists in Rancho Cordova.

Saul Isidro-Aucencio, 25, and Francisco Ignacio Delgado, 21, were held over by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael A. Savage for the Feb. 13, 2011, killings of Robert Corpos, 20, Richard Ward, 16, and Jamir Miller, 15.

The judge scheduled their trial for April 10.

A man who murdered a woman in Rancho Cordova during a sexual assault last year was sentenced today to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Demetrius Shaffer, 33, also was sentenced to seven additional 15-to-life terms by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard for another sexual attack on a second female victim.

"Mr. Shaffer has lived a predatory, perverted life," Gilliard said from the bench in sentencing Shaffer. "For that, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars."

Jurors last month convicted Shaffer for the sex killing of Rajneet Kor Singh, 37 (pictured). According to testimony at trial, he had met up with her in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2011, and the two of them then went to the Rancho's Club Casino on Folsom Boulevard.

Singh's body was discovered the same day about a block from the casino.

Sacramento police today arrested a county juvenile dependency court referee on suspicion of trying to get two women he thought were underage girls to strip for an adult magazine.

Sacramento Juvenile Dependency Court Referee Daniel Madden Horton, 47, was booked into the downtown jail at 5:05 p.m. today. No charges had been filed on him as of today, but a criminal complaint is likely to be filed as soon as Thursday, according to documents obtained by The Bee.

Horton was in the process of being booked late this afternoon and was unavailable for comment. District Attorney's officials also declined comment. He has resigned from his job in the Juvenile Dependency Court, according to courts spokeswoman Ginger Sylvester.

In a case summary Sacramento police presented to the District Attorney's Office, detectives are asking prosecutors to charge Horton on three misdemeanor counts.

An observant resident is credited with alerting Rancho Cordova police to suspicious activity that led to the arrest two juveniles and the recovery of stolen property.

Police were dispatched to the area of Cregan Court and Pericles Drive shortly after 1 p.m. Monday after a citizen reported seeing to males enter a residence through the back yard and later leave through the garage. The caller reported that the two were pulling a wagon with a safe inside as they left the area.

As officers responded, a burglary alarm call also was pending for a residence on Pericles Drive. On of the officers called the homeowner and verified that a safe was inside the residence, according to a Police Department news release.

Sacramento Sheriff's deputies returned a pair of toddlers to their mother after they were found wandering in Rancho Cordova.

The children were found by an unidentified woman around 9 a.m. in the 2600 block of Capitales Drive.

They were clad only in diapers and appeared to be 2-year-old twins.

Deputies were directed to El Parque Circle, after a woman who recognized the children and told officials the parents lived there.

The children were reunited with their mother, but Sheriff's officials have asked Child Protective Services to evaluate the home situation.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the three people killed early this morning in a yead-on collision with a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on Highway 50 near Gold River.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a man identified as Oliverio Lopez, 41, died inside a Pontiac SUV that was struck about 12:45 a.m. by a Honda CRV that was eastbound on westbound Highway 50. Two women in the rear seat of the SUV, Francisca Temblador Raymundo, 58, of Mexico, and Margarita Temblador de Lopez, 53, of Sacramento, were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

The driver of the SUV, Gustavo Sandoval-Gonzalez, 31, of Sacramento and a rear-seat passenger, Pedro Cornejo, 59, also of Sacramento, were reported in critical condition at area hospitals late this afternoon.

Rancho Cordova has selected its new police chief from a trio of Sacramento County Sheriff's Department captains.

The city has chosen Rosanne Richeal to be its top cop. Richeal, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, was the first woman to command the Sacramento County Jail, the first female motorcycle officer for the sheriff's department and also served as a K-9 officer, according to a city press release.

She once served as Assistant Police Chief for the Rancho Cordova Police Department. Prior to entering law enforcement, she worked as an emergency medical technician.

An arraignment has been scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on the suspect who was arrested in the Monday morning shooting death of Cordova Recreation and Park District superintendent Steve Ebert.

