SF News

Left O'Doul's Catches Art Thief Leaving Weinstein Gallery on Camera

A well-known San Francisco restaurant might have surveillance video of a thief who walked into a Union Square art gallery on Tuesday morning and walked out with a Picasso drawing worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lefty O'Doul's restaurant is next door to the main showroom of the Weinstein Gallery, located at the corner of Geary and Powell streets, where the thief took the sketch at about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday before getting in a taxicab, according to the gallery and police. Lefty's owner Nick Bovis said that when he learned last night that a distinctively dressed man had walked out with a 1965 Picasso sketch called "Tete de Femme," he checked his tapes and quickly homed in on a suspect. "We've never seen anything like it," he said. The footage shows a man in a grayish jacket and light pants walking briskly but casually at 11:39 a.m. away from Weinstein's and toward the Handlery Hotel, which had a line of taxicabs waiting a few doors down from Lefty's. The footage is time-stamped at 12:12 p.m., but Bovis said his camera's clock is 33 minutes fast. The man in the shot is carrying something framed in his left arm and wearing loafers but no socks -- a key part of the suspect description obtained by police. Investigators reviewed the footage Wednesday morning but declined to comment on it. Bovis said police downloaded it from his hard drive and planned to use it in their search. "It appears it could be our suspect," police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. "The description is similar and he's holding art, obviously, but not until we arrest him can we say that's the guy we're looking for." Esparza said the Police Department has impounded the cab the suspect rode in and is interviewing the driver and reviewing the cab's security camera footage.

Astronaut Rex Walheim to Make Final Trip to Atlantis Space Shuttle

A Bay Area man will be one of four astronauts heading off to space Friday morning in the final trip for the Atlantis space shuttle, a NASA Ames Research Center spokeswoman said. Rex Walheim, 48, from the San Carlos area, will be launched into space at 8:26 a.m. from Florida's Cape Canaveral 39A launch pad with three other astronauts. The purpose of the mission is to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station, NASA Ames Research Center spokeswoman Cathy Weselby said. Walheim grew up in the Bay Area and is a University of California at Berkeley alumnus who graduated in 1980 with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, university spokeswoman Sarah Yang said. "The College of Engineering is aware and proud of his accomplishments," she said. Bay Area space fanatics will celebrate the final, historic launch on Friday morning with launch parties at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland and at the NASA research center in Moffett Field. Chabot Space and Science Center spokesman Robert Ade said Friday's launch is like a "Superbowl party for space enthusiasts." The Oakland science museum on 10000 Skyline Blvd. will open early at 7:30 a.m. to screen the Florida launch in the megadome theater and on televisions throughout the museum. Ade said the countdown is exciting and that there is a 10-minute window for the shuttle to take off, then afterward "the tediousness of space travel kicks in." Museum visitors will be able to hear what the NASA mission controllers are saying and can visit a mock mission control at the museum while watching the official NASA broadcast of the Atlantis lift-off. In Moffett Field at the NASA Ames Research Center, guests can watch the launch live at the NASA Exploration Center at 7:30 a.m. The viewing will also commemorate the Atlantis' final trip, Weselby said. The launch will be screened on the research center's big screen during the free event.

Richmond City Council Approves Municipal ID Card Program

The Richmond City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a municipal identification card program for city residents. The ID cards will provide an official government-issued form of identification to immigrants and other residents who have difficulty obtaining other forms of identification. The program "contributes toward moving our city in a just, in an equitable and in a healthy direction," said Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles, who brought the ordinance to the council. The cards are meant to help people access financial services, jobs, housing and protections at home and at work. According to a report by city staff, people without official identification are less likely to report crimes to the police and less likely to report labor and housing violations. People without official identification also have difficulty opening bank accounts. According to the report, because many immigrants don't have bank accounts, they often carry large sums of cash on days they get paid, which makes them targets for robbery and other violent crimes. Lack of official identification also decreases public participation in the formal city economy and other civic matters, according to the report. Cardholders will have the option of having their cards function as pre-paid debit cards. "This is a way to empower our community," Beckles said. "This is a way to empower that segment of our community that might not feel empowered." The program will be administered through a third-party vendor at no cost to the city. The vendor will be chosen through an open bidding process and, once it is chosen, the City Council will set fees by resolution.

