Sacto 9-1-1

Woodland police said that a Catholic church hall was vandalized with graffiti, including a threat against officers.

Police were dispatched to the Holy Rosary Community Center, 575 California St., about 5 a.m. today for a vandalism report. Once there, officers found gang graffiti, including a threat to kill law enforcement.

"Though the graffiti did not cause permanent damage, any vandalism to a church is a felony and this case is being investigated as such," said a police press release.

Anyone with information that might help solve the case is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411.

Woodland police shut down suspected gambling operations on Thursday.

Members of the state Department of Justice and the Yolo County High Tech Task Force joined Woodland police to serve search warrants at 1810 East Main St. and 825 East Street about 3 p.m. Thursday.

Woodland police said both sites were secured without trouble. Few patrons were at the locations at the time of the crackdown.

Computers and money were seized as evidence, police said in a press release.

Three officers suffered minor injuries in a struggle with a man in Woodland last night.

Woodland police were called to a home on King Place at about 10 p.m. Thursday where a man's parents reported their son was violent and agitated. The police call indicated that the son might be under the influence of drugs.

When officers tried to take Eddie Bouphavichith, 27, into custody, he allegedly fought with them -- even after a Taser was deployed. He was eventually handcuffed.

After being treated for injuries at Woodland Memorial Hospital, Bouphavichith was arrested on suspicion of resisting a police officer and three counts of battery on a peace officer causing injury.

The three officers who suffered injury were able to carry on with their duties.

Woodland police said they arrested a boy today who broke a store window in order to escape from the business he had allegedly entered to burglarize.

Officers responded to the Hollywood Market, 1321 College St., shortly after midnight where a citizen reported that somebody had smashed a store window. The window-breaker was hiding in the bushes, according to the citizen.

The vandal took off with the citizen following, and reporting his whereabouts to dispatchers until he lost sight of the teen on Buena Tierra Drive. Officers responded and quickly found the 15 year old.

Officers went to the store and learned that the teen likely entered the market from the rooftop and was forced to break the window to escape, according to a police press release. The teen was booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of burglary and vandalism.

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.

A suspicious box outside a Woodland classroom turned out not to be a danger.

Staff at Prairie Elementary, 1444 Stetson St., found the box on the ground about 8:15 a.m. today. Uncertain who put the box outside the classroom and not knowing what was inside, school employees summoned Woodland police.

Several classrooms were evacuated and the Yolo County bomb disposal team arrived to X-ray the box. Class resumed when it was discovered that the box only contained personal papers, according to a police press release.

A teenage pedestrian was knocked unconscious when struck by a car this morning in Woodland.

Woodland police officers responded to the East Gum Avenue and Kate Lane about 7:20 a.m. today where the 15 year old was down on the roadway. Near the boy was a four-door sedan that police said was involved in the traffic crash.

The teen was transported by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center. The driver of the sedan did not suffer any injury, according to a police press release.

No further information was immediately available, police said. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the traffic division at (530) 661-7880.

A Woodland man has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for molesting a 2-year-old boy.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock also sentenced John "Tim" Ganthner, 46, to an additional 11 years and 8 months for physical injuries inflicted on the child in connection with the sexual assault, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

On the morning of Aug. 23, 2011, Ganthner was left alone to watch the child while his grandmother performed volunteer work with a local charity. When the grandmother returned home about 12:30 p.m., she noticed that the child had severe injuries to his private areas and chest. A medical exam determined that the child had been beaten and sexually assaulted, officials said.

A homeless man camping behind a shuttered Woodland restaurant was stabbed during an argument late Saturday night, according to police.

Police said they were called to the former Casa De Sapore restaurant at 929 Court St. about 11:35 p.m. for a report of a stabbing. When they arrived, they found a 32-year-old Woodland man with multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck area.

Paramedics responded to the scene and began treating the victim for several life-threatening injuries. He was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition Sunday morning.

Woodland police are reporting a second robbery this week in which the culprit brandished a knife.

The latest holdup occurred Wednesday afternoon when Aaron Pukini, 24, said he was sitting in his vehicle in the 1100 block of Matmor Road. A heavyset man reached through the driver's side window and took Pukini's wallet off his lap.

Pukini got out of his car and followed the man, who turned around and brandished a black-handled folding knife at him. He told Pukini to back away, which he did.

A teenager was robbed at knifepoint in Woodland earlier this week.

The 17 year old was walking in the 700 block of Beamer Street about 10 p.m. Monday when two people approached him from behind. One of the men stepped in front of him, brandishing a pocketknife.

The robber demanded the teen's possession. The teen complied.

Woodland police said the man with the knife was described as Hispanic, in his early 20s, wearing a black shirt and a black baseball cap with a Chicago White Sox logo. His face was obscured by a bandana.

There was no description of the other man. The teen was not injured.

Anyone with information about the suspects may call police at (530) 661-7800.

A 23-year-old pedestrian has been arrested after allegedly attacking a Woodland motorcycle officer.

The incident occurred about 1:35 p.m. Tuesday as a police officer assigned to the traffic division conducted a traffic enforcement stop on East Main Street near Industrial Way. As the officer got off his motorcycle, he noticed and individual walking down the sidewalk toward the area of the traffic stop.

When the officer began to approach the stopped vehicle, the pedestrian approached from the officer's blind side and punched him in the right side of the head, according to a Police Department news release. The officer was wearing his motorcycle helmet, which absorbed the blow, and the officer was not injured.

Teens initially suspected of drinking in a Woodland alley face more serious charges after police said rocks were thrown at them in the course of their investigation.

Officers were called to an alley near Summertree Lane about 5 p.m. Wednesday for a report of teens drinking. When they arrived, most of the teens scattered.

Two, however, were detained for being in possession of alcohol and public intoxication. As officers went about conducting an investigation, one of the detained teens became combative with officers, according to police. As officers struggled to control the 16-year-old boy, other teens returned and began throwing rocks at the officers.

Backup officers responded and one of the suspected rock-throwers, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested. Two 14-year-olds were also arrested, one for obstructing an officer and another for being drunk.

A police press release said that after being cleared at the hospital, they were booked into Yolo County Juvenile Hall on various charges that include assault, obstructing an officer, battery on an officer and minor in possession of alcohol.

Police in Woodland say they caught two home-invasion robbery suspects Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after responding to a 4:30 p.m. report of a robbery of an apartment in the 200 block of North College Street, officers found a 17-year-old male suspect and Anjay Singh, 18, of Woodland, with some reported stolen electronics, authorities said. A third suspect is also being sought.

The minor was booked into Yolo County juvenile hall, while Singh was booked into Yolo County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

During the robbery, authorities say a 13-year-old resident was held outside at gunpoint while two other suspects took the electronics before fleeing.

Woodland police officers said they didn't get much help investigating a stabbing last night from the victim or a witness.

Police were called to Woodland Memorial Hospital around 9 p.m. where a man had been taken by a friend for treatment of stab wounds to his left arm and the middle of his back.

Neither the stabbing victim nor a witness to the assault that occurred near 9 Main Street wanted to cooperate with the investigation, police said. Police said they have not determined a motive for the stabbing.

A Woodland man was arrested leaving the scene of a late-night break-in that was interrupted by the resident of the home.

Police responded about 11:30 p.m. Thursday to the 1600 block of Farnham Avenue in Woodland where a resident reported that she interrupted someone who removed window screens and shattered a window at the rear of the home.

Two men fled with a neighbor of the resident giving chase. One fleeing suspect swung a knife at the neighbor when he got close to capturing him.

That suspect escaped. Another man tied to the attempted burglary was stopped by a Woodland police officer east of the home.

Ernesto Justin Negrete, 19, of Woodland, was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary and committing a felony while released from custody. Negrete had recently been released from the Yolo County Jail on a burglary charge, according to a police press release.

Police are investigating the stabbing of a man Wednesday morning near Woodland High School.

Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of West Beamer Street at 10:24 a.m regarding a report of a stabbing that had just occurred. They arrived to find a 26-year-old Woodland man suffering from a single stab wound to his right tricep, according to a Police Department news release.

The man, who was treated at the scene by paramedics, told officers that he was standing in the front yard of his home when a group of five or six Latino men ran toward him yelling obscenities. The group reportedly came from the area of the high school parking lot.

One of three people who helped pin down a suspected burglar near Woodland on Wednesday was stabbed in the side.

The Yolo County Sheriff's office said deputies were called to the report of a burglary on Mallard Street in the Wild Wings subdivision, west of Woodland, about 2:13 p.m. Wednesday.

Once there, deputies learned that three citizens had taken down a suspected burglar. The resident of a home on Mallard Street arrived home to hear voices inside the residence.

A Woodland man has been found guilty of sexually molesting a 2-year-old boy.

After 10 hours of deliberation over two days, a Yolo County jury on Thursday convicted John "Tim" Ganthner, 46, of two felony counts of sexual assault of a child younger than 10 years old, four felony counts of physical abuse of a child and three additional enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on a child younger than 5, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

In the morning of Aug. 23, 2011, Ganthner was left alone to watch the child while the youngster's grandmother performed volunteer work for a local charity, authorities said. When the grandmother returned about 12:30 p.m., she noticed that the child had severe injuries to his private areas and chest.

A Sacramento-based animal protection organization is offering a $2,500 reward in an effort to find a person who shot a Woodland cat with a pellet gun earlier this month.

RedRover, a national nonprofit organization, is offering the reward for information leading to the arrest and arraignment of whoever shot the 3-year-old orange tabby named Annie.

Annie's owner, Amanda Hartman of Woodland, came home from work March 13 and found Annie motionless in the driveway of her Owens Valley Drive home. She initially thought Annie had been hit by a car and rushed the cat to the UC Davis Small Animal Clinic. An examination and X-rays determined that a pellet gun bullet was lodged near Annie's spine and she was partially paralyzed, according to a news release.

Yolo County authorities are asking for help in finding the person who paralyzed a cat by shooting it with a pellet gun.

The owners of the orange tabby named Annie were away at dinner on the night of March 13 when somebody shot their cat. When the pet owners returned to their Woodland home in the 1500 block of Owens Valley Drive they found Annie on the front porch.

She was unable to move her back legs and a bloody wound was noticeable on her shoulder. The UC Davis Small Animal Clinic diagnosed a pellet lodged next to her spine.

Tipsters who know the identity of the shooter may call the Yolo County Sheriff's Office Animal Services Section at (530) 668-5287.

Police say that 17 vehicles had their tires punctures in a case of malicious mischief in Woodland.

