Sacto 9-1-1

The nation's drug czar on Thursday released study results showing that 78 percent of adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for at least one illegal drug.

Gil Kerlikowske (pictured with Vice President Joe Biden), director of National Drug Control Policy, during an address today at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., released the results of a 2012 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) report that collected data from inmates in five cities or counties.

In his address, he said more than half of adult males arrested for crimes, misdemeanors and felonies, tested positive for a least one drug.

The five cities or counties in the report were Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York and Sacramento. Positive results ranged from 62 percent in Atlanta to 86 percent in Chicago.

A pedestrian has been taken to a hospital with critical injuries after being struck by a vehicle at Martin Luther King Boulevard and 23rd Avenue in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Doug Morse said the collision occurred at 6:12 p.m. He said the vehicle, a red four-door sedan, remained at the scene. Morse said the pedestrian was a male, but he did not know his age.

No further details were available. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Antoine Blesset in the Feb. 10, 2011, shooting death of Christopher Sisoukchaleun at a liquor store on Del Paso Boulevard.

Jurors found that Blessett, 38, murdered the 20-year-old victim for the benefit of the defendant's street gang, the Meadowview Bloods.

Judge Michael W. Sweet scheduled Blessett's sentencing for June 13.

By Cathy Locke and Kim Minugh
clocke@sacbee.com

A woman who barricaded herself in a south Sacramento home for nearly three hours this afternoon before surrendering to police has been booked into Sacramento County Jail.

Stacy Curnow (pictured), 34, was arrested on suspicion of discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, and drawing and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a police officer.

A handgun believed have been fired during the incident was recovered at the scene, according to a Police Department news release.

Sacramento police officers surrounded the home in the 100 block of Tristan Circle, near Mack Road and Center Parkway, after determining that a woman believed to be armed was inside.

Sacramento police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said police responded about 2 p.m. She said a woman, later identified as Curnow, was reportedly despondent and was believed to be alone inside the home. Gigante said Curnow had called family members, who called police.

SWAT officers and negotiation team members were sent to the scene. Gigante said the sound of shots had been heard from inside the home.

Police said Curnow surrendered at 4:39 p.m. No one else was inside the home.

Nearby Charles Mack Elementary School was locked down during the incident.

A stubborn 11-acre grass fire in River Bend Park that flared again this morning due to windy conditions has been contained by Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters.

Firefighters battled the blaze last night and were performing mop up duties this morning when the blaze along the American River erupted in brush and grass again. About 10:45 a.m. the fire was contained once again by firefighters.

A total of 19 engines and two water tenders responded to the park near Bradshaw Road and Highway 50. The park was closed this morning so that firefighters could put out the blaze.

A man in a wheelchair died when he was struck by a car early this morning in Sacramento.

Police received a call of a person struck by a car at about 1:30 a.m. today at 19th and X streets. Police and fire personnel responded.

The man in his 50s was declared dead at the scene.

A witness told officers that the man in the wheelchair was in the street when a car traveling eastbound on X Street struck him. Sacramento police said in an activity log that the man in the wheelchair was not in a crosswalk and was going against a red light when crossing X Street.
The car was described as a white two-door Honda or Acura. The motorist did not stop.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the man that hit a pedestrian, not in the crosswalk, on Northgate a few years ago and killed the young man?
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Submitted by: Mind Wondering, Sacramento

ANSWER: Vincent Alfred Velasquez, who struck and killed a teenager on Northgate Boulevard in February 2011, entered no contest pleas to driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.

Sacramento police have arrested a man who they say has made more than 100 calls to 911 in the past several weeks.

Jimmy Shao, 56, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of falsely reporting an emergency and making annoying and harassing 911 calls.

Sixty of the 911 calls were transferred to the Sacramento Police Department. Dispatchers told the caller to stop dialing 911 because he had no emergency.

Police declined to comment on why Shao said he needed to phone 911.

A man shot last week when he allegedly attempted to rob a Carmichael pharmacy at gunpoint has been cleared to be booked into Sacramento County Jail.

Zechariah Abraham Scholes, 36, had been in the hospital since he was shot on Tuesday by a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy. His condition had improved enough so that on Sunday he was booked into jail on suspicion of kidnapping and robbery.

He is being held on $150,000 bail.

A male sexually touched and exposed himself to a teenage girl walking on a city street this week, Sacramento police said.

Police released a sketch of the suspect, who may be the same person sought in a string of indecent exposure incidents in South Sacramento.

In the latest incident, a 17-year-old girl was walking near Florin Road and 17th Street in Meadowview about 7 a.m. Wednesday when a man rode up on a white BMX-style bicycle with pink handlebars. He attempted to speak with the girl, but she showed disregard for him and went on her way, police said.

Traffic was snarled for about 20 minutes shortly after 6 p.m. today in Sacramento along multiple railroad crossings at Q, S, P and N streets, close to 19th Street.

The guard rails were in a down position for 20 minutes, blocking traffic. Motorists were spotted trying to steer around the barricades.

Regional Transit workers were seen directing traffic at the S Street crossing, which is shared by Sacramento Regional Transit and Union Pacific. An RT worker said the issue usually happens three times a week.

A Union Pacific train proceeded slowly, honking its horn several times to warn bystanders and cars. Alane Masui, RT spokeswoman, said Union Pacific was responsible for the guards and referred all questions to the railroad company.

Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for Union Pacific in Sacramento, apologized for the traffic snarl.

"Our gates have a fail-safe mechanism, so that if there is an issue, it just goes down," Hunt said.

As of 6:30 p.m., the guardrails were up.

Four men, including two from Sacramento, were sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento for trafficking in the drug Ecstasy.

They were charged with conspiring to distribute MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, and possession with the intent to distribute MDMA, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Robert Ly, 29, of Sacramento to nine years in prison, and Darryl Smith, 31, also of Sacramento, to five years and 10 months in prison. David Chong, 38, of Alameda received a 10-year prison sentence, and Dassany "Daisy" Keohimanh, 30, of Stockton, was sentenced to eight years and one month.

Lodi police said they have arrested a man on suspicion of killing his roommate.

Richard Welker, 33, (pictured) was arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter, felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition, according to a police press release.

Officers responded to the 700 block of South Central Avenue about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday to investigate a shooting. When they arrived, police found Arlie Druen, 33, had been shot more than once.

He was taken by ambulance to Lodi Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Welker, Druen's roommate, was then arrested.

A Sacramento man has been arrested, accused of fatally injuring his 3-week-old daughter.

Alias James McLaughlin (pictured), 20, was booked into Sacramento County Jail this afternoon on suspicion of murder.

Sacramento police were called to the UC Davis Medical Center about 3:48 p.m. Friday regarding an infant that had been transported to the emergency room. It was reported that the baby was not breathing and had succumbed to injuries, according to a Police Department news release.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to Robert Vela? He was accused of killing his infant son at his parents' home in the Pocket area. I think it was in the late '90s.
Submitted by: Grammy G., Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted Robert Ramirez Vela Jr. of second-degree murder in the 1996 death of his 1-year-old son, Daniel Vergos.

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A man arrested Tuesday by Sacramento police in connection with a rash of midtown business burglaries - including three break-ins at a long-established art gallery -- today was accused of two additional burglaries.

Gregory Musso Knecht, 43, (pictured) was arrested on suspicion of burglary after detectives armed with a warrant on Tuesday searched his residence in the 1500 block of J Street. Property stolen during several recent burglaries was found at Knecht's residence, police said.

Police initially tied Knecht to four business burglaries between May 4 and May 10. Three of the burglaries occurred last week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Barton Gallery, 1723 I St.

A Rio Americano High School freshman whose family thought she may have been lured away by someone she met online has been found.

Daria "Dasha" Clarke, 15, has been reunited with her family, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Last Thursday, Clarke went to algebra class and was also seen on campus about 10 a.m. But when her mother arrived back at school to pick her up at 12:30 p.m., she was nowhere to be found, her mother, Margie Clarke, said on Sunday.

Supporters distributed leaflets in the American River Drive area near the school.

Sheriff's detectives need help identifying a robber who held up a Madison Avenue credit union.

The robber hit the Schools Financial Credit Union, 5210 Madison Ave, at about 12:45 p.m. Friday. He used a note to demand money from a teller and then left with cash.

A sheriff's department press release describes the robber as a white man in his mid-30s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and around 250 pounds. He has red hair and a goatee.

He wore a brown baseball cap with a black logo on the side, a black shirt and dark pants. Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call the sheriff's robbery bureau at (916) 874-5051.

A Yolo County jury has found a Sacramento man guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a passenger in the vehicle he was driving in January 2012.

The jury also convicted 23-year-old Ryan Scott Baird of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with two prior convictions for driving under the influence, driving under the influence causing injury and driving with blood alcohol at or above .08 causing injury, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. Killed in the crash was Robert Sunderland III.

In addition, the jury found Baird guilty of enhancements for causing great bodily injury to Oscar Saeed Rodriguez, causing great bodily injury with a coma to James Black and causing injury to multiple victims.

Sacramento police released a sketch today of a man who reportedly ordered an 11-year-old girl into his car in North Natomas last week.

On Wednesday, the girl was walking home in the area of Honor Parkway and Bill Bean Circle about 4 p.m. when a man pulled up in a black sports utility vehicle, according to police. The man got out of the car and ordered the girl to get in, but she ran and told her parents what had happened.

The man was described to police as a black man in his 20s with dark blue eyes and long black hair. A police sketch artist worked with the 11-year-old to create the sketch, pictured at left.

