Sacto 9-1-1

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man on suspicion of pistol-whipping his robbery victim before riding off on a bike.

Ryan Helmecy, 25, was arrested on suspicion of robbery, crime against the elderly, altering an imitation firearm and violation of probation.

Deputies suspect Helmecy of robbing a 77-year-old man in the 4900 block of Little Oak Lane near Madison Avenue and Interstate 80 about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Deputies said Helmecy pointed a weapon at the man and demanded cash.

He struck the man on the head before fleeing on a bike. Helmecy was arrested nearby and deputies said he tried to discard what turned out to be a replica weapon painted to look like a real handgun.

Property that belonged to the robbery victim was found near the arrest. The victim was treated for minor injuries.

PHOTO CAPTION: Ryan Helmecy

A man who ran from a law enforcement team in North Highlands last night is recuperating from being hit by police gunfire after he allegedly pulled a weapon on officers.

The 21-year-old suspect man non life-threatening injuries when he was shot once in the lower body.

The incident, one of a string of recent officer-involved shootings in Sacramento County, began about 6 p.m. when a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department detective and a California Highway Patrol officer working together in an unmarked police car came upon a man walking in the 3700 block of Myrtle Avenue.

A man has been taken to an area hospital after he was shot by a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy during a foot pursuit in North Highlands.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said two deputies were together in a sheriff's vehicle when they made contact with a pedestrian about 6:10 p.m. in the 3700 block of Myrtle Avenue, east of Watt Avenue. The pedestrian, a male, took off running, and the deputy who was the passenger in the vehicle got out of the car and gave chase.

During the pursuit, the pedestrian pulled out a gun and turned toward the deputy, who in turn shot the suspect, Ramos said.

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

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

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

A 27-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday night in the 2100 block of Wyda Way in the Arden Arcade area.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said the department received multiple calls about 8:25 p.m. from people reporting that someone had been shot.
He said it appears that the victim stepped outside a duplex.

Several family members were inside and reported hearing gunshots. They went outside and found the victim on the ground about two residences to the east. His name was not released.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Ramos said deputies had only a vague description of a suspect, a male who was seen running westbound on Wyda Way.

A Sacramento man and a Yuba City woman were taken into custody after leading law enforcement officers on a chase through Sacramento County this morning, at one point striking a patrol vehicle and pinning the officer inside.

About 7:27 a.m., Sacramento Police Department auto theft detectives learned of a "Crime Alert" tip regrading the location of a possible stolen vehicle. Detectives found the vehicle in the area of Northwood and Woodcrest roads in the Arden Arcade area. They contacted the California Highway Patrol because the location was in the unincorporated area of the county, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

The vehicle was described as a silver and blue 2002 Ford F350 pickup truck.

Bodie, the Sacramento police dog shot Friday by a man during a pursuit, was up and walking for a brief period Sunday.

"I saw his handler with him. They were out on the grass for a few minutes," Sacramento Police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said today. "He is doing surprisingly well for the critical injuries that he sustained. We're still very hopeful of a full recovery."

Bodie was shot twice through the left jaw and once in the paw. He is being treated at Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center in Rancho Cordova, where he underwent surgery.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com

Video Caption:Sacramento Police Officer Andrew Pettit delivers information on the shooting.


A Chico man is dead and a Sacramento police canine recovering after shots were fired in the Land Park neighborhood this morning.

The incident, which began about 10:30 a.m., prompted a precautionary lockdown at Crocker-Riverside Elementary on Riverside Boulevard. The lockdown has since been lifted, and students will be let out at the usual time unless a parent requests his or her child to be released early.

The name of the suspect who allegedly shot the police dog and then was fatally shot by the dog's officer has not been released. However, police have identified him as a white man in his 30s from Chico.

Police have the man's alleged accomplice, a woman in her 20s also from Chico, in custody, said Sgt. Andrew Pettit.

The ordeal began when officers tried to pull over a car that had been reported stolen, and the driver failed to yield, Pettit said. A pursuit ensued, but was called off after police feared it was getting too dangerous - the driver nearly hit several young children while fleeing from officers, Pettit said.

A description of the suspects and the stolen vehicle was broadcast to other officers, and officers spotted the vehicle near California Middle School. They also saw two people that matched the suspect descriptions walking away from the car, Pettit said.

When officers tried to make contact with the two people, they ran, and officers pursued on foot. At one point, the male suspect turned and fired at a police dog pursuing him, hitting him in the face and paw.

Fearing for his life and the safety of others, Pettit said, the officer returned fire, striking the suspect. The officer then picked up the dog, a German Shepherd named Bodie, and carried him to a patrol car.

The SWAT team was called out to try and make contact with the suspect, who was lying in a backyard at Robertson Way and Riverside Boulevard. Police believed the suspect to be injured, but had to take precautions because they believed him to be armed, Pettit said.

Eventually, paramedics were able to examine the suspect, and he was pronounced dead, Pettit said.

The female suspect, who has not yet been identified, was arrested. Nobody else was harmed.

Morning kindergarteners were released to anxiously waiting parents at about noon. Afternoon kindergarten classes were cancelled, but the school's annual fundraiser, the Spring Jubilee, is still going on tonight as planned.

Bodie, the police dog, is expected to survive.

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

A woman standing near a market in Oak Park had her cell phone snatched from her hand -- but police were later able to recover it.

The woman was talking on the phone in the 3400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard about 7:45 p.m. Thursday when a man came up from behind and attempted to pull the cell phone away.

She held on to the phone in a struggle with the man who dragged her a short distance. Eventually, the phone was wrested from her grip and the suspect fled on a bicycle with the cell phone.

Later, an observant Sacramento police officer spotted a man matching the description of the cell phone thief and arrested Joseph Stanley, 37, on suspicion of possession of the stolen phone, robbery and a parole violation.

Stanley had the phone, according to police.

A man is dead after Grass Valley police opened fire after a high-speed chase last night.

The man, described as being in his early 60s, was shot to death near the Bear River Bridge in Nevada County on Thursday.

A Grass Valley police press release said the incident began with a call to dispatch about 7 p.m. that reported at least one vehicle was chasing another near East Main Street and North Auburn Street. Also, the caller said, one of the parties may have a gun.

Elk Grove police police are searching for a teenage boy in connection with the stabbing another teenage youth this afternoon.

Police spokesman Officer Christopher Trim said police were called to Tares Circle, south of Whitelock Parkway, at 3:38 p.m. regarding an assault. They found a boy, 16 to 18 years old, with multiple stab wounds to his stomach and chest.

The youth was transported to a hospital. In a late afternoon update, Trim said the teenager's injuries were not life-threatening and were described as superficial..

A man authorities dubbed the "El Camino Real Bandit" has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for three bank robberies, including two in the Sacramento region.

Robert Todd Bruce, 51, of Arroyo Grande on the Central Coast was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento to 12 years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for serial bank robbery. He also was ordered to pay restitution to the banks, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Bruce was sentenced for three bank robberies. He admitted that he committed additional bank robberies that were prosecuted in various state courts in California.

Taken into custody after an all-night standoff in West Sacramento, a woman who allegedly held her mother against her will, then slit her own wrists, became a fugitive for a short time Thursday morning.

Melissa Dodd, 38, briefly escaped from a police interrogation room about 9:15 this morning, said Sgt. Nathan Steele. He said the woman was left alone briefly in the room, which had two doors. One was locked, but the other had been improperly secured. He said she was recaptured within minutes.

According to West Sacramento Lt. Tod Sockman, a call for medical aid was received for a home on Marston Street about 7 p.m. Wednesday. As the father, who has health issues, was being loaded into an ambulance, his daughter, Dodd, stormed back into the home and locked her mother out of the house.

A Sacramento County jury has convicted a 49-year-old man of a 2011 carjacking near the Florin Road light-rail station.

District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that Willie Weaver was found guilty of carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On April 14, 2011, Weaver exited a light-rail train at the Florin Road station and walked into a nearby Walgreens store. Shortly after he arrived, a woman pulled her car into a parking space in front of the store. Weaver approached her on foot and demanded her keys. Following a short struggle, Weaver wrested the woman's keys from her hand, pushed her to the ground and drove off with her car, according to a District Attorney's Office news release.

A judge today imposed the expected 18-year, four-month term -- with a chance of lifetime in a mental hospital -- on Sacramento State student Quran Jones for the Oct. 21, 2009, beating death of his dormitory roommate.

Clinicians who had treated Jones, 22, after his fatal attack on fellow student Scott Gregory Hawkins stated that they believe the defendant was in a full-blown psychotic decompensation at the time of the killing. But that did not detract from the grief expressed by the victim's parents at the Sacramento Superior Court sentencing hearing.

See a photo gallery

"I miss my son," Elizabeth Hawkins said in her statement to the court. "I miss him every waking moment of every day. Sleep is no relief. So many of my dreams are endless nightmares of his brutal death."

A teenager was shot Monday night during a robbery in a Sacramento Regional Transit light rail parking lot.

Sacramento police were called to the 47th Avenue station on the south line about 8 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Police were able to find out that a 16-year-old boy was walking home with friends when three males tried to take one of his friends' property.

The 16 year old tried to help his friend fend off the theft but was shot in the upper body by one of the robbers. The 16 year old was transported to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

An investigation is in progress, according to a police activity log.

Lodi police have arrested a couple for their part in the stabbing of a teen in the neck and back.

Police said the couple then fled with the woman's toddler in the car with them.

Police received a call about 12:30 a.m. today that a 19-year-old man at an apartment complex in the 2400 block of Eilers Lane had suffered a severe laceration to his throat and two stab wounds in his back.

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.

Sacramento police on Thursday were called upon to investigate one man suspected of bothering tourists in Old Sacramento and another for painting himself like Old Glory and exposing himself.

The first call came about 3:30 p.m. to the 100 block of K Street where Paul G. McDonald, 45, was allegedly waving his fists at people visiting Old Sacramento. When police tried to speak with him, he repeatedly punched the officer in the face and body.

The two wrestled on the ground before other officers arrived to help take McDonald into custody. McDonald was arrested on suspicion of resisting police.

About three hours later, along Stockton Boulevard near Fruitridge Road, police responded to a call about a man "painted like an American flag" and exposing himself on a street corner.

Eric Anichini, 43, was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure and an outstanding warrant.



PHOTO CAPTION: Eric Anichini, left, and Paul McDonald

For the second time this year, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has been called upon to handle emergency calls in the delta town of Isleton.

The Isleton interim city manager called the sheriff's department at 7 p.m. Thursday to report that the police force was no longer functioning. Media reports say that the Isleton police chief has been placed on leave.

Sheriff Scott Jones authorized deputies to respond to "priority one" calls in Isleton. Deputies will only handle calls for service if there is a life-threatening or critical emergency.

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

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

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

A 26-year-old man surrendered to Davis police shortly before 7 p.m. today following a standoff at a home where officers had attempted to serve him with a restraining order.

Police Department spokesman Lt. Paul Doroshov said David Manuel Cervantes was arrested on a warrant for weapons charges related to a prior incident. He said he did not know whether new charges would be filed as a result of the stand-off.

He said Cervantes barricaded himself in a home on Adrian Drive in east Davis after officers attempted to serve him with a restraining order about 1:40 p.m. Cervantes refused to come the the door. In the process of trying to make contact with Cervantes, officers learned of the Yolo County warrant.

A statewide Blue Alert has been issued following the shooting of a California Highway Patrol officer late Sunday night near Bakersfield.

According to the Fresno Bee, the incident happened about 10:45 p.m. when the officer was parked on the shoulder of westbound Highway 178.

A blue GMC Yukon with 24-inch wheels drove by, slowed, made a U-turn and headed toward the CHP officer.

By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com

Elk Grove police are searching tonight for a suspect who fled after allegedly shooting a man in the head in an altercation outside of a record store.

Officer Christopher Trim said police got word of a disturbance outside of Dimple Records in the 9600 block of Elk Grove-Florin Road at around 9:25 p.m. and minutes later received a report of shots being fired. Police arrived to find a man down in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his head.

Witnesses said the shooter fled in a black Ford Explorer with the license plate 3BHF649. Trim described the suspect as a white male, 25 to 30 years old, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 250 pounds, wearing a black pea coat, black jeans and shoulder-length hair.

He said the shooting victim was taken to a local hospital, but his condition was uncertain late Sunday.

Yolo County Animal Services officials are seeking information regarding an animal cruelty case in which a cat had to be euthanized because of severe burns.

Animal Services officers responded to a call about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday at Circle Park near Circle Street and Alabama Avenue. Witnesses said they had been walking to a friend's house near the park and had seen what appeared to be a ball of fire moving through Circle Park. When they investigated, they found a cat that was badly burned but still alive. They called for assistance and stayed with the cat until Animal Services arrived.

The cat, a stray with no known owner, was described as a female domestic short-hair brown tabby. It was transported to UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital for emergency care. Officials said the veterinary staff initially hoped the friendly cat would survive. But after they determined that the pain was unmanageable and the animal would lose its limbs, the cat was euthanized.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Police say a man suffering from a stabbing injury was transported this morning to the hospital in critical condition from downtown Sacramento.

Officers responded at 5:50 a.m. to a report of a possible stabbing at Third and J streets. Police said it is not immediately clear where the stabbing occurred, however the victim was found on the sidewalk at Third and J.

Lodi police said that one of their officers was able to find out who phoned in a bomb threat for Lodi Middle School last week.

Three teens have been arrested after the bomb threat was made to police on Thursday. As a precaution, students were evacuated to a field away from buildings.

Police and school staff conducted a room-by-room search. School maintenance workers checked the top of the buildings, but no bomb was ever found.

A portion or Donner Pass Road and Richards Boulevard in Truckee were closed and nearby schools placed under lockdown earlier today during a stand-off between an armed man and police.