The suspect, Dupree Pierre Barber, 47, will appear in Sacramento Superior Court in front of Judge Lawrence G. Brown.

No complaint had been filed as of late this morning, according to the court system's online records.

A 47-year-old man arrested today in Monday's shooting death of a Rancho Cordova parks superintendent has been identified as Dupree Barber (pictured), a former district employee.

Steve Ebert, 59, superintendent of the Cordova Recreation and Park District, was fatally shot as he arrived for work at the district office in Hagan Community Park early Monday.

Dupree was arrested this morning on suspicion of murder after he flagged down a police officer in West Sacramento and said that police in Rancho Cordova were looking for him, according to Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

A man was found shot to death this morning, slumped over in the driver's seat of his still-idling car in a Rancho Cordova park.

The man's body was found in the car in Hagan Community Park about 6 a.m. by a citizen who noticed the car stopped with its lights on partially in the roadway that winds through the park.

The citizen got out of his vehicle and noticed numerous bullet holes in the driver's side door and the side window shattered.

A Sacramento jury today convicted Demetrius Shaffer of murder in last year's sex killing of Rajneet Kor Singh.

The Superior Court panel also found Shaffer guilty on seven other counts of sexual assault on a second victim in an attack that took place on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard scheduled the sentencing on the 32-year-old defendant for Feb. 16.

Jurors began deliberations today in the rape-murder trial of Demetrius Shaffer who is charged in the New Year's Day 2011 strangulation death of Rajneet Kor Singh in Rancho Cordova.

Shaffer, 33, also is charged with seven additional sexual assault charges on a second victim.

Deputy District Attorney Thienvu Ho told a Sacramento Superior Court jury that Shaffer raped and killed Singh when she refused his sexual advances after he had given her methamphetamines and gambling money. Her body was found about a block away from the Rancho's Club Casino on Mills Park Drive and Folsom Boulevard.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Nelson said a jealous boyfriend killed the 37-year-old victim.

Attorneys delivered their opening statements today in a murder trial over the torture killing of a Sacramento man three years ago.

Defendants Derrick Dwayne Sam, 33, Genneledward Miles Jr., 29, and Shannon Raymond Shorter, 35, are on trial for the Dec. 19, 2008, shooting death of Timothy Brodie, 30, who was killed in an apartment complex on Laurelhurst Drive in Rancho Cordova.

According to police and prosecutors, Brodie had won $16,000 at an Indian casino prior to his death. They said Brodie knew Sam through a marijuana growing and distribution ring they operated together. An autopsy showed that Brodie had been beaten in his legs and on his head before he was shot and killed while trying to escape.

Rancho Cordova officials announced that two speed feedback signs have been installed this week near Mills Middle School and the intersection of Coloma Road and Chase Drive.

The signs, which alert drivers to the speed limit and the speed they are traveling, are intended to encourage motorists to slow down around the school.

The signs originally were proposed at a neighborhood traffic management meeting, attended by approximately 70 residents, to discuss safety concerns, according to a city news release.

Since Rancho Cordova incorporated, officials said, several improvements have been made to improve safety along Coloma Road, including bike lanes, sidewalks, medians, and road resurfacing and paving.

A 37-year-old man was arrested last week after he allegedly broke into a Rancho Cordova business and, while being apprehended, tried to choke a police dog, according to authorities.

Officers were responding to a suspicious subject call the night of Jan. 5 when they received additional information that the subject was breaking into the Weight Watchers at 3231 Zinfandel Drive, according to a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department report.

(The Sheriff's Department provides police services to the city of Rancho Cordova through contract.)

A Sacramento man dubbed by law enforcement officers as the "skateboard bandit", was sentenced Monday for a series of bank robberies.

U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb sentenced Jared Sung Yoon Herdt, 30, to eight years in prison, as well as three years of supervised release following his time in prison.