Police are still investigating whether the incident is linked to the kidnapping of a 7-year-old girl in south Sacramento County over the weekend. In that Saturday afternoon incident, Sacramento sheriff's detectives say a man grabbed the girl, who was walking along 47th Avenue near Stockton Boulevard with her mother, and forced her into the trunk of his car.

The girl soon was able to open the trunk and jump out. She was not seriously injured.

According to the Sheriff's Department, that suspect was described as a man 25 to 35 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 170 to 190 pounds. He had light brown skin and shoulder-length, black hair worn in braids or dreadlocks. He was wearing a black shirt with a white design on the front, and was driving a dark green or blue four-door sedan with tinted windows.

An artist also produced a sketch of that suspect, pictured at left.

Sacramento police Officer Michele Gigante said detectives from the two agencies are exchanging information but have not been able to determine whether the same man is responsible for both crimes.

In light of the recent incidents, police are trying to spread the following safety tips for children:

-Avoid walking alone.

-Avoid short cuts and walk only in safe areas.

-Never go into a stranger's home or car.

-If approached or followed by a car, do not approach or speak to anyone inside. Instead, run and get help.

-Remain alert to your surroundings.

-Always report suspicious behavior.

Anyone with information about the identity of either suspect is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP, or to text in a tip to 274637 with "SACTIP" followed by the tip information. Callers cam remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Two robbers held up a man and then apparently used the information in his wallet to go to his home where they stole weapons.

The man was in his car in the 5900 block of Bamford Drive in the Valley Hi neighborhood about 1:45 p.m. Monday when he was approached by two armed men. The driver was ordered out of his vehicle.

The men rifled through the driver's pockets, taking his car and house keys, wallet and cell phone before forcing him into the trunk of his own car. The robbers then fled on foot.

Two men were arrested by Sacramento police for stealing wine on Monday.

Officers were patrolling about 9 a.m. near Meadowgate Drive in South Sacramento when they saw a vehicle "lurch" into traffic. The officers pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and the driver stayed at the car.

However, the passenger ran, carrying what was described as "box of wine," according to a police activity log. It was quickly determined that the men had robbed a store.

Responding officers eventually caught up with the man with the wine. An officer suffered a minor injury while taking Jerome Wells, 35, (pictured right) into custody.

The driver was identified as 45-year-old Jonathan Reed (pictured left). Both men were arrested on suspicion of robbery.

A Sacramento fire captain was injured this afternoon in an two-alarm apartment fire that displaced two families.

Assistant Fire Chief Niko King of the Sacramento Fire Department said several 911 calls were received about 3:38 p.m. reporting fire at an apartment complex at 5935 Bamford Drive in the Valley Hi area. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the units, and a second alarm was declared.

King said a mother and three children were in one of the two-story units, and a mother and two children were in the other when youngsters began screaming, alerting them to the fire.

A little girl was able to escape Saturday after being kidnapped in broad daylight from a south-area street by a man who placed her in the trunk of his car.

Sacramento sheriff's deputies say residents of the south area of Sacramento should be alert for the man who may attempt to kidnap another child.

The attempted kidnapping occurred about 1 p.m. Saturday when a 7-year-old girl was walking with her mother in the 5300 block of 47th Avenue. A man pulled up and grabbed the girl, placing her in the trunk of his car.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are interviewing three men found with a bagful of catalytic converters at Sacramento International Airport.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos said the discovery comes at a time of increased catalytic converter thefts from vehicles in airport parking lots. A deputy assigned to the airport was on patrol in the economy lot about 6:30 a.m. when he noticed a parked vehicle with three men inside.

A bag was on the ground outside another vehicle nearby. The deputy stopped and apparently interrupted the theft of a catalytic converter from a large truck, Ramos said.

A search of the vehicle with the men turned up three other large truck catalytic converters inside a bag. Ramos said the men would likely be booked on grand theft charges.

Thieves typically slide under vehicles and cut the car air pollution control devices from vehicles. The devices are then sold for their metals.

Two people received non-lethal injuries this afternoon in a drive-by shooting at 4th Avenue and San Jose Way, Sacramento police said.

Sacramento Police spokesman Officer Doug Morse said police cordoned off the area and were interviewing witnesses after the shooting, which occurred about 1:30 p.m.

"We are trying to identify those involved," Morse said, describing the case as "an ongoing investigation."

The identities of the victims were not immediately available. Both were talking to authorities and were being treated at a nearby hospital.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Saturday night on Arden Way near Challenge Way.

It will begin at 8 p.m. and continue for five to seven hours.

Motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will check for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, according to a Police Department news release.

A Las Vegas man is headed to prison after being sentenced in federal court in Sacramento for defrauding a South Lake Tahoe investor of $2.9 million.

U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. today sentenced Jed Baron, 55, to five years and three months in prison for wire fraud related to the investment scheme, according to a Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Baron made a series of false business proposals to a victim in the Lake Tahoe area, including investment in a venture to sell Irish seafood to restaurants in Las Vegas. Instead of using the victim's money for the intended purpose, Baron diverted the funds for personal use and to pay other investors from previous deals.

Two Sacramento brothers have pleaded guilty in a case involving identity theft and bank fraud.

Glen Patrick Shoults, 27, and Jackie Lester Shoults III, 31, admitted to stealing the identity of U.S. Postal Service and department store customers to commit bank fraud, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Between Feb. and Dec. 15, 2012, Glen Shoults' girlfriend, co-defendant Kathleen S. Wade, worked at a Sacramento department store, according to court records. The Shoults brothers, at times using Wade's sales clerk position, made fraudulent transactions on bank and credit card accounts of numerous victims.

The 31-year-old woman who slapped a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy this week in hopes of being thrown in jail and kicking her cigarette habit has received time behind bars.

Etta Mae Lopez (pictured), 31, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery on a peace officer and was sentenced to 63 days in jail on Thursday, said Shelly Orio, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.

Lopez gets credit for the three days she served. She was also was sentenced to five days for violating her probation from a drunken driving conviction.

Deputy Matt Campoy on Tuesday booked Lopez into jail after being slapped by Lopez as he exited the main jail, in uniform, at the end of his shift.

Campoy said Lopez moved into his way and continued to block his path before eventually slapping him in the face. Lopez, the deputy said, told him that she slapped him to serve time in the smoke-free jail and in that way quit smoking, cold turkey.

A man parked in a space reserved for disabled drivers fell asleep in his vehicle, leading to attention from Sacramento police and his eventual arrest.

Officers noticed a vehicle parked at Elder Creek and Stockton Boulevard in a space reserved for the disabled about 11 a.m. Thursday. Police said no vehicle placard allowing use of such spaces was visible.

Inside the vehicle, Chris Murel Nesseth, 31, was seated in the driver's seat, sound asleep. A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a loaded handgun and narcotics, police activity log shows.

Nesseth was booked into Sacramento County jail on gun and drug charges.

As the weather warms up, it may be tempting to sleep with windows and doors open, but Sacramento police warn that this is an invitation to intruders.

Burglars look for homes that offer easy, quiet access, and police say they have seen an increase in nighttime burglaries through open windows and doors. They cite three possibly related incidents:

• In the 600 block of Bowles St., someone entered through the unlocked sliding glass door and took personal property from the home while the residents were asleep.

A woman allegedly slapped a deputy to kick her cigarette habit this week in Sacramento.

Etta Mae Lopez, 31, (pictured) wanting to trash the ash and knowing that health is wealth, gave Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy Matt Campoy a slap across his face in order to get herself booked into the Sacramento County Jail, officials said.

Campoy was able to accommodate her unorthodox method for smoking cessation, booking her into the smoke-free county jail on suspicion of battery on a peace officer.

The Sacramento Sheriff's Department invites anyone with a computer or smart phone to follow its helicopter crew during a Friday night "Tweet-along."

The first-ever virtual ride-along via Twitter will show the public what a night shift is like for the pilot and observer deputies in a department helicopter. The Tweet-along begins at 5 p.m. and runs until midnight on Friday.

During that time, a deputy inside the STAR (Sheriff's Tactical Air Resource) helicopter will be posting messages, photos and videos that exhibit the preflight checks, take-off and interaction with patrol deputies on the ground.

Sacramento officers didn't have too far go to take a man into custody, confronting a subject at their own police station last night.

Police found the man about 9 p.m. standing near the closed front gate to the parking lot of the South Sacramento police station on Franklin Boulevard near Fruitridge Road. A police activity log said that the man might have been trying to get inside the lot.

When officers went up to him to talk, the man assumed a fighting stance, according to police. One officer used his baton to ultimately take him into custody.

Police said the man appeared to be under the influence of drugs. He was transported to the hospital for medical care.

Sacramento police would like to talk to anyone who witnessed a collision this afternoon in which a vehicle struck a pedestrian.

A woman was headed southbound across Arden Way at Oxford Street about 1:40 p.m. when she was hit by a vehicle. She suffered serious injuries and is being treated at an area hospital, according to a Police Department news release.

The driver of the vehicle, who remained at the scene, as well as witnesses reported that an uninvolved vehicle had to slow to avoid the pedestrian. The driver of that vehicle may or may not have known that a collision occurred. Police said the vehicle is believed to have been eastbound on Arden Way in the left lane. No description of the vehicle was available, but police would like to talk with the driver.

Two men were accused of throwing rocks at vehicles Monday in separate incidents, one in North Natomas and the other in the Meadowview area.

The first incident occurred about 6:12 a.m. Sacramento police officers responded to a report of an individual throwing rocks at passing vehicles at Gateway Park and North Market boulevards. A windshield of a car was believed to have been struck and damaged by a rock, but no one was injured, according to the Police Department's daily activity log.