About 11:30 a.m., the Nevada County Sheriff's Office advised Truckee police that they had received information that Robert Maklia of Penn Valley was possibly in the Truckee area and in possession of a firearm. Maklia was reportedly distraught for unknown reasons. The Sheriff's Office also provided a description of Maklia's vehicle.

Officers located Maklia sitting in his parked vehicle on Richards Boulevard west of Donner Pass Road. Maklia later got out of the vehicle with a handgun in his hand, according to a Police Department news release. Police said Maklia refused to drop the gun and instead took refuge behind his vehicle. They said he continued to ignore directions from officers.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Kelvin Arnell Peterson and Bernard Krungerrun Reed of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the Sept. 2, 2010, shooting death of Tania Gursky during a pharmacy robbery in North Highlands.

Judge Troy L. Nunley scheduled the sentencing on the two defendants for June 1. Peterson, 43, and Reed, 35, are each facing life in prison without possibility of parole.

Gurskiy, 27, worked as a clerk in the pharmacy. She was killed by Peterson when he ran out of the story during the robbery when the son of the pharmacy owner attempted to thwart the robbery by pulling a gun on the defendant. Reed was convicted under the felony murder rule for his participation in the robbery that resulted in a death.

A Linda man has been booked into Yuba County jail on suspicion of sexual assault after allegedly assaulting a woman for three days.

Tyrone L. Dyson, 38, of Linda was arrested by Yuba County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday on several charges including suspicion of rape and false imprisonment.

Deputies were called Saturday morning by a woman who lived with Dyson after she was able to get out of their home in east Linda.

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.

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.

A judge today ordered three Sacramento men to stand trial on murder charges for the Jan. 3, 2010, shooting death of Aliyah Smith in an apartment on Nedra Court in the Meadowview area.

Sacramento Superior Court James L. Long set May 7 as the next court date for D'Andre Monroe, now 20, Marcel Bullard, also 20, and Marschell Brumfield, 21.

Authorities have identified Monroe as the gunman in the 1:20 a.m. shooting in which Smith, a 15-year-old River City HIgh School student, was slain.

Sacramento police initially arrested 12 teenagers on suspicion of murder in the killing. Investigators characterized it as a retaliation attack from a fight in earlier in the evening between Smith and another girl.

Eight of the 12 original murder suspects have since pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact. Most of them were sentenced to a year in county jail. Charges were dismissed against one other defendant.

A Sacramento man was arrested Wednesday on pimping and human trafficking charges after beating and strangling a prostitute at a South San Francisco motel, police said.

The suspect, Marshaun Spencer Jourdan, allegedly questioned the woman's loyalty to him before attacking her Tuesday at a motel on Airport Boulevard.

Read the San Mateo Times story here.

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.

A woman sitting in a wheelchair in the driveway of a home on 44th Avenue in south Sacramento suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in a drive-by shooting this afternoon.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said the shooting occurred about 3:15 p.m. A 56-year-old woman was in front on a house on the southeast corner of 44th Avenue and 39th Street when a car southbound on 39th Street came around the corner. Two males got out of the vehicle, fired shots, then got back in the vehicle which headed west on 44th Avenue toward Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Ramos said the woman was struck once in the leg, but at least two dozen shots were fired. He said it is unclear whether the gunmen were firing at the woman or the house behind her. He said no one else was outside with her when the shooting occurred.

The vehicle was described as a four-door gold sedan. Ramos said a vehicle matching that description was later reported parked on Martin Luther King Boulevard at 20th Avenue and people were reported running from it. He said deputies are continuing to search the area.

Police have released new information about last week's massive manhunt that began in West Sacramento and ended with the fatal shooting of the suspect in Sacramento County.

Among the newly released details is the fact that authorities found out during the course of their search Friday that the suspect, later identified as 38-year-old Jimmy Lee Graves, had stolen a high-powered and "extremely dangerous" rifle from the machine shop where the manhunt began, said Sgt. Nathan Steele, spokesman for the West Sacramento Police Department.

The Remington Model 700 rifle is the same used by most police snipers, Steele said, and has a reach of more than 400 yards. It is a legal weapon often used for hunting.

Sacramento police have arrested a 20-year-old local man in connection with the fatal shooting of a San Francisco resident in the North City Farms neighborhood last weekend.

Theecree Brown is accused of fatally shooting 25-year-old Ubaldo Barraza on the 4500 block of Arlington Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, according to Sacramento police.

Barazza was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

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

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

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

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

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

A Rancho Cordova man was taken into custody early Saturday after a stabbing attack on three people outside a Folsom bowling alley, police said.

Folsom Police Sgt. Jason Browning reported that the man, 24-year-old David Son, was physically restrained when officers arrived at Folsom Lake Bowl shortly after 12:30 a.m.

Witnesses told officers that Son had tried to bum cigarettes from victims some minutes before the unprovoked attack.

The Sacramento Coroner's office has released the name of the man who was killed Friday by Sheriff's deputies after a standoff and a region-wide manhunt for the person responsible for three carjackings in Yolo County.

Jimmy Lee Graves (left), 38, was killed Friday at 8:01 p.m. at 1968 Ethan Way, the coroner reported.

Residents of the Ardenaire apartment complex on Ethan Way have not been allowed to return to their homes while law enforcement officials conduct their investigation into Friday's shooting there of a carjacking suspect by Sacramento Sheriff's deputies.

An as-yet-unnamed suspect barricaded himself in an apartment Friday and set fire to items in the apartment before being shot around 8 p.m. by four deputies attempting to secure the location for fire fighters.

The deputies, with 13 to 23 years of service, have been put on administrative leave, as is standard.

Sacramento police have arrested a man who began firing a rifle after being involved in a head-on collision.

Police were first called to the collision at W. El Camino Avenue and Dorine Way at 2:45 a.m. Saturday.

"That's the way it came in, as a traffic collision," said Sgt. Andrew Pettit, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

A man told Sacramento police that he got in a verbal altercation outside a North Sacramento bar Thursday night, went back to his nearby hotel and went to sleep.

It was only after waking up Friday morning that he realized he had been shot twice at the bar near Boxwood Street and El Camino Avenue.

The victim, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening wounds.

No suspects were identified.

Steve Welch of Sacramento had one adrenaline-pumping morning when he was carjacked this morning by the man who has now the subject of the manhunt on the causeway.

Welch, 45, an employee of a West Sacramento metal fabricating business, had just left a coffee shop and was near a second hand store in his truck when a man came running at him near West Capitol Avenue and Harbor Boulevard.

"I was in my pickup and driving," he said. "He is running up with a shiny revolver, pointing it at my face."

The armed man demanded Welch's pickup.

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.

A 20-year-old man was arrested today in Richmond in connection with a January assault on a Citrus Heights man in Vacaville.

Julian Broussard was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Pacific Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to a U.S. Marshals Service news release.

About 5:35 p.m. Jan. 17, Vacaville police received a report of a shooting in the 1100 block of Alamo Drive. The victim was a 58-year-old Citrus Heights man who had posted property for sale on Craigslist.

Both men accused of participating in Tuesday's attempted robbery of an armored car guard outside a Walmart in south Sacramento County are in custody, according to authorities.

The man who allegedly used a Taser on the guard and stole the money was released from the hospital today and then arrested, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Raymell Lamar Eason, 41 and pictured at left, was booked into jail on suspicion of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, Ramos said. Eason was arrested after being treated for a gunshot wound he suffered during the incident.

A man was stabbed and another beaten during two gang-related brawls near the food court at Downtown Plaza this morning, according to Sacramento police.

The man who was stabbed is being treated at a hospital for his injuries, which do not appear life-threatening, said police Sgt. Andrew Pettit. After he is released, he is likely to be arrested in connection with his alleged role in the incident, Pettit said.

Arrested so far in the incident was 18-year-old Able Elizondo, pictured at left. Officers arrested Elizondo on suspicion of felony battery, Pettit said.

Several callers dialed 911 shortly before 10:30 a.m. to report the incident, which began when an 18-year-old man walked into the K Street food court and got into a verbal altercation with two men, one of whom allegedly was Alizondo, Pettit said.

Members of fraternities and sororities at UC Davis have signed a pledge this year designed to curb out-of-control drinking on Picnic Day this Saturday.

Among the points in the 10-point covenant signed by 51 of 75 Greek organizations are pledges not to serve alcohol before noon and refraining from drinking games.

"The covenant demonstrates that we are doing our part," said Matt Chemin, president of the Interfraternity Council.

Picnic Day typically draws 75,000 people. The on-campus open house, now in its 98th year, is a wholesome event featuring a parade, music, educational exhibits, animal events and sport.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This post was updated by Bee staff writer Kim Minugh.

One man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his leg after he allegedly tried to rob an armored car guard in the parking lot of a south Sacramento Walmart store this afternoon.

The attempted robbery occurred about 2:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the store at 6051 Florin Road as an armored car company was making routine rounds. As one of the armored car guards was leaving the store with money, he was approached form behind by a man with a Taser, according to a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department news release. The suspect deployed the Taser, striking the guard, who fell to the ground and dropped the bag of money he was carrying.

As the suspect ran from the store through the parking lot, the armored car guard got to his feet and gave chase. At one point during the foot pursuit, the guard fired his duty weapon, striking the suspect in the leg, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Three proud women took their seats side-by-side today as the first all-woman panel in the 107-year history of the Sacramento-based 3rd District Court of Appeal.

As they heard oral arguments in a high-profile Sacramento murder appeal, they were making history. While that may have looked easy as they sat poised and attentive, the lot of women in the legal profession has been anything but smooth.

Less than a century and a half ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that women were not fit to practice law because most them were married and that would be an impediment to the adequate representation of their clients.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are responding to a shooting near Howe and El Camino avenues, according to authorities.

A man was shot in the arm near the area's 99 Cent Only store, according to sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos. The injuries do not appear life-threatening, Ramos said.

The suspect was seen running eastbound on El Camino from the scene, Ramos said. He was described as a black male adult, 19 to 20 years old with dread locks. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, witnesses told deputies.

A Sacramento man, whose naked stroll along Rio Linda Boulevard was stopped by police, allegedly punched an officer in the head.

Police said that Aaron Aceves, 47, who lives in the 900 block of Harris Avenue in Del Paso Heights, assaulted his sleeping roommate late Saturday night, cutting him and knocking out some teeth.

According to a police activity log, Aceves then removed his clothes and walked down Rio Linda Boulevard where he was spotted by a passing police officer. The officer attempted to stop him, which caused Aceves to punch him in the head, according to the police log.

Another officer arrived, but Aceves continued to resist. Eventually, Aceves was taken into custody and booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of battery against his roommate, battery against the officers and indecent exposure.

By Chris Macias

A "person of interest" has been arrested in a possible gang related shooting which occurred Saturday afternoon in the Sunrise Mall parking lot.

Citrus Heights police were dispatched to the scene at 4:31 p.m. following reports of a single gun shot fired at a victim. The suspected shooter then fled southbound on foot.

A perimeter was set up by police, where an individual was detained and arrested on an unrelated charge. Police are investigating this "person of interest" for the shooting.

No injuries were reported in the shooting. Police are still investigating whether the shooting was gang related.

A Citrus Heights street with a crime-ridden past was the scene of a drive-by shooting last night.

Police said that at about 9:15 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to Sayonara Drive after gunshots rang out. Nobody was struck by the gunfire, but three vehicles and an occupied home were hit.

Several bullet casings were recovered by police.

A man has been found dead in an Orangevale home after he exchanged gunfire with Sacramento County sheriff's deputies serving a search warrant.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said narcotics officers went to the house to serve the warrant this afternoon. Following a foot pursuit, they caught up with the suspect, a man in his 30s, and entered the home in the 9100 block of Kendrick Way, north of Madison Avenue and east of Hazel Avenue.

At some point, Ramos said, the suspect, whose name has not been released, was able to retrieve a handgun and fire at deputies. Ramos said three deputies returned fire, then backed out of the residence.

A 28-year-old man has been found guilty in the 2008 carjacking and robbery of an off-duty armored car transport employee in Elk Grove.

Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that a jury convicted Richard Miller of carjacking, robbery, assault with a firearm, theft of a firearm and being a felon in unlawful possession of a firearm. The jury also found true the allegation of personal use of a firearm.

In December 2008, the victim had just gotten off work as an armored car transport employee when he drove to his girlfriend's Elk Grove apartment. After parking his car in the apartment complex parking lot, he was approached by Miller and two of Miller's friends, according to a District Attorney's Office news release. The two friends distracted the victim while Miller jumped into the victim's car.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Quran Mahammed Jones, the Sacramento State student accused of beating dormitory roommate Scott Gregory Hawkins to death with a baseball bat three years ago, pleaded out to a negotiated settlement in court today and was convicted of second-degree murder.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary S. Mullen sentenced Jones to 15 years to life in prison, but found that Jones was insane at the time he murdered fellow student Scott Gregory Hawkins. Mullen ordered that Jones be placed placed in the state's Conditional Release Program. Under the placement, Jones will be sent to Napa State Hospital and will be eligible for hearings on his sanity every year.

Along with the negotiated settlement on the murder charge, Jones, 22, also pleaded no contest to three counts of attempted murder and three more counts of brandishing a weapon. Under the terms of his plea, if he is ever found to recover his sanity, he would then be sent to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for a term of 18 years and four months. Judge Mullen ordered Jones to serve the two terms concurrently.

A sheriff's deputy was shot and killed and another person was also killed Thursday morning as deputies tried serving papers at a residence on the city's northwest side, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said.

SWAT teams from several agencies surrounded a home where a suspect is believed to have barricaded himself.

Read this developing news story at modbee.com

This being the week in which dispatchers are recognized for their good work, the California Highway Patrol provides these tips on calling 911:

• No matter what, stay calm.

• Be prepared to give your name, phone number, address or location and a detailed description of the incident.

The Sacramento Police Department is asking the community's help in identifying a suspect sought in robberies of two businesses in recent weeks.