On Sunday morning, police were dispatched the neighborhood where the tires were punctured as vehicle owners awakened to find the damage. Officers noted flattened tires on Hacienda Drive, Adobe Way and the 1700 block of McKinley Avenue.

Police estimated that more than $2,000 in damage was sustained.

Woodland police arrested a man for stabbing his wife while she slept with her daughter next to her.

Police said the Guillermo Aldama, 35, stabbed his wife in the upper part of her chest. Officers were dispatched to the Aldama home on West Cross Street about 1 a.m. today.

A police investigation revealed that Aldama stabbed his sleeping spouse with a knife, according to a department press release. Their 9-year-old daughter was next to her during the attack.

The woman was transported to UC Davis Medical Center where she was treated for non life-threatening injuries. Aldama was booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of attempted homicide and child endangerment.

A Woodland fire station was evacuated this morning after a citizen brought to the station a suspicious device found in an empty house in the neighborhood.

Police responded to Fire Station No. 2 at 1619 West St. about 10:30 a.m. after receiving a call from firefighters. Upon arrival, officers believed the device was some type of explosive, according to a Police Department news release. They isolated the device, evacuated the fire station, blocked traffic in and around the intersection of West Street and El Dorado Drive, and notified neighbors to shelter in place. They also relocated students and staff members at Woodland Christian Elementary School to the western portion of the school.

The Yolo County Bomb Squad was summoned and took over the scene, safely attempting to detonate the device and then removing it.

Police are asking for help in an investigation into a crash that injured a Woodland driver and a 5-year-old passenger.

Woodland Police said that about 3:30 p.m. Monday, a vehicle swerved off the Gibson Road between West Street and College Avenue. The vehicle struck a tree in front of a home, causing non life-threatening injuries to the 50-year-old driver and the child.

Both the driver and the child were taken by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Woodland Police Department Traffic Division. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call traffic investigators at (530) 661-7800.

The Yolo County sheriff's department has released the names of both drivers who died from injuries suffered in a fiery crash on Interstate 5 in Yolo County Saturday night.

The California Highway Patrol in Woodland was informed of a vehicle blocking a lane of northbound I-5, just south of County Road 8, about 11 p.m. Saturday. Officers enroute were told that a Honda Accord had collided with an Oldsmobile.

The crash caused the Honda to roll on top of the Oldsmobile and then both cars were engulfed in flames. The drivers of both vehicles died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The sheriff's department said the driver of the Oldsmobile was Jorge Mora Arias, 40, of Woodland. The driver of the Honda was identified as Cheryl Ann Fortress, 34, of Paradise, Butte County.

A Woodland police officer was involved in a collision this morning while responding to another officer's request for assistance.

The crash occurred about 6:56 a.m. as an officer driving a marked police sport-utility vehicle with activated emergency lights and siren responded to a report of an officer in need of assistance at an alarm call in the 100 block of West Court Street, according to a Police Department news release.

As the officer traveled westbound on Gibson Road through West Street, the police vehicle collided with a pickup truck northbound on West Street. After the vehicles struck each other, the police SUV crashed into the front yard of a home on the northwest corner of the intersection, and the pickup stopped in the roadway.

Two drivers died from injuries suffered in a fiery crash on Interstate 5 in Yolo County Saturday night.

The California Highway Patrol in Woodland was informed of a vehicle blocking a lane of northbound I-5, just south of County Road 8, about 11 p.m. Saturday. Officers enroute were told that a Honda Accord had collided with an Oldsmobile.

The crash caused the Honda to roll on top of the Oldsmobile and then both cars were engulfed in flames. The drivers of both vehicles died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Yolo County Sheriff's Department said the driver of the Oldsmobile was Jorge Mora Arias, 40, of Woodland.

The Honda driver was a 34-year-old Willows, Glenn County, woman. Her name has not yet been released.

A Woodland man was arrested this morning after driving his vehicle through a glass storefront.

Officers were dispatched to a business in the 1200 block of East Main Street about 7:30 a.m. After driving his vehicle into the building, Dennis Cortopassi reportedly entered the business and began throwing items from displays, according to a Police Department news release.

When officers arrived, they located Cortopassi outside the business. He is alleged to have intentionally driven the vehicle through the storefront.

Woodland police and fire officials are investigating as arson a fire that damaged a garage at a home this morning.

Officers were dispatched about 7 a.m. to a residence in the 1400 block of Crystal Springs Drive for a report of arson. It was determined that sometime Sunday evening or early this morning an incendiary device was placed in the garage, according to a Police Department news release.

The device completely burned a car in the garage and caused moderate damage to the garage itself, police said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information regarding the case is asked to call the Woodland police Department at (530) 661-7800.

Woodland police are asking for help in finding the person who slashed tires on 14 vehicles.

Officers were dispatched to Cross Street and Fourth Street about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday where it was reported that two vehicles had their tires cut by a vandal. Once on the scene, officers found 14 vehicles in the area had one or more slashed tires.

Police set the overall estimated cost of tire damage at $7,000. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (530) 661-7800.

A Caltrans crash protection vehicle was slammed into by a car on Monday in Yolo County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the car, John P. Bledsoe, 64, of Woodland, was taken to a hospital with complaints of pain. The Caltrans driver of the crash attenuator truck, Jaime A. Ruiz Fuentes, 27, of Elk Grove refused medical assistance at the scene, the CHP reported.

Fuentes was driving northbound at about 15 mph on Highway 113 near County Road 27 about 1:30 p.m. following a crew that was striping the road. The CHP said that Bledsoe was traveling in the same direction at about 65 mph when he became distracted by his cell phone.

According to a CHP press release, Bledsoe failed to notice in time that he was approaching the Caltrans protection truck. Although Beldsoe applied his brakes, his car collided with the crash cushion on the rear of the Caltrans truck.

Major damage was sustained by both vehicles.

An Esparto man has been found guilty of using his truck as a deadly weapon in an assault on a motorcyclist.

A Yolo County jury returned the verdict against 39-year-old Joshua Shawn Bracy on Jan. 30, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

On the morning of Aug. 29, 2012, the victim was riding his motorcycle along Beamer Street on his way to work in Woodland. Bracy mistakenly believed the motorcycle had been stolen from him, and he began to chase the victim with his Dodge truck, officials said.

A machete-wielding man allegedly discovered stealing copper by workers at Woodland body shop fled after being pepper-sprayed but was later arrested by police.

Woodland police said that the owner and of an employee of Leyva's Auto Body Repair Shop, 39608 Kentucky Ave., spotted a man stealing copper wire at the business about 2 p.m. Thursday.

When confronted, the man brandished a machete, police said. The employee retaliated by pepper-spraying the suspected thief.

The thief then kicked the employee and fled on bicycle. About three hours later, the body shop owner and the employee spotted the same suspected thief on his bike in the 1300 block of East Main Street.

Officers responded and arrested Larry Vincent Kruletz, 42, identified as homeless, on suspicion of robbery.

A report from an alert neighbor led to the arrest of two men accused of attempting to burglarize a Woodland home this morning.

Police officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Howard Drive at 10:34 a.m. regarding suspicious circumstances. A neighbor reported that two men ran from the back yard of a residence after trying to break into the home.

Officers stopped a vehicle spotted leaving the area and contacted the occupants, Surjit Singh, 21, and Israel Rodriguez, 20, both of Woodland. The two men had allegedly smashed a rear window of the residence and run from the back yard, according to a Police Department news release.

Eight people have been arrested during a two-day stolen vehicle enforcement detail in Woodland.

The special enforcement operation was carried out Tuesday and Wednesday in response to a significant increase in vehicle thefts in the city over the past six weeks. From Dec. 1 through Jan. 15, 52 vehicles were stolen in Woodland, according to a Police Department news release, which noted that 32 of them were 1990s Honda Accords and Civics.

In 2012, 202 vehicles were reported stolen in the city of Woodland, a 54 percent increase over the 131 reported stolen in 2011, officials said.

Woodland police are investigating the death of a man who was found lying under blankets near a freeway overpass this morning.

Police responded to the area of East Main Street near the Interstate 5 overpass about 10:44 a.m. after receiving a report of an unresponsive person lying on the north side of the road. Officers and medical personnel found a man who was dead. He was covered in blankets and was lying on the dirt near the concrete overpass support structure, according to a police department news release.

Officials said it was not known how long the man had been dead or the cause of death, but they said the circumstances did not appear to be suspicious.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-2411.

A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping in Woodland in November is also accused of possessing child pornography.

Kyle Hall, described by police as a transient, was taken into custody Nov. 28 after a 31-year-old Woodland woman reported Nov. 25 that he tried to kidnap her in the Westgate shopping center at 367 Main St. She told police that she was walking between parked vehicles when a man seated in a pickup truck opened his door, blocking her way. She said he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her toward the truck.

The woman yelled for help and as a bystander approached, the man released her and drove off. She was not injured.

Two men were arrested early this morning in Woodland after police received numerous calls reporting shots fired in the air.

Woodland police arrested Jed Tranquilino Flores Torres, 32, of Woodland, and Cesar Carabez, 31, of Sacramento, after locating numerous spent shotgun shell casings near the men in the front yard in the 400 block of Elizabeth Way in Woodland.

No injuries were reported in the 2:30 a.m. incident.

Shots were fired into an occupied Woodland residence this evening, but no one was injured.

Police were dispatched to the 100 block of Muir Circle regarding a report of shots fired into a home. When officers arrived, they found that one round had gone through the front wall of the house, entering the kitchen. Two additional rounds were located in the side of a vehicle parked in front of the residence, according to a Police Department news release.

No one was struck by the gunfire.

Police said they had no suspect description and did not know the motivation for the shooting.

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

Woodland police are searching for a suspect who apparently followed a man from a Sacramento bank this morning, then attempted to rob him at a gas station, striking the victim with a crowbar.

Police were dispatched at 10:40 a.m. to the 400 block of County Road 102 regarding a fight. It was reported that one person had a crowbar. Dispatchers were subsequently told that an approximately 30-year-old man had left southbound on Interstate 5 in a gold Nissan Altima or gold Saturn. The victim was still at the scene with a head injury.

When officers arrived, they found a 29-year-old Sacramento man. He told police that he had withdrawn a large sum of cash from a bank in Sacramento and was en route to Redding when he stopped in Woodland to buy gas. While pumping gas, a black man in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head, approached the victim and demanded his money.

Nearly 3,000 drivers were caught breaking cell phone rules during a crackdown in 37 police jurisdictions in and around Sacramento County.