Police searched the area and found Franklin Cole (picture), 60, who was identified as the person suspected of throwing the rocks. He was arrested on suspicion of assault.

At 4:51 p.m., Sacramento fire personnel called police dispatch after someone threw a rock at their fire engine in the area of 24th Street and Florin Road. The engine wasn't hit, but 48-year-old James Ross was cited for throwing an object at a vehicle, according to the police log.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reported today that a man missing from south Sacramento County since last Wednesday has been found.

David Abel, 57, had last been seen boarding bus No. 54 in the area of Power Inn and Gerber roads. He was considered to be at risk due to mental health disorders and a serious medical condition, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

An armed man barricaded himself in an Oak Park home for almost five hours Saturday night before surrendering to Sacramento SWAT and negotiators, according to police.

The incident began about 7 p.m. when city police received a report of a shot being fired in the 3400 block of San Jose Way. The suspect reportedly yelled at a woman for parking her car in front of his house, then pointed a gun at her and fired, police said. The woman was not injured.

The suspect then went into his house. When police officers arrived on the scene, he refused to come out. A hostage negotiation team and SWAT responded to the scene, and the standoff ended when the suspect finally exited the home about 11:40 p.m., said police.

Alan Myles, 52, was booked into Sacramento County jail on counts of assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A Sacramento man was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of sexually assaulting his estranged wife, according to Sacramento police reports.

Police said they responded to a report of a sexual assault in the 1600 block of West El Camino Avenue about 6:45 p.m. They contacted the victim, investigated the incident and ultimately booked her 26-year-old estranged husband into Sacramento County jail on counts of sexual assault, domestic violence, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: There was a large police presence in River Park on Thursday afternoon/evening. A helicopter and many patrol cars, including park rangers, were on scene. What was the cause?
Submitted by: Greg, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to the Sacramento Police Department's daily activity log, officers were called to the 5400 block of Sandburg Drive in the River Park area about 7:30 p.m. Thursday regarding teenagers involved in a fight.

A Placerville man has been sentenced in federal count in Sacramento to 42 months in prison for his role in an interstate marijuana distribution conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. also sentenced Robert Edward Mulready to four years of supervised release following his time in prison.

Mulready previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to cultivate and distribute at least 100 marijuana plants, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

An inmate at California State Prison, Sacramento in Folsom has been sentenced to 28 years to life in prison for assaulting a fellow inmate.

Steven Thompson, 51, was convicted last month by a Sacramento County jury of assault on another inmate, personally inflicting great bodily injury and possession of a weapon, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Thompson is serving time in prison for first-degree murder and attempted murder. In 1981, he shot at two unarmed high school students from his car after an altercation, authorities said. Both victims were hit and one died at the scene. Before he was apprehended, Thompson plotted to kill the other victim so he would not be able to identify Thompson.

While in prison, Thompson stabbed another inmate on the prison yard with an inmate-manufactured knife, authorities said. The victim suffered a punctured lung as a result of the assault.

A Folsom developer who was soliciting investors for a new scheme while still on supervised release for a previous criminal conviction is headed to prison for investment fraud.

David Romo, 42, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 10 years and one month in prison for mail fraud related to a real estate investment scheme that defrauded investors of more than $6.9 million, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Romo ran a sophisticated scheme involving numerous investments that obtained millions of dollars through a series of clever misrepresentations to homeowners and manipulations of the real estate purchase process. Using his companies Sycamore Ventures LLC, Smarie Investments LLC and Groupo Immobiliare LLC, Romo solicited individuals to fund various real estate developments. But instead of using the investor money for the intended purpose, Romo diverted funds to his personal use and to pay unrelated, prior business expenses.

Community members and law enforcement leaders from across the state will gather at the California Peace Officers Memorial Monument during two events to honor officers lost in the line of duty.

At 8:30 p.m. Sunday, a candlelight vigil will be held at the monument at 10th Street and Capitol Mall.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, a dedication ceremony will be held at the monument. Two officers who died in 2012 will be honored: Stanislaus County sheriff's Deputy Robert Lee Paris Jr. and California Highway Patrol Officer Kenyon Youngstrom.

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who exposed himself to female walkers and joggers on at least seven occasions.

In each of the incidents, the man approached the victims, who were walking or jogging alone near parks or on city streets, and made small talk before exposing himself or making vulgar comments, according to Sacramento police.

The suspect then ran away or pedaled away on a bicycle. The victims were not injured in any of the incidents, police said.

The man has been described by police as a light-skinned Hispanic or Asian man, 18 to 20 years old. He is 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighs 180 to 200 pounds and has short dark hair and thick eyebrows. Twice he was seen carrying a backpack.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years ago, a man and a woman picked up a prostitute for the purpose of having the woman experience killing someone. Whatever happened to them?
Submitted by: Harry Banan, Sacramento

ANSWER: You may be thinking of the case of James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud of Sacramento who were sentenced to death in 2002 for the 1997 abduction, rape and murder of a Pleasanton woman.

Sacramento police are asking the public's help in identifying people involved in a large fight that left several injured.

Officers responded to the 1500 block of 21st street about 1:59 a.m. April 14 regarding a fight. They were able to obtain a description of at least two of the vehicles involved. One reportedly was a white Chevrolet Suburban and the other was a white two-door compact car.

Multiple people got out of the SUV and, without provocation, began challenging and fighting random people in a parking lot, according to a Police Department news release. At least one person who was attacked was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. One person reported being struck with a blunt object, and other people were physically assaulted during the incident.

One house was destroyed and another damaged in a wind-driven fire in the Sacramento's Pocket area this afternoon, just a few hours after a vehicle fire spread to a home in North Highlands.

Sacramento city firefighters responded about 4:30 p.m. to a fire at Souza Circle and Portugal Way in the Pocket area. Deputy Chief Lloyd Ogan said they arrived to find a single-story home fully involved and fire extending to a neighboring two-story home.

"It was definitely a wind-driven fire, and it was accelerating very quickly," Ogan said.

The third person charged in a scheme to defraud the Raley's supermarket chain of more than $2.5 million has entered a guilty plea.

Jason Allen Smith, 47, of Foresthill pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sacramento to a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Smith, a former contract employee, conspired with David John Magana, 46, Raley's former director of advertising, and Martin Stewart Cullenward, 60, of Cool, along with others to defraud the West Sacramento-based supermarket chain. Smith took part in two of Magana's fraud schemes. Magana and Cullenward previously pleaded guilty.

A Sacramento postal carrier has been fired for allegedly discarding mail in a Dumpster.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General was notified on Monday of the alleged dumping of mail in the parking lot garbage bin at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Meadowview Road.

The mail was recovered and was delivered. The postal carrier suspected of the dumping was fired today, according to the postal service.

Postal service agents will continue to investigate the offense. Delay or destruction of mail is punishable to up to five years in prison.

An e-mail from a postal service representative noted that the overwhelming majority of carriers protect the "sanctity of the seal" of all mail entrusted to them.

A bicyclist told Sacramento police he was knocked to the street by a motorist in a sharing-the-road dispute.

The beef between the bicyclist and motorist occurred on a street in Oak Park about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The male bicyclist and the female driver were traveling in the same direction on 37th Street.

The bicyclist was trying to make his way around a parked car as he was being passed on the left by the motorist. The bicyclist believed that the driver was not sharing the roadway, passing very close.

Words were exchanged and the motorist eventually circled back around, again traveling alongside the bicyclist on Ninth Avenue. At that point, the bicyclist believes the motorist intentional struck him.

He was knocked to the pavement, suffering minor injuries. The description of the car was only given as a gray, four-door vehicle.

Update (10:45 p.m.): The train has since moved and is no longer blocking vehicle traffic.

A Union Pacific freight train stopped this evening in midtown Sacramento, obstructing vehicle traffic while railroad authorities tried to determine whether rocks were thrown or paintballs shot at the lead locomotive, according to Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt.

Hunt said Union Pacific dispatch received an incident report at about 8:45 p.m.

No one was injured and the locomotive was not damaged, but he said railroad authorities held the train while they investigated.

"We apologize for any inconvenience we are causing motorists or residents," he said in an email.

Sacramento police arrested a woman for allegedly stabbing her husband in the back at their home in the 1800 block of P Street early Sunday, the department reported.

Tracy Feather, 51, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.

Police said they responded to an emergency call about 5:30 a.m. and found a man outside the residence with a non-life threatening stab wound to his back. Police reports indicate he was watching TV in his house, when his wife stabbed him with a knife.

The manager a youth baseball team in Sacramento has been arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of lewd acts and molesting a child.

Sacramento police announced that Daniel Kirk (pictured), 42, was taken into custody today after a warrant was issued by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.

A teenage victim reported that Kirk had sexually assaulted him multiple times over the past four years, according to a Police Department news release. At least one of the alleged assaults is believed to have occurred in Sacramento and other incidents may have occurred while the victim and suspect were together in another jurisdiction, police said.

Sacramento police are investigating whether the same man exposed himself on the street and later sexually assaulted a woman on Thursday in the Pocket-Greenhaven area.

In the first incident, a man was seen exposing himself around Royal Garden Avenue and Havenside Drive at about 6:45 a.m. Police searched the area but no suspect was found.

A police activity log said that crime scene investigators were called in and detectives were notified to follow up on the case.

Then, about 8:45 p.m., a pedestrian along a waterway near the 7300 block of Gloria Drive was approached from behind by a man. The man reached around and briefly touched her.