According to court documents, Herdt pleaded guilty to five bank robberies, including one at the Bank of America, 2010 Goldfield Drive, in Rancho Cordova on April 25, 2009. The other four were committed between Jan. 5 and Feb. 24 2009 in Modesto, San Jose and Santa Clara, and in Springfield, Ore.

By Phillip Reese

preese@sacbee.com

Sacramento County law enforcement officials arrested nearly 70 motorists for allegedly driving while intoxicated on New Year's Eve and early New Year's Day. That's a typical haul on one of the busiest party nights of the year. The heaviest concentration of arrests this year were in downtown Sacramento and South Sacramento.

Read more here.

Five people were rescued from burning apartments in a complex on Mills Park Drive in Rancho Cordova this evening.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the fire was reported about 7 p.m. in second-story apartments in the approximately 30-unit complex.

When firefighters arrived, he said, a grandmother with three children was on an apartment balcony screaming, "Save my babies. Save my babies." He said a passerby rescued the children, who were handed down from the balcony.

The Sacramento County District Attorney's office has received grants totaling $1.37 million to fight drug-impaired driving.

"These grants will enable us to prosecute drug-related driving offenses with the same level of expertise and success as alcohol-related DUI cases," said District Attorney Jan Scully.

Funding includes:

-- $435,000 to buy an instrument for the crime lab to test for drugs such as Xanax, Valium, Ambien and marijuana in drug-impaired driving cases. Funding also includes a portable breath testing instrument and employee overtime costs for crime lab staff to help at DUI checkpoints.

-- $935,000 to expand a program that prosecutes DUIs that result in death or serious injury. With the additional funding, the unit will expand to include drug-impaired driving cases.

The two grants come from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A DA press release said that a recent study showed that 23 percent of all fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs.

Firefighters have contained a fire in an abandoned two-story house in Rancho Cordova.

The fire at 10710 Luella Court was reported about 9 p.m. Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the house was abandoned and boarded up, but firefighters searched the building for possible squatters. No one was found inside and no injuries were reported.

Cockrum said fire was reported on both the floors of the house. He said an investigator is on scene, but the cause of the fire has not been determined.

Twenty-four firefighters responded.

By Denny Walsh

dwalsh@sacbee.com

The former vice president of a Rancho Cordova construction company was found guilty Tuesday in federal court of stealing more than $110,000 from the firm.

On the sixth day of trial, a jury of seven men and three women adjudged Thomas Tanke guilty on two counts of mail fraud and five counts of bank fraud.

The 67-year-old Tanke, a resident of El Dorado Hills, testified that at least part of the money was compensation in lieu of a higher salary, but the owner of Azteca Construction, Inc., Rafael Martin, told the jury that was not true.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia ordered Tanke, who has been on pretrial release, taken to jail pending sentencing on March 2.

"Frankly, I think the defendant is in denial" and a flight risk, judge said. "The evidence against him is overwhelming."

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Residents will have an opportunity to meet Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones one-on-one during a Monday event in Rancho Cordova.

The "Sheriff's Chat" will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Larry Canfield Community Room of the Rancho Cordova Police Department headquarters, 2897 Kilgore Road in Ranch Cordova.

Those who attend will have a chance to ask questions or raise concerns with Jones on a first-come, first-served basis, as time permits, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The Sheriff's Department provides police services to the city of Rancho Cordova through a contract, so Jones can also answer questions or address issues related to the Rancho Cordova Police Department as well as the Sheriff's Department.

A Rancho Cordova teen probably fell asleep while driving on Interstate 80 in Davis, causing her to twice careen wildly across the freeway and into a tree.

The California Highway Patrol is asking anyone who might have witnessed the accident that caused major injuries to Nicole Francisco, 18, about 5 a.m. Saturday morning to contact the CHP's Woodland office.

The CHP said in a press release that Francisco was driving eastbound on I-80 west of Mace Boulevard at about 75 mph in the far right hand lane when for unknown reasons her car drifted across all lanes of traffic onto the dirt center median. Francisco's car then swerved back across I-80 onto the dirt shoulder where it hit a big tree and a fence.