"We are committed to saving lives on area roadways, and drivers should expect to continue to see officers enforcing cell phone driving laws time and time again," said state Office of Traffic Safety director Chris Murphy.

California was one of two states to receive grants for high-visibility law enforcement pilot programs to squelch motorists' hand-held cell phone use and texting. In addition to California, Delaware was selected to mount a pilot project.

The California program, dubbed "Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other," was conducted in eight counties with 3.8 million residents in an area ranging from Modesto to Marysville and Vallejo to South Lake Tahoe. The crackdown occurred from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

A chase of an alleged probation violater in downtown Woodland ended in his arrest.

Police knew that Paul Shuler Jr., 29, of Woodland was wanted on suspicion of recently stealing a vehicle and a handgun. He was also wanted by the Yolo County Probation Department for violating post-release supervision.

When police tried to arrest him about 11:45 a.m. Thursday, police said he bolted, taking a handgun from around his waist as he fled on foot.

Police said a store owner intimidated gun-toting robbers with a pipe last night in Woodland.

At about 10:30 p.m. two armed robbers wearing dark clothing and ski masks entered the Hollywood Market, 1321 College St. They demanded money, but the store owner refused to comply.

Instead, he armed himself with a metal pipe. The robbers left the store and have not been seen since, police said.

A report of a person at Pioneer High School with a gun this morning turned out to be false.

Woodland police responded about 8 a.m. to a report of a person with a gun on the high school campus, 1400 Pioneer Ave. The school was placed in lockdown.

While police were en route to the school, school administration employees reported the person in question was being cooperative. Upon arrival, officers found that the 17-year-old Woodland resident never had a firearm but was in possession of a knife.

The teen, who was not a Pioneer High School student, did not attempt to assault any students or staff, police said.

The teen was arrested on suspicion of possession of a weapon on a school campus.

Three gang members have been sentenced in a 2011 case of attempted murder in Woodland.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock on Tuesday sentenced Rolando Arismendez, 34, Juan Reyes, 21, and German Quezada, 19, to prison terms for attempted murder and gang enhancements, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's office news release.

On Nov. 16, 2011, Arismendez, a validated gang member, provided guns, a car and a driver to fellow gang members Reyes and Quezada. Their plan, officials said, was to kill a resident of Donnelly Circle in Woodland.

Two pit bulls where killed during a probation search in Woodland when the dogs charged deputies, according to a sheriff's department press release.

A chaotic scene played out in the home on Antelope Street about 9:30 a.m. Monday after deputies arrived to conduct a search of the premises. Inside the home, were Vincent Van Asperson, 43, and Carole Vitalie, 46, according to deputies.

Three pit bulls were also in a bedroom that needed to be searched. A Yolo County Animal Control Officer was removing one dog when a second pit bull came running out of the bedroom.

A man wanted for probation violations was arrested this afternoon after allegedly stealing a vehicle.

A resident called the Woodland Police Department about 7:10 this morning to report that his 1994 Chevrolet Blazer had just been stolen from his driveway in the 800 block of Cottonwood Street. Officers responded to the area but were unable to find the vehicle or suspect, according to a Police Department news release.

About 12:20 p.m., a Woodland officer spotted the stolen vehicle eastbound on Oak Avenue near Saunders Lane. The officer followed the vehicle while waiting for additional officers to arrive, officials said.

Another person has been knocked over the head by a robber near Woodland's Freeman Park.

The latest assault occurred at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday when a 46-year-old Knights Landing man was walking near the park at 1001 Main St. The man, approached by three attackers, was hit over the head with an object, possibly a bottle.

He lost his wallet in the assault. It was later recovered, minus cash.

Woodland police said that a similar robbery occurred in the area near Third Street and Lincoln Avenue on Nov. 18. In that incident, a man was also hit over the head in an attempted robbery.

A Woodland man was arrested Wednesday evening after he was found inside a store where a break-in had been reported.

Woodland police responded about 6 p.m. to a report of a commercial burglary in progress at 420 Grand Ave. When officers arrived, they found that someone had smashed out the front window of the business.

After establishing a perimeter around the building, officers located a man inside the business, according to a Police Department news release. He was later identified as 35-year-old Francisco Javier Tapia Jr.

A 23-year-old homeless man has been arrested in the attempted kidnapping of a woman Sunday at a Woodland shopping center.

Police reported that Kyle Hall was taken into custody without incident at 3 :40 p.m. today in the parking lot at 1720 E. Main St.

About 3:35 p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the Westgate Shopping center at 367 Main St. regarding an attempted kidnapping. A 31-year-old Woodland woman reported that she was walking between parked vehicles in the parking lot when a man seated in a pickup truck opened his door, blocking her way. She said the man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her toward the truck.

A Sacramento man reported that he was kidnapped and robbed early this morning in Woodland as he was heading home from work.

Woodland police received a call from the man about 2:20 a.m. He reported that, after leaving work about 2 a.m., he was driving on East Main Street. When he reached the intersection with County Road 102, two men stopped him in the roadway and forced their way into his vehicle, according to a Police Department news release.

The victim said the two men were wearing dark clothing, gloves and ski masks. He believed one of the men was armed with some type of gun, although he did not see a weapon.

A woman was nearly kidnapped at a Woodland shopping center over the weekend, police said.

The 31-year-old woman was walking between parked vehicles in the Westgate shopping center on Main Street Sunday afternoon when a man opened his truck door to block her path. Then, the suspected kidnapper grabbed the victim's hair.

Police said he pulled her toward the pickup but she screamed for help. A bystander heard her cries and approached.

Woodland police are trying to locate a man who reportedly entered a home and raped a woman at knifepoint early Wednesday.

Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Oak Avenue about 3 a.m. regarding a report of a rape in progress. When they arrived, they found the victim at a neighbor's house. She told them she thought the suspect was still in her home, according to a Police Department news release.

Officers went to the house but did not find the suspect inside. A search of the surrounding area also proved fruitless.

A Woodland church was ransacked last night by a burglar, police said.

Woodland police said that St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 515 Second St., was entered by a burglar breaking an office window. Once inside, the burglar vandalized the office and ransacked the church, police said.

A fireplace tool was used to open desk drawers and cabinets looking for items of value. The exact value of property stolen is not known, according to a police press release.

A man who allegedly threatened to kill a woman in Woodland this afternoon led police on a high-speed chase that ended with a collision and his eventual capture in a Natomas neighborhood.

Woodland officers were dispatched about 1:11 p.m. to the Del Valle Super Mercado at 500 Kentucky Ave. in Woodland after a woman called police and said that Larry Ventimiglia, 25, of Davis had just threatened to shoot and kill her at that location. When officers arrived, the victim said that Ventimiglia had left in a white Saturn.

While police were investigating the incident, another Woodland officer spotted Ventimiglia driving in the area of North and Fourth streets. The officer tried to catch up to Ventimiglia, who began speeding eastbound on North Street across East Street. Several other Woodland officers joined in the pursuit, which continued through residential streets and onto eastbound Beamer Street, where speeds reached more than 90 mph in the industrial area, according to a Police Department news release.

A Woodland Hallmark card store was ransacked during a break-in this morning.

Police were called about 12:30 a.m. today to the Hallmark store at 375 West Main St. in the Raley's shopping center where a man was reported to have broken a window and climbed into the store.

Officers ordered anyone inside to come out, but got no reply. A police dog was then let into the store through the broken window.

Minutes later, the dog bit the burglar and dragged him to the ground. Drew Dean Biondo, 29, who police said is a transient on parole for arson, was arrested on suspicion of burglary, violation of parole and obstructing an officer.

Police said numerous merchandise displays were destroyed and items thrown about the store. Fragile pieces of merchandise were shattered, police said.

Store owners estimated at least $10,000 in damage, police said.

Woodland police are investigating a Sunday night shooting incident in which an 18-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.

Police responded at 8:41 p.m. to multiple reports of a gunshot in the the 1200 block of Donnelly Circle. The victim reportedly was seen getting into a car that immediately left the area, a police news release stats.

About 10 minutes later, officers were dispatched to Woodland Memorial Hospital to investigate a report of a man suffering from a gunshot wound. They found an 18-year-old Woodland resident with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his lower right leg. The man was later taken by ambulance to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael for further treatment.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411. Callers may remain anonymous.

Three Woodland men have been convicted of attempted murder in a November 2011 drive-by shooting.

After two days of deliberation, a Yolo County jury on Tuesday returned guilty verdicts on Rolando Arismendez, 34, Juan Reyes, 21, and German Vizcarra, 19. The charges included conspiracy to commit attempted murder, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and gang charges and enhancements, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

On Nov. 16, 2011, Arismendez, a validated gang member, provided guns, a car and a driver to Reyes and Vizcarra, also gang members, the release said. They planned to murder a resident of Donnelly Circle in Woodland, officials said.

A 49-year-old Woodland man died this evening when he was struck by a car while trying to cross Highway 113 on foot.

Sgt. Andy Hill of the California Highway Patrol said two men were walking along the freeway about 7:30 p.m. collecting aluminum cans when they decided to cross the roadway near Gibson Road. One man made it safely across the northbound lanes, but the second man ran into the path of a northbound Ford Focus traveling in the fast lane. He was struck by the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released pending notification of family.

The occupants of the Ford were not injured.

An teenage inmate in Woodland was re-captured after he scaled a barbed-wire topped jail fence.

A correctional officer saw Gabriel Eugene Weston, 18, climbing the perimeter fence at the Leinberger Correctional Facility in Woodland about 6:35 a.m. today. Within minutes, Yolo County Sheriff's deputies arrived and surrounded the area with the help of Woodland police.

Soon, citizens reported seeing Weston. He was eventually found at the nearby Gibson Plaza Shopping Center behind some Dumpsters.

He was taken to the Monroe Detention Center where he was booked on an escape charge.

Weston had been in jail since Tuesday after Davis police for suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction or delaying a peace officer and driving without a license.

Woodland police are investigating a report that individuals tried to lure a girl into a vehicle late Tuesday.

The juvenile was walking in the area of Beamer Street and Frost Drive about 10:30 p.m. when a vehicle pulled alongside the girl. The girl kept walking and was followed by the vehicle. One of the occupants then got out of the vehicle and tried to coerce the victim to get inside, according to a Police Department news release.

The girl was able to run away from the suspects.

The suspect vehicle was described as a green older model Nissan pickup. The suspect that spoke to and approached the girl was described as a Latino man, about 30 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a medium build, shaved head, goatee, wearing a white shirt, red shorts and red shoes. No description of the second suspect was available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411. Callers can remain anonymous.