About 11:45 a.m. April 2, police responded to the 3600 block of Northgate Boulevard in the Gardenland area regarding a robbery. The suspect (left photo) was described as a black man, 30 to 40 years old, with an athletic build, weighing approximately 220 pounds, and with black paint or shoe polish on his face. The man was wearing a white construction hard hat, orange reflective vest, blue jeans, white and black tennis shoes, and dark gloves.

The man entered the business, brandished a pistol and took merchandise and money before fleeing, according to a Police Department news release.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

Redding police arrested a 30-year-old man from Hat Creek in connection with a stabbing during an altercation at a party just after midnight today.

Police arrived at the intersection of 10th and West streets around 12:30 a.m. and found the stabbing victim, Steven Brian Davis, 28, chasing Joshua Lee Davis, 30, of Hat Creek,.

The two men are not related, police said

An investigation indicated that Joshua Davis and another man attempted to assault people at a party in the 1900 block of 10th Street.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

A taxi driver was shot in the face near Garden Highway and Truxel Road early today.

Police have little information on this incident, which occurred around 3 a.m.

The victim was taken to an unidentified hospital and is expected to survive.

The suspects were identified as two African American men.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

A 46-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly tried on two occasions to cause an explosion and fire at his Citrus Heights home.

Anthony Alan Chance (pictured) was arrested Thursday on suspicion of willfully and maliciously attempting to set fire to a structure using a flammable natural gas and making terrorist threats.

On March 4, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews responded to a report of a gas leak in the 6900 block of Amberwick Lane in Citrus Heights. When they arrived, firefighters reported a strong odor of natural gas emanating from the structure. After forcing entry to the residence, they found that a supply line to a natural gas clothes dryer had been manually cut.

An Auburn-area man is in jail accused of shooting a process server with an airsoft rifle, smashing the window of the woman's vehicle with the butt of the gun and rubbing mud on her face.

The Placer County Sheriff's office received a call about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday from 30-year-old Nicolas Mark Stenberg's girlfriend. She reported that a woman had come to their Mount Vernon Road home and had "maced" her boyfriend.

Deputies arrived to find Stenberg with red, watery eyes, consistent with exposure to pepper spray, and firefighters responded to treat him.

A Fairfield man was sentenced today in Sacramento to 35 years in federal prison for a 2011 car bombing.

A federal jury in January found Daniel Richard Garcia guilty of malicious use of explosives, possession of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence and two counts of possession of unregistered destructive devices, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton.

According to testimony presented at trial, about 1 a.m. May 27, 2011, Garcia placed a bomb underneath an SUV parked next to an apartment building in Fairfield. The bomb detonated, causing a fireball and sending shrapnel into the vehicle and the nearby apartment building where two young children and numerous other people were sleeping. Investigators were able to piece together parts of the bomb and link it to Garcia.

South Lake Tahoe police have arrested a Carmichael man in the death of a teenager 31 years ago.

Richard E. Swanson, 16, was killed Aug. 14, 1980 at what was then a Shell gas station at what is known as the Y intersection, Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Emerald Bay Road.

He was killed during a robbery, according to a South Lake Tahoe city website. Swanson was working the late shift alone the night of his death.

Swanson, whose head was severely beaten, was robbed of his wallet that contained $190 - cash from his first paycheck at the station. Also taken, was $761.02 from the gas station cash drawer.

A Roseville resident was struck in the face during a burglary of his home last week.

A Roseville police advisory newsletter said the resident of Weston Way came home about 5:40 p.m. Thursday to find three people burglarizing his house. One of the burglars punched him in the face before the three intruders fled out the back door.

Officers arrived and searched the area but could not find the burglars. The resident suffered a minor injury from the punch.

Police said the burglars got into the home by breaking a window in the back of the residence. They took figurines, an iPod, a cell phone and a laptop. A Roseville officer recovered most of the items where they were tossed at a nearby greenbelt.

The burglar who assaulted the resident was described as white, about 6 feet tall with a slender build and blue eyes. He wore a black ski mask, long-sleeved brown shirt and blue jeans.

The other two burglars were only described as wearing dark clothing.

A hobby club president who placed himself in danger to save others will be honored tonight by the Sacramento City Council.

John Bigwood, the head of the Sacramento Area Modelers, will be given the honor at tonight's council meeting. The honor was prompted by Sacramento Police Sgt. Mark Chapman who contacted Councilman Steve Cohn to say that Bigwood was deserving of recognition.

It was Bigwood who intervened Feb. 21 to calm a man who had already shot to death one person.

Several apartments in a south Sacramento County complex were evacuated this afternoon while sheriff's deputies searched for an individual who had been seen firing a gun from an apartment.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said a deputy driving west on 6000 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard about 1:15 p.m. heard gunshots and saw someone with a handgun firing from an upstairs apartment. The deputy said the shooter had no apparent target. The deputy made a U-turn and saw a vehicle quickly leaving the complex.

The deputy followed the vehicle as other sheriff's units responded to the apartment complex.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The second of two defendants who assaulted a woman and posted a videotape of the attack on a hip-hop website was sentenced today to a year in county jail and five years probation.

Donnell Damone Wade, 19, who had pled guilty to committing a gang crime, will not be able to apply for an alternative sentencing program as a result of the term handed down to him by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McCormick.

Wade and co-defendant Rasaan Ali Zawadi, 21, slapped and punched the woman last Oct. 1 outside Eric's Donuts on Mack Road. Zawadi had previously been sentenced by McCormick to 240 days in jail and five years probation.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted two reputed street gang members of second-degree murder in the Oct. 24, 2009, shooting death of a 22-year man outside a now-shuttered North Natomas night club that used to be owned by the Kings' Chris Webber.

The verdicts were returned against Nicholas Leathel Newsome, 23, and Sean Lekeith Joyner, also 23, for the death of David Blanks after a rap show at Webber's former club, Center Court.

Witnesses said Blanks was leaving the club with a group of friends when they were confronted by an estimated 10 reputed gang members. After an exchange of words, somebody in the defendants' group shot and killed Blanks.

Sacramento police have responded to a shooting at Trail End Way and Old West Drive in South Natomas.

Police said the shooting was reported at 4:16 p.m. and one victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, who is being sought, is described as a black man in his 30s, 6 feet tall, thin, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans. He was seen leaving the area in a black vehicle.

Sacramento County sheriff's officials arrested five suspects and seized a cache of illegal firearms and marijuana plants during an operation in Wilton this morning.

Deputies assigned to the "Impact Division" - the agency's grant-funded gang unit - and the SWAT team served a search warrant at a home in the 9800 block of Clay Station Road about 7 a.m. today, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Inside the home, deputies found indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation operations, and evidence to suggest the marijuana was being sold, Ramos said. They also recovered a dozen guns, including a modified assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine.

According to Ramos, arrested were Dang Hang, 39; Lo Saechao, 36; Kou Vue, 32: Jimmie Mue, 29; and Yer Yang, 28. They face a variety of charges, including illegal possession of an assault weapon, tampering with identifying marks on a firearm, unlawful manufacturing of a high-capacity magazine and possession of marijuana for sale.

Sacramento County officials have contributed $10,000 to create a reward fund for information leading authorities to 13-year-old Jessica Funk-Haslam's killer.

The money was recommended by County Executive Brad Hudson and approved by county supervisors, according to a Sheriff's Department press release.

The body of Funk-Haslam, an eighth-grader at Albert Einstein Middle School, was found in the dugout of a baseball field at Rosemont Community Park in the early morning of March 6.

Homicide detectives believe the girl likely was killed between 8 and 9 p.m. March 5, or close to that window. They believe she left her La Riviera-area apartment about 6 p.m. and took a light rail train and then the bus to the park, arriving shortly after 6:30 p.m.

The Sacramento Police Department seeks the community's help in identifying three suspects wanted for robbery and kidnapping.

At 10 p.m. Jan. 27, a man walked up to an ATM at the Chase Bank in the 1900 block of Arden Way. There he was approached by a black woman (pictured) in her late 20s who walked up and made a comment. A second suspect, described as a black man in his mid-20s, grabbed the man at the ATM from behind and forced him into the back seat of a waiting vehicle, according to a Police Department news release. A third suspect, an black man, was seated in the front passenger seat.

The suspects drove the victim to the Safe Credit Union in the 4600 block of Watt Avenue, where they forced him to withdraw money from his account. Police said the suspects left the victim at the scene and later returned to the Chase Bank to make an additional withdrawal.

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 Sacramento area CHP officer is in fair condition after being stabbed by a female motorist during a traffic stop this afternoon in the Foothill Farms neighborhood.

The incident began with a male officer responding to a call about at hit-and-run driver at 2:10 p.m. near Shenandoah Drive and Hemlock Streets, said Lizz Dutton, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.

The driver had struck a residential fence, Dutton said.

The officer stopped a dark green Saturn believed to be involved. The female driver refused to give her information to the officer and against instructions got out of the car, Dutton said.

Sacramento police arrested a man suspected of trying to ram a fire department ambulance on the highway.

Fire department personnel were called to the 300 block of Graves Avenue about 9 a.m. Sunday in the Strawberry Manor neighborhood for a woman who needed medical aid. When they arrived, the woman's son was belligerent, according to a police department activity log.

Police responded and the fire department ambulance began transporting the mother to the hospital. Police allege that during transport, her son, Johnie Clemon, 30, tried to run into the ambulance on the highway.

Sacramento police are asking the community's help in identifying suspects in robberies of ice cream and sandwich shops in the Natomas area earlier this month.

At 9:52 p.m. March 1, two armed men entered Baskin-Robbins/Togo's in the 2600 block of Gateway Oaks Drive and forced employees to give them money from the register, according to a Police Department news release.

At 9:16 p.m. March 3, two similar suspects entered the Subway shop in the 4100 block of Northgate Boulevard, stealing cash and personal property from store employees.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the arm on a Lincoln sidewalk this afternoon, according to police.

Callers reported the stabbing at 3rd and R streets to police about 4 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a "semi-conscious" teen laying on the sidewalk with a "severe laceration" on his arm, according to a Lincoln police news release.

The boy was transported to Sutter Roseville Hospital.

Police have not identified a motive for the stabbing, nor have they identified a suspect, the release states. The incident is under investigation.

A 29-year-old man suffered what could be life-threatening injuries after he was shot during an argument in a North Highlands parking lot this afternoon, according to authorities.

Two suspects who witnesses said were with the shooter have been detained, but the gunman is still outstanding, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The shooting was reported about 3:45 p.m. at an apartment complex near Walerga and Elkhorn roads.

Yuba County authorities report that a man sought in connection with a March 4 shooting that left a Linda man critically injured is in custody in Nevada.

Useph Thao, 30, of Linda was one of four people arrested by the Nevada State Highway Patrol last week in connection with about a half-pound of methamphetamine found in a vehicle near Elko, according to a Yuba County Sheriff's Department news release. Officials said Thao tried to give relatives' names to authorities, but he was positively identified through fingerprints.

Yuba County investigators had obtained a warrant for Thao's arrest in connection with the shooting of Jason Webster, 32, of Linda. They said the shooting is believed to have resulted from a dispute between the two men.

Officials said Webster remains hospitalized in critical condition.

    

Roseville police have identified the man who died in a Saturday night shooting as Floyd Raymond Allen, 42, of Sacramento.

Two other men, one of them Allen's brother, were shot about 8:13 p.m. when a drug deal went bad in a parking lot near stores and restaurants in the Creekside Town Center in the 1200 block of Galleria Boulevard, according to police.

Five men, all acquainted, climbed into a van to conduct a methamphetamine deal, officers said. Four of the men allegedly planned to rob the drug dealer.

A rumble in a downtown parking garage ended in gunfire late last night.

Sacramento police said that they responded to a call just before midnight to a multi-story parking garage in the 1200 block of L Street where 25 people were reported fighting. Later, police learned that the fight began as an exchange of words at a nightclub.

As police arrived at the garage, a security guard told officers that shots were being fired and the guard provided a description of the shooter. While police checked the garage for victims, officers stopped two men who were seen running.

An argument that turned violent in east Sacramento this morning left one man dead in a parking lot in the 700 block of 30th Street near McKinley Park, police say.

Sacramento Police investigating the case are searching for the shooting suspect, described as 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, in his 20s.

Authorities say the victim, in his mid-30s, had left a nearby birthday party then got into an argument with the suspect. Sometime during that exchange the suspect shot and killed the victim. Police found the man in the parking lot at about 1:30 a.m. with a fatal gunshot wound to his upper body.

A man standing outside a West Sacramento church this evening was shot in the face by a stray bullet fired during what appears to have been a rolling gun battle, according to police.

The man's injuries are not life-threatening, said police Lt. Deanna Stevens.

Police first received calls about shots fired just before 7 p.m. Callers then reported a man had been shot outside the church at Park Boulevard and Westacre Road, Stevens said.

Witnesses said there had been an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles, a shootout that appears to have continued for almost a mile from the scene, Stevens said. Police found shell casings in two other locations: in the area of Fernwood and Norfolk streets and the area of Stone Court and Stone Boulevard.

Stevens said she did not know how many total shots were fired or what caliber guns were used. However, she said it appears a window of one of the vehicles was shattered during the incident.

One of the vehicles was described to police as a lowered, white Chevrolet pickup with two black male adults inside, Stevens said. The other car was described as a small van or a sports utility vehicle, brown and gray or pewter in color with one black male adult inside.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call West Sacramento police dispatch at (916) 375-6474.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives say they believe 13-year-old Jessica Funk-Haslam was killed roughly between 8 and 10 p.m. March 5, the night before her body was found in a baseball dugout at Rosemont Community Park.

Detectives today said they had worked to narrow the window of the crime, a time frame previously believed to have been between about 5:30 p.m. Monday and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, when a woman discovered the girl's body.

Detective Tony Turnbull said during a news conference that investigators learned that Funk-Haslam, an eighth-grader at Albert Einstein Middle School, left her mother's apartment about 6 p.m. Monday.

