Sacto 9-1-1

Authorities don't know what caused a plane to nose-dive into a Sutter County rice field this morning, killing the crop-duster pilot.

The plane crashed about 6:30 a.m. into the muddy field near the town of Nicolaus and Highway 70.

The single-engine airplane lifted off with about 1,000 pounds of zinc fertilizer. Once the aircraft arrived at the field, the pilot made several passes in which he dropped the supplement.

The number of drivers cited for using their cell phones while driving in April was up over a year earlier.

The California Highway Patrol and 265 local police agencies last month handed out more than 57,000 tickets to drivers who were using a hand-held cell phone or texting. The compares to 52,000 tickets issued in April 2011.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing that the problem of cell phone use for talking and texting while driving is not going away anytime soon," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the state Office of Traffic Safety.

His office has conducted an advertising campaign that has included the "Don't Be a Distracted Driving Zombie" television commercials that emphasize how up to 37 percent of brain power needed for driving gets switched to cell phone talking.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and law enforcement agencies throughout the Sacramento region urge drivers to look twice for motorcyclists so all motorists can safely share the road.

California is home to more than 1 million licensed motorcycle riders, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

"Whether a driver is at an intersection or changing lanes, they should always keep an eye out for motorcyclists," CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said in a written statement. "Because motorcycles have a much smaller profile than other vehicles, it can be difficult for drivers to judge the distance and speed of an approaching motorcycle."

In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, 361 people died in California and nearly 11,000 others were injured as a result of a crash involving a motorcycle.

In addition to using safety equipment and riding gear, motorcyclists are encouraged to seek professional training before beginning to ride.

The CHP-administered California Motorcyclist Safety Program offers rider courses for beginning motorcyclists and for riders interested in improving their skills. The program operates more than 120 training sites statewide and expects to train 65,000 motorcyclists this year. For course information and locations, see the the website at http://www.ca-msp.org/.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Five individuals from Sutter County were arrested Tuesday in connection with a false-employment scam that has drained millions of dollars out of government coffers via sham unemployment and disability claims.

The five, along with another Sutter County resident not yet arrested, are charged in a criminal complaint filed Monday in Sacramento federal court.

Arrested Tuesday were Mohammad Nawaz Khan, 56, and Iqila Begum Khan, 31, both of Live Oak; and Mohammad Shahbaz Khan, 56; Gurdev Kaur Johl, 67; and Kewal Singh, 74, all of Yuba City. Also charged in the complaint but not arrested is Mohammad Adnan Khan, 32, of Live Oak.

A Sacramento man is headed to prison for his role in a multistate drug conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. today sentenced Son Nguyen, 41, in federal court in Sacramento to 15 years and 8 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine and MDMA, or Ecstasy.

Nguyen was one of 51 defendants charged in nine related indictments stemming from a 13-month federal investigation with connections to six states -- Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alaska, Georgia and California. Drug seizures occurred in California, Alaska, Illinois and Georgia, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

A Marysville man was sentenced today in federal court to three years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Kenneth W. Sandstrom, 52, received his sentence, which includes 10 years of supervision after release from prison, from District Judge William B. Shubb in Sacramento. Sandstrom had two computers, an external hard drive and several CDs and DVDs with about 3,000 images of child pornography he collected from 2000 to 2011, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Among the images, according to the federal prosecutor, were depictions of rape and sadism.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, an effort managed by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, comprising officers from federal, state and local agencies.

The California Highway Patrol alleges that a Hayward woman just wouldn't slow down after twice being stopped for going over 100 mph.

Officers stopped Lynne Kathleen Cahill-Gomez three times Saturday night on Highway 70 in Sutter and Yuba counties. She was clocked on radar going 103 mph, 105 mph and finally 76 mph in a 55 mph-zone, officers said.

The three traffic stops all occurred within an hour starting at 8:10 p.m. at northbound Highway 70 near Kempton Road.

The Sutter County Sheriff's Department is sending out a posse to look for metal thieves.

Beginning Saturday, members of Sutter County Sheriff's Posse will be out on horseback in rural areas of the county, keeping an eye out for metal thieves, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. If posse members observe something suspicious, they will radio field deputies, who will respond to investigate.