A peregrine falcon stolen in Rancho Cordova has been recovered in good condition.

The bird - in need of antibiotics because of recent foot surgery - had been taken from a car that was parked overnight Thursday while the falcon's owner waited for freeways to clear so he could drive back home to Reno.

It was in a pet carrier, hooded and with its feet wrapped.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

The owner of a stolen peregrine falcon is appealing to the public to be on the lookout for the banded bird, taken from a truck in Rancho Cordova overnight.

"Someone stole it from the car in the pet carrier, almost for sure without knowing what they had," said Martin Stiasny of Reno.

Stiasny had brought the bird to Roseville for surgery on its feet and was unable to return last night because of snow on Interstate 80.

A 17-year-old Cordova High School student was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries this afternoon following a fight with rival gang members in front of the school.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Officer Jason Ramos said a call was received about 3:20 p.m. from a woman who said a teen had been beaten by individuals with a baseball bat and the assailants had fled.

Ramos said the 17-year-old told deputies that he brought the bat to school because he feared he would be jumped by rival gang members. Two members of the rival gang confronted him after school, wrested the bat from him and stuck him in the arm and hip before running off toward Hagan Community Park.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire and California Highway Patrol officials are reporting a major accident with injuries affecting traffic on Highway 50 at Zinfandel Road.

The bulletins refer to as many as five participants involved, with at least one overturned vehicle.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento Coroner's officials have released the identity of the man shot and killed Friday by a Sacramento Sheriff's deputy in Rancho Cordova.

The man is identified in the coroner's death register as Antonio Lopez Gonzalez, 36, of Sacramento.

A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a suspect in Rancho Cordova this afternoon, according to authorities.

The shooting was reported behind the Mills Shopping Center in the 10000 block of Folsom Boulevard, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos. The shooting occurred after a call was made to the Sheriff's Department regarding suspicious activity, Ramos said.

The man was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was declared dead, Ramos said.

All lanes are open but traffic is still slow on Interstate 80 to the San Francisco Bay area from Sacramento more than six hours after an early morning crash involving a chicken-hauling big rig.

The 2 a.m. crash occurred on westbound I-80 just west of Lagoon Valley Road between Vacaville and Fairfield. The center divider was opened shortly before 3 a.m. to let traffic slowly pass as chickens were picked up from the roadway.

An estimated 5,000 crated, live chickens were on the truck but only a small portion of the hens fell onto the roadway.

A 27-year-old bicyclist was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries following a collision with a vehicle at Bradshaw and Gore roads in Rancho Cordova late this afternoon.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department responded about 4:50 p.m. to a report of a collision involving a car and a bicycle. Witnesses told deputies that the motorist was traveling northbound on Bradshaw in the far right lane and was approaching Gore Road, on a green light, when the bicyclist, traveling westbound on Gore Road, entered the intersection against a red light, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

He said the driver was unable to avoid the bicyclist, who was struck by the front of the car and then hit the windshield, before striking the pavement. Ramos said the bicyclist suffered significant injuries, including head trauma. He said investigators found no sign of a helmet at the scene and believe the bicyclist was not wearing one.

Two Sacramento County residents were arrested in Woodland, suspected of stealing vehicle batteries.

At 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, Woodland police officers were called to the Target Warehouse, 2050 E. Beamer St., regarding a report that two people had been seen in a restricted area taking batteries out of construction vehicles.

Officers arriving at the scene established a perimeter and immediately detained a woman identified as Ana Tomak, 18, of Rancho Cordova, according to a Police Department news release. A second suspect ran off into an adjacent thistle field.

Another instance of violence has occurred in connection with a marijuana grow -- this time in Rancho Cordova.

Rancho Cordova police said that just before 11 p.m. a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy heard gunshots ring out near Coloma Road and Ranchito Court. While deputies searched for the source of the gunshots, they were waved down by a man with a bleeding hand.

It appears that a bicycling arsonist continues to set fires along the American River Parkway.