The heavyset man in his 20s ran away. A search aided by a police helicopter failed to find the perpetrator.

Police believe the incidents could be related.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Vincent Richard Rivera and Fred Huante Jr. of first degree murder in the April 14, 2011, shooting death of a man who purportedly robbed them in a drug deal several weeks earlier.

Judge Allen H. Sumner scheduled the sentencing for May 17 on Rivera, 27, who was identified as the shooter, and Huante, who is now 21, in the killing of Francisco Flores, 19.

Authorities say Flores first robbed Huante in a drug deal in Chuckwagon Park in South Natomas. Huante and Rivera then went "hunting" for the suspects in the rip-off, Deputy District Attorney Chris Ore told jurors. About three weeks before the Flores killing, the defendants shot up another car on Northgate Boulevard that looked similar the robbery suspects' vehicle, jurors found in their verdicts today.

The defendants were convicted on two counts of of attempted murder in the earlier, March 27, 2011, shooting. Rivera and Huante also were convicted on another count of attempted murder in the shooting that injured Flores' brother at the same time they killed the murder victim outside a store on Northgate Boulevard at San Juan Road.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Comedian Katt Williams pleaded no contest today to reckless evasion of an officer for a short chase on a three-wheeled motorcycle last November through downtown Sacramento.

Williams entered his plea to the misdemeanor charge in Sacramento Superior Court.

Williams sentenced was 180 days in the county jail. However, the court converted that to 90 days of community service. The other half of the sentence will be stayed if he completes the community service and there are no new charges.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What's the latest information regarding the home invasion/shootout in the Greenhaven area last year?
Submitted by: ict1, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three men have been charged in the Dec. 22 home invasion robbery in which one of the intruders was killed and three other people were wounded.

Sacramento police are asking the public's help in identifying a suspect in the robbery of a business.

Police responded about 10:30 a.m. Friday to the 1500 block of West El Camino Avenue regarding an armed robbery of Advance America. The suspect, armed with a handgun, entered the business, demanded money and ordered the victim into a safe, according to a Police Department news release.

The suspect stole money from the safe, then left the business on foot.

A ten-year-old boy caught in a hail of bullets from a drive-by shooting in North Highlands Saturday night is doing better at UC Davis Medical Center.

The boy, who has not been identified by authorities, was listed in fair condition on Wednesday, according to hospital officials. His assailants have not been found.

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were called to a home where a child's birthday party was occuring in the 6300 block of Whitecliff Way about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The boy and a teen were standing at the front of the house when a vehicle pulled up outside the residence.

Light-rail train service, which was temporarily suspended near Watt Avenue this morning as officials investigated a suspicious suitcase, has been restored.

The suspicious suitcase was discovered around 7 a.m. along an access road between two Regional Transit stations: Watt/I-80 and Watt/I-80 West. A bus shuttle was temporarily put in in place to get passengers to a station where trains are still operating.

Law enforcement bomb experts detonated the suitcase and the train service began operating again at about 9 a.m.

Elk Grove police and fire personnel pulled a small dog from a storm drain this morning using an air hose to move the little pooch along.

Emergency officials were called to the area of Bond and Brandshaw roads where the dog had somehow gotten into an underground storm drain and then apparently couldn't figure how to get out.

Pressurized air was sprayed into the pipe where the dog was located, which caused the dog to walk underground to a spot where rescue crew members above ground had taken off a storm drain grate.

By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com

The woman who reported finding her 53-year-old roommate dead in their south Sacramento home Tuesday has been taken into custody, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

The woman, 45-year-old Linda Gabaldon, was found to be in violation of the terms of her parole, said sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos. She was not arrested on suspicion of murder.

Earlier today, the Sacramento County Coroner's office identified the victim as 53-year-old Rebecca H. Brau.

Shortly before 4 p.m., Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies responded to a residence in the 5900 block of Mascot Avenue regarding a shooting victim. A woman had called saying that she had returned home to find her roommate shot to death inside the residence, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038. Follow her on Twitter @Kim_Minugh.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Is there any info on Garry Bradford's sentencing on April 12?
Submitted by: Bill, Sacramento

ANSWER: Garry Bradford's sentencing in U.S. District Court in Sacramento for his role in a real estate Ponzi scheme has been postponed.

Police say two people are in custody after they reportedly robbed a blood donation clinic in south Sacramento, CBS13 reported.

A Sun City resident who spotted a man under her neighbor's pickup helped police nab a suspected catalytic converter thief.

A resident on Pineschi Place looked out her front window at 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday to see a man crawling under her neighbor's Toyota pickup. Figuring something was amiss, she called 911.

She kept an eye on the man while talking to the dispatcher, according to a Roseville police public safety newsletter. Officers responded and surrounded the area.

Police moved in and arrested the man, who, they said, was in the process of sawing off the pickup's catalytic converter. The 24-year-old Sacramento man had a list of other local addresses.

They suspect that he had driven around earlier, writing down addresses of places to return to in order steal other catalytic converters. Police said the alert Sun City resident deserves credit for nipping that in the bud.

A Sacramento restaurant employee ran from the business early this morning when a burglar's noisy entrance scared her.

It was around midnight last night when the employee heard loud banging as if somebody was trying to break into the closed International Bistro, 2377 Northgate Boulevard. When the banging reached a certain loudness, she fled out the front door and waited for the arrival of officers.

When police got to the scene, they surrounded the building. Upon entering the restaurant, officers found Julio Anthony Basquez, 26, (pictured) hiding away.

Officers said he was pretending to be asleep. Police believe Basquez broke into the restaurant through the shared wall of a vacant adjacent business.

Police noticed that several items from the restaurant had been moved to a back door prior to their arrival. Basquez was booked on suspicion of burglary and outstanding warrants.

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating two strong-arm robberies on Lemon Hill Avenue that targeted senior citizens.

The first occurred about 1:55 p.m. Feb. 18 as an 84-year-old man was walking on Lemon Hill Avenue. He was approached by a man who asked for change. After receiving the change, the man demanded all the victim's money and physically went through the victim's pockets, according to a Police Department news release.

The suspect then ran and got into a waiting vehicle driven by a second suspect.

Law enforcement is accepting for disposal potentially dangerous and unwanted prescription drugs on Saturday at four sites in Sacramento County.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency have set up four spots to bring the unwanted medicines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The locations: Sheriff's Garfield Station, 5510 Garfield Ave., Sheriff's Florin Station, 7000 65th Street, Rancho Cordova Police, 2897 Kilgore Road and Antelope High School, 7801 Titan Road.

Studies reveal that most of the prescription drugs that are abused come from family and friends, often out of the home medicine cabinet, according to a sheriff's press release.

Collection sites will accept any medicines in capsule and tablet form. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked, according to the sheriff's department.

A Carmichael man is missing again - and the Sacramento Sheriff's Department needs help in finding him.

Hugh Myers, 70, was last seen at his residence in the 3700 block of Kimberly Way at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. He is considered to be at risk due to dementia and has a serious medical condition requiring medication.

It's not the first time Myers has gone missing. Last August he also went missing, only to be found two states away in Vancouver, Wash.

Myers is described as a white man, 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 185 pounds. He has brown eyes and gray hair, a gray mustache and beard and wears glasses.

It is not known what he was wearing when he went missing on Sunday but he often dresses in clothing with Harley Davidson logos. Anyone who spots Myers is asked to call the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.

An early morning car crash in Greenhaven took a wild turn when the driver reportedly nearly missed striking a police officer, and then led officers on a brief chase with the pole and a street sign still perched on the top of the car, Sacramento police said.

Officers responded to a call about a vehicle colliding with a city light pole in the 6700 block of Greenhaven Drive about 1 a.m. They found the car with the driver still seated inside and the pole lying across the top of the vehicle, police said.

The driver first attempted to get out of the passenger door, then got back into the driver's seat and tried to drive away, officer said. The car backed into the parked patrol car, and an officer had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, police reports said.

Sacramento police report that a man in his 20s was the victim of a fatal shooting this evening.

Officers were called to an apartment complex in the 600 block of Plaza Avenue in North Sacramento about 7:53 p.m. regarding a report that a man had been shot, said Officer Doug Morse, police spokesman. They found the victim outside an apartment in a courtyard area and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Morse said it has not been determined whether the man lived in the at the complex.

He said investigators do not know what precipitated the shooting.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What can you tell me about any lasting legacy of a public defender, Tommy Clinkenbeard, who founded a legal clinic at Loaves & Fishes and was very involved with the Death Penalty Focus?
Submitted by: Uncle Bud, Ozawkie, Kan.

ANSWER: Tommy Clinkenbeard, a Sacramento County public defender, started a legal clinic in 2000 to aid homeless people.

A man who fled to Mexico in an attempt to avoid prosecution has been convicted of second-degree murder in the 2008 Christmas Day shooting death of 24-year-old Francisco Torres-Fernandez.

A Sacramento County jury on Thursday found Edgar Carrillo, 30, guilty in the slaying of Torres-Fernandez, a North Highlands resident who was found fatally wounded in the 2300 block of North Avenue in Del Paso Heights just after midnight Dec. 25, 2008. The jury also found Carrillo guilty of assault with a deadly weapon for pistol whipping a woman that same day, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Carrillo and Torres-Fernandez were acquaintances and had reportedly gotten into an argument before the shooting.

A former Sacramento police officer was sentenced today to one year in jail for falsifying drunken driving reports and lying at a state Department of Motor Vehicles administrative hearing.