Police Release Names of 3 Suspects in '08 Gang-Related Homicide 

Police released the names Wednesday of three suspects who were taken into custody Friday in connection with a 2008 gang-related homicide in Union City. Noel Cruz, 19, Joel Perry Jr., 19, and Damian Alaniz, 18, all of Union City, are suspected of having taken part in the death of 28-year-old Juan Carlos Gomez. Gomez was shot and killed near Kennedy Park. He and another man, who had also been shot, were found wounded in a vehicle on 12th Street around 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 29, 2008. Police determined that the shooting took place during a robbery and that gang-related slogans were overhead during the incident. Cruz, Perry and Alaniz, who police say are active criminal street gang members, are in custody on suspicion of murder, assault with a deadly weapon or firearm, and participating in a criminal street gang. Union City police coordinated with Fremont and Newark police and the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force on Friday to serve a series of search and arrest warrants that resulted in four arrests. Anyone with additional information about the homicide is encourage to contact the Union City police tip line at (510) 675-5207 or email information to tips@unioncity.org.

Judge Postpones Yusuf Bey Sentencing, Key Witness Accused of Perjury

A judge Wednesday postponed the sentencing for former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV and an associate because of concerns about whether the prosecution's key witness in the case committed perjury. Bey, 25 was convicted on June 9 of three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of journalist Chauncey Bailey and two other men in Oakland in the summer of 2007. Bakery associate Antoine Mackey, also 25, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder but jurors deadlocked on a third murder charge against him. Both men were also convicted of the special circumstance of committing multiple murders, face life in prison without the possibility of parole and were scheduled to be sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon on Friday. But Wednesday Reardon postponed the sentencing and instead scheduled a hearing for Aug. 12 to find out what San Francisco attorney LeRue Grim meant when he told reporters for the Bay Area News Group on June 10, the day after the verdicts, that his client, key prosecution witness Devaughndre Broussard, may have committed "a little bit of fabrication" in his testimony. Defense attorneys Gene Peretti, who represents Bey, and Gary Sirbu, who represents Mackey, said in a recent motion that, "Taken in context, the only reasonable construction of the meaning of Mr. Grim's comment is that his client (Broussard) may have committed perjury." Peretti and Sirbu also said Bey and Mackey "have a statutory right to move for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence," which is Grim's statement to the Bay Area News Group. Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Melissa Krum, the case's prosecutor, said Wednesday, "Our office is equally interested in making sure that the truth was present at the trial but we are confident that an investigation will not change the verdicts and the sentencing."

Police, Prosecutors Team Up to Target, Prosecute Gangs

The chief of East Palo Alto police said Wednesday that police and prosecutors at every level of government are teaming up to target gangs and prosecute gang members in the community. Chief Ron Davis made his comments after hosting a closed-door roundtable discussion with representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on combating the Norteno and Sureno gangs active in East Palo Alto and throughout San Mateo County. Police investigators believe that it was a longstanding feud between the two gangs that led to a June 5 shooting outside a baby shower in East Palo Alto, in which a 3-month-old baby was fatally shot in the head and both his parents were wounded, Davis said. "No level of violence is acceptable," Davis said, "But the killing of a 3-month-old baby is completely beyond humanity." More than 70 law enforcement officials attended the roundtable to share intelligence and develop a coordinated strategy to target, arrest and prosecute active Norteno and Sureno gang members who have concentrated their activities on the Peninsula. Chief Davis said that representatives from the FBI, the state Department of Justice, the San Mateo County district attorney's office and local police departments wanted to send a "clear and unified message" that Norteno and Sureno gang members can expect increased and sustained pressure to cease gang involvement or face targeted, probations sweeps, arrests and prosecution. San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks said that the anti-gang endeavor was very important, even in the face of budget cuts and service reductions at every level of law enforcement. "My jail is currently overcrowded, but we will always make room for these criminals," Munks said.

SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi Pushes Pension Reform Measure, Wants Compromise

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said Wednesday that he is continuing to push forward to get his pension reform measure on the November ballot, but has reached out to city officials that are backing a separate measure on the issue in an attempt to reach a compromise. Speaking outside City Hall Wednesday afternoon, Adachi said he has more than 60,000 signatures on a petition for his measure, well over the roughly 47,000 required to qualify it for the ballot. Adachi said his measure, which proposes increased pension contributions from city employees, caps on pensions for new employees, and other changes, would save the city more money than a separate measure being proposed by Mayor Ed Lee. Lee's proposal, the result of months of negotiations between city officials and labor and business leaders, is set to be considered Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, who will likely vote the following week on whether to put the measure on the November ballot. Adachi called the mayor's proposal a "watered-down version" of real reform, saying his plan would save the city $1.25 billion over 10 years, compared to $750 million for Lee's plan over the same period. However, Adachi said that he is open to compromise and dropped off a compromise proposal in the mayor's office and with each supervisor earlier Wednesday. The compromise proposal would save about $97 million in fiscal year 2012-13, while Adachi's original proposal would save about $107 million that year, and Lee's would save about $58 million, he said. The compromise measure would have to be approved by the supervisors to go on the ballot since Adachi cannot change the language of his measure without starting over again in the collection of signatures. The deadline to turn in the signatures is Monday evening.

Oakland Police Department to Undergo Major Reorganization to Improve Efficiency, Cope with Cuts

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts announced a major reorganization plan Wednesday that he said is aimed at making his department more efficient to help it cope with having fewer resources and officers because of budget cuts. Batts told reporters at a news conference at police headquarters that he wants to "build an organization that's fast, bold and quick" even though the number of officers in the department has dropped dramatically from 832 in November 2008 to 637 now. "Our numbers are shrinking and we are preparing to cope if they go into the 500s," Batts said. Batts said his plan calls for most officers to become generalists who can investigate a variety of serious crimes instead of specialists who focus on one area, such as homicides. He said currently there are "multiple units doing the same things" and he wants to consolidate them "to get more bang for the buck" and have more officers out on patrol. Batts said a major component of his plan is to split the Bureau of Field Operations into two separate bureaus, one in East Oakland and one in West Oakland, with a deputy chief in charge of each. The change sends a message to the community that the Police Department plans to deploy its senior leadership to reduce crime and improve customer service, Batts said. Splitting the Bureau of Field Operations into two separate divisions will take effect on Saturday and will impact patrol officers, and the other changes will take effect in mid-August, police spokeswoman Holly Joshi said. Batts said inaction by the Oakland City Council, in addition to budget cuts, forced him to try to be as efficient as possible with limited resources.

Search Closing for Capsized Boat Passengers in Baja California 

As the window closes for locating Bay Area passengers lost at sea when the charter fishing boat they were on capsized off the Baja California coast early Sunday morning, one local lawmaker is fighting to keep the search alive. More than forty people, including a group of fisherman from various Bay Area cities who were on a trip together, were aboard the boat operated by the fishing excursion company Baja Sportfishing Inc. when it sank Sunday at 2:30 a.m. in the Sea of Cortez near Isla San Luis, Mexico. Seven people are missing and one man died, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Rough seas capsized the sport fishing charter boat, which had been carrying 27 U.S. tourists and 16 Mexican crew members at the time. State Sen. Leland Yee and family members representing three of the seven missing fishermen -- Donald Lee, Albert Mein and Russell Bautista -- gathered in San Francisco Wednesday evening to provide an update about search efforts. Yee said that family members of Lee, the organizer of the Bay Area contingent's annual fishing trip, contacted his office Wednesday morning. The family asked for help from Yee's office after Mexican authorities failed to provide answers about the search's progress. The Mexican navy requested the Coast Guard's assistance in the search Monday morning. The families were told that the search would end after 96 hours even though prior boating accidents in the area have convinced them otherwise. Water temperatures in the area where the boat capsized are relatively warm -- 80 degrees -- a factor that the Coast Guard and Mexican navy said could prevent hypothermia, one of the biggest threats for capsized swimmers. Members of Yee's office contacted the Mexican Consulate, which said it would do everything in its power to keep the search going and that the Mexican navy captain leading the efforts is committed to the search, Yee said. "We urge the Mexican authorities to continue the search," he said. Although Mexican authorities told Yee's office that the search would continue beyond 96 hours, Yee said they did not cite a specific length.

