SF News

Six suspects accused of the fatal shooting of a German tourist near San Francisco's Union Square last year pleaded not guilty today to charges in the case.

Mechthild Schroer, a 50-year-old woman from Minden, Germany, was fatally shot on Aug. 8, 2010, in the 400 block of Mason Street after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout between groups of people outside a private party, police said.

Schroer had been visiting the U.S. with her husband Stefan, and the couple had been staying at a nearby hotel.

Two teens, a 15-year-old boy and 19-year-old woman, were also struck by the gunfire but survived. None of the three victims were the intended targets of the shooting, according to police.

A total of seven suspects were arrested in May in connection with the shooting, and an eighth suspect is still being sought by police.

Phillip Stewart, 19, Marcus Blueford, 19, Delvon Scott, 20, Willie Eason, 19, and Raheem Jackson, 17, were charged with murder, while Gethsamine Pita, 18, and a juvenile were charged with being an accessory to murder, prosecutors said.

Jackson is being charged as an adult in the case, which also involves weapon and gang-related charges against the suspects.

At a joint hearing in San Francisco Superior Court this afternoon involving all of the defendants except the juvenile, the six pleaded not guilty to the various charges against them.

Prosecutors have said they will not be seeking the death penalty in the case after taking into account the suspects' ages and prior criminal histories.

All of the suspects remain in custody on bail amounts ranging from $1 million to $7 million. They will return to court again on Aug. 4 to discuss issues with the evidence in the case.

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A teenage boy was injured in a shooting in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood on Monday night, police said.

The shooting was reported at 9:48 p.m. near Sunnydale Avenue and Britton Street.

The 15-year-old victim was walking in the area when he was shot. He was taken to a hospital by an acquaintance, police said.

His injuries are not considered life-threatening, according to police.

No arrests have been made in the case. Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.

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  At least two people were injured in a crash at Gough Street and Geary Boulevard in San Francisco this morning, a fire department spokeswoman said.

    The crash, reported at 8:08 a.m., involved multiple vehicles, spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

    One of the victims suffered a head injury, Talmadge said. She did not know the extent of the victims' injuries.

    Crews were still at the scene as of about 8:30 a.m.

UPDATE ON ADVISORY

    One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries after a crash at Gough Street and Geary Boulevard in San Francisco this morning, a fire department spokeswoman said.
    The crash, reported at 8:08 a.m., involved three cars, spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

    One of the victims suffered a head injury and was taken to a hospital, Talmadge said. The victim is expected to survive.

    Fire crews cleared the scene shortly after 8:30 a.m., she said.

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SF Superior Court Judge Announces Dramatic Budget Cuts to Civil Court System

    San Francisco Superior Court Judge Katherine Feinstein announced drastic cuts Monday to the city's civil court system in response to funding slashes in the current state budget. 

    Feinstein said 200 of 480 Superior Court employees will be laid off, and 25 of 63 courtrooms in the court system will be closed indefinitely.
    Most of the cuts will be in the handling of civil cases in the Civic Center Courthouse and not in criminal cases at the Hall of Justice, which are a priority under state law. 
    "The civil justice system in San Francisco is collapsing," Feinstein said.
    "We will prioritize criminal, juvenile and other matters that must, by law, be adjudicated within time limits. Beyond that, justice will be neither swift nor accessible," said Feinstein, who said she was announcing the changes with "deep regret."
    Speaking at a news conference, Feinstein said the city's court budget is being reduced from its former $98 million to $75 million for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
    Twelve out of 15 civil trial departments will be closed, which will mean that most civil lawsuits will face "extraordinarily long delays,"she said.
    Clerks' offices will have reduced hours, but the specific changes in hours not yet been determined, she said.

    Feinstein said it will now take a year and a half instead of the normal six months to obtain a divorce. That will "obviously leave many families in a very uncomfortable situation," she said.
    Another result will be that paying a traffic ticket or criminal fine at the Hall of Justice could now take hours of standing in line, and obtaining criminal and civil records could take months, she said.
    The 200 staff members who are losing their jobs will receive their 60-day layoff notices this week. They include clerical and administrative staff, research attorneys and court commissioners, who conduct hearings on matters such as traffic court cases.