Brandon Michael Mullock, 27, was sentenced to five years in prison, but Judge Patrick Marlette suspended that sentence and instead ordered that Mullock serve one year in county jail in order to get five years of probation. If he violates the terms of his probation, he will be forced to serve the prison sentence.

Mullock was taken into custody at the conclusion of this morning's hearings as his family members wept in the audience.

In March, Mullock entered no-contest pleas on four felony charges.

Authorities began their investigation into Mullock after defense attorneys in drunken driving cases reported in 2010 that some of the visuals taken from the officer's in-car patrol videos did not match up with the written reports he prepared.

Defense lawyers also complained that some of the testimony Mullock gave at DMV driver's license revocation hearings strayed from the video evidence.

As a result of the discrepancies, prosecutors were forced to dismiss 79 cases involving Mullock, District Attorney Jan Scully told reporters at a May 2011 news conference, before criminal charges were filed against Mullock in the case.

The DA's Office already had obtained convictions in 73 of those cases before it was forced to dump them, according to prosecutors.

At today's sentencing, Judge Patrick Marlette said that he was particularly disturbed by how Mullock's actions threatened the integrity of the criminal justice system and violated due process of the accused.

Mullock's lawyers argued that their client didn't act with malice. They said his intentions were good: he wanted drunken drivers off the streets. Mullock, they noted, was remorseful for his actions.

A good Samaritan who lost his life as he tried to aid a crash victim on Interstate 80 was described by his boss as a "good family guy" and a man with a great spirit.

Jeff Hohle, owner of Castlewood Cabinets in Dixon, said Spencer West Myers, 36, of Vacaville was on his way to work Thursday morning when he stopped to aid a motorist whose car had overturned on eastbound I-80. Hohle said such actions were typical of Myers.

"He was an all-round good guy," Hohle said. "He was just that one notch above."

Sacramento Police Department homicide detectives tonight have been called out to the south area, where a shooting sent two victims to area hospitals, police said.

The shooting occurred at 6:42 p.m. near Franklin Boulevard and Brookfield Drive, said Officer Doug Morse, a department spokesman.

Morse said the injuries to at least one of the two victims was severe enough to warrant sending out homicide detectives.

The Sacramento Police Department has released descriptions of three suspects in the fatal assault last month on 28-year-old Josiah Humphreys in the midtown area.

Officers responded about 12:48 a.m. March 17 to the area of 18th and P streets regarding a report of an individual who was bleeding. They arrived to find Humphreys, who had been seriously injured in a fight. Humphreys was transported to an area hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Police are asking the public's help in identifying the suspects. All are described as light-skinned, black, Asian or Latino men, 25 to 30 years old. One reportedly weighed 180 to 195 pounds and was wearing a dark-colored New York Yankees jacket similar to the one pictured. The second man reportedly had a thin build, short dark spiky hair, and was wearing a white T-shirt. The third suspect also may have been wearing a white T-shirt, according to a Police Department news release.

A man is dead after tripping and falling in front of a light-rail train heading inbound into Sacramento.

The train operator sounded his horn around noon when he saw the man on the tracks at the Power Inn Station, near Power Inn Road and Folsom Boulevard, but could not stop in time.

Buses are shuttling light-rail passengers between the University-65th Street station and the Watt-Manlove station on the Gold Line so that officials can conduct an investigation.

A man was arrested for attempted robbery thanks to fast work by mall security officers, Sacramento officers and a police dog.

A man reported to Arden Fair Mall security about 8 p.m. Tuesday that an armed robber tried to hold him up in the parking lot. Police were notified and mall security provided a good description of the suspected robber's vehicle.

Police arriving to the call made a stop of the vehicle away from the mall parking lot.

Police said Jordan E. Urban, 22, (pictured) then fled from the car.

Urban was brought into custody with the assistance of a police dog. A discarded, loaded handgun was booked into evidence.

Urban was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of attempted robbery, carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony and giving false identification to police.

A woman who died Friday afternoon when she was struck by a Union Pacific train has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as 23-year-old Jennifer Oakes.

Oakes' community of residence was not listed on the coroner's website.

According to Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt, the accident occurred about 3 p.m. Friday south of Highway 50 near the Folsom Boulevard crossing, near California State University, Sacramento. The freight train was southbound when the woman was spotted standing on the tracks.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified a motorcyclist who died Monday morning in a collision with a school bus as Travis Brian Percival, 33, of Sacramento.

According to the California Highway Patrol, which investigates incidents involving school buses, Percival was riding a 2007 Kawasaki motorcycle westbound on San Juan Road, east of Tumbleweed Way in South Natomas about 6:45 a.m. A school bus belonging to the Twin Rivers Unified School District was stopped on southbound Tumbleweed Way at San Juan Road.

As the bus driver began to make a left turn onto eastbound San Juan, Percival changed lanes, moving from the right lane to the left lane, and collided with the right side of the bus, according to a CHP news release.

A former Twin Rivers Police Department officer has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault under the color of authority.

On Sept. 17, 2010, Branche Smith, 38, grabbed two individuals by the neck in choke holds and lifted them off benches to which they had been secured by handcuffs, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. He also pointed his Taser at the chest of a third individual handcuffed to a bench and threatened to deploy the device if that individual did not stop shaking, authorities said.

On May 30, 2011, Smith kicked a handcuffed individual in the head while that subject was restrained at the jail.

The District Attorney's Office announced that Smith was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to serve 60 days in the county jail. He can apply to the Sheriff's Department for a work-release program.

A motorcyclist died when his vehicle crashed into a school bus this morning in the Natomas area.

Few details are available yet on how the crash occurred. The California Highway Patrol, which handles school bus accidents, reported that at about 7 a.m. the school bus with students aboard collided with the motorcycle on San Juan near Tumbleweed Way.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. Neither the students nor the bus driver were injured.

A North Sacramento shooting led to the apprehension of a 25-year-old man Saturday night, according to police.

Sacramento police officers responded to the report of a shooting in the 1500 block of Los Robles Boulevard about 8 p.m. Police reports said a suspect shot at someone seated in a vehicle. Bullets reportedly struck the vehicle but didn't injure anyone inside. The victim reportedly knew the assailant.

Police went to a home in the 3400 block of Montrose Avenue about 10:45 p.m. that night and took Billy Hembree into custody. He was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

A 20-year-old man was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at another man and chasing him through a house in the 2800 block of Belden Street about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Sacramento police.

Here is what police reported: Officers were notified about a possible armed man in a neighborhood around Belden Street and Alamos Avenue. Officers arrived and tried to talk to two men. One of them fled police, but was caught.

Davon Rich, who allegedly pointed the gun at the other man and made threatening remarks, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, participation in a gang and resisting arrest.

The gun was found and booked into evidence, police said.

Sacramento SWAT members responded to a four-hour standoff that ended about 6:30 a.m. Sunday with the arrest of a 37-year-old man.

Sacramento city police were called to the residence in the 1600 block of Glenrose Avenue about 2:10 a.m. for an intoxicated man walking around the house with a gun in each hand, said Michele Gigante, a police spokesperson.

When officers arrived, the family, including an infant, got out of the home, but the man barricaded himself in the house and wouldn't come out. The SWAT team was called out to the scene, Gigante said.

The man was eventually taken into custody shortly after 6:30 a.m. and booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of firearms. No injuries were reported.

A woman died this afternoon when she was struck by a Union Pacific freight train as she stood on tracks just south of Highway 50, about a quarter mile from the Folsom Boulevard crossing, near California State University, Sacramento.

Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for Union Pacific, said the accident occurred about 3 p.m. The train was southbound when the woman was spotted standing on the tracks. Hunt said the crew initiated the process to stop the train but was unable to bring it to a stop in time to avoid hitting the woman. He noted that a train typically travels about a mile before coming to a halt.

The woman was declared dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel.

The Sacramento Police Department is asking the public's help in identifying a suspect in a bank robbery that occurred last week.

About 1 p.m. April 5, police and FBI agents responded to the 3200 block of Arena Boulevard regarding a robbery at Tri Counties Bank, inside the Bel Air Market, in the North Natomas area. The suspect approached the teller and handed her a note demanding money, according to a Police Department news release. The man received the money and left the store.

Police said the same suspect (pictured) was captured on video surveillance in the area of the Golden One Credit Union just before the robbery. He reportedly left after waiting in line for a short time.

A former National Football League football player and a former West Sacramento claims adjuster are accused of participating in a $1.5 million scheme to defraud a Sacramento business that managed workers' compensation claims.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted Marcus Buckley, 42, of Weatherford,Texas, and Kimberly Jones, a former West Sacramento resident now living in Wichita, Kan., in the alleged scheme, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Both were charged with five counts of wire fraud, and Buckley was charged with six counts of money laundering.

According to the indictment, Buckley was a professional football player with the National Football League between 1993 and 2000, playing seven seasons with the New York Giants. During that period, the Giants had workers' compensation coverage through Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association Insurance Group.

Charges of filing false tax returns have been added in a federal case against three men accused of stealing more than $18 million from the United Auburn Indian Community, which owns the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln.

The new charges against Bart Wayne Volen, 53, of San Diego and Hawaii; Greg Scott Baker, 46, of Newcastle; and Darrell Patrick Hinz, 48, of Cameron Park, are included in a superseding indictment brought today by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

In August 2012, the three men were charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, and money laundering as part of a scheme to defraud the United Auburn Indian Community. Today's superseding indictment alleges that in 2006 and 2007, Volen and Hinz filed false tax returns in connection with the fraud, and Baker filed false tax returns from 2006 through 2009.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the man found fatally shot in a Pocket area apartment Monday as 30-year-old Lawrence Dominic Smith.