A man in Citrus Heights was the victim of a knife attack this morning following a confrontation outside his home.

Police said the 32-year-old Citrus Heights resident went out of his home in the 6400 block of Denton Way about 7 a.m. Thursday and was confronted by and man. The two exchanged words and the unarmed resident was cut or stabbed with the knife on his face and body.

The suspect fled on foot with the victim giving chase. His pursuit was halted due to his injuries.

A man was fatally shot in an officer-involved shooting in the Calaveras County community of Arnold this morning after he reportedly fired shots in a neighborhood, then pointed a gun at a sheriff's deputy.

At 8:24 a.m. , the sheriff's dispatch center received information regarding a possible burglary in progress near the 700 block of Blue Lake Springs Drive. A driver for a local gas company had radioed his office that a man flagged him down claiming that his house was being burglarized, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. The driver reported that the man grabbed him while waving a handgun and then went into a wooded area between homes in the residential neighborhood.

Deputies were sent to the area and dispatchers received additional phone calls regarding an individual with a similar description on Moran Road armed with a gun. Several callers reported hearing shots in the neighborhood and seeing a man firing a gun near the intersection of Moran Road and Dawyn Drive.

Prosecutors dropped charges today against one of three suspects accused in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Sean Aquitania and his infant son during a robbery in 2007, authorities have confirmed.

Richard Noguera, 34, is scheduled to be released from the Sacramento County Main Jail sometime today. Murder and other charges against him were dropped in a hearing this afternoon because of insufficient evidence, according to Noguera's attorney and the District Attorney's office.

Still in custody in connection with the shootings are Donald Ortez-Lucero, 27, and Christopher Strong, 28. Both have been charged with two counts of murder and one count each of burglary and attempted robbery.

They are scheduled to be in court March 23.

"We're aware of alleged incriminating statements made by Noguera to another person after the crime ... but for various legal and factual reasons, that evidence is insufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi.

He said he could not comment further.

A memorial fund has been set up for the family of 13-year-old Jessica Funk-Haslam, who was found dead in Rosemont Community Park last week.

The fund was set up by friends and family members, with the help of officials from the eighth-grader's school and district. Anyone wishing to help can go to any Wells Fargo branch and ask to donate to the "Jessica Haslam Memorial Account."

Funk-Haslam's body was discovered the morning of March 6 in the dugout of a baseball field at the park, which sits next to Albert Einstein Middle School, where the girl was a student. The coroner's office announced last week she had been beaten, stabbed in the neck and asphyxiated.

Funk-Haslam had not been seen since 5:30 p.m. the night before, when she left her home after an argument with her mother.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are still searching for clues in the case and have not arrested a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

A shooting in Meadowview Sunday night left two pedestrians with wounds from a pellet gun.

The couple was walking along Meadowview Road near Tamoshanter Way when someone in a Pontiac Grand Prix yelled at them.

The car then made a U-turn and at least 4 men got out, one of them armed with what turned out to be a pellet gun. They then demanded property from the couple.

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.

Two bail bondsmen were arrested and a third is being sought after at least one allegedly fired shots while attempting to take an individual into custody.

At 6:35 p.m. Thursday, Sacramento police officers responded to the sounds of shots fired in the 500 block of El Camino Avenue. They contacted several witnesses who said three bail bondsmen handcuffed and arrested a man who was known to them, but the man escaped from their grasp and ran away, according to the Police Department's activity log.

A witness reported seeing one of the bondsmen fire several rounds toward the suspect before he stopped running. The three bondsmen and the suspect then got into a car and left the area.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has officially released the cause of death of the 13-year-old girl found dead in Rosemont Community Park on Tuesday morning as combined blunt force head trauma, asphyxia and a stab wound of the neck.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are still investigating the circumstances surrounding Jessica Funk-Haslam's death, and have not yet identified a suspect.

They believe Funk-Haslam was killed sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning. She was last seen leaving her apartment about 5:30 p.m. Monday; her body was found in a baseball field's dugout at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Her mother, Tara Funk-Haslam, said she and her daughter had argued about the girl's desire to go out and meet someone. She would not say who, her mother said, and left despite her mother's protests about her being out after dark.

The Sacramento County coroner's office today released the name of the suspected bank robber shot by Citrus Heights police.

He was identified as Jeffrey James Gonzales, 51, of Citrus Heights.

Police said that Gonzalez claimed to have an explosive device when he held up the bank Wednesday afternoon.

Police said that at about 4:15 p.m., police received a call of a crime in progress at Union Bank, 5748 Sunrise Blvd. The robber claimed to have a gun and an explosive device.

Officers surrounded the bank before the man came out of the building. Feeling threatened, police fired at the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Because of the report of an explosive device, police cleared the area and called in the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department bomb squad. After 7 p.m., it was determined there wasn't an explosive device at the bank.

Police then began processing the scene and interviewing bank employees and customers.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has scheduled a community meeting in Rosemont for Thursday night to answer questions about the killing of a 13-year-old girl, whose body was found in a baseball dugout Tuesday morning.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at a church located at 9242 Kiefer Boulevard. Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said his agency organized the meeting to help address fears in the community in the wake of the death of Jessica Funk-Haslam, pictured at left.

"It's basically to accommodate what we're sure is intense interest in the community about this case," he said. "It's almost a courtesy to the community because we think it's something people would be receptive to and need."

Sacramento police said that a man was assaulted when he made a nighttime withdrawal from an ATM.

Police said the man was at a cash machine about 9:15 p.m. at the Bank of America in Oak Park on Broadway when he was approached by three men. He was assaulted and his money taken, according to a police activity log.

He suffered minor injury to his face.

By Mark Glover

mglover@sacbee.com

The Yuba County Sheriff's Department is investigating the early Sunday afternoon shooting of an unidentified male in the community of Linda.

Deputies responded to a call at around 1 p.m. in the 5000 block of Woodland Drive, finding the victim on the roadway and suffering from a gunshot wound.

The victim was transported to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville. His condition is unknown at this time.

A fund has been set up for the children of a woman found dead in her Cameron Park home last month and the man accused of killing her.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies arrested Todd Winkler, 45, after he allegedly killed his wife, 37-year-old Rachel Winkler, after an argument in the couple's home Feb. 27. They had been having marital problems, according to sheriff's officials.

Authorities have not released Rachel Winkler's cause of death.

The couple's children - ages 4, 2, and 9 months - were home at the time of the attack. They are now in the custody of Rachel Winkler's father, Don Hatfield. Family and friends say Hatfield recently lost his wife to cancer and lost his home in the mortgage crisis a year ago.

The fund has been set up to help Hatfield, an artist, find a larger home where he can raise his three young grandchildren with the help of a nanny, according to friends and family.

Donations can be made to Wells Fargo bank account number 6990388875. The routing number is 121042882. For information about how to donate via PayPal, or about fundraising efforts, go here.

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

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

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

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

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

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives say they are in desperate need of the public's help in trying to solve the fatal shooting of a 41-year-old man in his driveway Wednesday night.

So far, detectives have no idea who shot Antonio Jordan, pictured at left, or why anyone would have wanted him dead, said homicide Sgt. Jim Barnes. They are reaching out to the public for help.

"I'm worried about this one going unsolved," Barnes told The Bee. "Here we are, two days removed from the incident, and we have not gotten any viable tips."

Jordan had just returned home from visiting his mother, who he helped care for, when he was shot multiple times in the driveway of his home on Ingleside Way, near Power Inn and Gerber roads. Callers reporting hearing up to 10 gunshots, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Detectives have found nothing in the man's past to explain the killing, Barnes said. Though he has a criminal history, his last case was a misdemeanor drunken driving case in 2001.

"I believe, in my heart, he was a changed man," Barnes said. "He was very religious, very involved with his grandchildren."

One theory is that Jordan might have been involved in a road rage incident as he drove home. Detectives are asking that anyone who might have witnessed an issue between Jordan, driving a green 1995 Chevrolet Blazer similar to the one pictured at left, and another driver please contact detectives.

Witnesses did not report hearing any sounds of a car speeding from the neighborhood after the gunshots, so detectives suspect the shooter ran from the area on foot. However, they noted the shooter might have gotten into a car nearby. They are asking for anyone who saw anyone suspicious in the area to contact them as well.

"Honestly, we need help on this one," Barnes said.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (916)482-8521 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Family members say they will be holding a carwash at Florin and Franklin roads at 9 a.m. Saturday to raise funds for Antonio Jordan's funeral.

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

Photo courtesy of Jordan's son, Anthony Jordan.

A prosecutor announced in court today that the District Attorney's Office will not seek the death penalty against three defendants accused in a shooting in which a young father and his 7-month-old son were killed.

Deputy District Attorney Eric Kindall told Sacramento Superior Court Judge John P. Winn of the decision during a brief hearing for one of the defendants, Richard Noguera, 34. Noguera is the accused gunman in the Sept. 14, 2007 south area shooting that killed Sean Paul Aquitania, 21, and his 7-month-old son, Sean Aquitania Jr.

DA's officials were not immediately available earlier today to explain the decision.

The Sacramento County coroner's office today has released the name of a man who was fatally shot last night in the south Sacramento area.

He was identified as Antonio Jordan, 41, of Sacramento.

Deputy Jason Ramos said numerous calls were received shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday reporting 10 to 15 shots fired in the 8100 block of Ingleside Way near Power Inn and Gerber roads.

No one reported seeing suspects or vehicles in the area, but one woman looked out her window and saw a man lying next to a vehicle across the street.

Ramos said deputies found Jordan's body in the driveway of his home. He had been shot multiple times in the upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

No one was inside the victim's home at the time of the shooting, Ramos said.

Deputies canvassed the neighborhood in an attempt to find out more about the shooting but have learned little about what happened, Ramos said.

Detectives have delved into the man's life, but so far have no strong leads, Ramos said. Sacramento Superior Court records indicate Jordan had a lengthy criminal history; however, his most recent case - a misdemeanor driving under the influence charge - dates back to 2003.

Ramos said detectives are struggling for clues in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide bureau at (916) 874-5115. Tipsters may also call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers to Crime Alert may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

This post was updated by Bee staff writer Kim Minugh.

A California Department of Corrections employee was arrested this morning at an Arden-area business after he allegedly argued with employees and threatened them with a gun.

Taurus Collins (pictured), 37, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of making threats to commit a crime that could result in death or great bodily injury and carrying a loaded firearm registered to someone else.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said deputies were called to West Coast Car Audio in the 2400 block of Arden Way about 9:20 a.m. An employee reported that a customer was engaged in an argument with employees and had pulled a gun and pointed it at them.

Authorities have identified the woman found dead in her Cameron Park home Monday as 37-year-old Rachel Winkler.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies found Winkler after responding to a request for a welfare check. At the home on the 3100 block of Aeronca Way they also found the victim's husband, 45-year-old Todd Winkler.

Detectives learned that the couple had been experiencing marital problems and had a dispute earlier in the day, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Department.

Heightened security marked the beginning of the Sacramento Superior Court trial today for a man accused of shooting an acquaintance with an AK-47 assault rifle and then chopping off his head.

Two deputies screened visitors at the door of Judge Lloyd G. Connelly's courtroom just before opening statements in the trial of defendant Arthur Charles Carnes IV.

Carnes, 40 is accused in the Nov. 18, 2007, killing of Matthew Alan Seybert, 41.

Nevada County coroner's officials today released the name of a man stabbed to death at a party that went awry.

He was identified as Ryan Roth, 33, of Lake of the Pines.

Nevada County dispatchers were called about 12:30 a.m. Thursday regarding a disturbance in the 11000 block of Lake Shore North in the community of Lake of the Pines. Later, 911 calls alerted deputies responding to the scene that there had been a stabbing.

Once deputies arrived they found Roth dead from stab wounds. Motive for the stabbing has not been released.

Deputies said that the suspect in the killing, Brandon Riddle-Terrel, 24, of Petaluma, fled from the party in a vehicle before being taken into custody in Sacramento County.

Galt police want help in finding a man with a tear drop tattoo who fired shots at pedestrians.

Police released sketches of the shooter who police said pulled up in a van in the area of 7th and B streets about 3:30 p.m. last Friday and got out of his vehicle.

He then asked two pedestrians if they "bang." With that, the armed man with the tear drop tattoo under his right eye and possibly four dots under his left eye, fired four or five rounds at them with a revolver.

The shooter then sped from the area. The victims were not hit.

The van is described as a green late 1990s or early 2000s Dodge Caravan or Plymouth Voyager. The paint on the van was faded and there was a missing or broken window on the sliding door that was covered with cardboard or brown paper.

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a stocky build.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is searching for suspects in the shooting of a man at a Carmichael apartment complex this evening.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said calls began coming in about 7:50 p.m. reporting numerous gunshots at apartments at 4800 Marconi Ave. and that a man was down inside the complex.

Ramos said deputies found a 32-year-old black man on a stairway with at least two gunshot wounds to his upper body. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was undergoing surgery.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case today in the retrial of a 25-year-old woman accused of murder in the April 19, 2009, shooting death of Alison Joelle Freeseha at a party in Elk Grove.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury in January 2011 failed to reach a verdict in its deliberations in the case of Tamara NIcole Bassett. Her retrial is now under way in front of Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle.

The same jury last year convicted Bassett's co-defendant, Raymond Thomas Vigel, now 22, of first-degree murder. But it failed to reach verdicts on two attempted murder counts filed against him, and he also is being retried on those charges.

By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police confirmed today they believe a love affair was behind a murder-suicide outside the Sacramento Municipal Utility District building Tuesday night.

Police Sgt. Andrew Pettit said detectives suspect the shooter, identified today as 73-year-old Robert Gully, fatally shot 62-year-old Jerome Votaw because Votaw was having an affair with Gully's estranged wife.

Gully then chased the 49-year-old woman, who witnessed the shooting, back inside the SMUD building lobby, firing shots at her as they ran, Pettit said.