Daly City Man Found Guilty of Child Abuse for Dropping Baby onto Oven

    A Daly City man accused of dropping his 17-month-old son onto a hot oven rack was found guilty of child abuse charges Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court.
    A jury of nine men and three women Monday convicted Gregory Colver, 20, of one felony count of child endangerment and one felony count of cruelty to a child, with the special enhancement of causing great bodily injury, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
    Colver was accused of holding his son inside a hot oven and dangling him over the oven rack in the family's Daly City kitchen on Dec. 28, 2010, in an attempt to teach him about the dangers of hot surfaces.
    Prosecutors alleged that Colver had lost his temper after the boy was banging on the oven door while it was heating up to 450 degrees to cook a frozen pizza.
    While Colver was holding his son inside the oven, the boy began to struggle and Colver dropped him onto the hot rack, causing second- and third-degree burns to the boy's lower legs, according to prosecutors.
    Colver's girlfriend -- the boy's mother, who was not in the apartment when the incident occurred -- told emergency room doctors that her son had crawled into the oven on his own.
    That story that was corroborated by Colver, who told police he was asleep on the couch when his son climbed on top of the oven, turned it on, and fell onto the heated racks.
    Investigators from Daly City police and Child Protective Services became suspicious when details of the couple's story didn't match up and doctors said the horizontal and vertical burns weren't consistent with the accident Colver had described.
    Colver was arrested on Dec. 30, and confessed to police that he had been trying to teach his son a lesson by holding him inside the oven. He later retracted the confession.
    The jury deliberated for two days before handing down guilty verdicts on both counts Monday.
    Colver faces up to 12 years in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 16.

Fellow Gang Members Charge in Connection with Murder 

    Two fellow gang members of slain Oakland gang member Christian
Daniel Garcia have been charged in connection with his death even though they
did not fire the shots that caused his death, Oakland police said Monday.
    Garcia, 18, was shot in the 6400 block of Avenal Avenue at about
11:40 p.m. on June 17 and was pronounced dead at a hospital about 35 minutes
later.
    Police spokeswoman Holly Joshi said 18-year-old Alberto Ruiz has been charged with murder, attempted murder and being involved in a criminal street gang.
    Joshi said Eric Salazar, a 23 year-old Oakland man, has been charged with being an accessory to a felony and being involved in a criminal street gang.
    She said Garcia and his fellow gang members drove a van to the6400 block of Avenal Avenue the night of June 17 and taunted members of a rival gang and that Garcia began shooting at his rivals.
    She said the return gunfire from the opposing gang fatally wounded Garcia.
    Joshi said Ruiz and Salazar were not injured and pushed the van to the 2600 block of Seminary Avenue before running away.
    She said Ruiz and Salazar admitted to being in the van with Garcia and to being gang members.
    Garcia was charged with murder under California's "provocative act" doctrine, under which a defendant can be convicted of murder if he participates in a felony that is inherently dangerous and where someone is killed.
    The Alameda County prosecutors who filed the charges in the case were not immediately available for comment, but Joshi said they ruled that the rival gang members whose shots killed Garcia were acting in self-defense and will not be charged.

Armed Confrontation Erupts in San Leandro Apartment Building

    Several streets in unincorporated San Leandro were shut down late Monday morning after an armed confrontation at an apartment complex, a sheriff's sergeant said.
    The confrontation happened shortly before noon in the 1400 block of 150th Avenue near San Leandro's eastern border.
    Two suspects had made threats to another person in the apartment complex and one of them pulled out a gun, Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said.
    The victim left the complex and called authorities, as did a neighbor who witnessed the incident, Kelly said. 

    The suspects went into an apartment and sheriff's deputies responded to the neighborhood and closed nearby roads. The streets reopened by 2 p.m., Kelly said.
    "We shut the streets down for safety purposes," Kelly said. "Now everybody's fine."
    The two men eventually came out of the apartment and were arrested on charges of brandishing a firearm and making threats, Kelly said. They were taken to Alameda County Jail.