Over the weekend, about nine grass fires were set along the bike trail between River Bend Park and Haggin Park. The possible arsonist was a white male with short hair, wearing gray pants and shirt, riding a 10-speed-type bicycle.

This morning, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters were kept busy responding to more brush and grass fires around River Bend Park. Again, a male adult was seen on a bike in the area.

A fire believed to have been started by a cigarette discarded outside a residence, caused significant damage to a Rancho Cordova home this evening.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said firefighters were called about 6 p.m. to a house in the 2200 block of Green Blossom Court. They arrived to find the attic of the home well involved with fire.

Although firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, the attic area suffered significant damage.

The California Highway Patrol will conduct a bicycle rodeo Sept. 17 in Rancho Cordova.

The rodeo is intended to educate the public about bicycle and pedestrian safety. Bicyclists will have an opportunity to make sure their helmets fit properly, have their bicycles inspected and test their skills on an obstacle course. Those who don't have bicycles are invited to bring their scooters.

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive.

The CHP's Rancho Cordova Office is presenting the rodeo along with local partners and supporters including the city of Rancho Cordova, Folsom Cordova Community Partnership and the 50 Corridor Transportation Management Association. Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A punch shattered an 83-year-old man's hearing aid in his ear last week after he asked a fellow bus rider to move from the senior citizen seating area, according to sheriff's authorities.

Paramedics who responded were not able to remove all the bloodied pieces from the elderly man's ear which they believed were lodged deep in his ear drum and possibly needed to be removed surgically, according to Sacramento County Sheriff's Department report released today.

The man was transported to the hospital.

A man who was found unresponsive Friday on the bank of the American River downstream from Sunrise Boulevard died at a hospital later that day.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office website identified him as Frank Clifford Gould, 50, of Rancho Cordova. The website lists the cause of death as undetermined but rules out homicide.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters received a report about 1:30 p.m. of a body floating in the river. A rescue boat crew and helicopter located the man, who was partially on shore. Rescue crews administered CPR and transported him to Mercy San Juan Medical Center.

The public is invited to attend a grand opening of the new facility of the Rancho Cordova Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff's Department East Division on Wednesday, according to a sheriff's department news release.

The facility is at 2897 Kilgore Road in Rancho Cordova, according to the release.

Tours will be given from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m., the release states.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are still investigating what likely was the accidental shooting of a 10-year-old girl at a Rancho Cordova residence this morning where deputies had cleared a large party just 30 minutes earlier, according to authorities.

The girl suffered a non-life-threatening wound when a bullet struck her right hip and exited the other side, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

Nobody has been arrested in connection with the shooting, which occurred about 12:15 a.m. today on El Parque Circle.

Two grants to the Sacramento County DA's office will help speed up crime lab turnaround time for analyzing DNA evidence and replace forensic equipment.

The grants, which total $687,000, are much needed after years of budget cuts to her department, said District Attorney Jan Scully. The cuts have reduced both staff and equipment, she said, and the monies will help cut forensic work backlog.

The grants:

-- State Department of Justice DNA backlog program: $586,429 will fund crime lab analysts, consultants for case screening, training and equipment purchases.

-- Cloverdell Forensic Science Improvment program: $100,625 will be used for equipment and analytical system upgrades.

Coroner's officials have released the name of a fisherman found dead in the American River the day after he was reported missing.

Ronald Peeters, 54, was found in the river near Harrington Way Friday.

His body was recovered by Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials.

Peeters truck had been found at River Bend Park at the close of the day Thursday, the same day he was reported missing and a day after he left his Orangevale home.

The cause of death was listed as undetermined.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department will hold an open house Wednesday to celebrate the opening of its new police station.

Members of the department will lead public tours of the building at 2897 Kilgore Road (see map) from 3 to 5 p.m. The event will feature several law enforcement exhibits, and barbecued hotdogs will be served in the parking lot.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 5:30 pm. Participants will include members of the City Council, Police Chief Doug Diamond and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones.