Friends of Smith discovered Smith's body in his apartment, located on the 8000 block of Pocket Road, just after 10 a.m. Monday, according to Sacramento police. The friends called 911, and paramedics pronounced Smith dead at the scene.

Smith had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

Homicide detectives are investigating, but have not yet made any arrests in the case.

The Yolo County coroner's office has released the name of the man who was run over by his truck tractor at a West Sacramento trucking company yard.

He was identified as Vitali Dobic, 36, of Sacramento.

Police and California Highway Patrol officers responded to an industrial accident in the 3000 block of Evergreen Avenue about 11 a.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, officers found a semi-tractor that appeared to have crashed through a chain-link fence of the business. It had stopped at the side of Interstate 80, just west of the Harbor Boulevard entrance, said West Sacramento police spokesman Lt. Tod Sockman.

Dobic was pinned under the tractor, which was still running. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dobic was an employee of the trucking company and the tractor was assigned to him. Sockman said it was not unusual for someone to be in the trucking yard alone, and there were no witnesses to the incident.

Seven people, including three from Sacramento and one from Roseville, have been charged by federal authorities in a case involving an alleged conspiracy to sell millions of dollars worth of stolen goods on eBay.

Arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud are Jason Samuel Schroeder, 33, John Judah Young, 32, and Maribel Martinez, 27, all of Sacramento; Joshua Roy Payne 27, of Vacaville; Kirk Arthell Sanderson, 34, of Walnut Creek; and David Reed, 26, of Santa Barbara.

Payne was also charged with lying to federal agents, and Schroeder was detained as a flight risk, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Andrea Lynn Turner, 31, of Roseville was also charged but has not been arrested, officials said.

Arraignment is scheduled for April 24.

Sacramento police today arrested a 52-year-old man in connection with a 25-year-old homicide case.

Stanley David Grow (pictured) was taken into custody shortly after 9 a.m. as he exited the rear door of his home in the 3600 block of Gayle Way in North Highlands, according to a Police Department news release. He is accused of the 1988 slaying of Manuel Morales. Police said the arrest was based on DNA evidence.

At 2:17 a.m. Oct. 19, 1988, a Sacramento police officer was on patrol on 14th Avenue in the William Land Park area. While westbound on 14th Avenue from 19th Street, the officer saw an individual lying in the gutter wrapped in a blood-soaked sheet. The victim, later identified as 51-year-old Morales, had suffered multiple stab wounds and was declared dead at the scene.

A South Lake Tahoe marijuana dispensary owner has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for marijuana trafficking.

Gennaro DiMatteo, 43, was sentenced today in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. DiMatteo had entered a guilty plea in January. As part of his plea agreement, DiMatteo will forfeit more than $40,000 to the United States, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

In pleading guilty, DiMatteo admitted that during a search of his South Lake Tahoe residence, law enforcement agents discovered a hidden door that led to several subsurface rooms under the structure. Equipment set up in the rooms was standard for indoor marijuana cultivation gardens.

Firefighters this afternoon will sift through the rubble of a heavily damaged home in South Sacramento looking for the cause of an explosive fire - and to make sure there are no bodies in the rubble.

Two people were critically burned in the fire that erupted about 4:30 a.m. today on Herbosa Vista Court. Sounds of explosion were heard coming from the single-story residence.

Firefighters said two vehicles with lights turned off were seen speeding from the scene. Two burn victims were transported by private vehicle to UC Davis Medical Center about 30 minutes after the fire was reported.

Fire officials said they suffered second- and third-degree burns over 50-70 percent of their bodies, including on their hands, faces and legs.

Sacramento police said a man was robbed of his just-purchased beers after being touched with a stunning device.

The man was walking from store in the 2000 block of Point West Way near Arden Way about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday with two beers and energy drinks when he was approached from behind.

He was then touched with an electrical stun gun that left him unable to stop the female robber from taking his purchases. The robber fled.

A woman has died from injuries suffered when she was hit by a car while crossing a street in Arden Arcade.

The California Highway Patrol said that Laura Barnes, 54, of North Highlands was crossing Watt Avenue near Barberry Lane about 8:30 p.m. Sunday when she was stuck by a car traveling southbound at about 35 mph.

The CHP said that that Barnes suffered major injuries and was transported to UC Davis Medical Center. She died the next day.

The CHP said that Barnes was not within a marked crosswalk.

Sacramento police confirmed today that the death of a man whose body was found in a Pocket-area apartment this morning is being investigated as a homicide.

The man, identified only as 30 years old, was discovered inside an apartment on the 8000 block of Pocket Road by friends who hadn't heard from him in awhile, said police Officer Michele Gigante.

The friends found him unconscious inside the apartment. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, and called police. The man had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Gigante said.

It was not immediately clear how long the man had been inside the apartment, Gigante said.

Detectives are investigating. No suspects have been arrested.

A man had to go to the hospital as a precaution after police had some difficulty in bringing him under control.

Officers made a traffic stop of Anthony M. Mancuso, 37, near Acacia Avenue and Clay Street in the Hagginwood neighborhood of Sacramento about 4 p.m. Sunday. Once stopped, Mancuso ran from officers.

Police said at one point he tried to reach into his pants and was not complying with the commands of officers. An officer used a Taser to gain control of Mancuso.

The vehicle he had been driving was confirmed to be stolen, police said. Police said he was arrested on suspicion of possession of burglary tools, motor vehicle theft, heroin and hypodermic needle possession and resisting arrest.

The name of the driver killed Thursday when his vehicle hit a tree along the Capital City Freeway near Arden Way has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

He was identified as Roberto Meza Ayon, 59, of Winton, Merced County.

The motorist was apparently traveling eastbound on the Capital City Freeway about 7 a.m. on wet roadway. Ayon's vehicle ended up near the westbound side in the center divide.

Ayon's vehicle hit a tree in the center divide, backing traffic up in the commute on the westbound side of the freeway.

A fight between two brothers in south Sacramento left one hospitalized with stab wounds and the other in a jail cell Saturday night, according to Sacramento police.

Officers got a call about a stabbing in the 5600 block of Jacinto Avenue about 9:05 p.m., police reports said. The victim was being transported to the hospital by a family member, but dispatchers advised the caller to pull the vehicle over. While paramedics tended to the victim's wounds, police discovered the man had been stabbed by his brother, according to officers.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I am wondering what happened to Adam Gordon. He was charged with murder and now his online status says state prison hold but not how long he was sentenced for.
Submitted by: Darren, Sacramento

ANSWER: Adam Charles Gordon, 30, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the December 2011 slaying of 53-year-old David Pare, according to Sacramento Superior Court online records.

The Sacramento State Police Department warns the public to beware of an ongoing fraud involving fictitious checks that use identifying information of the University Foundation of Sacramento State.

The perpetrators of the scam have sent fictitious checks with a letter giving the false promise that the recipient has won an international lottery. They seek to persuade the recipient to deposit the fake check and then send payment to the "Intercontinental Lottery Management INC." to pay the taxes on the fake lottery winnings, according to a Police Department news release.

Days later, the victims learn from their bank that the check was fake and they are out the money they sent to the purported lottery firm.

A man has been taken into custody by police after allegedly assaulting a family member at an Oak Park residence.

Sacramento Police Department SWAT officers were dispatched to a home on Ninth Avenue near Pansy Avenue about 8:45 p.m. Police Department spokesman Officer Doug Morse said the man had gone to the home and, during a physical confrontation, he allegedly assaulted an adult female family member. The man was not armed at the time and the woman fled the house.

Fire Department paramedics responded and the woman was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Morse said.

A big rig crash has backed up the morning commune on Interstate 5.

Read more: Fatal crash into tree along Cap City freeway during morning commute

The crash of a big rig has stalled traffic in both directions on Interstate 5 in South Sacramento. The crash occurred about 6:30 a.m. just south of Seamas Avenue when the truck crashed into a center divider.

Both southbound and northbound traffic was still slow through the area at 8:45 a.m. as lanes were closed to clear the wreckage.

The California Highway Patrol said a fatal collision occurred on the Capital City Freeway near Arden Way this morning.

Read more: I-5 big rig crash slows morning commute

The motorist was apparently traveling eastbound on the Capital City freeway about 7 a.m. on wet roadway. The vehicle in which the motorist died ended up near the westbound side in the center divider.

The motorist's vehicle hit a tree in the center divider. Traffic was backed up at 8:15 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway.

A motorist was killed Wednesday night in collision at an intersection near Sacramento's River Park neighborhood.

The crash involving a tow truck and a small pickup occurred about 6:30 p.m. at Carlson Drive and H street. The tow truck was northbound on Carlson and the pickup was westbound on H Street, according to Sacramento police.

The tow truck struck the pickup on the driver's side door. The driver of the pickup, Denis James Tomassetti, 60, of Sacramento, died from injuries suffered in the crash. Tomasetti worked for The Bee in the finance and circulation departments from 1977 to 1992. His wife, Mary Rhea Breen, currently works in finance for The Bee.

A Sacramento woman has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison for her role in a $1.3 million tax fraud scheme.

Nadiyah Muhammad Woods, 34, is the last of three defendants to be sentenced in the case, which involved a scheme to obtain tax refunds by filing false tax returns, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. She was sentenced in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller and will be subject to three years of supervised release following her time in prison. Woods also was ordered to pay $902,617 in restitution.