A shoplifting suspect had the book thrown at him after he allegedly bit a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy.

Deputies were called to the Walmart store in the 5800 block of Antelope Road about 7 p.m. Tuesday where store security officers were detaining Breyon D. Wilson, 20, a shoplifting suspect.

When deputies arrived to take Wilson into custody, he tried to run, according to a sheriff's department press release. A struggle began and Wilson bit one of the deputies on the arm.

Eventually, he was subdued and placed under arrest. He was later booked on suspicion of mayhem, battery on a peace officer, resisting an executive officer, committing a crime while out on bail and theft.

The deputy went to a hospital for evaluation but did not sustain any significant injury, according to the department.

Roseville police today arrested a son in the killing of his father last May.

Christopher Dale Northam, 44, was fatally shot May 30 at the warehouse in Roseville where he was about to open an innovative new business: indoor skim-boarding. Northam had at least one gunshot wound to his head.

This morning detectives arrested Christopher Jon Michael Northam, 25, of Roseville, on a warrant charging him with the homicide of his father.

The son's ex-wife, Averill Elizabeth Easley, 34, of Roseville was also arrested on a warrant charging that she was an accessory after the fact. She is suspected of giving false and misleading information to police about key facts.

At the time of his death, Northam was reportedly negotiating with a major investor from Dubai who was interested in helping launch and expand the business.

Dubbed Skim X, the venture aimed to combine skim-boarding and skateboarding in an indoor water park. Northam was a partner in the business with his son, Christopher.

Roseville police conducted a nearly 9-month investigation, which included witness interviews, search warrants, the examination of financial records and the elimination of other potential suspects, according to a department press release.

In the end, police said, detectives concluded that the elder Northam was killed by his son for financial gain, according to a press release.

PHOTO CAPTION: Christopher Dale Northam

A 16-year-old was grazed in the head by gunfire as a result of another teen playing with a handgun, police said.

Sacramento police said the two 16-year-olds were in the backyard of a residence in the 100 block of Fairbanks Avenue in Strawberry Manor on Sunday morning when the recently acquired weapon fired.

One of the teens was "playing with the handgun" when it fired, according to a police activity log.

The injured boy was treated and released from the hospital. The 16-year-old who was handling the weapon was booked into Sacramento County Juvenile Hall for suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm.

The man who ran over Maggie the cattle dog has been given more jail time.

Justin Phillip Lombardo-Barton, 19, of Camptonville, was sentenced in October to five years probation and time served. A Sierra Superior Court judge gave Lombardo-Barton credit for 122 days served in county jail.

Sierra County District Attorney Larry Allen said in an e-mail that Lombardo-Barton was recently brought back into court on a probation violation for failing to keep in contact with his probation officer.

This time the judge game him 360 days in jail and reinstated probation.

Lombardo-Barton, who pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty and hit-and-run badly injured the border collie that Nevada County rancher John Reader raised from a pup.

On June 19, Maggie was helping Reader and mounted riders herd about 300 head of cattle along Alleghany-Ridge Road in Sierra County en route to summer pasture. Pilot cars were in front and back of the herd.

As the cattle moved along the road, cars stopped to let the herd pass. But a white Jeep Cherokee pushed through instead of waiting. Reader said the driver gunned the car, ran into a calf and cow, and struck Maggie, who was on the road's shoulder.

Maggie suffered a broken right hind leg and a deep cut to her left hind leg, and her liver and stomach were pushed into her chest cavity. She underwent surgery to repair her broken leg with a pin and screws.

A few days later, Sierra County sheriff's deputies arrested Lombardo-Barton.

Maggie was nursed back to health by Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic and eventually went back to the Reader ranch. Dozens of people donated to help cover her medical costs.

PHOTO CAPTION: Maggie, the injured cattle dog, is released from Loomis Basin Veterinary Hospital in July 2011/Autumn Cruz/Sacramento Bee

Citrus Heights officers working on a domestic violence call this morning say they were greeted by a shotgun blast that shattered a sliding glass door.

Police said that about 12:45 a.m. today they responded to meet a woman who was the victim of assault. She told them that her husband, Loren Fullmer, 43, assaulted her while they were inside their vehicle.

Police obtained an emergency protective order on behalf of the victim. At about 2:11 a.m. officers tried to contact Fullmer at his home in the 5800 block of Sunrise Vista Drive.

Officers knocked on the front door. At about the same time they allege Fullmer fired one shotgun round through the frame of a sliding glass door several feet away from the front door.

Officers ordered Fullmer to surrender, which he did several minutes later, according to a department press release.

Officers later confiscated a 12-guage shotgun and a spent casing from the home. Fullmer who police said was on probation for burglary, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and weapons violations.

PHOTO CAPTION: Loren Fullmer/Citrus Heights police

By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com

In a new twist to a gruesome San Joaquin County search, convicted killer Wesley Shermantine has described the location of a third well where he says a murder victim can be found, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said Monday night.

"It means that there's another body out there to be found," said Padilla.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

Lovie James was convicted by a Sacramento jury Friday in a violent 2011 attack on his then-69-year-old girlfriend.

James, 54, assaulted his girlfriend in her Elk Grove home, slamming her head on a tile floor and then pouring gasoline on both of them, telling her they would both die.

He then stole her car and fled, evading arrest for a week.

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

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

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

Sacramento police today announced the arrest of a man suspected of being the "Evil Clown Robber."

Detectives located and arrested Vanna Sisounthone (pictured), 43, Feb. 3 in connection with three robberies that occurred Jan. 19-21. Law enforcement officers dubbed the robber the Evil Clown Robber because of the mask (pictured) he wore during the robberies.

During the first two robberies, the masked robber shot at store employees and a witness who was attempting to write down the license plate number of the get-away car. In the third robbery, an elderly store clerk fought with the robber and ripped off the robber's mask as he ran from the store, according to a Police Department news release.

A second defendant pleaded no contest today to the videotaped attack on a mentally ill woman outside a south Sacramento donut shop.

Donnell Damone Wade, 19, entered his plea in front of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley to a single count of participating in a gang-related event.

Under the terms of a plea deal, Wade will be placed on three years probation and can be sentenced to no more than a year in county jail. He has been in custody since Nov. 13. Wade is scheduled to be sentenced March 23 by Judge Kevin J. McCormick.

Another defendant in the case, Rasaan Ali Zawadi, 21, entered his no contest plea last week. Zawadi will be sentenced on March 1. Under the terms of his plea deal, Zawadi is expected to be placed on probation, ordered to stay away from the site of the attack and directed to obtain services for himself from the Alta Regional Center for the developmentally disabled. Zawadi also is expected to be sentenced to the four months he's already served in jail plus 60 more days of electronic monitoring.

Two men and two teens are suspects in the stabbing of a 17-year-old boy Wednesday at a Lodi Burger King.

Officers responded at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday to the fast food restaurant on West Kettleman Lane where a fight was occurring. While en route, officers were informed that one person had been stabbed.

Once on scene, officers found four males in the area who matched a description of the combatants. Further investigation revealed that the four were suspects in the stabbing of the victim, a Lodi police department press release said.

Officers arrested Sandeep Kumar, 18, James Asencio, 18, a 15 year old and a 16 year old on susupcion of assault with a deadly weapon with gang enhancements.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Alfredo Daniel Tafoya on two counts of second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Carlos Montes and Efrain Zambrano at a Nov. 28, 2009, quinceanera celebration in Galt.

The jury had deliberated for four days and appeared unable to reach a verdict until Deputy District Attorney Eric Kindall announced this morning that prosecutors had amended the complaint against Tafoya to dismiss the first-degree murder charges as well as a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

Tafoya, 20, faces a potential term of 80 years to life in prison at his scheduled March 23 sentencing in front of Judge Greta Curtis Fall. Defense attorney Pete Harned said after the verdict he will ask the judge to sentence Tafoya to a concurrent term of 40-to-life on the two second-degree murder convictions.

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.

By Kim Minugh and Peter Hecht
kminugh@sacbee.com

San Joaquin Sheriff's officials this afternoon said they have made preliminary identification of the remains of one of the bodies found at a Calaveras County site linked to convicted murderer Wesley Shermantine.

The mother of Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler, a 1985 murder victim of Shermantine, said she was notified today that remains found Friday were those of her daughter.

"It's really bittersweet," said Paula Wheeler, who said she received confirmation at 12:45 p.m. today that her daughter's dental records match a skull recovered at the site.

Les Garcia, spokesman for the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department, said part of a recovered jaw was examined by a forensic dentist, who made the preliminary identification that the remains were those of the teen.

One of two men arrested last year in the videotaped assault on a mentally ill woman outside a south Sacramento doughnut shop has pleaded no contest in the case.

Rasaan Ali Zawadi Jr., 21, entered his plea last Thursday on the date of his scheduled preliminary hearing.

A second suspect, Donnell Damone Wade, 19, remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail. Wade's preliminary hearing is scheduled for this Thursday.

The video was apparently filmed Oct. 1 by friends of Zawadi and Wade. It went viral a couple weeks later when it was posted on a hip-hop website.

The film depicts a man Sacramento police identified as Zawadi laughing while the camera shows the woman walking slowly back and forth in front of Eric's Donuts, which authorities have described as a some-time gang hangout on Mack Road at Center Parkway.

Zawadi is then shown slapping the woman once before running away while she gave chase.

The camera then picks up a man authorities identified as the 5-foot-9, 216-pound Wade, who hauls off with a left hook and knocks the woman to the pavement.

A man who was apparently suffering delusions fired a handgun into the home of his sister in Galt, wounding his brother-in-law, police said.

The man then fled before being captured on Highway 50 about 8:30 a.m. near Bass Lake Road in El Dorado County.

Galt police said the incident began about 6:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Whitford Court in Galt when Lonnie Ray Orman, 41, went to his sister's home under the erroneous impression that his niece was being harmed.

Bill Lindelof

blindelof@sacbee.com

A charred body was found after a passing bicyclist summoned authorities this morning to Discovery Park.

The bicyclist initially thought the smoke he was seeing near the archery range off the Garden Highway was simply burning leaves.

He contacted authorities to put out the fire. Sacramento firefighters arrived and discovered the badly burned body, according to Officer Laura Peck, Sacramento Police spokeswoman. Police were called at about 6:30 a.m. to investigate.

The body could possibly be that of a woman, according to Peck.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Authorities digging at a site near Linden for victims of two serial killers discovered hundreds of human bones today, marking yet another instance in the past four days that human remains have been found.

The latest discoveries came at an old abandoned well about 62 miles southeast of Sacramento and included skull fragments, bones, coats, shoes, a purse and jewelry, Deputy Les Garcia of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said tonight.

"It's a gruesome sight, it really is," Garcia said.

A Cottonwood man who authorities say intentionally rammed his pickup into an occupied ambulance parked at Mercy Medical Center in Redding on Saturday night has been arrested, Redding authorities said today.

Joel Michael Haller was booked into the Shasta County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, police reported in a news statement.

The statement said that shortly after 9 p.m., Haller intentionally accelerated his gray 2003 Toyota Tundra toward the ambulance, ramming it in attempt to kill its occupants - all of them medical personnel.

The preliminary hearing of six defendants accused of murder in the death of an innocent woman who was killed by a stray bullett during a shootout at a south area barbershop was delayed today due to a conflict on the part of one of the defense lawyers.

Meanwhile, it was disclosed in Sacramento Superior Court today that a seventh defendant has been arrested in the case. He is Ernest Burton Stoute, 28. According to jail and court records, Stoute was arrested Jan. 6 and charged three days later. His case is expected at some point to be joined with the other six defendants, attorneys said court today.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett did not say what role Stoute might have played in the Dec. 14, 2010, shootout in which a stray bullet killed Monique Nelson, 30, as she wrapped her body across her 2-year-old son to protect him when the gunfire erupted. The boy had been strapped in his security seat in her sports utility vehicle.

Davis police have arrested two people in connection with robberies Tuesday night in south Davis in which victims reported being threatened with a knife.

About 7:58 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of the Sorrento Apartments at 1540 Valdora Drive regarding a robbery that had just occurred. The victim, a 20-year-old man and Davis resident, told police that two Latino males had confronted him in front of the apartment complex, pushed him and demanded his property. He said one of the suspects threatened him with a knife.

The victim fled and the suspects left without any of his belongings, according to a Police Department news release.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Robert Neal-Anderson of second-degree murder in the Oct. 2, 2009, stabbing death of David Maxey in the victim's South Natomas apartment.

The jury deliberated for more than two days before reaching its verdict this afternoon around 3:30. Neal-Anderson could have been convicted of first-degree felony murder for killing Maxey during the course of a break-in. But one member of the jury who asked to remain anonymous said a small number of panelists "couldn't get their head around it."

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Elk Grove police updated the description of the suspect vehicle in a double-homicide of two elderly Sikh men shot last year when they were out for their routine afternoon walk.

At a press conference this afternoon, police officials said the suspect drove a lifted full-size pick-up truck, tan or gold in color, with a standard-size cab, similar to the one pictured at left. They do not have details on the make or model year of the truck.

Speaking from the Elk Grove City Council Chambers, officials pleaded with the public to continue calling the department with tips or leads.

By Hundson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

A Yolo County judge sentenced Marco Antonio Topete to death this morning for the June 2008 assault-rifle slaying of Sheriff's Deputy Jose Antonio Diaz.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul K. Richardson called the weight of the aggravating circumstances in the case "simply enormous."

Topete, wanted on suspicion of DUI, led Diaz on a high speed chase with his infant daughter in the car. He stopped on an isolated dirt road, grabbed an assault rifie and took cover behind a house. Then he fired on the deputy, who had gone to check on the girl instead of pursuing Topete.

A man accused of carjacking a taxicab driver in 2010 was sentenced today to 30 years in state prison after pleading no contest to the charges.