Bayview Community Holds Rally After Teenager Fatally Shot by SF Police

    A rally was held Monday in San Francisco's Bayview District in response to the fatal police shooting of a 19-year-old man in that neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.
    Protesters gathered at the site of the shooting, where Kenneth Harding Jr. allegedly ran from police and fired shots after officers attempted to detain him while conducting fare enforcement at a San Francisco Municipal Railway light-rail stop.
    Flowers and candles had been placed at the site, in a brick plaza between the Joseph P. Lee Recreation Center and the Bayview Opera House on the corner of Oakdale Avenue and Third Street.
    Chris Jackson, a former candidate for District 10 supervisor, spoke angrily about the shooting. He said he lives a block from where it happened and that afterward residents had crowded around the scene, asking police why an ambulance had not yet arrived.
    "This is something that only happens in communities of color," he said.  "When we don't pay our fare we get chased and shot by the cops. This is an unacceptable outcome."
    Harding was a parolee who was being sought in connection with a homicide in Seattle last week, police said at a separate news conference at the Hall of Justice Monday.
    He was shot at about 4:45 p.m. after running from officers who had taken him off a Muni light-rail vehicle at Third Street and Palou Avenue for suspected fare evasion, according to police.
    During the chase, Harding, a Seattle resident, allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot at the pursuing officers, police said. Two officers returned fire, wounding Harding. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:01 p.m., police said.
    Police said Harding was a person of interest in a shooting in Seattle last Wednesday that killed a 19-year-old woman and injured three other people.
    He had been released on parole in April after serving part of a 22-month sentence for attempting to promote prostitution in a case that involved a 14-year-old victim, and by being in San Francisco he was in violation of his parole, police Lt. Hector Sainez said.

Hundreds of SJSU Freshmen Will Have to Stay at Hotels to Accomodate Surge of Incoming Students

    More than a couple hundred returning San Jose State University students will have to trade in their dorm for a hotel room this year to accommodate an unexpected surge of incoming freshmen, but which hotel they'll be staying at is up in the air.
    The university sent out letters last week notifying 250 returning students they would be evicted from their on-campus dorms and moved into a hotel.
    The school is still in the process of finalizing a contract with the hotel with the aim of announcing the name by the middle of this week.
    "We realized it was difficult without a hotel contract in place," university spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris said. But, she added, "We wanted to tell them as soon as possible."
    Whichever hotel is selected in the end, students can be assured it will be business-class, within walking or light-rail distance, and most importantly -- safe.
    The decision to move the returning students was made because the university last year required all incoming freshmen who live more than 30 miles away to live on campus their first year.
    "Studies show that students who live on campus have higher success rates, higher graduation rates," Harris explained. "However as we all now know, we ended up with an unusually large freshman class."
    Harris said the university is expecting an estimated 4,000 freshmen this fall -- compared with last year's roughly 2,700 students -- and the biggest freshman class the university has had in 10 years.
    To meet the demand, the university initially tried assigning three students to some of the larger dorm rooms, but when that did not completely resolve the problem, the school started to consider alternative accommodations. After seeing that other universities were using hotels to house students, SJSU housing staff started considering that option.
    The 250 students who are being evicted have been given a July 25 deadline to either relocate to a hotel before school begins on Aug. 24 or cancel their housing contract and receive a refund.

Memorial Service for UCSF Professor Killed in Crash to be Held This Week

    Memorial services are planned this week to honor the University of California at San Francisco psychiatrist and associate professor who died in a crash between a shuttle bus and big-rig in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood last Thursday.
    Dr. Kevin Mack, 52, was killed in the crash at the intersection of Octavia Boulevard and Oak Street at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday.
    Mack and about 15 other people were riding the shuttle to San Francisco General Hospital when it collided with the big-rig traveling north on Octavia Boulevard, police said.
    Mack was ejected in the crash and landed underneath the big-rig, which was carrying several cars. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Witness reports indicate the shuttle bus driver may have ran a red light while traveling east on Oak Street before the collision, according to police. The crash remains under investigation.
    A viewing for Mack's family and friends will be held at 6 p.m. today at St. Agnes Catholic Church, located at 1025 Masonic Ave. in San Francisco. His funeral mass will be held at the same location at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
    UCSF is also holding a memorial service for Mack this Thursday at Cole Hall, located at 513 Parnassus Ave. on its Parnassus campus.
    For people unable to attend, the school will simulcast the service to the San Francisco General Hospital cafeteria and to Room 150 at University of California at Berkeley's University Hall.
    In lieu of flowers, donations to benefit Mack's husband and two children, ages 7 and 4, can be made to the Kevin Mack, M.D. Memorial Fund through Wells Fargo Bank.