According to court documents, Woods and two other defendants -- Nakia Renee Vaughn, 27, and Tomisha Lee McKinnie, 25, both of Sacramento -- filed false tax returns using TurboTax, an online tax preparation software. To operate the scheme, the defendants obtained Green Dot and other debit cards offered through the TurboTax software that were loaded with the tax refunds of taxpayer victims whose identities they used. They had the tax refunds mailed to various addresses under their control in Sacramento County.

Sacramento police are investigating a home-invasion robbery reported at a South Land Park apartment Tuesday night.

According to a police report, the female victim was inside her apartment on the 6000 block of South Land Park Drive about 10 p.m. when three men came in the open back door.

One of the suspects assaulted the woman, and the three suspects stole cash before leaving, according to the report. The woman went to a local hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury.

She told police one of the suspects was a white male in his teens. No description was given of the other two suspects, according to the report.

Police spokesman Officer Doug Morse said police are still investigating.

A Sacramento-based Coast Guard air crew helped recover 3.3 tons of marijuana from the ocean on Sunday off the coast of Southern California.

The crew of the Coast Guard C-130 Hercules, based in Sacramento, spotted a suspected smuggler's vessel during a routine patrol, according to the Coast Guard. Sailors on the suspected smugglers boat began throwing bales of marijuana overboard and sped south.

The C-130 crew provided the location of the ship, about 90 miles west of San Nicolas Island, to the Coast Guard Cutter Alert. The cutter responded to recover 245 bales of marijuana.

San Nicolas Island is one of the Channel Islands 60 miles off the coast from Los Angeles. Coast Guard crews regularly patrol the waters off the coast to disrupt smuggling of illegal migrants and drugs, according to a Coast Guard press release.

A man broke into a couple's home in the Sacramento-area last month, jumped on their bed and left with only a few bucks. Fox40 provides the report.

Sacramento police seek the public's help in identifying a man who followed a woman home from a walk and prowled around her North Natomas residence.

Police said the incident occurred about 8:20 p.m. March 22. The woman was on a walk near Duckhorn and Saintsbury drives when she encountered a man walking in the opposite direction. As she continued on her walk, she sensed someone following her and turned around to find the man behind her.

The woman told police that she walked across the street and looked at the man. He reportedly stared at her for several seconds and then started running. The woman then ran home.

A Sacramento Fire Department water rescue team has recovered a body from the Sacramento River near the 800 block of Seamas Avenue.

Assistant Chief Niko King said a call was received about 5:10 p.m. from a person on a cell phone who had spotted a body snagged near a tree at the river's edge.

Rescue crews found an individual who was deceased, and King said police and coroner's officials have been called to the scene.

King said he did not know whether the body was that of a man or a woman, or how long it might have been in the river.

Sacramento police are asking the public's help in identifying two suspects in burglaries of laundry rooms at a number of apartment complexes.

Police said the burglars have targeted the coin mechanisms on washers and dryers after forcing entry to the unoccupied and locked rooms.

Both suspects are described as African American men, 25 to 30 years old. Witnesses described one as having a thin build with a short afro and goatee, according to a Police Department news release.

An uncle of the man who police suspect was in the act of tagging when he was found hanged from a downtown building said he never knew his nephew to deface any property with graffiti.

"I have never known for him to do that before," said Joseph Fugate, whose nephew, Craig Michael Fugate, 30, was discovered Monday morning hanging from rope outside the 16th floor of a building at 12th and K streets. "He is an artist. I know that."

He said that his nephew was adept at artwork on t-shirts, including silk-screening. He was a kind man, his uncle said.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl is in jail following a Sunday afternoon standoff with police at a Pocket-area apartment.

Rondell Shavell Baptiste (pictured), 32, is being held in Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

After taking a report from the 12-year-old, investigators traced the suspect, Baptiste, to an apartment in the 7600 block of Windbridge Drive about 3:30 p.m. Baptiste initially refused to come out of the apartment, and SWAT and hostage negotiation teams were summoned, according to a Sacramento Police Department news release.

Baptiste finally surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.

Police said the girl reported being the victim of sexual assaults that occurred over the past several months. The case is under investigation.

Sacramento police say that evidence suggests that the man who died while descending from a downtown building was attempting to mark or etch something on the facade.

Police and fire personnel responded to calls of a man's body found hanging from a building at 12th and K streets at 7:45 a.m.

The man's death appears to be accidental, according to police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante. A can of spray paint and an etching tool that could be used to deface glass was found on a roof above where the man was found hanging.

A reward is being offered for the arrest of a man who sexually assaulted a jogger on a well-traveled portion of the American River Parkway last week.

The woman was knocked to the ground by a man who tried to put his hand under her clothing during the attack that occurred about 11 a.m. Tuesday along the American River between Howe and Watt avenues.

Supervising Park Ranger John Havicon said the young woman was jogging on the horse trail between the river and the paved bicycle path. At one point, she passed a picnic table where the man was sitting next to a bike.

Police baton, Taser and a police dog were used to bring a man under control in a wild fight with officers on Sunday afternoon in a neigborhood near Howe Avenue and American River Drive.

Sacramento police were called to the 2000 block of University Avenue at about 4 p.m. Sunday on a report of a man was on the caller's roof acting crazy and possibly under the influence of drugs.

When officers arrived, the man was down from the roof but he refused to cooperate with police. The officers requested cover from colleagues and tried to subdue the man, using a Taser and police baton.

A woman was arrested Saturday afternoon after she allegedly bit a police officer trying to intervene in a couple's argument, Sacramento police reported.

Two children were on the scene of the fracas, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Breckenridge Way.

Sacramento police officers responded to a domestic 911 call from inside a home, and when they arrived, a child told police her father was hitting her mother. Officers could hear a couple arguing inside the home, but the couple wouldn't open the door, according to police reports.

Coroners identified the teenager killed in an early Saturday morning vehicle crash near Arden Fair Mall as Augustin Valdovinos Ocampo, 19, of Sacramento.

California Highway Patrol officers said the teen was driving a 1994 Nissan pickup truck westbound on Arden Way, east of Bell Street, when it crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck a Chevrolet truck.

Ocampo was pronounced dead at the scene, said CHP reports. The driver of the other vehicle was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of Vera Kuzmenko, who was indicted in a mortgage fraud case?
Submitted by: Edward, Sacramento

ANSWER: Vera Kuzmenko, a tax preparer, is one of more than 80 people who have been indicted in 30 cases of alleged mortgage fraud filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento and involving members of the area's Slavic community, according to stories in The Bee.

In the past two months, California Highway Patrol Officer Rick Murray has done more than keep the speeds down on Sacramento freeways: He has used life-saving skills to restore breathing to both a toddler and a woman.

In the first incident, on Feb. 13, Murray, a motorcycle officer, was on patrol when he rolled up to three stopped vehicles in the center median of Highway 50, east of Highway 99. As he arrived, Cassie Moore showed Murray her 18-month-old daughter.

Moore's child had stopped breathing.

"The baby was absolutely blue," said Murray, a 17-year CHP veteran.

A Sacramento man was indicted today in a federal firearms trafficking case.

Dejon Andrade, 27, is charged with one count of unlawful dealing in firearms, five counts of interstate travel with intent to unlawfully deal in firearms and nine counts of illegal transportation of firearms acquired outside of his state of residence, according to a federal Department of Justice new release.

Court documents allege that Andrade used a Nevada ID to buy guns in Nevada, although he resided in California. He was prohibited from purchasing or possessing guns in California because of parole conditions, officials said, but he was able to buy firearms in Reno by providing false information on his federal firearm purchase paperwork.

A Nevada County man pleaded guilty today in federal court to maintaining a marijuana dispensary in Sacramento.

John Lester Gross III, 48, of Rough and Ready admitted maintaining a drug-involved premises, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Gross helped organize and maintain a marijuana dispensary on P Street in Sacramento. It was supplied with marijuana grown on Gross' property in Rough and Ready, near Grass Valley.

An Oakland man has been sentenced to seven years in prison in a case involving the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old south Sacramento girl.

Jamir Imari Tatum, 20, was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Morrison C.England Jr. Tatum will be subject to 10 years of supervised release following his prison term and will be required to register as a sex offender, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, in January 2012, Tatum met the 14-year-old victim outside her house. He took her to a motel in Sacramento and took several photographs of her engaged in sexuality explicit conduct. On Feb. 21, 2012, law enforcement agents were notified that the victim had run away with Tatum.

A man who died in a standoff with police in Washington was wanted in Sacramento for real estate fraud.

The two-day police stand-off at a home in the small town of Hoquiam, along Washington's coast, ended this morning when the man was shot and killed.

The house where he had been holed up, then erupted in fire.

Sacramento's popular new beer hall LowBrau will be hosting a fundraiser Saturday night to contribute to a reward fund for information in the case of Josiah Humphreys, the 28-year-old man fatally beaten in midtown earlier this month.

Early in the morning March 17, Humphreys was beaten at the corner of 18th and P streets by three suspects who have not yet been identified by Sacramento police. His family and friends started a reward fund for information that leads to arrests in the case and have raised almost $5,000, said Humphreys' sister, Veronica.

The fundraiser will begin at 7 p.m. at LowBrau, 1050 20th Street, and last until closing time. Several businesses and restaurants in town have donated items for a raffle that will benefit the fund, and several others are sponsoring the event, said Tom Goode, a friend of Humphreys.

Sacramento police arrested a man for possessing a Molotov cocktail last night in Del Paso Heights.

Police said they were called to the 3400 block of Branch Street about 9 p.m. where a man reportedly had ignited a Molotov cocktail in the street near an occupied recreational vehicle.