A man robbed a Woodland convenience market Sunday night then drove down the street to check into a motel - where he was arrested, police say.

Woodland police said a masked gunman robbed the 7-Eleven at 1229 East Main St. about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. At about 8 p.m., an officer saw a vehicle matching the description of the getaway car in the parking lot of the Quality Inn, 1562 East Main St.

A woman next to the vehicle, Jackie Hayes, 47, of Woodland, said she was the owner. Inside the vehicle, the officers found a shirt and a BB gun matching the description of the robber's clothing and stickup gun.

Then, Walter Hayes, 51, of Woodland, walked out of a motel room, which then was searched, police said. Inside the room, cash and a ski mask were found.

Motel management said the couple had paid for the room in cash shortly before 8 p.m. Both were booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of robbery.

A high-speed chase on city streets ended with an arrest last night in Woodland.

The pursuit began when an officer tried to stop a vehicle about 11 p.m. Thursday on Pioneer Avenue near Farnham Avenue. The driver fled southbound on Pioneer Avenue at an estimated 80 mph, according to police.

The chase continued westbound on East Gum Avenue and then to East Street. Other officers caught up when the suspect vehicle hit a curb at Fourth Street and Gum Avenue.

There, the driver got out of his vehicle and started running. He was apprehended by officers after a short chase.

Silverio Delgado Jr., 30, of Woodland was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest, driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

A 16-year-old father was arrested today for investigation of kidnapping his 5-week-old baby from the child's mother, police said.

Sgt. Steve Sexton reported that the kidnapping occurred Saturday night at a home in the 1200 block of Alice Street in Woodland.

Police responded to the call shortly 10:30 p.m. Witnesses told police that the suspect argued with the 16-year-old mother of the baby before forcibly taking the child and leaving in a vehicle.

After about 45 minutes, the suspect returned the child to the mother and fled again before police arrived, authorities said.

When the suspect came back a third time, shortly before 1 a.m. today, he was arrested by waiting officers. He was booked into Yolo County Juvenile Hall.

Woodland police are investigating a report that a man may have tried to lure a boy into a truck late this afternoon.

An officer responded to a report of suspicious circumstances. A 12-year-old boy told the officer that he was outside Lee Middle School, 520 West St., about 5:20 p.m. when a man in a pickup pulled up next to him.

The man asked the boy if he knew what time is was. He then asked the youth if he wanted to look in the truck, and then if he wanted to get in the truck, according to a Police Department news release. After the boy said "No" to each question, the man drove away from the area.

A popular Catholic priest accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl waived his preliminary hearing today and was scheduled for a Dec. 6 trial in Sacramento Superior Court.

The attorney for the Rev. Uriel Ojeda said the overwhelming odds that his client would be ordered to stand trial anyway made the decision to bypass the preliminary hearing an easy one.

"The burden of proof on a prelim is so low that an accusation by itself is going to be enough to hold him to answer," defense attorney Jesse Ortiz said. "So it didn't make any sense for us to go through this process."

A 57-year-old man was arrested this afternoon in Woodland, accused of firing shots into an unoccupied parked vehicle and at an inhabited dwelling.

Police responded to the 400 block of Johnston Street at 3:46 p.m. regarding a report that someone in a 1997 GMC truck had fired shots into an unoccupied parked 1968 Chevrolet.

The suspect, who was known to the victim, left the area before police arrived. Officers found five fresh bullet holes in the Chevrolet, which was parked in a private driveway. They also discovered that a sixth round struck the garage door of the residence, according to a Police Department news release.

Woodland city police arrested two men Wednesday on suspicion of attempted homicide, police officials said today in a press release.

Police officers received a call of a reported stabbing of an adult male at 12:44 p.m. on the 600 block of Elm Street, the release said. When officers arrived on scene, they found the victim with a "life-threatening injury to his neck."

Police also said a burgundy sedan had fled the scene following the stabbing.

A Redwood City man has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after two people were killed in a crash west of the Yolo County community of Rumsey on Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Reyes Barajas, 46, was driving on State Route 16 east of County Road 40 about 4:45 p.m. Monday when his pickup went off the roadway, traveled down a steep embankment and hit a tree.

The passenger in the front seat, a 39-year-old woman from Redwood City, and a 14-year-old boy in the back seat, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Robert LaBrash, Yolo County chief deputy coroner, identified the woman as Ann Marie Miller. He said the cause of death was a neck fracture. LaBrash said Miller was wearing a seat belt.

The boy's name has not been released pending positive identification by family. LaBrash said the youth died of a blunt-force chest injury. It is not known whether the boy was wearing a seat belt.

At the scene, Barajas was suspected to have been driving while intoxicated, according to the CHP. He survived with moderate injuries and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital by helicopter.

Officers from the Santa Rosa office responded to the hospital and determined that Barajas was driving under the influence at the time of the crash. He was placed under arrest for two counts of felony DUI, causing death.

Barajas could face additional counts of manslaughter, according to the CHP. He remains in the hospital, according to a CHP statement released Monday.

Woodland police said a teenager was shot in the head with a BB gun that was allegedly wielded by his young friend.

Officers said the 14-year-old boy was holding a shirt to the his left temple when they arrived at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Cottowood Street about 3:30 p.m. Monday.

The boy was transported to the UC Medical Center for treatment of his injury, which was not life-threatening.

A witness told officers that youngsters were playing with a BB gun in the complex parking lot. The low-powered gun was found hidden in some bushes, police said.

The injured boy's 12-year-old friend was issued a citation for allegedly negligently discharging a BB gun. He was turned over to a parent.

Thieves stripped two vehicles on a Woodland car lot, police said.

Police were called Monday morning to Hoblit Chrysler Jeep Dodge, 333 Main St., where employees showed them two vehicles that had parts removed overnight.

A Dodge Charger was missing the left side front and rear doors, the front bumper, the right front quarter panel, the steering wheel, dashboard and stereo. The second vehicle, a Chevrolet HHR, was missing the driver side front and rear doors.

Loss was estimated at $12,000, police said. No suspect information was released.

A Yolo County jury has convicted two Woodland gang members of brutally attacking a man three years ago as he sat in his car outside a convenience store.

After a two-week trial and one day of deliberations, Jose Rodolfo Rivas, 24, and Aaron Anthony Valadez, 22, were found guilty Monday of aggravated mayhem with gang enhancements and additional felony charges of robbery, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

The attack occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 20, 2009. Shortly after midnight, the victim drove an acquaintance to the AM/PM minimart near County Road 102 and Interstate 5 in Woodland. As the victim waited in the car for his acquaintance to come out of the store, he saw several young men in the parking lot.

A man hit and killed by a pickup in Woodland has been identified today as Pablo Castro, 38, of Woodland.

Castro was hit near intersection of East Street and Lemen Avenue just before 8 a.m. Monday.

Arriving Woodland police officers and firefighters found Castro lying in Lemen Avenue east of the intersection with a head injury. The driver of the pickup had stopped his vehicle nearby.

He was transported by ambulance to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m.

Woodland Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Guthrie said on Monday that traffic investigators are unsure what caused the fatal collision but do not believe the driver of the pickup was at fault.

A man was hit and killed by a pickup in Woodland this morning.

The collision occurred near intersection of East Street and Lemen Avenue just before 8 a.m. Woodland police officers and firefighters found the victim lying in Lemen Avenue east of the intersection with a head injury. The driver of the pickup had stopped his vehicle nearby.

The man was transported by ambulance to the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento, where doctors later said he had died of his injuries. The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has not released his identity.

Woodland Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Guthrie said that traffic investigators are unsure what caused the fatal collision but do not believe the driver of the pickup was at fault.

"There's no foul play on the part of the driver," Guthrie said.

A worker at a Woodland Laundromat apparently interrupted the tossing of an explosive device into the business Sunday afternoon.

Woodland police said that when they arrived about 3 p.m. Sunday to the Wash House, near West and Main streets, officers were told by a maintenance worker that he witnessed a young person open the back door of the business and begin to toss a bottle into the business.

The youth was with other young people, he said. When the worker approached, the group started to flee.

A Galt resident operating a private investigation company was arrested in Woodland this afternoon, accused of impersonating a peace officer.

Anthony Vegas, 52, was taken into custody about 2:15 p.m. in front of the Yolo County Sheriff's Monroe Detention Center.

On several occasions in the last week, Vegas allegedly presented himself as an active state of California parole agent in attempts to obtain information for a child custody case he was privately investigating, according to a Woodland Police Department news release.

Woodland police say that a suspected shoplifter was arrested after store security tried to stop his vehicle in a grocery parking lot.

Police said the suspected thief took an item from the Nugget Market, 157 Main St., about 4 p.m. Wednesday. When he began to flee in his vehicle, police said, loss prevention employees reached into and held onto his vehicle in an attempt to stop him and retain the merchandise.

The thief fled as the store employees moved away from the vehicle.

At about 7:30 p.m., Woodland police spotted the getaway vehicle on East Beamer Street west of County Road 102. Officers stopped the vehicle and took Corey Olsen, 35, of Woodland into custody.

He was booked on suspicion of robbery.

A teenager suffered a severe wound when he was shot in the abdomen last night in Woodland, police said.

The 18-year-old was found in the street when officers arrived to a call of a shooting in the 600 block of Cottonwood Street near a diner. He was transported to UC Davis Medical Center.

The diner was closed at the time of the shooting around 10 p.m., however a few employees were inside. Several rounds went through the diner's window but the employees were not hit, police said.

An older Ford Mustang was seen in the area, but police are not sure if the occupants of the car are involved in the shooting. Both the Woodland Police Department and the Yolo County Gang Task Force are investigating the shooting.

The California Supreme Court has reinstated the felony conviction of a Woodland man who left a fake bomb at the Yolo County Communications Center in 2006.

A Yolo County jury in July 2008 convicted Barry Allen Turnage, 66, for leaving a fake bomb at the center in September 2006. Turnage was charged with a felony under a section of the California Penal Code that allows felony or misdemeanor punishment for anyone who maliciously places a false of facsimile bomb with the intent to cause another person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of others.

Based on the felony conviction for placing the false bomb and his violent history, Turnage was sentenced to life in prison under California's Three Strikes Law. In separate cases, Turnage had been convicted of armed robbery and assault with a firearm for shooting a rifle into a Berkeley city fire truck, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

A West Sacramento man has been convicted of robbing the owner of a Woodland check cashing business in April.