Santa Clara Stadium Authority Approves Milestone Agreements for 49ers Stadium Construction 

The Santa Clara Stadium Authority on Tuesday approved milestone agreements that bring the construction of the 49ers stadium several steps closer to reality. The authority, which includes City Council members, the city manager and the city attorney, approved a procurement process that will be used to hire subcontractors to perform roughly $500 million in construction work for the new stadium. The bidding process is expected to begin this fall. The stadium authority also approved the selection of Legends Premium Sales as the marketing agency to manage and sell stadium builders licenses, or seat licenses. Legends has sold $138 million in luxury boxes so far, and will begin selling seat licenses in January 2012. Proceeds will go toward stadium construction. The authority also gave the green light to an agreement with Centerplate, a concessionaire company, to provide input into the design of food, beverage, and merchandise areas. An agreement was also approved to allow the 49ers Stadium Company, or Stadco, to move forward with plans to fine-tune the design for the $950 million stadium. Additionally, the authority approved a $400,000 contract with Keyser Marston Associates to assist with the disposition and development agreement and structuring of the overall stadium financing plan. "It's very, very exciting," Deputy City Manager Carol McCarthy said. "We're moving forward in lots of different areas." The 68,500-seat stadium is expected to open next to the Great America theme park in time for the 2015 football season. Today, the city will break ground on a parking garage across from the planned stadium site. Next Tuesday, Hall of Fame football player Joe Montana is expected to present a proposal to lease and develop a luxury hotel on two city-owned parcels of land north of Tasman Avenue, across from the stadium.

SFFD Release More Info About Firefighters' Rescue in the Mission

The San Francisco Fire Department released more information Wednesday about a daring rescue of a woman by two firefighters who responded to a three-alarm residential fire on the city's Mission Street early Monday morning. The blaze, which was reported at about 5:50 a.m. Monday, damaged three duplexes in the 4000 block of Mission Street near Glen Park and Bernal Heights, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said. The first crews to arrive were met by people who frantically told them that a woman was trapped inside one of the buildings at 4020 Mission St., Talmadge said. Two firefighters, an engine officer and crewmember from Engine Company 32, went into the building without a hose line and tried to find the woman, she said. Despite heavy smoke and heat, the firefighters were able to crawl up to the second floor and find the woman, who was unconscious in a hallway. They took her outside where paramedics revived her and transported her to the hospital, Talmadge said. The woman's injuries were considered life-threatening on Monday, and Talmadge did not have an update on her condition as of Wednesday. Talmadge said the actions of the firefighters, both of whom are women who have been with the department for more than 10 years, were "pretty amazing." She said, "It was completely black, but they felt around and found her and pulled her out." The fire was eventually extinguished by about 7 a.m. after causing nearly $1.5 million in damage to the three duplexes. The blaze displaced 28 people, including the woman who was rescued and another person who was hospitalized with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, Talmadge said. Two dogs were also taken to San Francisco Animal Care and Control to be cared for while the residents arranged temporary housing. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but it is not being considered suspicious, she said.