California Supreme Court Upheld Power of Cities to Pass Woker Retention Laws

    The California Supreme Court Monday upheld the power of cities to pass laws protecting the jobs of existing workers when a new owner takes over a store or business.
    The court, in a 6-1 decision issued in San Francisco, upheld a 2005 Los Angeles law that gives employees of large grocery stores certain job rights and preferences when there is a change of ownership.
    But the decision also affects similar laws passed by other cities, including four Bay Area cities.
    Those laws include a Berkeley measure covering marina business workers; an Emeryville law for hotel workers; an Oakland ordinance covering hospitality workers; and a San Jose law on airport business workers, the court said.
    The Los Angeles law applies to grocery stores that are 15,000 square feet or larger. It requires a new owner to hire workers from a list of existing workers for a 90-day transition period.
    The law doesn't require retaining the workers after 90 days, but it does require the employer to consider doing so.
    If the workforce was unionized, the law also allows the union to try to reach a new contract agreement during the 90-day transition.
    The four Bay Area laws are similar, the court said.

    The panel rejected the California Grocers Association's arguments that the law conflicted with a state law on food worker health and safety and with a federal law regulating collective bargaining.
    The Los Angeles ordinance and the state law "do not overlap," Justice Kathryn Werdegar wrote for the court majority.
    "The former regulates employment, not food safety, while the latter regulates food safety, not employment," Werdegar wrote.
    The court also said the federal labor relations law "does not disturb state and local authority, to address, as these entities see fit, matters of hiring and firing."
 

Residents Evacuated from Apartment Building During Two-Alarm Fire in San Jose

   A dozen residents of a large apartment building in San Jose were evacuated from their homes Monday night when a two-alarm fire broke out, a San Jose fire captain said.
    Firefighters responded to a two-story apartment building near the intersection of Lanai and Waverly avenues to battle the blaze, which broke out in one of the units at about 7:30 p.m., Capt. Rob Brown said.
    The fire, which affected two other units, had been knocked down by 8:20 p.m., was controlled minutes after 9 p.m., Brown said.
    No injuries were reported, and 12 residents from the three units were evacuated. Brown said that the American Red Cross was assisting those apartment dwellers in arranging other accommodations for the night.
    The cause of the fire is under investigation, and Brown said an initial assessment indicates the fire caused roughly $150,000 in damage to the structure and its contents.
    While the unit where the fire broke out was the most severely affected of the three, the attics and ceilings of the other two apartments were damaged when the fire spread into that space, Brown said.

Politicians Come Together to Prepare for State Highway Improvement Project 

    State and local officials came together Monday morning in Brentwood in preparation of a state highway improvement project set to be built through east Contra Costa County.
    Congressman Jerry McNerney along with Brentwood Mayor Robert Taylor, state Sen. Mark De Saulnier, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, Oakley Mayor Jim Frazier and Antioch Councilman Brian Kalinowski spoke at an event Monday at 10:30 a.m. to highlight what they see as the importance of the state Highway 4 bypass project.
    The project received $25 million in funding from the California Transportation Commission, allowing the project to move forward.

    "(The project) really opens Highway 4 up to the poor people who sit in their cars day after day," Brentwood Mayor Robert Taylor said. 

    Grant money will convert a two-lane, two-way expressway to a four-lane freeway, easing traffic on the congested highway -- the 17th most congested area in the U.S., according to Taylor.
    The project still needs $8 million more to complete the two-year project, which includes construction of an interchange at the intersection of Highway 4 and Sand Creek Road in Brentwood. Although the project is waiting on bids for the last of its funding, the project is ready to get under way, Taylor said.
    At the state level, McNerney has supported the construction project and funding as it should improve the local economy by providing more than 700 jobs with its construction, making commutes in and out of the area easier, and will make roads safer, his spokeswoman Sarah Hersh said.

    "Transportation is a priority for the congressman," she said. "These projects are really necessary to catch up to the number of people out there."
    Construction on the bypass is expected to take two years, but for the Brentwood mayor any traffic from construction will be worth it.