Darnell Pruitt, 44, was sentenced by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jack Sapunor. The sentence was based on a plea agreement and prior strike history, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

On the morning of Sept. 19, 2010, cab driver Gurdev Chahal picked up Pruitt at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Sacramento. Pruitt told Chahal he needed a ride to south Sacramento. Pruitt then directed him to drive to the end of an alley off Riverside Boulevard, where he violently grabbed Chahal by the face and demanded money, officials said.

Chahal gave Pruitt his money, then fled from the taxi and ran to a nearby residence to call 911. Pruitt drove away in the cab but was arrested minutes later by Sacramento police.

A man described as an Auburn-area transient is being held in Placer County jail without bail after allegedly stabbing a man Tuesday night.

Jeffrey Lee Threadgill (pictured), 45, was arrested shortly after the stabbing was reported about 5:10 p.m. at the Foothills Motel.

The 32-year-old victim, who was staying at the motel, encountered Threadgill and an argument ensued, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. Threadgill allegedly pulled out a red-handled knife and slashed the victim's left arm, causing a large, deep gash. The victim ran to the motel office and asked the clerk to call 911.

A body found in the American River beneath the Foresthilll Bridge has been identified as an Oregon man.

The Placer County coroner's office identified the man today as Peter Matthew Wynters, 30, of Newport, Ore. An autopsy revealed that Wynters died of injuries from jumping off the bridge, the coroner said in a written statement.

Wynters was found Tuesday by a hiker who reported seeing a body floating in the American River directly under the bridge, officials said.

Robert Davila

rdavila@sacbee.com
A parolee has been arrested in Redding after allegedly crashing his car into another vehicle and then fleeing with his toddler, who was riding with him, police said.

James Richard Atkinson Jr., 39, of Redding initially gave a false name when he was arrested Thursday, according to a written statement from the Redding Police Department. After learning his true identity, he was found to be on active state parole, officials said.

Officers also found his 2-year-old daughter in the vehicle with him, along with suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, the statement said. He was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse, parole violation and hit and run.

Police said officers heading to a report of a reckless driver around 11 a.m. Thursday received another call about a vehicle that was hit by a car that failed to stop near Park Marina Drive and South Street in Redding.

The hit-and-run victim followed but lost sight of the suspect vehicle, a 2001 Suzuki Esteem, near Lake Boulevard and Boulder Drive. Officers found the vehicle in an apartment parking lot, where the hit-and-run victim arrived and identified the driver as the suspect, police said.

Sacramento police have arrested two people suspected of shooting at Bee carriers delivering newspapers in Meadowview earlier this year.

Police say they believe the suspects mistook the victims as rival gangsters because one of them was wearing a bandana across his face to shield him from the cold as he hung out the slow-moving car, tossing newspapers, said Sgt. Andrew Pettit.

Last week, police arrested the driver of the suspect vehicle, 21-year-old Xou Thao, pictured at left, Pettit said. On Tuesday night, they arrested Thao's passenger, a 17-year-old boy they suspect fired the gun, Pettit said. His name was not released because he is a juvenile.

Both suspects face two felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, as well as a gang enhancement, Pettit said.

By Robert D. Dávila
bdavila@sacbee.com

The driver of a stolen commercial van was booked into Yolo County Jail after leading law enforcement officials on a highway chase from West Sacramento to the Tracy area, officials said.

Jeremy Allan Pratt of West Sacramento was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of several felonies, including possessing stolen property and evading arrest, California Highway Patrol Officer Adrian Quintero said Wednesday.

Officials said the chase began around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday when an officer from the CHP's auto theft unit saw Pratt get behind the wheel of the parked commercial truck on Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento. The officer was investigating cases involving stolen commercial vehicles in West Sacramento when he spotted the van and found it was reported stolen.

By Robert Davila
rdavila@sacbee.com

A standoff between Sacramento County sheriff's deputies and a gunman barricaded in a Florin area apartment ended late last night with the arrest of a suspect.

William Hearn, 29, was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and booked into the Sacramento County main jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and an active felony warrant, officials said in a written statement.

Hearn was arrested at the Meridian Apartments after holding officers at bay for eight hours in a standoff that forced the evacuation of residents in the large complex at 7475 Stockton Blvd. A teenage girl who was with him in the apartement during the standoff was not injured.

Sheriff's deputies are attempting to negotiate the surrender of a man who has barricaded himself in an apartment on Stockton Boulevard in the Florin area.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said deputies went to the Meridian Apartments, a large complex at 7475 Stockton Boulevard, about 3:30 p.m. to serve a warrant. The man they were seeking, who is in his late 20s, came out of a back room of the apartment and brandished a gun. Ramos said a deputy fired a shot at the man, who then fired two shots at deputies.

The deputies, who were not injured, then backed off. It is believed that the man inside the apartment also was uninjured, Ramos said.

Sacramento police are conducting a homicide investigation at a large apartment complex this morning near Folsom Boulevard and Howe Avenue .

The homicide occurred in the 100 block if Bicentennial Circle Monday night. Police said calls were received to dispatch about 7:08 p.m. from people who reported hearing a woman yelling that someone had been shot. Officers arrived and found a man in his 20s dead in a parking area at the apartment complex.

The victim's name has not been released

No suspects have been identified but police say that the shooter may have ties to the complex or actually live in one of the apartments. Police said it looks like the killing was the result of a drug deal gone bad.

An argument between two men in a Citrus Heights neighborhood on Saturday night ended with the shooting of one of them, the Police Department reported today.

Citrus Heights Police were called to the area of Grady Drive and Terrell Drive to check on a report of shots fired. A short time later, an unidentified woman called the police dispatch to say she was taking a gunshot victim to a local hospital, the department said in a release.

Officers who went to the area searched for a suspect and a weapon. None was located.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

A suspected burglar shot Friday by a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy is expected to survive, an official said Saturday.

The man will not be identified until he is released from the hospital and booked by the Sheriff's Department, according to Deputy Jason Ramos, spokesman for the department.

The incident took place around 2 a.m. Friday, when deputies were summoned to a burglary alarm call at It's a Grind coffeehouse on Twin Cities Road in Galt.

Officers had entered the business to investigate, and the burglar was shot in the store while running toward the door where a deputy was standing, law enforcement officials told reporters.

He was believed to be armed with a hammer and did not respond to shouts to show his hands, according to the officials.

Gunfire struck the suspect in his upper and lower body.

A second suspect, George Jett, 22, was arrested after he was found hiding under a recreational vehicle in the area.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

A Yolo County jury has convicted a Vallejo man of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the theft of an iPhone.

On Sept. 26, 2010, Calvin Tommy Johnson, 27, contacted the victim, who had listed an iPhone for sale on Cragslist, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. Johnson arranged to meet the victim at a Davis shopping center to complete the transaction.

After examining the phone, Johnson took it with him to his car to get his money. But once in the car, Johnson told the driver to take off, officials said.

A 16-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he was shot in the Florin area Tuesday evening.

His injuries initially were life-threatening, but he is now expected to survive, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The shooting occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on the 8600 block of Crystal River Way, according to a Sheriff's Department report.

By Andy Furillo and Kim Minugh
afurillo@sacbee.com

The former Cordova Park District employee accused of murder in the shooting death of his boss made his first court appearance today.

Dupree Barber answered "no" when Sacramento Superior Court Judge Larry Brown asked him if he could afford a lawyer. Brown then appointed Assistant Public Defender John Perkins to represent him.

Barber, 47, faces two special-circumstance allegations in the Monday morning killing of Steve Ebert, 59, the park district's maintenance superintendent, at Hagan Community Park.

Sheriff's detectives need help in identifying a robber who shot a pizza shop employee.

A video of the robbery attempt at Domino's Pizza in Carmichael earlier this week shows the man shooting at the clerk and then fleeing. However, it is difficult to tell who the suspect is because the robber is masked.

The crime occurred at 8:40 p.m. Monday when a man walked into the pizza shop in the 7000 block of Fair Oaks Blvd. The robber then demanded money from the employee.

The impatient robber shot at the clerk when the employee could not open the cash register quickly enough. The suspect stepped back and shot the employee once in the upper body before fleeing without any cash.

The clerk was treated for a non life-threatening injury and is expected to recover. The suspect is described as a thin white man, 20-25 years old, about 6 feet tall.

He wore a black ski mask and black hood jacket.

Anyone having information is asked to call the sheriff's robbery bureau at (916) 874-5051 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers to Crime Alert may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

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

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

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

The Sacramento Police Department is asking the public's help in identifying an individual sought in connection with armed robberies of two businesses Thursday night.

In both cases, police say, the robber wore a white clown mask similar to the KISS rock band.

The first robbery occurred about 8:45 p.m. in the 4200 block of Norwood Avenue, in the Robla area. The robber climbed over the counter, fired two shots close to store employees, took money from the register and left on foot, according to a Police Department news release.

A man who murdered his girlfriend by hitting her 10 times in the head with a hammer and then stuffing a sock in her mouth was sentenced today to 26 years to life in prison.

Donald Joseph Fernandes, 37, received the term after his conviction in November for the murder of Karen Ann Curtin, 50 (pictured).

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One man was arrested and two others are being sought in connection a domestic dispute in the Yuba County community of Linda that officials said turned into an rock- and brick-throwing confrontation.

Deputies responded to the 5700 block of Riverside Drive shortly before 6 p.m. Monday regarding a large fight. An investigation revealed that Marcelino Sumait, 31, of Linda had gone to the Riverside residence with a few of his friends to confront his ex-girlfriend, according to a Yuba County Sheriff's Department news release.The men allegedly began breaking out the windows of the home using a stick, bricks and rocks.

During the disturbance, one of the men, later identified as James T. Mims, 19, of Linda, allegedly threw a brick through one of the windows, striking a 14-year-old boy inside the house in the arm. The boy was not injured.

The man shot during a violent struggle with a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy last weekend has been booked into jail, according to authorities.

After treatment for his non-life-threatening injuries, 23-year-old Lonnie Hammett, pictured at left, was arrested and booked on suspicion of resisting a peace officer, possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violating parole, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

On Sunday morning, a deputy patrolling the Arden-Arcade area saw two men walking away from a closed county building on Fulton Avenue, Ramos said. As the deputy tried to talk to them, one of them, later identified by authorities as Hammett, punched the deputy and ran, Ramos said.

A juvenile boy who was with Hammett did not run, was questioned later and released.

A Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy shot a man he stopped for questioning shortly after 11 a.m. today after the man began pummeling the officer, a department spokesman said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately available, was with a juvenile. The two were walking away from a closed county building in the 2700 block of Fulton Avenue when the lone officer stopped his car to ask why they were in the area, Sheriff's public information officer Deputy Jason Ramos said.

"When he got out of his car and called them over, one of them swung a punch and tried to hit (the deputy)," Ramos said. "Then he started to run away."

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.

Galt police have arrested a man on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place after they say he was found with a sawed-off shotgun.

About 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, officers approached Reynaldo Vargas, 21, in the 500 block of Poplar Street because of suspicious behavior, according to a Police Department news release.

Vargas, who is on probation, became combative when he saw officers, trying to strike and kick them with his hands and feet, officials said. When an officer attempted to restrain Vargas, a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun fell from Vargas' waistband.

Sheriff's deputies are investigating the shooting of two people in a strip mall parking lot in south Sacramento County.

One victim was shot in the head, the other in the leg, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos. Both men are expected to survive.

About 1:40 p.m., deputies responded to calls of 10-15 shots fired in the area of Savings Place, a short stretch of mostly strip malls off the 65th Street Expressway near Stockton Boulevard.

Sacramento police are seeking the public's help in locating a person who struck a 15-year-old girl last month and seriously injured her before fleeing the scene.

Police have no description of the driver involved in the Dec. 31 accident in the Valley Hi area, according to a news release. However, he is believed to have been driving a dark Ford Focus, made sometime between 2006 and 2010, similar to the one pictured at left, the release states.

The girl and a friend were walking eastbound in the bicycle lane on Valley Hi Drive, near Hitchcock Way, when a driver travelling the same direction struck the teen, the release states. She was knocked to the sidewalk. The driver did not stop.

The girl later was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police Detective Brian Schrum at (916) 808-6032, the dispatch center at (916) 264-5471 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

A 22-year-old woman delivering pizza in the Yuba County community of Linda fought off two men who allegedly tried to rob her Tuesday night.

According to the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, the woman was delivering pizza to an apartment in the 6000 block of Alberta Avenue about 9 p.m. when she was accosted by two men.

When the woman refused a demand for money, one of the men shoved her and again demanded money. The woman instead punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

The woman ran as the second man chased her. She was able to reach her vehicle, drive away and call authorities.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

An appellate court has thrown out a teenager's conviction in a high-profile gang prosecution stemming from the 2008 killing of another young person at a house party in the Meadowview area of Sacramento.

A three-justice panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that Marvel Montreal Barksdale was wrongly found guilty by a jury of voluntary manslaughter because his lawyer was ineffective, resulting in the introduction of otherwise inadmissible evidence that prejudiced Barksdale.

A volunteer Oregon House fireman was credited with apprehending a man suspected of arson in Yuba County.

Volunteer firefighter Michael Bernardis was driving on Marysville Road, north of Highway 20, just after 6 p.m. Monday when he saw a man who appeared to be starting grass fires in the area, according to a Yuba County Sheriff's Department news release.

Bernardis approached the man, who swung at Bernardis with a cloth bag that contained several full beer cans. The two fought, but Bernardis was able to subdue the man and make a radio call for assistance, officials said.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Sacramento home Monday morning has been arrested.

Aaron Suggs (pictured), 29, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of burglary and multiple sexual assault crimes, and is being held without bail.

Sacramento police officers were called to a home on E Street at 8:46 a.m. Monday. The victim told police that she had gotten out of the shower and found that the back door of her home was open. When she went to close the door, a man grabbed her, then sexually assaulted the woman and ransacked her home before leaving with several of her possessions.

A Sacramento Police Department officer suffered a minor injury while chasing a suspect on foot Friday night, officials reported.