Two teenagers have been arrested after leading officers on a pursuit through Rancho Cordova early Wednesday morning.

Abraham Lopez (pictured), 18, and a 17-year-old youth were arrested on suspicion of felony evasion of a peace officer, unlawful possession of a concealed, loaded firearm and resisting arrest.

The incident began shortly after 1:30 a.m., when a Rancho Cordova police officer attempted to stop a vehicle in the area of Paseo Drive and Folsom Boulevard. The driver sped away and led officers on a pursuit that lasted several minutes and reached speeds of approximately 60 mph, according to a Rancho Cordova Police Department news release.

Investigators with the Contractors State License Board's statewide investigative fraud team and Rancho Cordova police officers today arrested an unlicensed operator with a history of using contractor licenses not issued to him.

Charles Peter Maffia, 67, of Rancho Cordova was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, with bail set at $40,000, according to a Contractors State License Board news release. He is to be arraigned Thursday in Sacramento County Superior Court.

Maffia is accused of fraudulent use of an incorrect contractor license, contracting without a license, illegal advertising and violation of probation. He was already on formal probation for fraudulent use of a contractor license number following a 2006 arrest on this an related charges.

A Sacramento man whom authorities dubbed the "skateboard bandit," pleaded guilty today to a serial bank robbery.

Jared Sung Yoon Herdt, 30, also agreed to pay restitution for the robberies, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. He is in federal custody pending sentencing.

According to court documents, Herdt pleaded guilty to robbing the Wells Fargo Bank at 2010 Goldfield Drive in Rancho Cordova on April 25, 2009. He pleaded guilty to robbing four other banks - in Modesto, San Jose, Santa Clara and Springfield, Ore. - during January and February 2009.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials seek the public's help identifying the people responsible for a series of grass fires in the Rancho Cordova area.

Firefighters have responded to 12 intentionally set fires in the area over the past three weeks, according to a district news release.

Investigators believe the fires are related because of their proximity to one another and their occurrence in the late evening.

Two Sacramento region CHP airborne officers have been recognized for outstanding work.

Pilot Jeff Barbao and flight officer Jonathon Pierce have won the fixed wing operator of the year award sponsored by aircraft-maker GippsAero for the impact of their work.

Barbao and Pierce are assigned to the CHP Valley Division air unit based in Auburn. The division covers an area 160 miles in length and 130 miles wide, including Sacramento, Stockton and South Lake Tahoe.

Rancho Cordova police have located the parents of a little girl found wandering on a street this morning.

The girl, estimated to be about 2 or 3 years old, was found on Riesling Way about 9:45 a.m. by a citizen. The adult asked a neighbor to call Rancho Cordova police.

The girl apparently walked out of her home, police said. She was re-united with her parents shortly before noon.

A woman swinging on a rope over the American River near Rancho Cordova fell onto the banks, severely injuring herself.

Sac Metro firefighters were called to the Clay Banks, an area just upriver from River Bend Park, about 2 p.m. Sunday. Fire boat crew members, assisted by the fire district's helicopter, found the woman.

The woman, who was in her 30s, was drifting in and out of consciousness when rescue help arrived, said a press release from the fire district. She had suffered injury to her head and chest.

Friends told firefighters that she was swinging on a rope swing that broke. The woman fell 15 feet to the bank, hitting the ground face first. She was taken to UC Davis Medical Center.

A teenager who shot and killed a man after an argument on a light rail train in Rancho Cordova was sentenced today to 50 years to life in prison.

Deandre Dwayne Rooks, 21, was convicted in June of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Juan Carlos Sanchez, 21.

According to the evidence at trial, Sanchez, who had been drinking and was carrying a cup that smelled of vodka, asked Rooks for a cigarette when the two got on board the train at the Mather Road station. When Rooks refused, the two got into an argument. A security guard kicked them both off the train at Zinfandel Road.