"We have seen a marked uptick in metal thefts, everything from aluminum sprinkler pipe to copper wire stolen from farm irrigation pumps," Sheriff J. Paul Parker said in a written statement. "We want to bring whatever forces to bear on this problem, and one way is to get the posse out there to act as our eyes and ears in the rural areas."

A suspected drunk driver slammed into a family in a small car last night in the community of Sutter west of Yuba City, according to a California Highway Patrol press release.

Juan M. Duran was driving his family in his Honda Civic shortly before midnight eastbound on Butte House Road east of Cedar Street when Timothy M. Roberts, 24, of Sutter driving westbound in a van crossed into Duran's traffic lane, according to the CHP.

The head-on collision caused minor back, chest and knee injuries to Duran, 61, of Live Oak. Also injured in Duran's car were Yesenia Vasquez, 36, moderate abdominal, chest, back and shoulder pain, Lexxinn Vazquez, 11, minor back pain, and Ivan Vazquez, 3, a cut to his mouth.

Roberts was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after receiving stitches to his knee.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

A Yuba City plumbing and pipefitters union treasurer and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to misappropriating at least $120,000 for personal use, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Robert L. Carr, 57, was secretary-treasurer and business manager for Local 228, and his wife Theresa Ann Carr, 54, was an employee of the union.

They wrote checks for unauthorized salary advances, bonuses and reimbursements, according to court documents cited by the news release.

One person was killed in a crash just south of Yuba City this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred on Highway 99 just south of Oswald Road at about 6 a.m. and involved at least four vehicles. Information on how the accident occurred was not immediately available.

All lanes have been reopened.

A Yuba City man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the stabbing of a man last May.

Harjiwan Mann, 36, admitted stabbing Mohammad Bath of Yuba City numerous times in the head and neck with a screwdriver on May 3, 2011, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Woodland police arrested Mann outside Woodland Memorial Hospital, and during an interview with detectives, Mann admitted that he had been thinking about stabbing Bath because he was angry with him, officials said.

The body of a man discovered in a ditch late Monday off Highway 99 in Live Oak has been identified by Sutter County sheriff's detectives as that of a missing Yuba City man.

The identification of Richard Domenick Efigenio, 58, was made through dental records, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. Efigenio had been reported to the Yuba City Police Department as a missing person on Oct. 9.

Officials said the cause of death is pending a toxicology report.

By Carlos Alcala

calcala@sacbee.com

A 22-year-old Olivehurst man was killed Friday, just before midnight, when he lost control of his car on Highway 99, a few miles north of the Sacramento-Sutter county line, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Witnesses told CHP the car was traveling north at a high rate of speed when it drifted onto the shoulder and then partially back onto the highway before overturning several times.

The driver, identified as Jesus Estrada-Vasquez, was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car.

The car came to rest on the driver, partly in a southbound lane of Highway 99.

Estrada-Vasquez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alcohol and/or drugs are believed to be factors in this crash.

By Darrell Smith

dsmith@sacbee.com

A Sutter County man found dead Saturday morning on the front yard of a home in Live Oak apparently stabbed himself to death distraught over a recent drunken driving arrest.

The body of Lakhbir Singh, 36, of Live Oak, was found with multiple stab wounds to his chest about 7:17 a.m. in the 9200 block of Larkin Road, about four blocks from his home, said Lt. James Casner of the Sutter County Sheriff's Department.

Next to Singh's body, deputies found a kitchen knife and a bicycle. There were no signs of a struggle, Casner said.

The California Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to buckle up before taking to the road.

The CHP will be paying particular attention to drivers and passengers who aren't wearing seat belts during a Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign beginning Friday and continuing through the Thanksgiving weekend.

The minimum cost of an adult seat belt violation in California is $142, and up to $445 for not properly restraining a child younger than 16 years old. If the parent is not in the car, the driver is issued a ticket.

Sacramento police officials announced that they have reclassified a missing 17-year-old Natomas youth as a runaway after a family member encountered him in a Yuba City Walmart store Wednesday.

Sergio Jimenez (pictured) was reported missing by family members Nov. 2, after he failed to return home from Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep High School, where he is a senior. Since then, hundreds of volunteers along with officers and detectives from the Sacramento Police Department have searched the area around the school, including a nearby canal.

On Wednesday, a family member saw Jimenez in a Walmart store in Yuba City and had a brief conversation with the youth about why he was in the community, according to a Sacramento Police Department news release. Jimenez said he was visiting, then walked away. The family member was in a powered wheelchair and was unable to follow the teenager.