The incident began when police saw a large fight break out in front of a business in the 3500 block of Truxel Road after 9 p.m., according to the departments daily activity log.

One teenager was reportedly knocked unconscious in the brawl.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a Monday night stabbing at a Rio Linda bar.

David Kirkland (pictured), 32, was taken into custody Thursday afternoon and is being held in Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury. He also is being held on an abeyance hold because of his post-release community supervision status, according to a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department news release. His bail is set at $245,000.

Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday, deputies were called to the Lew's Club bar in the 6700 block of Rio Linda Boulevard regarding a man who had been stabbed. They found a 24-year-old man with a knife wound to his abdomen, and a 42-year-old man who had been assaulted with an unknown object. Both were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An Oakland man was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft after leading a Davis police officer on a chase and ramming the officer's patrol car, according to police.

Over the past month, Davis has seen an increase in stolen vehicle activity, particularly targeting Hondas and Acuras, which have been recovered in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a Davis Police Department news release.

About 1:53 this morning, a Davis patrol officer working in the 1800 block of Cowell Boulevard observed an Acura, and a check of the license plate number revealed that it had been reported stolen out of Oakland. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver accelerated, leading the officer on a high-speed chase around the south Davis area.

A tolling of a bell in memory of gun violence victims on the one-year-anniversary of the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be held Sunday in downtown Sacramento.

The gathering Sunday evening is to mark the killing of six citizens and wounding of 13 others, including Giffords, in Tucson last year. Anyone who attends the Sacramento gathering is welcome to say the name of a victim of gun violence.

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, both of Sacramento, are scheduled to make brief remarks after the tolling of the bells and reciting of names. Organizations coming together for the gathering say that they want to send a message that too many victims are lost to gun violence.

"Enough is enough," stated a press release announcing the bell tolling.

The hour-long ceremony begins at 5 p.m. on the steps of St. John's Lutheran Church, 1701 L St. The bell tolling and program will be followed by a short memorial procession.

A candlelight vigil will be held at the corner of 15th and L streets.

The California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence are coordinating the vigils being planned in California, including those in Compton, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Walnut Creek.

In Tucson, planned events include a community-wide ringing of bells at churches at 10:11 a.m., the exact time the shooting broke out, according to reports.

Elk Grove police said a man with two felony warrants is wanted for the robbery of gas station cashier at gunpoint.

Police said Hou Lee, 32, should be considered armed and dangerous. They are asking for the public's help in locating Lee.

Detectives believe that Lee is the man who held up a Shell gas station at Harbour Point Drive near Interstate 5 on Dec. 1. Police said Lee selected a soda and then approached a cashier.

The Air Force confirmed today that one of the men booked in the homicide of a Marysville man over the weekend was a Beale AFB airman.

Shortly after the shooting, police arrested William Vincent Silliman Jr., 21, for conspiracy to commit homicide. Airman 1st Class Silliman is part of the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

"This event is tragic, and, if the allegations are true, then this is not an accurate reflection of the outstanding airmen serving here and around the world," stated Brig. Gen. Paul H. McGillicuddy, 9th Reconnaissance Wing commander in a press release. "We take pride in the Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. We are working cooperatively with local law enforcement agencies to carry out the investigation."

Still being sought is the alleged shooter, 32-year-old Marcus Nelson Hume of Marysville. Five others were arrested Saturday and early Sunday in connection with the shooting of 38-year-old Steven Andrew Moore in a residential neighborhood in east Marysville.

Photo captions: Above, Marcus Nelson Hume of Marysville. Below, William Vincent Silliman, Jr.

Two Sacramento Bee newspaper carriers were fired upon as they made their deliveries in Meadowview this morning, according to authorities.

About 3:45 a.m. one carrier was driving in the 7600 block of Detroit Boulevard while the other delivery person, who had a bandana on his face to ward off the cold, was hanging from the vehicle and tossing papers, Sacramento police said.

As the carriers went about their job, they began to pass a black Lexus IS 300 with blue neon headlights and yellow fog lights. At that point, the man in the Lexus began firing at the carriers.

By Bob Shallit

bshallit@sacbee.com

Police are searching for the alleged triggerman in the fatal shooting of a Marysville man Saturday.

Five others were arrested Saturday and early Sunday in connection with the shooting of 38-year-old Steven Andrew Moore in a residential neighborhood in east Marysville.

No motive has yet been determined for the shooting, which occurred on the 1100 block of Arthur Street at about 3 p.m. on Saturday.

"Both agencies are currently investigating that," said Sgt. Jason Garringer of the Marysville Police Department, which is being assisted in the case by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department.

Still being sought is the alleged shooter, 32-year-old Marcus Nelson Hume of Marysville. He was described as a parolee and police said he should be considered "armed and dangerous."

"We're getting multiple phone calls from people who have seen him," Garringer said.

Shortly after the shooting, police arrested William Vincent Silliman Jr., 21, for conspiracy to commit homicide.

Later, four others were arrested on the same charge. They are Kari Felicia Mulkey, 21; David Leslie Eneix, 27, both of Marysville; and two male juveniles, ages 16 and 17.

A family at a Burger King drive-through window in Davis was robbed at gunpoint shortly after midnight.

The two adults and children ages 11 and 19, were in the drive-through lane at the restaurant at 403 Mace Blvd. in south Davis at 12:05 a.m. today when they were approached by two men on foot who demanded money. One man was armed with a rifle and the other had a pistol, said Davis police Sgt. John Wilson.

The driver gave the men cash from his wallet and the two left the area in a car that was parked in the parking lot next to the restaurant.

A cell phone store employee was shot in the leg during a robbery this afternoon.

Sacramento police were called to the Metro PCS store at 5301 Power Inn Road at 4:19 p.m. Police Department spokeswoman Officer Laura Peck said one employee was in the store when two men armed with guns entered the business.

The robbers, described only as Hispanic and wearing black bandanas, took money and left in a red Pontiac Sunfire.

The psychologist who faces criminal charges after she allegedly faked her sexual assault and robbery - and then falsely reported the crimes to Sacramento police - has been fired from the prison system, according to a spokeswoman.

Laurie Ann Martinez's last day with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was Dec. 22, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said today. She said she could not discuss the reasons for the termination because of personnel privacy issues.

However, Martinez's termination came within a week of an announcement by the California Board of Psychology that Martinez's license was suspended in the wake of The Bee's report that she had been arrested and charged with felony criminal conspiracy in connection with the alleged false police report.

Two teenagers were arrested for allegedly stabbing a cat to death.

Sacramento police were called to an apartment complex in the 5300 block of 47th Avenue about 7:30 p.m. Monday. Someone reported that two people were lurking in the area wearing ski masks.

Officers found the teenagers, who were armed with knives. The boys also had dead cat in a box, which they tried to hide when officers approached, police said.

The 15 and 16 year old boys were arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals and possession of a concealed weapon. It was not clear why they had stabbed the cat.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are looking for two men who robbed a cell phone store this afternoon.

The robbery occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the Boost Mobile store, 3411 Watt Ave., in the Arden Arcade area. Two men, one armed with a handgun and the other with a shotgun, entered the business and demanded money, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos. They left with an undisclosed amount of money and were seen leaving the parking lot in a two-door green sedan, possibly a Honda.

Ramos said one man was described as 17 to 19 years old, wearing a dark jacket and with a red bandana covering part of his face. The other was described as 19 to 20 years old, wearing a black hoodie and black bandana.

No one was injured during the robbery.

A 46-year-old woman was tied up and sexually assaulted in her Arden-Arcade apartment Monday night, according to authorities.

The woman said her assailant, whom she did not know, confronted her at gunpoint, bound her ankles and wrists and assaulted her before fleeing the Fair Oaks Boulevard apartment sometime in the afternoon, said Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The woman struggled to get free for hours but couldn't, Ramos said. About 10 p.m., a security guard making the rounds at the complex heard her cries for help and untied her, Ramos said.

A 42-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of taking part in a home-invasion robbery in the Arden-Arcade area earlier this month that ended with a maintenance man being shot in the face and hand.

Tammy Marie Ochoa is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in Dept. 62. Sacramento Sheriff's deputies booked her Dec. 21 on charges of robbery, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the case to find Ochoa's alleged accomplices, including the suspected shooter, said Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

Christmas Day was not peaceful in all parts of Sacramento as police responded to violent calls at several locations.

Police handled two calls of suspected domestic violence:

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

A man sought in connection with the stabbing of his wife turned himself in to Lincoln police.

Angel Casarez Romero (pictured), 28, walked into the Lincoln Police Department about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a Police Department news release.

Romero was sought after his wife was found with multiple stab wounds early Sunday morning in the 400 block of Joiner Parkway. She was hospitalized in critical condition.

A young man suffered critical injuries this morning after he was stabbed during an argument near a midtown Sacramento nightclub, according to police.

The victim, in his early 20s, was in critical condition at one point but appears to have improved, said police Sgt. Andrew Pettit.

The man was leaving Faces nightclub, located at 20th and K streets, about 2 a.m. when he got into an argument with an unknown person in a nearby parking lot, according to a police report.

The suspect then stabbed the victim multiple times before fleeing. The suspect was described as Asian or Hispanic and 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, the police report states.

The corner is populated by several gay and lesbian establishments. However, Pettit said there is no indication the stabbing was a hate crime.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are searching for two people who robbed a Carl's Jr. at gunpoint this morning, according to authorities.

The robbery was reported at the Carl's Jr. at 3100 Sunrise Boulevard about 6:45 a.m. The suspects were described as Hispanic and male, wearing black clothing described as "jogging suits," said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

The suspects were seen fleeing toward White Rock Road, Ramos said. They have not yet been identified.

Deputies detained one person matching the description but later determined he was not involved, Ramos said. He was arrested, however, because he was a wanted parolee.

The woman accused of helping her friend fake a home-invasion robbery and a sexual assault has been arrested.

Nicole Snyder, 33, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Dec. 12 and released later that day on $5,000 bail. She was arraigned Monday on two counts of felony criminal conspiracy.

Snyder is accused of assisting Laurie Martinez, a supervising psychologist with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, stage a crime in Martinez's Norgard Court home in April so Martinez could convince her husband to move to another neighborhood, authorities allege.

The Sacramento Police Department urges the community to be on the alert for two robbery suspects.

About 7:25 p.m. Saturday, the victim left his vehicle and was approaching the door of a residence in the 5100 block of Fredericksburg Way in North Natomas. He turned around when he heard footsteps and was confronted by two men.

The suspects, one armed with a gun, demanded money. The victim threw his wallet on the ground, and the suspects grabbed it and ran away, according to a Police Department news release.

Lincoln police are looking for the 28-year-old husband of a woman who was found stabbed early Sunday morning.

Angel Romero (pictured) is sought in connection with the stabbing of his wife, who police said remains in critical condition in Sutter Roseville Hospital.

Officers responded about 1 a.m. Sunday to the 400 block of Joiner Parkway after receiving a call that a woman had been stabbed multiple times. They found a woman inside her apartment with several life-threatening stab wounds, according to a Police Department news release.

The 700 block of Sutter Street, in Folsom's historic district, was evacuated for about 90 minutes today after a homeless man found living under a commercial building claimed to have explosives.

Folsom police Sgt. Jason Browning said officers responded about 11:30 a.m. to a report of a local transient living under the building at 710 Sutter St. that houses Firehouse Gifts and Clothing. When officers arrived to remove the man, he refused to come out an claimed to have explosives and an incendiary device. Browning said businesses in the 700 block were evacuated and that section of the street was closed to traffic while a police K-9 unit was brought in to assist officers in arresting the man.

With the police dog's assistance, the man, whom Browning identified as James Saporito, was taken into custody without further incident.

Browning said the street was reopened about 1 p.m.

Lincoln police are investigating the attempted homicide of a woman early Sunday morning.

Police were called to the 400 block of Joiner Parkway at 1 a.m. Sunday where a woman had been stabbed several times. Officers said the woman's wounds were life-threatening when they arrived at her apartment.

She was transported to a local hospital. Her condition was reported to be critical today.

Officers have been following up on leads, but have little to go on. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (916) 645-4040.

Woodland Police say an occupied home in the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue was struck by shotgun pellets, shattering the front window and the front doorway.

Polices reported on Saturday that three adults and four minor children were in the home when the shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. the previous evening.

No injuries were reported.

By Carlos Alcala

calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento police arrested a man early this morning, after he was discovered to be a parolee in possession of a Japanese throwing star.

Police conducted a traffic stop at Franklin Boulevard and 26th Avenue around 12:30 a.m. this morning.

The driver, Tom Vang, 27, was on parole.

Police said he was in possession of a "shuriken," a concealed weapon that comes in various shapes, and may be used for throwing, stabbing or slashing.

Vang was taken into custody.

A 3-year-old boy is still in critical condition at Shriners Hospitals For Children Northern California four days after he was scalded, with police suspecting that his caretaker put him in hot water as punishment for urinating in his pants.

Kirk A. Douglas, 22, was arrested on suspicion of mayhem and torture, after medics arrived at the Mack Road home to find the boy, Amari, severely burned from the waist down.

He had been left with Douglas by his mother, who has another child with Douglas, the boy's grandfather, Richard Finley, said Friday.

Amari had third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body, police said.

Sacramento police today released the picture of a man who attacked a taxi driver and then took his cab.

The cabbie was driving a customer about 1:15 a.m. Saturday when the two began to argue. The driver pulled into a gas station at 16th and W streets where he asked the customer to get out.

At that point, the customer attacked the driver and drove away in the cab. The taxi was later found at Fifth Street and Seavey Circle. Police need help in identifying the suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

Christopher Allen Smith of West Sacramento has been convicted of murder in the shooting death of a man who reportedly gave him a dirty look.