A jury on Monday also convicted 32-year-old Vincent Sloan of hit and run, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

On April 10, the victim deposited checks at the Wells Fargo ATM in Woodland before going home. The woman, with her 8-year-old son, then parked in the driveway of her Woodland home and was walking to her door when Sloan, wearing dark clothing and a mask, demanded her bank bag, authorities said. Sloan slapped the woman and struggled with her to get the bag as she screamed for help.

Woodland police are investigating the stabbing of a jogger at a city park.

Officers were called to Woodland Memorial Hospital about 10 p.m. Monday where the jogger had gone for treatment after being stabbed at Pioneer Park, 1925 Branigan Ave., near Interstate 5 and Highway 113.

The 18-year-old Woodland man told officers he was jogging on the sidewalk on the south side of the park when a man punched him in the stomach and then plunged an unknown object into the left side of his abdomen.

A late-night brawl in Woodland, in which combatants used knives and baseball bats, resulted in two injuries and four arrests.

Woodland police were called to a report of a fight with firearms about 11:40 p.m. Thursday in the 900 block of Fourth Street. Upon arrival, the vehicles were gone but officers were able to detain four young men walking away from the area.

The investigation revealed that three vehicles rammed each other near Fourth Street and Gum Avenue. A fight then began with bats and knives.

Woodland police are investigating two fights involving several combatants Thursday night in parking lots east of downtown.

Officers were dispatched at 10:38 p.m. to a convenience store at 1400 East Main St., where 10 people were fighting. Officers arrived within minutes of the call, but the people involved had scattered.

At 10:53 p.m., officers went to Woodland Memorial Hospital to speak to two 18-year-old Woodland residents, who were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Woodland police announced the arrest this evening of a suspect in a Wednesday night assault and robbery.

Victor Vargas Vargas, 26, of Woodland was arrested on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy and booked into Yolo County Jail. Police said additional suspects are being sought.

Officers were dispatched at 7:26 p.m. Wednesday to the 1200 block of Donnelly Circle regarding a robbery that had just occurred. They contacted the victim, a 21-year-old Woodland man, who reported that he was sitting in his car when he was approached by about five people. He said two of the people assaulted him and stole his cell phone and iPod, according to a Police Department news release.

Officials said the victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

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

QUESTION: Dennis Martinez, 32, of Woodland was arrested for theft from an 88-year-old woman. He was supposed to be sentenced May 23 by Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg. Can you tell me what his sentence was?
Submitted by: Laura, Sacramento

ANSWER: Dennis Lee Martinez was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in state prison after pleading no contest to felony charges involving theft from an 88-year-old disabled woman, according to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

The victim and her daughter hired Martinez to do yard work over a three-day period, officials said. On the third day, the elderly woman, who is legally blind, let Martinez in the house to use the bathroom while her daughter was away. The woman later discovered that Martinez had stolen her late husband's wallet and had begun using his credit cards at different locations.

Martinez is incarcerated at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy.

An 11-year-old Woodland boy reported missing early this afternoon has been found safe and has been reunited with his mother, according to police.

The boy, identified as Justin Harris (pictured), was reported missing from his home in the 300 block of North Street about 12:45 p.m. Woodland police said he was considered at risk because of required medication and his age.

After an eight-hour, door-to-door search and following up on numerous leads, police reported this evening that the youth was found in good condition near his grandmother's house about three miles from his home.

A woman taken into custody after fleeing the scene of collision is also a suspect in the burglary of a Woodland supermarket, according to Woodland police.

Police officers and firefighters responded to a traffic collision at the intersection of West Lincoln and Ashley avenues about 3:30 this afternoon. Witnesses told officers that one of the drivers, described as a white female with red hair, had left the scene on foot westbound on West Lincoln Avenue. The woman, later identified as 23-year-old Dezaray Murrietta of Woodland, was located, detained and identified as the driver of the vehicle that allegedly caused the collision, according to a Police Department news release.

The driver of the other vehicle, a Nissan pickup truck, was identified as a 17-year-old Woodland youth. He was taken by ambulance to Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville, where he was treated for injuries and later released, police said.

A 16-year-old Woodland youth was arrested this afternoon, suspected of stabbing a 17-year-old boy.

At 1:59 p.m., Woodland police were dispatched to the area of 90 W. Woodland Ave. regarding a report of a stabbing that had just occurred. They were told the suspect had left on foot, heading west on West Woodland Avenue.

Yolo Gang Task Force officers, who were in the area, intercepted the suspect near the intersection of Cottonwood Street and West Woodland Avenue. One officer chased the youth on foot while the other Woodland officers went the the victim's location.

Woodland police said they took a man into custody after a simple call about excessive noise turned potentially dangerous.

Officers were called to 91 California Street on Thursday about 8:30 p.m.. There, they found Carlos Cornejo, 32, working on his car in the driveway.

While speaking with Cornejo about the noise issue, Cornejo turned and "exhibited an imitation firearm, which resembled a chrome semi-auto pistol," according to a press release from Woodland police.

A Woodland youngster suffered burns Wednesday when her clothing caught fire while playing with fireworks.

Woodland police and firefighters responded to the 800 block of Harvard Bend and found a 6-year-old girl whose clothing had been ignited by a sparkler-type firework, according to a Police Department news release. The child suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center.

Following an investigation, police said the incident is considered an accident. The child's parents were supervising the youngster and the fireworks in use are legal in California.

The Woodland Police Department arrested a man Saturday following a reported attempted robbery in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Police booked an Ohio man, 38-year-old John Smith, at the Yolo County Jail on several charges, including suspicion of attempted robbery and driving a stolen vehicle.

About 9 a.m., bystanders reported that a woman was lying on the ground in the parking lot at 1720 E. Main St. after Smith had tried to steal her purse, according to a department news release.

The Yolo County District Attorney's Office is alerting residents to a surge in scams targeting older adults in the county.

Reports from victims in West Sacramento, Davis and Woodland indicate that phony sweepstakes and the "Grandma, It's Me" telephone scams are continuing to be used to trick people into wiring money outside the country, according to a District Attorney's Office news release.

In one instance, more than $4,000 was lost in a phony sweepstakes scam after a con artist pretending to be from the Federal Trade Commission persuaded a local senior citizen to wire money to Costa Rica, officials said. In another recent case, an elderly woman was tricked into sending all the money she had in her savings account to someone claiming to be her grandson who was out of the country and in trouble. She believed him and sent the money in an effort to help.

A second 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the theft and killing of a pig belonging to a Woodland High School student.

The Yolo County Sheriff's Office reported that the second youth, a Woodland High School student, was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of grand theft, felony animal cruelty and conspiracy to commit theft and animal cruelty. He was booked into Yolo County Juvenile Hall. Another 17-year-old was arrested in the case earlier Monday.

On Saturday, Woodland High School student Marika Osegueda, 17, reported that someone had taken her pig from the Laugenour Land Lab at 39839 County Road 17A in the Woodland area. Osegueda was raising the pig as part of the Future Farmers of America program.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the theft and killing of a pig that was being raised by a high school student as a Future Farmers of America project.

On Saturday, Woodland High School student Marika Osegueda, 17, reported that someone had taken her pig from the Laugenour Land Lab at 39839 County Road 17A in the Woodland area. Osegueda was raising the pig as part of the FFA program.

Investigating deputies found a bloody hand print on the gate leading to the missing pig's pen. The ground outside the pen was covered with blood, according to a Yolo County Sheriff's Office news release.

Yolo County Animal Services officials seek the public's help in locating a dog that bit a teenager in West Sacramento.

The incident occurred about 4 p.m. Thursday at the south end of a walkway running parallel to Shasta Way between Trinity Way and Colusa Road. The 15-year-old victim was was walking on the walkway when the victim saw two small white dogs that looked lost and tired. The victim approached what appeared to be the older of the two dogs and was bitten, according to an Animal Services news release. The dogs then ran off. The victim could not say in what direction they headed and did not see anyone with the animals.

Animal Services has been unable to locate the dogs through licensing records.

Two juveniles were arrested this afternoon after they allegedly placed a homemade explosive device in a school cafeteria trash can in Woodland.

At 12:22 p.m., a Woodland Police Department school resource officer was called to investigate an explosion at Douglass Middle School at 525 Granada Drive. School officials had already detained two boys, both students at the school, who were allegedly responsible for the explosion.

Police said the students created a "works bomb" and dropped in into a trash can in the cafeteria. The device is made of common household items that are placed in a plastic container and sealed. A chemical reaction occurs that releases gases, which eventually cause the plastic container to rupture, creating a loud noise, according to a Police Department news release.

An ex-convict recently released from state prison was arrested Sunday after a dangerous flight from police, Woodland authorities said.

Police attempted to pull over Kevin Lee McClean, 26, of Woodland about 4:30 p.m. Sunday for not wearing a seatbelt, but he sped away, driving through stop signs and red lights at speeds that reached 70 mph, according to a police press release.

Eventually, McClean slowed to about 15 mph and jumped out of the Jeep Cherokee he was driving. A woman in the passenger seat also bailed.

Woodland police are searching for the assailants after two men were injured in separate incidents Thursday.

At 5:46 p.m., police officers were dispatched to the area of East Main Street and the Highway 113 overpass. Witnesses said a white man with a shaved head had kicked another man in the face at a bus stop causing serious injuries, according to a Police Department news release. The suspect fled before police arrived.

Officers found a 43-year-old man bleeding from facial injuries. He was taken to Woodland Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Woodland police chased a parolee last night, eventually taking him into custody and throwing the book at him.

The incident began about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday when police tried to pull over a driver in the 500 block of Cottonwood Street for a violation involving equipment on his vehicle. The vehicle pulled into a nearby parking lot and the driver bailed, fleeing into an apartment complex.

Officers developed information that the driver was probably Juan Mora, 26, a parolee who lived nearby. Police went to his apartment and knocked on the door but received no response.

The front door was barricaded but officers eventually entered and checked the apartment with the assistance of a police dog. Inside, they found Mora.

He was taken into custody unbitten and arrested on suspicion of possession of metal knuckles, resisting an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving without a license and driving without insurance. He was also arrested on suspicion of burglary of a vehicle, a charge related to another officer's independent investigation.

A woman's cries for help last night in Woodland led police officers to the scene of an apartment house robbery.

Police said they were called to an apartment in the 1700 block of Sixth Street about 11 p.m. on a report of a woman screaming for help. When officers arrived they were told that two men came to the apartment and were allowed inside.

Once inside, the residents were robbed at gunpoint of cash, a purse and medical marijuana. The men then fled on foot.