    "We can sit in the traffic and have nothing happen down the line or sit traffic and have something happen," he said.
 

Comcast SportsNet Searches for SF Giants World Chamionship Baby

   August 1 marks nine months since the San Francisco Giants baseball team brought home the World Series trophy, which led many to celebrate team black-and-orange -- including making a Giants baby, according to a Bay Area sports network.
    Almost 300 moms-to-be have entered Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's World Championship Baby search, which is on the lookout for a baby born closest to 7:54 p.m. on Aug. 1, said CSN Bay Area marketing vice president Tom Pellack. The Giants won the 2010 World Series, beating the Texas Rangers, on Nov. 1 at 7:54 p.m.
    CSN Bay Area wanted to find a way to keep the momentum going months later. The marketing and promotions department decided on a contest for pregnant Giants fans who may or may not have conceived their child the night the Giants won the series, Pellack said.
    "As soon as you heard this idea, you laughed," he said.
    Moms and dads have until July 31 to enter the contest, which asks for a due date, photo and a story, which many people on the site have used to display their Giants loyalty. Contestants do not have to submit a photo or a biography to officially enter, Pellack said.
    The contest started July 5 and rotates through 20 of the contestants and their stories every few days on the official website. Pellack and his team thought they would barely scrape together 10 contestants, but it seems there are hundreds of pregnant Giants fans in the Bay Area.
    One contestant, Christine Alday, 31, of South San Francisco, is expected to have her third son on August 23 but was recently told her baby will be coming early, possibly on August 1.

    "My doctor and nurses think it's special that he's really going to be a Giants baby," Alday said.

At least two people were injured in a crash at Gough Street and Geary Boulevard in San Francisco this morning, a fire department spokeswoman said.
    The crash, reported at 8:08 a.m., involved multiple vehicles, spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
    One of the victims suffered a head injury, Talmadge said. She did not know the extent of the victims' injuries. 
    Crews were still at the scene as of about 8:30 a.m.

 A man suffered life-threatening injuries when he fell and hit his
head after being punched by another man at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf
on Saturday afternoon, police said.
    The fight occurred at about 4 p.m. Saturday in the first block of
Jefferson Street.
    The two men got into a fight and the suspect punched the other
man, causing him to fall, according to police.
    The 43-year-old victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital
to be treated for his injuries, police said.
    Police responded to the scene and arrested the suspect, a
31-year-old man whose name has not yet been released

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   A man who was fatally shot by San Francisco police on Saturday after allegedly opening fire on officers in the city's Bayview District has been identified by the medical examiner's office as Kenneth Harding.

    Harding, 19, had been detained by patrol officers doing fare
inspections at a San Francisco Municipal Railway light-rail stop at Third
Street and Palou Avenue at about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, police said.
    Police said Harding ran from the officers and pulled out a handgun
and shot at them as they chased him. At least one of the officers returned
fire and wounded Harding. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced
dead at 7:01 p.m.
    No police officers were injured. The officers involved in the
shooting had been conducting the fare inspections while they were stationed
in the area as part of an increased police presence in response to recent
shootings in the neighborhood, police said.
    Amateur video footage of the exchange showed that a passerby
picked up Harding's handgun after the shootout and took it from the area
before investigators were able to establish a crime scene, police said.
    But with the help of witnesses, police were able to identify the
person who took the gun, and recovered it Sunday afternoon.
    The shooting is the third involving San Francisco police since
early June. On June 7, officers fatally shot a suspected Southern California
bank robber near Buena Vista Park after he allegedly tried to run them over
with his car.
    On June 29, police shot and wounded a wanted parolee after he shot
at officers near Gough and Ellis streets, according to police.
    Saturday's shooting triggered an impromptu protest in the Mission
District early Sunday morning, and another rally is planned for noon today at
the site of the shooting in the Bayview District.
    Protesters are calling for the formation of a civilian review
board and FBI investigation of the shooting.
    The rally's organizers, which include the Idriss Stelly
Foundation, the local chapter of Education Not Incarceration and the San
Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper, also want to see District
Attorney George Gascon removed from the investigation, saying he has a
conflict of interest because he used to be police chief.
    