No property damage occurred and no injuries were suffered. The person who allegedly lit the Molotov cocktail was known to the occupants of the RV and officers were able to find Davy Liu, 22, at nearby residence.

He was identified as a suspect and booked into Sacramento County Jail on $1 million bail. Liu was arrested on suspicion of possession, exploding or igniting a destructive device and possession of a destructive device in a public place.

A Sacramento man has been found guilty of conspiring to manufacture marijuana at homes in Placer County.

Tien Le, 47, was convicted following a six-day jury trial in Sacramento before U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Evidence was presented during the trial of a conspiracy involving Le and his two brothers. Authorities said the three men purchased high-end homes in Auburn and Foresthill to house marijuana growing operations. The three homes had basements ideal for growing large amounts of marijuana.

California State University, Sacramento, police have arrested a former housing employee on suspicion of embezzlement.

Laini Harris (pictured), 45, had been under investigation for some time, according to a news release from the university Police Department.

Harris was employed at the Upper Eastside Lofts, a CSUS student apartment complex. She is accused of misappropriating residents' rent payments.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome and reason behind the man fatally shot outside the Monte Carlo a few months back? I believe the victim's name was Jesse James Nunez. Has the suspect been charged in court yet?
Submitted by: Manero, West Sacramento

ANSWER: Elpidio Tellez was arrested following the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Jesse James Nunez.

A skinny burglar attempting to enter an east Sacramento garage through a doggie door was stopped in the act.

The burglar was attempting to enter the garage of the home in the 3900 block of H Street about noon on Sunday through the doggie door when he was spotted by one of the residents, according to police.

Police said the resident chased the burglar but he got away. The burglar was described as a thin, black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall. He was wearing dark clothing, including a black, hooded sweathshirt.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office has released the name of the man shot to death at a Natomas party early Sunday morning.

He has been identified as Roland Duncan Bell, 25, of Fairfield.

Bell was killed and two others wounded during gunfire at an apartment.

A man died after fire blazed through his home Saturday morning.

The case has been turned over to arson investigators, officials said.

The house in the 6100 block of McLaren was in flames and filled with choking smoke when Sacramento Fire Department arrived shortly after 7 a.m., authorities said.

Three occupants in the home were able to escape the burning home, but a 67-year-old man in a rear bedroom was not able to get out. Firefighters rescued him through a side window.

Channel 10 news reports identified him as Charles Ellington, Sr. Ellington was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where he later was pronounced dead.

The driver of a stolen vehicle led Sacramento police officers on a brief pursuit Saturday morning, before crashing into another vehicle, according to police reports.

Officers identified a stolen vehicle being driven near Franklin Boulevard and 47th Avenue about 8:35 a.m., when it sped away from them, police said. The stolen vehicle collided with another vehicle at 47th Avenue near Highway 99, injuring both drivers.

The driver of the stolen vehicle got out and tried to run away, but was captured shortly afterward, officials said.

Joseph Porraz, 18, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, evading police and felony hit-and-run. He was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries prior to his arrest.

The driver of the other vehicle was also transported to a hospital with minor injuries, according to police.

Two women were assaulted and five arrested after a midtown assault just after midnight Sunday, said Sacramento police.

Police were called to the scene of a reported fight at 12th and L streets about 12:10 a.m., and found a woman had been beaten by a group of five women. When another woman came to the victim's aid, she was also assaulted.

Arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault was Veronica Guajardo, 22; Adrianna Western, 22; Alisha Rodriguez, 20; Ashley Rodriguez, 22; and Bobbi Schotsal, 23.

Alisha Rodriguez was also arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Top row, left to right: Ashley Rodriguez, 22, and Alisha Rodriguez, 20.
Middle row, left to right: Bobbi Schotsal, 23, and Adrianna Western, 22.
Bottom row: Veronica Guajardo, 22.

A third victim has been identified in the Natomas shooting that left one dead during a party early Sunday morning, Sacramento police said.

Along with one man injured and another man dead, a woman was also wounded during the gunfire at an apartment, police discovered later in the day.

Police received reports of a shooting and a large fight in an apartment in the 2200 block of River Plaza Drive about 1:05 a.m. When they arrived at the scene, they found a black male in his 20's with multiple gunshot wounds. The Sacramento Fire Department pronounced him dead at the scene.

Coroners identified the body found on a south Sacramento street Friday morning.

The death of Dalando D. Barconey, 23, of El Sobrante, is being investigated as a homicide, according to Sacramento police.

Police were called to 35th Street near Fruitridge Road and Highway 99 about 4 a.m., where a body was reported in the street. They found a man who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds at 3520 35th St. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police reports indicate there was a dark sedan believed to be connected to Barconey's killing, seen in the area around the time of the shooting.

Homicide detectives said they have no known motive for the killing, and no one has been arrested.

Traffic through midtown Sacramento has been blocked this evening by a stalled Union Pacific train.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Doug Morse said the train hit an unoccupied car, but it has been further delayed by concerns about pedestrians climbing between rail cars to get across the tracks.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that the area was clear so the train could safely proceed.

A smoke detector is credited with alerting residents of a Sacramento County apartment to fire in their dwelling.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters were dispatched about 6:30 a.m. today to the 4900 block of Little Oak Lane, near Interstate 80 and Madison Avenue. A fire in an upstairs unit was threatening to extend into adjacent apartments when fire crews arrived.

Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to other units by quickly putting out the blaze. A smoke detector alerted residents to the fire, allowing to residents to vacate the apartment.

Sacramento police have no motive for the killing of a young man whose body was found early this morning in the street.

At about 4 a.m., officers were sent to 35th Street and 26th Avenue near Fruitridge Road and Highway 99 where a body was reported in the street. Sacramento Fire Department personnel also responded and declared the man dead at the scene.

The man in his 20s suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to police. A dark sedan, thought to be connected to the killing, was seen in the area around the time of the shooting, police said.

The man's identity has not been released. Anyone with information is asked to call the dispatch at (916) 264-5471 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Tipsters to Crime Alert may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

The name of the man who was hit and killed by a car Thursday morning when crossing Auburn Boulevard has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

He was identified as Nikolay Gorkavchuk, 87, of Sacramento.

Sacramento police said Gorkavchuk was not in a crosswalk when he walked across Auburn Boulevard just east of Watt Avenue about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. A car heading westbound hit him.

Police said the driver stopped and rendered aid to Gorkavchuk.

A 23-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly led multiple law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit that lasted a half-hour and spanned two freeways, according to authorities.

The suspect also struck multiple cars as he raced westbound on Florin Road from Highway 99 to Interstate 5, though nobody was injured, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos.

The pursuit began in Rancho Cordova, when deputies developed information that 23-year-old Andre Rushing, who had a felony warrant out for his arrest in connection with a robbery, was inside a home on Mills Tower Drive, Ramos said.

The deputies saw Rushing get into a car and then tried to conduct a vehicle stop shortly after 11 a.m., but Rushing failed to yield, Ramos said. The suspect led deputies throughout Rancho Cordova, blowing through stoplights and at one point crashing through a fence, while driving at freeway speeds, Ramos said.

The suspect then got on westbound Highway 50 and then headed south on Highway 99, exiting on Florin Road. While driving westbound on Florin - at times reaching 90 miles per hour - the suspect crashed into several cars, Ramos said.

He then got on northbound Interstate 5 and was involved in some sort of collision near 43rd Avenue, but continued northbound, Ramos said. When he exited at J Street, the car spun out and officers detained the driver and a female passenger just before 11:40 a.m.

The passenger was released, but deputies arrested Rushing on the outstanding warrant. Ramos said he is likely to face fresh charges in connection with the pursuit, including felony evasion.

Sacramento police officers assisted in the pursuit. Nobody was injured.

Police are looking for attackers who assaulted a man outside his home early this morning in Sacramento near Howe Avenue and Highway 50.

The man in his 20s was near his home in the 100 block of College Town Drive after getting off work when he was set upon by men who struck him with a blunt object. He was treated at a hospital for non life-threatening injuries.

The initial indication is that the man did not know his attackers, but that could change as the investigation progresses, according to a police spokesman. He was not robbed.

A man was hit and killed by a car this morning when crossing Auburn Boulevard, according to Sacramento police.

The man in his 60s was not in a crosswalk when he walked across Auburn Boulevard just east of Watt Avenue about 6:30 a.m. A car heading westbound hit the man.

A Sacramento police spokeswoman said it does not appear that the driver was drinking or speeding. The driver stopped to render cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

The pedestrian's body was still in a westbound lane of Auburn Boulevard at 9 a.m. and traffic was being detoured around the scene.

A reward of $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever killed Jessica Funk-Haslam, the Rosemont girl found dead a year ago.

The reward is being offered by the owners of Leonard Padilla Bail Bonds and friends.

"Here's a young lady who was killed in a park a year ago and there are no leads," said Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla. "Let's get something going here."

A car was hit by a train in southeast Sacramento early this morning, blocking Power Inn Road for a time.

The car was struck by the train just north of Fruitridge Boulevard. Power Inn Road opened again by 7 a.m.

Sacramento police said nobody was injured in the crash that involved a Union Pacific Railroad freight train. The driver abandoned the car on the tracks before the crash.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Back in the late 1980s or early '90s a gold miner named Pete Sanger was killed in Old Sacramento. Was anyone ever convicted of the crime?
Submitted by: Leslie, Sacramento

ANSWER: One man pleaded no contest to being an accessory in the shooting death of gold miner Pete Sanger, a resident of Forbestown in Butte County, but the primary suspect was not charged in the case.