The first suspect was described as black, about 24 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 165 pounds with short hair and a tattoo on the right side of his neck. He wore a red t-shirt.

The other robber was described as black, about 27 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, about 200 pounds and having braided hair. He was wearing a purple and white striped collared shirt.

A cat killer is being sought in Yolo County after a second feline belonging to a Woodland woman has been found shot to death.

A cat named Soot Soot was found dead in an alley behind the 600 block of College Street in Woodland on Wednesday. The owner last saw her cat alive at 8 a.m. that day.

She then took her child to school only to return 30 minutes later to find her cat motionless. Noticing a wound, she took Soot Soot to a veterinarian who confirmed the 7-year-old Calico had been shot, according to a press release from Yolo County Animal Services.

The pet owner had another cat die from a gunshot in June 2010.

Animal Services requests the public's help in finding the person responsible for the cat's death. Call (530) 668-5287.

Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto and the Board of Supervisors will dedicate a street in memory of slain deputy Jose Antonio "Tony" Diaz.

"Tony Diaz Drive" will be dedicated on Tuesday in a ceremony. The address change for buildings on the access road into the sheriff's campus in Woodland will be effective July 1.

Diaz died in a June 2008 ambush when a parolee shot him with a military-type assault rifle on a dirt road near the rural town of Dunnigan. His killer was sentenced to death.

The road name change "will keep him in our thoughts," stated a press release from the sheriffs office.

Effective July 1 the Sheriff's administration building will be 140 Tony Diaz Drive, the jail will be 140A Tony Diaz Drive, the boat and evidence building 140B Tony Diaz Drive and the animal shelter will be 140C Tony Diaz Drive.

Teamwork between two officers and a police dog resulted in arrest of two men who would not surrender at gunpoint.

The incident began 5 p.m. Sunday when a Woodland police officer on routine patrol near County Road 102 and East Beamer Street spotted a Honda Accord that had been reported stolen.

The officer began following the car as other officers responded to his location. Initially, the driver stopped when the officer pulled him over. However, once the officer had the driver and passenger at gunpoint, the driver re-started the car and fled.

An man with a gun walked into the Woodland Gas Plaza on the 400 block of N. East Street in Woodland about 4:30 p.m. Saturday and robbed the clerk working at the register, authorities said today.

Witnesses described the suspect as white, in his 20s, about 5-foot-8 with thin build and a mustache, police said. He wore a grey hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap.

Authorities said the suspect demanded money from the woman clerk and then fled the building with an unknown amount of cash, heading north on N. East Street.

By Allen Pierleoni
apierleoni@sacbee.com

Woodland police found evidence of arson when they responded Saturday morning to a report of vandalism at the Woodland City Library.

The fire damage was "contained to a specific area and was not significant," said Woodland Police Sergeant Frank Ritter in an emailed news release. "However," he added, "the crime is a felony."

On the phone, Ritter declined to give more details of the crime, saying the department "does not wish to jeopardize our investigation."

The Woodland police Department is asking anyone who has relevant information to call (530) 666-2411 or (530) 661-7800. Callers can remain anonymous.

Davis police have arrested two men in connection with an April 15 hit-and-run case in which a teenager was severely injured.

Police announced today that Devin Parsons, 19, and Luis Barajas Jr., 22, both of Woodland, were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of felony hit and run. Both were booked into Yolo County Jail.

On April 15, two vehicles engaged in a reckless exhibition of speed at Eureka Avenue and West 14th Street, doing "doughnut" type maneuvers, according to a Police Department news release. Louis Robertson, 18, a passenger in the rear seat of one of those cars, fell out and onto the pavement. The second vehicle ran over Roberts, and he suffered life-threatening injuries, police said.

A Woodland man has pleaded no contest to three felony charges involving theft from an 88-year-old disabled woman.

The victim and her daughter hired Dennis Martinez , 32, to do yard work over a three-day period, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. On the third day, the elderly woman, who is legally blind, let Martinez in the house to use the bathroom while her daughter was away. The woman later discovered that Martinez had stolen her late husband's wallet and had begun using his credit cards at different locations, authorities said.

During an investigation, the Woodland Police Department recovered video of Martinez and an accomplice using a credit card at multiple locations, according to the news release.

A Woodland man suspected of battery and elder abuse was arrested this evening after barricading himself in a bedroom and starting a fire, according to police.

Woodland officers responded to the 200 block of Abele Street at 5:20 p.m. and arrived to find an elderly man with non-life-threatening injuries. He was transported by ambulance to Woodland Memorial Hospital for medical treatment.

Officers then sought to arrest a suspect, identified as James Woodall, 47, of Woodland.

A Yolo County jury has convicted three men identified as Norteno gang members for having an assault pistol in their car and engaging in street gang activity.

Angel Palacios, Carlos Hernandez and German Martinez, all age 20 of Woodland, were each found guilty by the jury Thursday, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Witnesses testified that on Aug. 17, 2010, two groups of gang members were in the area of Harris Park near Midtown Elementary School in Woodland. Just as school security personnel arrived, a rival gang member challenged Hernandez, who appeared to have an object in his hand. Police were called, and the two groups left before officers arrived.

Two men, one from Elk Grove and the other from Sacramento, have been arrested in connection with a shooting last August at a Woodland bar.

Woodland police, assisted by the Sacramento County Sheriff"s Department and Sacramento Police Department, served arrest and search warrants at two locations in Sacramento County early Thursday. Arrested were Marcus Blackmon, 34, of Elk Grove, and Jason Broadbent, 25, of Sacramento. Both wore booked in to Sacramento County Jail and are awaiting transfer to Yolo County on suspicion of attempted murder, according to a Woodland Police Department news release.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 28, 2011, Woodland police officers responded to a call of shots fired with two people wounded at Tony's Bar at 607 East St. in Woodland. The victims, a 41-year-old woman from Woodland and a 38-year-old man from Sacramento, were taken by ambulance to U.C. Davis Medical Center. The woman was treated for a single gunshot wound and the man, for multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.

Although multiple gunshots were fired during the incident, no other victims were located.

Woodland police are investigating two assaults that occurred Tuesday night.

The first was reported at 8:10 p.m. and officers were dispatched to the 2600 block of Nicholson Circle. There they found a man standing outside his residence uninjured. The victim and an adult acquaintance, later identified as a Jerry Donald Kennedy Jr., 25, a homeless man, were involved in an argument that turned into a physical fight, according to a Police Department news release.

Kennedy allegedly vandalized the victim's property before assaulting the man with a piece of broken glass. The victim was not injured, and Kennedy left the area on foot before officers arrived.

State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of several gang members and their associates in the Sacramento region.

The arrests, according to a state Department of Justice news release, highlight the Yolo Narcotic Enforcement Team's continuing efforts to combat gangs and narcotics trafficking in local communities. The team is made up of all law enforcement agencies in Yolo County and is led by the state Department of Justice.

The operation in West Sacramento was dubbed "Operation Red Sash" because of the Northern Riders and Broderick Boys criminal street gangs' affiliation with the color red and the Nortenos criminal gang, officials said.

Two men in Woodland were robbed in separate incidents by trios of men in black shirts and jeans.

The first robbery occurred about 9:45 p.m. Saturday when a 24-year-old man suffered a minor head wound when struck with an unknown object by one of three robbers. He was attacked when he went outside to move his truck.

The robbers took his wallet and fled, Woodland police said. The men were described as about 6 feet tall and wearing black t-shirts and blue jeans.

Interstate 80 from West Sacramento to Davis is now open in both directions after 6 hours of closure after a suspected gunman crashed his first carjacked pickup truck in West Sacramento.

The hunt for the suspect, who also stole a tractor and ditched a second hijacked vehicle, involved swarms of officers and continues across a wide area of Sacramento.

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Here is the story as it is unfolding:

8:26 p.m.

A man who exchanged gunfire with deputies and who may be the West Sacramento shooting suspect is dead, said Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

Firefighters said in scanner traffic that flareups in the apartment fire are continuing, but they are worried about damaging the crime scene in their efforts to extinguish it.

8:07 p.m.

Authorities are making their way into an apartment in the 1900 block of Ethan Way after Sacramento Sheriff's deputies fired on a possible suspect in today's West Sacramento shootings and carjackings.

"It's certainly very possible," it's him, said Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos. "We're waiting to hear if he's dead."

The suspect was outside the apartment when deputies fired on him, Ramos said. He did not know if the man had fired on deputies.

Investigators began focusing on the apartment about 6 p.m., Ramos said.

"It's a place that our investigation brought us to. I don't want to say how obviously. This place came on our radar."

A fire started inside the target apartment at some point but was under control, he said. "How that was started, we don't know yet," Ramos said.

7:46 p.m.

Police believe they may have the man wanted in connection with the West Sacramento shooting and carjackings barricaded in an Arden Arcade apartment.

That apartment on the 1900 block of Ethan Way apparently caught fire following a firefight between officers and the suspect. Sacramento sheriff's spokesman Jason Ramos said it is "certainly very possible" that the suspect is the man wanted for the day-long ordeal that started this morning in West Sacramento.

6:15 p.m.

West Sacramento police Sgt. Nathan Steele reports that police have discovered a third carjacking they believe is tied to the suspect.

Steele said he did not have much information, but that police believe the newly discovered carjacking was the first to occur, shortly after the suspect fired at employees arriving to work at a Harbor Boulevard machine shop and before he stole a pickup that he later crashed on Interstate 80's Yolo Causeway.

Meanwhile, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are shrinking their perimeter around Lerwick Drive and might soon leave the scene altogether, without a suspect in custody.

5:14 p.m.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies have released the man they had detained as they continue to search for the suspect associated with a stolen car found abandoned in northeastern Sacramento County.

Authorities have not identified the man who was detained.

Another Lerwick Road resident, Al Purdy, said he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car after a Ford F150 pick up truck pulled up in front of his house around 11:30 a.m.

Purdy, who had taken the day off from his job at the U.S. Postal Service, said and a young man, who fit the suspect's description, got out of the truck and walked away. The truck matched the description of the pickup stolen in Yolo County.

"All of a sudden all there was police activity in front of the house. Guns were pointed at me. I was cuffed and put in the back of a squad car. They searched my house," Purdy said.

3:03 p.m.

A sheriff's helicopter is hovering over the area and through a speaker is urging the residents of 314 Lerwick Road to come out with their hands up.

2:26 p.m.

Sacramento County Sheriff's spokesman Jason Ramos said deputies have detained a white male in the area near Lerwick Road and Morse Avenue where the second carjacked vehicle was found.