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Firefighters controlled a small fire that started in the garage of a home in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood this morning.
The one-alarm fire at 2337 25th St. was reported around 1:15 a.m. and was under control about 15 minutes later, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
No injuries were reported and the fire is under investigation.

Suspect Shot, Killed in Bayview

A suspect was shot and killed by San Francisco police in the Bayview District Saturday afternoon.

The suspect, who was shot at Oakdale and Third streets at 4:45 p.m., was pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital at 7 p.m., according to a police spokesman.

The shooting occurred when two uniformed officers detained a suspect on a Muni light rail platform who fled on foot.

During the foot pursuit, police say the suspect fired at the officers, and the officers fired back.

The officers were not injured.

The shooting is being investigated by the District Attorney's Office and the Office of Citizen Complaints as well as by the police department.

Oscar Grant Friend Killed

A close friend of BART shooting victim Oscar Grant was fatally shot in the parking lot of a gas station in Hayward on Friday night.

Johntue Caldwell, 25, was shot at about 5:30 p.m. while sitting in a parked car at a gas station at West Tennyson Road and Calaroga Avenue, police said.

He was best friends with Oscar Grant III and was there the night of Jan. 1, 2009, when former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Grant, who was unarmed, on the Fruitvale Station platform.

Caldwell was also a plaintiff in a related civil suit against BART scheduled to begin next month.

Police said Caldwell had been sitting in the parked car when at least one suspect approached and fired several rounds.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect ran away and was not located during a search of the surrounding area, police said.

Investigators said they do not believe the shooting was random, although a motive for the shooting has not been determined.

Police Arrest Danville Suspect

A neighborhood canvass near a public park where a girl was inappropriately touched on Thursday led Danville police to an arrest, police said.

The 14-year-old girl was walking past the tennis courts in Diablo Vista Park around 8:30 p.m. when she was approached by a man, police Lt. Jeff Moule said.

The suspect approached the girl, grabbed her in an embrace and touched her chest "in an inappropriate way," Moule said.

When the girl broke away and ran to a family vehicle, the suspect fled into a wooded area east of the park.

Based on neighbors' tips, officers arrested 66-year-old Natesan Arumugam on Friday on suspicion of sexual battery. Arumugam is an Indian man visiting relatives in Danville, according to police.

Arumugam was taken to the Martinez Detention Facility where a bond has been set for $125,000.

3.4 Earthquake Rattles Alameda County

A 3.4-magnitude earthquake shook Alameda County Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The tremor rattled an area two miles southeast of Berkeley and three miles northeast of Emeryville at 3:51 a.m.

The quake had a depth of 4 miles, according to the USGS.

Santa Rosa Fire Quickly Contained

Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire that caused $7,500 in damage to an outbuilding in Santa Rosa Friday afternoon.

The fire broke out at about 1:40 p.m. at 2051 W. Hearn Ave., where responding firefighters found a small outbuilding fully engulfed in flames.

Crews worked quickly to hold the fire to the outbuilding and nearby fences and bushes, and it was controlled within 10 minutes.

Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to nearby homes, including the one located on the property, where the owners were inside at the time the fire was discovered.

While the fire remains under investigation, the fire department said the structure's contents and the building itself were a complete loss.

Arson is not suspected, and the cause appears to be accidental.

A fire investigator and fourteen fire personnel from three engines and one ladder truck assisted in the firefight.

Santa Cruz Police Arrest Church Vandalizing Suspect

Santa Cruz police arrested a man Friday suspected of vandalizing a historical church statue dating back to the 18th century, the department said.

Officers spotted Lee Wilson, 54, near Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street at around 6 p.m.

Police said Wilson was holding a piece of wood that looked like it could be part of a statue.

While the officers were talking to Wilson, police received calls reporting that a wood statue had been vandalized about 20 minutes earlier at Holy Cross Church, located at 126 High St.

The 3- to 5-foot statue, created around 1791, was from the original Mission Santa Cruz, and rests above an alter in the archway of the church's chapel, according to police.

Police said the statue is considered priceless because of its history and rarity.

Wilson was arrested and booked into the county jail on suspicion of felony vandalism, grand theft and probation violation.