A Yolo County jury on Wednesday found Smith, 31, guilty of murder for killing Gidd Gomel Robinson IV on Nov. 3, 2009. Smith also was convicted of shooting from a vehicle and shooting a firearm causing death, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Shortly after noon, Smith was driving with his 7-year-old son in his pickup truck after leaving his father's house in a residential neighborhood in West Sacramento. Smith, who is white, encountered Robinson, who is black, as Robinson was walking his children to school. After Robinson gave Smith a "hard stare" and Smith "flipped him off," Smith drove his truck around the corner and loaded his gun, officials said.

Police suspect that a man placed his girlfriend's small child in scalding water after the 3-year-old boy urinated in his pants.

Sacramento police arrested Kirk A. Douglas, 22, on Monday on suspicion of mayhem, torture with the intent to cause cruel or extreme pain and endangering the life of a child.

Police were summoned at 10:55 a.m. Monday after firefighters were first called to a home in the 4900 block of Mack Road. Police were told that a small boy was severely burned from the waist down.

Authorities suspect that Douglas placed the child in hot bath water as discipline for wetting his pants.

The child suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body, police said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said.

PHOTO CAPTION: Kirk A. Douglas

The Redding Record-Searchlight

RED BLUFF -- A 40-year-old Red Bluff mother was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder and felony child abuse after she admitted to slashing her 13-year-old son's neck with a knife, police said.

Theresa Marie Lewis was booked into Tehama County jail, Red Bluff police said.

Officers said they went to a South Jackson Street apartment around 1 p.m., after receiving a report of a teenage boy who had possibly overdosed on pills and had a cut on his neck.

When officers arrived at the apartment, they found the teenager with a severe cut across his throat and neck, police said. Lewis admitted to having inflicted the cut, they said.

The boy, whose name was not immediately released, was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff before being flown by helicopter to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

Read more at Redding.com

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

An El Dorado County man who fled while being investigated for allegedly raping a 14-year-old in 1998 was arrested today in New Jersey.

Pasquale Patrick Senatore, 45, has been on the run since 2002, when investigators attempted to question him about allegations he forcibly raped a girl repeatedly over a three-month period.

Over the past few years, the U.S. Marshals Service and El Dorado County Sheriffs teamed to try to locate Senatore. He was located today in New Jersey when officers spotted him getting into a van.

Senatore was taken into custody without incident, according to the U.S. Marshal's office. He will be extradited back to El Dorado County, where he faces charges of forcible lewd acts on a child.

The prison psychologist accused of faking a rape and robbery at her Northgate home is still working for the prison system, a corrections spokeswoman confirmed today.

Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said that Laurie Ann Martinez's superiors do not have the final reports needed to decide whether to put her on "administrative time off."

Martinez, 36, has been charged with two counts of felony criminal conspiracy in connection with a false police report she made April 10. Sacramento police and prosecutors allege that, with the help of friend Nicole April Syder, Martinez injured herself and hid personal belongings before calling police to report she had been raped and robbed.

Sacramento police arrested a 15-year-old boy Thursday after he allegedly burglarized a home and stabbed the family's Chihuahua to death, according to authorities.

The family returned to their home on Majorca Circle about 3 p.m. and saw a young boy they recognized bolt from the garage, said police Sgt. Andrew Pettit.

As some family members chased the boy, others went inside to find the home ransacked. They also found the family's pet Chihuahua, who had been kept in a pen in the garage, stabbed to death, Pettit said.

Sacramento taxi drivers and police are asking for the public's help in finding a man who robbed a cab driver at gunpoint this morning.

Mohammad Akhtar, 55, said he was punched in the face, then ordered to the ground at gunpoint by an unknown man about 4:15 a.m. in Meadowview.

Akhtar said the suspect stole about $400 from his pocket, his cell phone and his taxi van, leaving him stranded. Akhtar said he knocked on the front door of a nearby home and asked for help.

A state prison investigation team is looking into the cause of the Wednesday riot at New Folsom Prison.

Correctional officers used pepper spray, rubber projectiles and fired 7 rifle rounds to quell the melee involving 150 maximum-security inmates about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Prison officials at California State Prison-Sacramento near Folsom say that two investigation teams are looking into the riot. An investigative services unit is looking into the cause of the riot and a deadly force investigation team is looking at the use of potentially lethal rounds officers fired in an effort to halt the disturbance.

No inmates were critically injured or killed in the riot. Eleven inmates were transported to Sacramento-area hospitals. Nine were treated for minor injuries and released.

Two remained in the hospital Thursday in stable condition. One was being treated to a gunshot wound to his leg. The other inmate had facial injuries and possibly a broken shoulder, both injuries not caused by gunfire.

No prison staff were injured, according to a prison system press release. More than 400 staff members responded to quell the riot.

When the disturbance was over, 5 inmate-made weapons were found. Today, the prison's C-Facility, where maximum-security inmates are housed, was placed on a "modified program pending further investigation."

New Folsom houses 2,800 inmates, primarily maximum-security prisoners serving long sentences and those who have been difficult to manage at other institutions.

The name of the man killed in his car in the Parkway neighborhood on Wednesday has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

Coroner's deputies identified the man as William Frederick Stephens, 36, of Sacramento.

Police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Pettit said police were called to the 3900 block of Samos Way in the Parkway neighborhood around midnight. In the driveway of a home in that block police found Stephens dead in his car from a gunshot wound to his upper body.

About the same time, other officers saw a motorist driving recklessly about a mile away at Sunmeadow Drive and Franklin Boulevard. Officers chased that vehicle for a short distance before the driver pulled over and fled on foot.

Police surrounded the Sunmeadow area and SWAT officers were called out.

The suspect was found hiding in a yard. Due to the closeness of the two incidents to each other, police believe the erratic driver might be tied to the homicide.

However, no arrest has been announced by police and no motive for the killing released by officers.

Tipsters may call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

By Kim Minugh and Sam Stanton
kminugh@sacbee.com

Four inmates injured during a riot at California State Prison-Sacramento this afternoon have been released from hospitals, and a fifth has been admitted, according to authorities.

Earlier, prison officials said at least nine inmates had been injured. This evening, prison spokesman Sgt. Tony Quinn said he did not yet have information about the status of the other four injured inmates.

He also said officials have not yet determined how many inmates were stabbed, how many were shot by correctional officers and how many suffered blunt force trauma injuries during the riot, which began on the prison yard about 12:30 p.m., Quinn said.

Correctional officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets and rounds from Mini 14 rifles to quell the fight involving about 50 inmates, officials told The Bee earlier today. This afternoon, officials found five inmate-made weapons on the yard where the riot occurred, Quinn said.

They stopped combing the yard when the sun went down, and they will resume their search tomorrow, Quinn said.

Paramedics from Folsom, El Dorado County and Sacramento County were summoned to the scene to transport inmates, who went to various hospitals in the region.

Photo caption: An ambulance leaves California State Prison, Sacramento after a riot there on Wednesday afternoon. Video caption: New Folsom prison Public Information Officer Tony Quinn talks to the media about a riot at the prison on Thursday involving about 50 inmates. Photo and video by Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Sometimes being kind to strangers can backfire.

That's the unfortunate lesson two Placer County women learned in April when a homeless Auburn man stole their cars after asking for help.

The three-day crime spree by James McMahon, 22, concluded with the attempted murder of an 81-year-old man with a tire iron and a high-speed car chase through Yuba County, said Dave Tellman, Placer County's supervising deputy district attorney.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Attorneys for the man accused of murder in the 1980 Davis "sweetheart" killings failed today in their effort to exclude the press and public from pretrial motions in the case.

The lawyers for Richard Joseph Hirschfield, 62, said that coverage of several potential "inflammatory" issues they expect to arise in the hearings could prejudice their client's right to a fair trial.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge MIchael W. Sweet disagreed, saying that there are several remedies available to ensure that potential jurors are not contaminated by news coverage of the more than 100 motions the lawyers are expected to argue over the next week.

Among the remedies, the judge said, are a questionaire to be distributed among the jury pool and the individual questioning of candidates for the panel if they say they have learned things about the trial that could be prejudicial.

Hirschfield is accused of kidnapping UC Davis students John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves, both 18, from the college town the night of Dec. 20, 1980. Their bodies were discovered two days later near Lake Natoma.

Officials have identified the suspect and the victim in Thursday's homicide in North Highlands.

Daniel Weddle, 48 and at left, is accused of fatally shooting his wife, 46-year-old Margaret Weddle, at a home in North Highlands on Thursday afternoon.

A caller alerted Sacramento County sheriff's deputies to the shooting, and identified the suspect as Daniel Weddle. Then, a relative of Weddle's called to say the suspect was en route to a home in Rio Linda, according to sheriff's officials.

Deputies caught up with Daniel Weddle there. They arrested him and booked him into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of murder, assault with a deadly weapon and making threats, according to booking records.

Daniel Weddle does not appear to have a criminal record in Sacramento County, according to online Superior Court records.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Weddle

By Cathy Locke

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies have arrested the husband of a woman who was shot to death in a North Highlands apartment this afternoon.

Officials said both the suspect and the victim were in their 40s. Their names have not been released pending booking of the suspect.

Sheriff's spokesman Jason Ramos said deputies were called to the residence in the 3600 block of Bellinger Court shortly before 4 p.m. The caller, an acquaintance of the victim who witnessed the shooting, said the suspect had left the scene.

Ramos said the woman had been shot multiple times in the upper body.

Deputies received another call, this one from the suspect's father, who said the suspect was en route to his residence in the 6000 block of Mio Court in Rio Linda. Deputies went to the residence and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Ramos said deputies also found in the residence a firearm that they believe was used in the shooting.

Although investigators have not determined the motive for the shooting, Ramos said it appears that the husband and wife were not living together.

California Highway Patrol officials held a news conference today to honor an off-duty nurse who rendered aid to an officer who had been shot during a traffic stop on Highway 99 last month.

Joni Fletcher, a cardiac cath lab nurse at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, was buying a car with her husband at an Elk Grove dealership the night of Nov. 13 when they heard gunshots ring out.

She ran outside and saw a CHP officer lying on the ground on the highway shoulder. When he told her he had been shot, she scaled an 8-foot fence to get to him and rendered aid for up to 20 minutes before paramedics arrived.

A Sutter Nurse will be honored today for her quick administering of aid to an injured California Highway Patrol officer.

The CHP will thank R.N. Joni Fletcher today at Sutter Memorial Hospital in East Sacramento for administering first aid to the wounded officer.

The officer was shot and critically wounded and a suspect was killed during a traffic stop Nov. 13 on Highway 99 near Elk Grove Boulevard in Elk Grove.

CHP Officer Michael Bradley and hospital officials will formally thank Fletcher today for her quick action. According to a press release from the hospital, Fletcher was shopping for a car in Elk Grove when she heard gunshots and learned that the officer had been wounded.

She hopped a fence and rushed to the officer's side, stopping the bleeding from the officer's wrist and groin even while the gunman and other officers were engaged in a shootout with the gunman.

The officer is on the mend.

Photo caption: R.N. Joni Fletcher smiles as she is honored at Sutter Memorial Hospital Thursday morning by the California Highway Patrol for her quick administering of aid to an injured CHP officer last month. Photo by Jose Luis Villegas / jvillegas@sacbee.com

A 65-year-old man pleaded no contest today to murdering his wife last year in front of his 10-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.

Sy Choy Saeteurn entered his second-degree murder plea in Sacramento Superior Court in front of Judge John P. Winn, who scheduled the sentencing for Dec. 28.

Saeteurn is facing a 16-to-life prison term for fatally stabbing Muang Saeteurn, 60, inside the couple's home in the 8000 block of Pinot Noir Way, near Elk Grove-Florin Road and Calvine Road.

A man suffered a collapsed lung when he was stabbed on his way to a grocery store in Woodland on Monday night.

Robert Felix, 30, of Woodland told police that he was walking to the store when two men in a car pulled up at Elliot and West streets and started yelling at him about 8:45 p.m. Monday. They also threw a glass bottle at Felix, he told officers later at the hospital.

Felix ran and the two men got out of their car and gave chase. They eventually caught up with Felix and stabbed him twice in the torso.

After they fled, Felix used his cellphone to call his girlfriend who took him to the hospital. Felix could not provide a description of either the men or their car to Woodland Police officers.

Sacramento police are searching for two men who assisted a woman in the alleged kidnapping of her estranged husband Saturday morning.

The husband and wife were separated, and the husband was living with his stepdaughter in the 7300 block of 21st Street.

At 7:27 a.m. Saturday, the estranged wife, identified as Carmen Basulto (pictured), 43, showed up at her daughter's residence with two armed men, who forced the victim from the home at gunpoint, said Police Department spokeswoman Officer Laura Peck. The daughter witnessed the incident and called police.

Two men were hospitalized and others are sought following an assault in El Dorado County.

El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon on the 6000 block of Outingdale Road in the Somerset area. When they arrived, they were directed toward a residence where they found the victim, identified as Ricky Laybourne, sitting on the ground, bloody and semi-conscious.

Deputies determined that Laybourne lived in the garage at 6150 Outingdale Road. He and the landowner, Robert Dickson, had been involved in a tenant-landlord dispute. Laybourne believed the landlord had sent individuals to harass him and intimidate him into leaving, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. During an encounter with the unidentified individuals, Laybourne was hit several times with a blunt object, officials said.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the man who was fatally shot in North Sacramento early Friday morning as 46-year-old James Hiter.

Hiter, of North Highlands, was shot in the 300 block of Bell Avenue before 4 a.m. Friday. He died at the scene.

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation, and Sacramento police have not identified any suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

By Whitney Mountain

wmountain@sacbee.com

A 12-year-old boy and a man in his 20s were shot Sunday at around 8 p.m Sunday in the Rosemont area, Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Jason Ramos said.

The Sheriff's Department received several calls reporting multiple shots fired just after 8 p.m. on the 2900 block of Norcade Circle.

Ramos said both victims were shot in the upper body and taken to a hospital with injuries that officials said were not life-threatening.

Sheriff's officials do not have any suspects but are canvassing the area. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.