Detectives believe the man is responsible for stealing the car, but Ramos said they are not sure the incident is connected with the carjacking in West Sacramento.

12:29 p.m.

Interstate 80 from West Sacramento to Davis is now open in both directions after 6 hours of closure.

The freeway was closed about 6:20 a.m. when the suspect crashed his initial carjacked pickup truck in West Sacramento.

A tow truck has carried away the pickup and officials said that allows for the opening of the interstate.

11:50 a.m.

The brown Ford F150 has apparently been found miles away from where it was carjacked, police said.

Authorities apparently have found the pick-up at Lerwick Road and Morse Avenue along the Capitol City Freeway in Arden Arcade.

11:40 a.m.

Police now say that an empty rifle case was found at the West Sacramento machine shop where the entire incident began this morning when the suspect shot at employees.

It is not known by police if the suspect has a rifle from the shop. During the first carjacking he was armed with a handgun.

Yolo County Animal Services officials seek the public's help in locating dogs involved in five different dog-bite incidents during the past week.

Three occurred in Davis, one in Woodland and one in West Sacramento.

The first incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. April 12 in Davis in a field near Richards Boulevard near the Royal Oaks Mobile Home Park. Officials said a woman was bitten several times by a large black dog believed to be a Labrador retriever, possibly wearing a red collar. The dog was last seen entering the mobile home park, but investigative efforts at the park failed to locate the dog.

By Denny Walsh

Police officers are seeking help in their investigation of two stabbings at a party late Friday night in the 1300 block of Leo Way in Woodland. according to a city news release.

It was initially reported that there was an altercation in the street involving 50-60 people, the release states. Later reports were that a person was stabbed and taken to Woodland Memorial Hospital. When officers arrived at the hospital, they found that 22-year-old Woodland resident Daniel Hector Ruiz had sustained multiple wounds to his torso and arm. The injuries were potentially life-threatening, and he underwent emergency surgery.

A second victim, Andres Soloria, also 22 and a Woodland resident, had a stab wound to an arm that was not life-threatening.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at 530 661-7800.

The Yolo County District Attorney's Office advises people to be alert to a scam involving phony text messages to cell phone users.

Officials cite two messages in particular. The first begins: "Dear Walmart Shopper, Congratulations you have just won a $1000 dollar Walmart Gift Card." The second begins: "Apple is looking for people to Text & Keep the New iPad 3!" Both messages ask the cell phone users to click or go to a website provided.

Authorities advise people to delete these messages.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, the Catholic priest accused of molesting girl when he worked at parishes in Woodland and Redding, entered a not guilty plea today in Sacramento Superior Court.

Judge John P. Winn then scheduled Ojeda's preliminary hearing for June 8. The hearing will determine whether Ojeda, 32, will stand trial on the seven molestation counts.

The complaint against Ojeda charges that he molested the girl, who was under the age of 14 at the time of all of the allegations, three times in Sacramento County and four times in Shasta County.

The alleged incidents occurred between June 29, 2007, and Aug. 30, 2009, while Ojeda was working at the Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland and at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Redding.l

The Yolo County District Attorney's office is accepting applications for a Citizens Academy designed to acquaint people in the community with the various aspects of the criminal justice system.

Th academy, which will begin May 3, is sponsored by the District Attorney's Office in partnership with the Yolo County Sheriff's Office; Yolo County Probation Department; and the Davis, West Sacramento, Winters and Woodland police departments.

The goal of the academy is to educate the public, and to improve relationships and communication between the different communities in Yolo County and the criminal justice system, according to a District Attorney's Office news release.

Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Tani Cantil-Sakauye will be the featured speaker later this month at the Yolo County Bar Association's Law Day event.

The theme for Law Day this year is "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."

The Law Day gathering is scheduled for 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. April 26 at the Woodland Community & Senior Center, 2001 East St. The bar association hopes to draw lawyers from Yolo County and neighboring counties.

Two robbers held up a video game store in Woodland Saturday night.

Woodland police responded to the Game Stop on East Main Street about 9 p.m. Saturday where two masked men had just held up the business. The robbers took cash and fled on foot.

One of the men was armed with a gun and both robbers wore masks, police said. The robbers were described as black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, one with a thin build and the other an average build.

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

The Yolo County coroner's office has released the name of the man whose body was found in the Sacramento River near Clarksburg on Monday.

He was identified as Kaeo D. Alexander, 36, of Sacramento.

A coroner's official said the cause of death is pending. There was no evidence of trauma or foul play.

The body washed up at Stan's Yolo Marina on South River Road, according to the harbormaster.

An arsonist appears to have set a Woodland resident's pickup on fire this morning.

Michael McDonald, 60, was sleeping at his home in the 200 block of Hays Street when he was awakened by a barking dog about 1:30 a.m. He investigated and discovered his truck, parked on the street, was on fire.

Woodland firefighters arrived and put the fire out. Police officers found a large white bottle of lighter fluid in the street in front of the truck and a blackened rag on the hood.

Evidence will be examined for fingerprints, police said.

California Highway Patrol officers arrested a woman on a variety of charges after a struggle at Woodland Memorial Hospital last night.

During the arrest of Victoria Marie Sanders, 50, of Esparto, she allegedly struggled and kicked at officers before being taken to the ground, a CHP press release said. Sanders suffered abrasions in the process.

A leg restraint was used to keep her from kicking.

The incident began about 8 p.m. when an officer was dispatched to the hospital to take a stolen vehicle report. A man said that his girlfriend, Sanders, had taken his vehicle.

The CHP said that during the interview of the man, Sanders drove up. The officer contacted Sanders and the struggle began during her arrest, according to the CHP.

She was arrested on suspicion of resisting, battery on a peace officer, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

A Woodland man left broken windows in his wake as he smashed his way along a downtown street on Wednesday, police said.

Francisco Javier Alvarado, 39, was arrested on suspicion of assault, vandalism, concealment of a weapon and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Woodland police said they responded about 3 p.m. Wednesday to reports of vandalism in the 400 block of Third Street. Dispatchers were told that a man was breaking windows out of vehicles and businesses with lawn clippers.

Alvarado was arrested near Cross and Fourth streets and booked into Yolo County Jail.

A Woodland man was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol Saturday night after police found that he had driven his Dodge Ram pickup into a fence, then into seating outside a business at 91 West Court Street and then into a tree.

Woodland Police said Augstin Salazar, 31, was checked by emergency personnel but appeared to have sustained no injuries in the 9:30 p.m. collision. He was the only occupant of the vehicle, police said.

Salazar was booked at Yolo County Jail.

A Woodland man was sentenced today in Sacramento to six years and three months in prison for possessing child pornography.

Kenneth Albert Webb, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. He also is subject to 10 years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Webb's laptop computer was found to contain 50 video files and 21 pictures depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, some of whom were younger than 12 years old. Some of the images were produced in Germany and France, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Yolo County Sheriff's Department and Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

The Yolo County coroner has released the name of a man who died Wednesday night when his car failed to negotiate a curve on an Interstate 5 off ramp in Woodland and his car crashed into a tree.

He was identified as Paul William Edwardson, 85, of Redding.

Sgt. Matt Polanco of the California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred about 5:15 p.m. on the North East Street offramp from southbound I-5. There is a tight turn in the downhill ramp, and the driver lost control on the curve. The vehicle, a Buick sedan, continued into a field and struck a large tree at high speed, Polanco said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Polanco said investigators are trying to determine whether a medical condition, mechanical defect or the weather may have been contributing factors. A light rain was falling at the time of the crash, he said.

An elderly man died this evening in a single-vehicle accident after his car crashed into a tree as he came off an Interstate 5 offramp in Woodland.

Sgt. Matt Polanco of the California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred about 5:15 p.m. on the North East Street offramp from southbound I-5. There is a tight turn in the downhill ramp, and the driver lost control on the curve. The vehicle, a Buick sedan, continued into a field and struck a large tree at high speed, Polanco said.

The driver, the only occupant in the vehicle, died of his injuries.

A Woodland grandmother was recently bilked out of $14,000 when she fell for a well-known telephone scam.

Woodland police called attention to the swindle and released tips on how to avoid what is commonly called the "Grandparent Scam." In the most recent instance it went like this:

The woman received a call from a person claiming to be her grandson. He told her that he had been arrested in Canada following a traffic accident and needed money to fix the vehicle.

She wired $1,000.

Over the next few weeks, more phone calls were received from the phony grandson and his phony attorney. Money was needed to help defend a lawsuit stemming from the made-up car crash, the scammers said.

The Woodland grandmother kept making wire transfers and is now out $14,000, said police. Police were contacted March 7 by the woman who finally figured out she had been scammed.

Tips to avoid the scam:

- Verify the caller's identity by asking personal questions a stranger could not answer.

- Resist acting immediately

- Call someone you know to help verify the story.

- Avoid giving credit card or bank information to anyone you don't know personally.

Woodland Police asked Sunday for help in finding 23-year-old Luis Eduardo Castellanos. He was being investigated in a domestic violence case in which he allegedly chased a 34-year-old woman, hitting her with a 2 X 4 board.

Police said the attack occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday. The woman's injuries were not life-threatening. Castellanos fled before police arrived.

Police Sgt. Steve Sexton said that during a search of the home where the two reside, authorities found a marijuana growing operation.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Four teenagers were arrested early today and another suspect was sought in the early morning assault on a Woodland taxi cab driver.

Woodland Police said cab driver James Mooney, 46, picked up five people at 4:21 a.m. today from the 100 block of W. Elliot Street and drove them to the 2600 block of Garrett Way in Woodland.

When it came time to pay, Mooney told police, one of the five passengers grabbed a metal flashlight from the cab and struck him in the face with it. Mooney reported that all five individuals ran to a nearby residence.

A Calistoga woman has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for embezzlement, elder abuse and tax evasion in a case involving a Yolo County resident.

Denise Ann Conophy, 51, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced today by Yolo County Superior Court Judge Janet Gaard. The court also ordered the transfer of more than $300,000 in money and property, seized from Conophy, to the victim as payment of restitution.

The victim hired Conophy to handle her bookkeeping and other financial affairs relating to a business that the victim operated in St. Helena. Over the course of her seven years of employment, Conophy transferred the victim's assets to various accounts and used them to pay for her personal bills and to start an Internet business, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Vacant apartments in Woodland were flooded today when somebody stuffed rags in bathtub drains and turned the water on.