Police Seek Suspect in Fairfield Restaurant Armed Robbery

Officers are searching for a man who robbed a restaurant at gunpoint in Fairfield on Friday afternoon, police said.

Police responded to a Chinese restaurant in the 100 block of East Tabor Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. after receiving a call from an employee reporting that they had been robbed.

A man received a meal at the restaurant and refused to pay for it. The man then pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun, pointed it at an employee, and demanded cash, according to police.

The employee refused to give him cash and the suspect ran away. He was last seen running northbound over a cement wall and onto a bike path, police said.

The suspect was described as a black man around 20 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a slender build and a short afro.

He was wearing black pants, a white T-shirt and a black hooded sweatshirt, and was armed with a black handgun.

Man Killed at Party in Salinas

A 24-year-old man was killed early Saturday morning in Salinas when a fight broke out at a party and shots were fired, police said.

Jorge Ramirez Medina Jr. was found at about 1:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Tahoe Drive suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, police said.

He was taken to Natividad Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at about 2:35 a.m., according to the Monterey County coroner's office.

Police were investigating the shooting as gang related, the department said.

The gunman and his friends fled the area.

San Leandro Man Shot, Killed in East Oakland

A 25-year-old San Leandro man was shot and killed Friday night inside an East Oakland apartment, a police spokeswoman said today.

Police responded at about 9:30 p.m. to a report of a shooting in an apartment in the 2400 block of 106th Avenue and found the victim, whose identity has not been released, suffering from gunshot wounds, Oakland police Officer Holly Joshi said.   

The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment but died from his injuries.

No arrests had been made as of Saturday afternoon.

San Rafael Man Arrested for Death Threats to Sen. Barbara Boxer

A San Rafael man was arrested Saturday morning for allegedly making death threats to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

A series of threatening messages were left on the voice mail of the senator's office voice mail after business hours during the week of July 10, 2011, according to San Rafael police.

Police were contacted earlier this week, and an investigation identified the caller as Kevin Joseph O'Connell.

O'Connell, 47, was arrested near his home on East Francisco Boulevard and booked into Marin County Jail on one count of making criminal threats. Bail is set at $500,000 and he is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday, July 19th at 9 a.m.

Highway 1 Closed from Lake Street to Highway 101

Highway 1 was set to close in both directions last night from Lake Street to Highway 101 in San Francisco.

The closure from 8 p.m. Saturday night to 11 a.m. Sunday morning was intended to allow work crews to shift northbound and southbound traffic to a new two-lane bridge on Park Presidio Boulevard, north of the MacArthur Tunnel, as part of a project to replace Doyle Drive, project spokeswoman Molly Graham said.

Workers were also expected to restore the exit from southbound Highway 101 to Highway 1/Park Presidio to two lanes.

Treasure Island Gunshots Lead to Suspect

Gunshots heard on Treasure Island Wednesday evening led police to an 18-year-old Daly City man suspected of having stolen a Toyota minivan, police said Friday.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired on the island at about 5:50 p.m., and arriving officers found 14 spent bullet casings strewn along the shoreline.

Witnesses said that the suspect drove off in a blue-green Toyota minivan, police said. Once the description was broadcast over the police radio, responding officers spotted the vehicle driving toward San Francisco on the Bay Bridge.

When police ran the vehicle's plate, it came up as having been stolen, police said.

Upon exiting the bridge, the suspect drove onto Mission Street, where officers pulled the minivan over. Officers detained two people who had been in the car and searched the vehicle, finding a loaded handgun and a box of ammunition on the floorboard, police said.

The gun and the box of ammunition matched the caliber of the spent rounds found on Treasure Island, police said. The driver was also allegedly found to be in possession of the vehicle keys and remote key fob.

The 23-year-old female passenger, of Union City, was later released, but the driver, Lester Lewis, 18, of Daly City, was booked on suspicion of auto theft, possession of a stolen car, several weapons violations and driving with a suspended license, police said.

San Francisco Bay Area Weather Forecast

The Bay Area is expected to be cloudy with fog and drizzle this morning, becoming partly cloudy, with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s.

Clear skies are expected this evening, with areas of low clouds and fog expected overnight, and lows expected to be in the lower 50s.

Monday is expected to be cloudy with fog expected in the morning and highs expected to be in the 50s to upper 60s.