The two then went behind a department store to fight each other, when Rooks, who was accompanied by several friends, took out a gun and shot Sanchez six times, including three times in the back, according to the trial testimony.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena R. Gweon called the murder "brutal, senseless and cowardly."

"Mr. Rooks, on the night of the murder, you were sober -- Juan Carlos was not," the judge said. "You had five people with you. Juan Carlos was alone. You had a gun. Juan Carlos had a styrofoam cup in his hand"

A construction worker brought down overhead electrical lines in Rancho Cordova, temporarily closing a stretch of Folsom Boulevard this morning.

The worker was stranded in his backhoe rig for about a hour after accidentally shearing off a power pole about 3 a.m. at Aramon Drive between Zinfandel Drive and Coloma Road. Sacramento Municipal Utility District crews responded to the scene. By 6 a.m. only a handful of customers were still without power.

The California Highway Patrol said one lane of traffic was open in both directions. However, later today the road would have to be closed to replace the sheared-off pole.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responding to a fairly routine call last week came home with a not-so-routine haul: three guns, a slew of ammo and some drugs, too.

Deputies responded to the 3100 block of Laurelhurst Drive in Rancho Cordova on July 26 after callers reported shots fired from a residence. Upon arriving, they saw a man in front of the residence, who quickly fled inside, according to a sheriff's report.

Deputies followed him inside and found quite the cache: A 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, three spent .22 casings; live .22 ammo; .38 ammo, 9 mm ammo, and .223 ammo. Outside, they found a .22 and a .38 revolver that had been thrown over a fence to an adjacent yard, the report states.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries this morning during a hazardous materials incident involving pool chemicals at a waste facility in Rancho Cordova.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters responded at 11:15 a.m. to a report of a fire involving hazardous materials in the 11000 block of White Road Road. They arrived to find smoke and fumes coming from a hazardous waste storage area on the site, according to a district news release.

Workers told firefighters that they were repacking dry pool chemicals in a 55-gallon drum and it appeared a chemical reaction occurred, causing a small fire and what they thought was off gassing of the material. Workers said they used a dry chemical fire extinguisher on the fire and thought they had slowed the chemical reaction. They left the area unharmed.

By Bill Lindelof and Ryan Lillis

Tonight is National Night Out -- a time when neighbors band together in a common effort to watch out for each other.

It's an age when porch-sitting is not in style it was years ago. It's a time when homeowners hit the remote as soon as their car is parked in the garage, thereby avoiding contact with the neighbor.

But at least once a year, neighbors can re-connect on the first Tuesday in August. National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention, strengthen neighborhoods and forge police-community partnerships.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A 52-year-old man was hospitalized late Monday night after being shot in an apparent domestic dispute in Rancho Cordova, a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Around 11 p.m., a woman called authorities from the 3400 block of Virgo Street, alleging her son had shot her boyfriend, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

A boiler room in a Rancho Cordova apartment complex caught on fire Friday morning after someone who the apartment manager says may have been an unlicensed contractor installed a new boiler Thursday.

The Sacramento Metro Fire Department responded to a call at 1:21 a.m. at the Point Knoll Apartments at 10680 Coloma Rd. The firefighters determined that the fire was extending to the attic and roof and quickly extinguished those flames.

The fire damaged four apartment units, causing three families to lose their homes. No one was injured, and the fire department estimates that the damage is around $10,000.

Authorities are investigating the unlicensed contractor as well as the cause of the fire, which the department says appears to be electrical.

A Rancho Cordova woman has been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty following the death of her 6-month-old dog, which was found locked inside a hot car in a Folsom parking lot Wednesday afternoon, the Folsom Police Department reported.

The Pomeranian/Shih Tzu, named "Gizmo," was found panting heavily on the rear floorboard of a black Honda around 5 p.m. Wednesday outside a supermarket in the 200 block of Blue Ravine Road, according to a police department release.

The little dog, which police estimate was in the car for at least 90 minutes, was taken for emergency treatment at a nearby animal hospital, where it died during the night, the release states.