Woodland police and fire crews were called to the Redwood Manor Apartments, 132 Fifth St., about 5 a.m. after somebody noticed the flooding. It is estimated that water had been running in the tubs of two vacant ground-floor apartments for several hours.

Police said somebody had broken into the apartments to cause what they said was felony vandalism. Several apartments adjacent to the flooded vacant units also suffered water damage.

Firefighters removed about an inch of water from the apartments. A damage estimate was not immediately available, according to a press release.

Woodland police are investigating a teenager's report of an attempt to entice him into a vehicle as he walked home from school Monday.

The 15-year-old boy told officers that he was walking home from Woodland High School about 3 p.m., heading east on Beamer Street near Frost Drive, when he was approached by a four-door sedan occupied by three Latino men in their late teens or early 20s. The vehicle stopped next to the boy, who continued to walk by the vehicle.

As he did, one of the men in the vehicle got out of the passenger side of the front seat, opened the rear passenger door of the sedan and gestured for the youth to get in the back seat, according to a Police Department news release. No words were spoken, but the teenager was frightened and ran several blocks to his home, police said.

Three Woodland men were arrested on suspicion of growing marijuana and two of them were allegedly armed, including one who had an assault rifle, Woodland police said today.

Early Thursday, Woodland officers and members of the Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant at a home in the 1900 block of Hecke Drive, a police news release said.

All three suspects were booked into the Yolo County Jail.

A police dog helped apprehend a man suspected of battering a woman in a Woodland motel room, authorities said.

Police arrived about 1 a.m. today to a motel in the 1500 block of East Main Street on a domestic disturbance call in one of the rooms. Police say that Jared Lampkin, a parolee at large, fled to some weeds in a nearby industrial complex.

A police dog found him and inflicted some minor bite wounds, police said. Lampkin was treated at the hospital and then booked on various misdemeanor and felony charges.

The victim, a 27-year-old Woodland woman, was bruised, had a black eye and scratches to her left shoulder, wrist and forearm.

Witnesses have told Woodland Police that a woman involved in a single-car collision in Woodland had been drinking alcohol shortly before the crash that killed her Monday afternoon.

The driver, Vanessa Del Toro, 20, of Woodland, was driving a 1999 Range Rover through a residential area at speeds of about 80 mph, when police gave chase, authorities said.

The SUV struck a tree in front of a house in the 1600 block of College Street just after 4 p.m. Photos from the scene show the SUV partially wrapped around the large tree, its wheels lifted off the ground.

The Yolo County Coroner's office is awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine Del Toro's blood alcohol level, police said in a news release.

Woodland police and the California Highway Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team are investigating the accident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411.

By Hundson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

A Yolo County judge is scheduled to sentence Marco Antonio Topete this morning for the assault-rifle slaying of sheriff's Deputy Jose Antonio Diaz in June 2008.

Jurors in the case recommended that Topete receive a death sentence. Judge Paul K. Richardson will decide whether to follow that recommendation, after ruling on yet another motion for a new trial by defense attorneys.

The hearing begins at 8:30 a.m. in Dept. 4 at the Woodland courthouse.

Woodland police reported the arrest of four people after a residential burglary was interrupted Monday afternoon.

Officers were called to the 1600 block of Truckee Way about 3:30 p.m. regarding a report of a burglary in progress. When they arrived, the suspects were fleeing the area, but the first officer on scene was able to stop one suspect, Angela Zuniga, 38, of Woodland, according to a Police Department news release.

The officer was able to provide information that led to apprehension of two other suspects, Arthur Tunstall, 43, and Esteban Torres, 21, both of Woodland. The fourth individual, Jason Peck, 345, of Woodland, was taken into custody later at his home.

Two employees of a hot dog fast food restaurant were tied up by robbers on Monday, according to Woodland police.

The Wienerschnitzel restaurant clerks had freed themselves by the time officers arrived at the restaurant, 103 West Main St., about 9:30 a.m. They told officers that two men in their 20s robbed them at gun point and then fled with cash, driving away in one of the clerks' vehicles.

No customers were in the restaurant when the robbery occurred. The clerks were not harmed.

The clerk's vehicle was later found in another part of Woodland.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

A 21-year-old man was killed when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Highway 113 in Woodland early today, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The man, a resident of Foster City, was walking in the northbound lanes of 113 north of County Road 29 at about 3:50 a.m.

He was hit and killed by an unknown vehicle which fled the scene and has not been located.

The incident is under investigation, and anyone with information on the hit-and-run is asked to call CHP at (530) 662-4685.

A Calistoga woman has pleaded guilty to embezzlement and elder abuse in a case involving a Yolo County resident.

Denise Ann Conophy pleaded guilty to embezzlement, elder abuse and tax evasion, and admitted that she took more than $200,000, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. Conophy also agreed to forfeit more than $300,000 in cash and property, previously seized by the District Attorney's Office over the course of the investigation, to pay restitution to the victim.

Officials said Conophy was hired by the victim to handle bookkeeping and other financial affairs relating to a bed and breakfast business that the victim operated in St. Helena. Over the course of her seven-year employment, Conophy transferred the victim's assets to various accounts to pay her personal bills and to start an Internet business.

A large metal shop suffered major damage in an early-morning fire today on the outskirts of Woodland.

Fire companies were dispatched to 16604 County Road 98B at about 3:30 a.m. today. When firefighters first arrived on scene, the metal shop was ablaze. Fire did not spread to a nearby unoccupied residence.

Crews attacked one side of the building, first deploying 1,500 feet of fire hose to the nearest hydrant. Two water tenders were also called in to spray water on the other side of the metal shop.

In about an hour, the fire was brought under control, according to a press release from the Woodland Fire Department.

The cause and dollar loss sustained have not been determined.

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.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Attorneys defending convicted cop killer Marco Antonio Topete jumped on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling handed down earlier this week and submitted a second motion for a new trial just before their client was to be sentenced this morning.

In today's session, Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul K. Richardson was to hear arguments on the previous motion, submitted by attorneys Hayes H. Gable III and Dwight M. Samuel on behalf of Topete, before potentially sentencing him.

The new motion created another delay in the trial, with the next hearing scheduled for Feb. 7.

The Yolo County Coroner's office has released the name of a man killed Friday when a car overturned on a Woodland off-ramp.

The man was identified as Robert Dale Sunderland III, 25, of Woodland.

The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was on the off-ramp from southbound Interstate 5 to County Road 102 at about 9 p.m. when the driver, a 22-year-old man from Sacramento, lost control.

A single-car crash killed one of four people Friday after an automobile overturned on a Woodland off-ramp, California Highway Patrol officials reported.

The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was on the off-ramp from southbound Interstate 5 to County Road 102 at about 9 p.m. when the driver, a 22-year-old man from Sacramento, lost control.

The vehicle overturned several times and came to rest on its roof.

Yolo County animal services officers are seeking additional information about two pit bulls mix dogs that killed a cat in Woodland.

The Yolo County Sheriff's office, Animal Services Section, on Thursday impounded the two bit bulls. The dogs were running loose in the vicinity of West Woodland Avenue, North West Street, West Beamer Street and Mariposa Street.

One is a tan and white mix and the other is black and white.

Officers learned that the dogs may have hurt other victims. Anyone who may have encountered the dogs is asked to contact animal services at (530) 668-5287, Ext. 0 or email animal.bite@yolocounty.org.

Nine Central Valley residents were arrested on suspicion of passport fraud in 2011.

The accused allegedly applied for a U.S. passport using counterfeit, stolen or other unlawfully-obtained documentation, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to a press release from the Diplomatic Security Service.

"The Diplomatic Security Service is committed to investigating and pursuing anyone who applies for or obtains a United States passport using false documents," stated Dean K. Shear, special agent-in-charge of the DSS San Francisco field office.

Among those arrested:

-- Jose Concepcion Mata-Ibanez of Chico

-- Ulises Ernesto Diaz Miranda of Woodland

A toddler suffered a large gash to his forehead Wednesday in a Yolo County crash and had to be airlifted to the hospital.

Ryan Troung, 2, of Woodland suffered a 5-6 inch laceration to his head when the car in which he was riding was struck by a pickup truck on Highway 16. The pickup was pulling a trailer that was improperly loaded, causing the trailer to sway from side-to-side, the California Highway Patrol reported in a press release.

The CHP said that Placido Hernandez was driving a Ford pickup eastbound on Highway 16 just south of the Cache Creek Casino about 3 p.m. Wednesday when his trailer carrying cinder blocks began to fishtail. Hernandez was traveling about 35-40 mph, the CHP said.

Woodland police are investigating the robbery of a 63-year-old woman shortly before 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve at the local Target store.

The victim said a man approached her in the parking lot, threatened her with a knife and ordered her to turn over her purse, police said.

Her purse had her ID, credit cards and a small amount of cash, the department reported.

Police said the suspect is white or Hispanic, 20-25 years old, 5-foot-8, thin build, wearing a stocking cap, a dark coat with a belt, and dark colored pants.

-- Bee staff

Collisions that backed up traffic for several hours last night on Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Woodland resulted in injury to two motorists.

The California Highway Patrol said that a car and a mini van headed southbound on I-5 just north of County Road 4 about 5:45 p.m. collided.

The car then went through the grass center divider and into the path of a northbound big rig.

The car collided with the big rig. The truck then went through the center divider and into the southbound lanes, traveled off the roadway and came to rest, partially on a golf course.

Two males in the car that hit the truck, one 16 and the other 18 years old, both from Chico, suffered moderate injuries, according to a CHP report.

A Woodland man has been convicted of molesting the 6-year-old daughter of a couple with whom he was sharing a home.

After a four-day trial, a Yolo County jury deliberated a half-day before finding Efrain Amed Vasquez Martinez, 29, guilty Friday of four of six charges of child molestation that occurred in two separate incidents.

About 4 a.m. on April 24, one of Vasquez's housemates awoke to sounds in the home that raised suspicion, and she sent her husband to investigate. The husband opened the door to the children's bedroom, where he found a 4-year-old boy asleep and the 6-year-old girl pulling the covers over her, as Vasquez, wearing only his underwear, attempted to hide in the closet, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

A bail review motion scheduled for today on a Catholic priest accused of child molestation was put off until Jan. 5 amid suggestions he may be a flight risk.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 32, who served in parishes in Woodland and Redding, is accused in seven counts of molesting a girl under the age of 14. The criminal complaint filed against him said the acts took place between June 28, 2007, and Aug. 30, 2009.

Ojeda's attorney, Jesse Ortiz, asked for the delay in order to obtain his client's personnel records from the Sacramento archdiocese.