A Yuba City man died when his car went off Highway 99 and into an irrigation ditch late Tuesday, California Highway Patrol officials reported.

Daniel C. Loehrer, 56, of Yuba City, was driving southbound on the highway, south of Yuba City, when his Acura went off the road for unknown reasons, according to the CHP accident report.

The car went into the ditch, overturned and slid on its roof in about a foot of water.

Fire personnel had to use cutting tools to get to Loehrer, who was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sutter County Sheriff's Office seeks the public's help in identifying a large amount of metal believed to have been stolen from various farms in surrounding counties.

On Thursday, deputies responded to a call of a burglary in progress in the 3100 block of Tierra Buena Road. They arrived to find a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl getting into a maroon Ford F150 extended cab pickup, which was parked on the shoulder of the roadway.

The homeowner told deputies that the two were inside her camp trailer, removing property, when she arrived at her residence. When the homeowner called 911, the two suspects ran from the trailer toward their pickup. As the girl ran, she threw her purse into nearby bushes. The purse was found to contain drug paraphernalia, marijuana and prescription medication, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com

California Highway Patrol officials say they believe their two-year motorcycle safety campaign, now ending, has helped reduce injury and fatality rates. The federally funded campaign, "Look Twice, Save a Life," was designed to increase drivers' awareness of motorcyclists on the road.

Preliminary 2010 CHP statistics show the number of people killed in motorcycle-involved collisions was down 9 percent from the previous year. The number of injuries was down 8.5 percent.

"Although this campaign is coming to a close, we're pleased with the encouraging results," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. "There is still more work to be done, and our efforts to raise awareness through education and enforcement will continue."

The Sutter County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a female inmate that occurred early this morning.

About 1:16 a.m., Sutter County Jail personnel requested medical aid for a woman who was found unresponsive in a holding cell when deputies conducted a cell safety check, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. Yuba City Fire Department and Bi-County Ambulance crews responded to the jail, where the woman was pronounced dead.

Sheriff's officials said the woman was brought to the jail Sunday by Yuba City police for being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The woman's name was not released pending notification of family.

Automobile travel is expected to be up slightly this Labor Day weekend -- and the California Highway Patrol will be ready to pull over any drunken drivers.

The American Automobile Association estimates that 27.3 million people plan to travel on the nation's roadways, a 0.5 percent increase from last year. Overall, travel is expected to dip due in part to higher air fare costs.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

California prison officials expect to fall just short of a court-ordered reduction in inmate populations by December, but say they will be in compliance by next June and do not expect to have to ask federal courts for more time to achieve a lower inmate population.

Papers filed today with a panel of three federal judges who have ordered the state to improve medical and mental health conditions inside California prisons say moves by Gov. Jerry Brown will substantially meet the court's requirements.

The state's inmate population is required to be at 167 percent of capacity by December, and prison officials said they expect to reduce populations by 9,200 inmates, or about 169 percent of capacity.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol is urging residents to sign up for a service that sends Amber Alerts to cell phones via text message - one more way residents can help authorities find missing children fast.

The service, which is free regardless of your wireless plan, sends alerts tailored to your area based on the zip code that you provide. You can provide up to five zip codes, and authorities recommend you at least add the zip codes in which you live and work.

To sign up, visit www.wirelessamberalerts.org. Alerts can also be sent in Spanish.

A man was fatally shot early this morning after two men forced their way into a Carmichael apartment, authorities said.

The 54-year-old victim was shot in the upper torso and died at an area hospital. The Sacramento County Coroner's office has not yet identified the victim, pending notification of his family.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responded to an apartment complex on the 5700 block of Manzanita Avenue about 12:15 a.m. after receiving reports of gunfire. They found the victim and a witness inside an apartment unit where the victim lived, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The witness, who is a friend of the victim, told deputies that two men knocked on the door, forced their way inside and pushed him to the floor. He was held there by one suspect as the other found the victim in another room.

One man is dead and another is in jail after a fatal stabbing in Sutter County late Sunday.

Sutter County Sheriff's detectives were called to the Sutter Food and Mart at 7505 Highway 20 in Sutter at 8:21 p.m. and found a man with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three men had followed the male victim into the store, and when the victim left, two of the men followed him outside, a sheriff's news release states.