Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Friday that could have made immigrants without legal status eligible for loans under a state program offering assistance to first-time homebuyers. The bill drew staunch opposition from Republicans well beyond California, with many arguing the state, known for its expensive
Continue Reading
Three boys who allegedly ignited a 600-acre wildfire while playing with fireworks that destroyed seven Riverside homes are facing more than two dozen felony arson-related charges, authorities announced today. “This fire was caused by illegal use of fireworks,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said during a news briefing at City Hall Thursday afternoon. “All
Continue Reading
A 27-year-old San Diego police officer who was severely injured in the line of duty last week in a fiery Clairemont Mesa-area traffic crash that also killed a fellow officer and a teenage motorist was continuing his recovery at home today following his release from a hospital. Zachary Martinez, an 18-month member of the
Continue Reading
By Ben Morse, Eric Levenson and Cindy VonQuednow, CNN (CNN) — The 17-year-old suspect in the weekend shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is being charged with attempted murder, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday afternoon. The teen, who was charged in juvenile court, also faces charges of attempted
Continue Reading
A 44-year-old man was arrested in Murrieta for allegedly soliciting sex from someone he believed to be a minor online after a month-long undercover operation, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said today. Deputies from the sheriff’s Southwest Station Investigations Bureau conducted an operation in which they posed as a 14-year-old girl online and arranged
Continue Reading
A 15-year-old girl who died in a crash on Interstate 10 near the Blythe Airport was identified today. The crash was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 5:55 p.m. Sunday at the Mesa exit of the freeway. Jada Johnson of Bellevue, Nebraska was pronounced dead around 6:11 p.m. Sunday, according to the Riverside
Continue Reading
Mark Chavez, one of the two doctors charged in connection with the death of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine, prosecutors announced today. Chavez, 54, of San Diego is the third of five defendants in the case to sign a plea deal with prosecutors. He made an
Continue Reading
More than a ton of narcotics was seized over the course of July at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today. The 2,627 pounds of drugs found in vehicles seeking to cross into the United States were seized on 50 separate occasions, CBP said. The seized drugs
Continue Reading
A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy in his patrol unit and two people in a sedan were injured when the vehicles impacted in Mead Valley, authorities said today. The crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Brown and Oakwood streets, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officer Javier Navarro said the
Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court ruled today that trial courts will be required to advise defendants of the consequences of pleading guilty to crimes that could make them eligible for designation as a sexually violent predator, in a ruling stemming from a case out of El Cajon. The state’s highest court found that typically, defendants are
Continue Reading
A man who killed a 16-year-old Moreno Valley girl because she got him expelled from school, hiding her body somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains, was convicted of first-degree murder on Wednesday. After deliberating just over a day, a Riverside jury returned with the verdict against Owen Skyler Shover, 23, of Hesperia, additionally finding true
Continue Reading
A Riverside County Sheriff’s Office deputy is on paid administrative leave today after shooting at a 25-year-old female inmate who briefly escaped on foot but sustained no injuries, sheriff’s officials said. The suspect arrived at the 26000 block of Cactus Avenue in Moreno Valley around 10:15 a.m. Monday with an armed correctional deputy. The deputy
Continue Reading
More than $5 million worth of methamphetamine wrapped in paper intended to disguise the drug packages as watermelons have been seized in Otay Mesa, border officials said today. The drugs were found in 1,220 packages wrapped in green and black paper on a truck that sought entry into the United States last Friday, U.S. Customs
Continue Reading
More than 600 pounds of methamphetamine was found hidden inside a shipment of celery aboard a truck in Otay Mesa, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced this week. The Aug. 9 seizure happened after a commercial tractor-trailer driver sought to cross into the United States from Mexico, but was directed to secondary inspection. After
Continue Reading
Emergency crews came to the rescue of a man who got his arm caught up to the shoulder today in a tortilla-making machine at a San Diego-area grocery store. The accident occurred about 10 a.m. Friday at Sawaya Brothers Market, 425 S. 30th Street, just north of Ocean View Boulevard and west of state
Continue Reading
In a series of early morning raids, Los Angeles police arrested four people today in connection with the killing of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, who was shot after encountering three people trying to steal the catalytic converter from his parked car downtown. Robert Barceleau, 18, of Huntington Park; Sergio Estrada, 18; and
Continue Reading
More than 360 combined pounds of fentanyl and cocaine discovered last week hidden in a flatbed truck in Otay Mesa amounted to the largest fentanyl seizure this year by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in California, it was announced today. The Aug. 9 seizure yielded 133.6 pounds of fentanyl powder in 50 packages and
Continue Reading
Two Mexican men caught last year in El Monte with more than 1 million fentanyl pills were each sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison. Florencio Camacho Allan, 29, and co-defendant Gerardo Gaxiola Patiño, 30, each pleaded guilty in April in Los Angeles federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess
Continue Reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s Death Valley National Park has claimed another life in its second heat-related death of the summer, park officials said Monday. On Aug. 1, a day where temperatures reached nearly 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.3 degrees Celsius), bystanders saw a man stumble back from the Natural Bridge Trailhead, a one-mile roundtrip trail,
Continue Reading Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent letters Tuesday to school districts, urging them to restrict students’ use of smartphones on campus — a move that comes amid an ongoing nationwide debate about the mental health impacts of social media on teens and young children. In South Carolina, the
Continue Reading