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More than 1,000 young San Francisco sports fans will have all their baseball questions answered today by a true expert -- Giants pitcher Brian Wilson. Wilson will be hosting a question and answer session at AT&T Park for members of the Junior Giants baseball program, a free program offered to about 17,000 children in more than 85 underserved communities, team officials said. Each Junior Giants member at today's event will also receive baseball gloves and tickets to tonight's game against the Padres from the famed pitcher.

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Charter Fishing Boat Capsizes near Baja California - 1 Dead, 7 Missing

A fishing trip became a tragedy for many Bay Area passengers aboard a charter fishing boat after it capsized during a storm near Baja California, Mexico, early Sunday morning, a U.S. Coast Guard petty officer said. The boat, operated by the fishing excursion company Baja Sportfishing Inc., sank on Sunday at 2:30 a.m. in Sea of Cortez waters near Isla San Luis in Mexico. More than forty people were on board including crewmembers and a group of fishermen from various Bay Area cities on a fishing trip together. Seven people are missing and one man died, Coast Guard Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said. In an email sent from Baja Sportfishing Tuesday, the company said, "We are devastated by this horrible tragedy. Every effort is being made to assist the authorities in the search. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families." Their website said all trips have been canceled because of the weekend incident. The Coast Guard is working with the Mexican navy to look for survivors after the Navy asked for assistance Monday morning. Tuesday morning the Coast Guard sent a C-130 Hercules airplane from Sacramento to provide a long-range search and rescue effort. The Coast Guard and Mexican navy are hopeful some of the missing people may be alive with the 80-degree waters preventing hypothermia, one of the biggest risks for capsized swimmers, aside from drowning, Dunphy said. "The water temperature is pretty warm," he said. "That is a major factor for how long someone can survive in the water." About 37 of the people thrown overboard made it to shore and some were able to call family back in the Bay Area.

Berkeley Physicist Missing After Bike Ride, Family Asks for Search Help

Family and friends of a Berkeley physicist who went missing after a bike ride over the weekend are asking for the public's help in locating him. Anthony Michael Martin, 29, might have been riding in the hills of Berkeley or Oakland when he went missing, his girlfriend, Amaya James, said. Another cyclist found his phone on Saturday on Tunnel Road in Berkeley. Martin is a former professional cyclist but might have been malnourished and fatigued over the weekend, James said. He was experimenting with fasting and might have struggled on the steep terrain. James and her parents have been searching the hills for him since Saturday night, when Martin was scheduled to meet her but never did. Berkeley police were meeting Tuesday afternoon to decide how to respond to his disappearance, James said. Police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said that one of the challenges in searching for Martin is that he, as an accomplished cyclist, could have taken any number of routes, as Tunnel Road is a popular way to access many rides, some of which share the road with vehicles. Kusmiss said that Berkeley police officers performed a welfare check of Martin's apartment and confirmed that he was not home. Officers and investigators completed tasks Tuesday in an effort to locate Martin, but are asking for the public's help. Martin was most likely riding a fluorescent green and white road bike and wearing a gray and blue helmet, white cycling shoes, regular street clothes and possibly a blue Mountain Hardware backpack. Anyone with information about Martin is asked to call the Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5900.

Art Piece Worth $100,000s Stolen from Weinstein Gallery

A piece of art worth several hundred thousand dollars was stolen Tuesday morning from a gallery near Union Square, a police spokesman said. A man walked into the gallery, located in the 300 block of Geary Street, at about 11:40 a.m., took a drawing off the wall and walked out, Officer Albie Esparza said. He was seen getting into a taxicab and leaving the area. The theft appears to have taken place at the Weinstein Gallery at 383 Geary St., whose collection includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and other masters, according to its website. It was unclear whether the man targeted the piece he took or just grabbed one randomly from the wall, Esparza said. The artwork was described as a pencil-on-paper drawing. Witnesses described the suspect as a white man about 6 feet tall, between 32 and 35 years old, wearing a dark jacket, light shirt, dark pants, loafers with no socks, and large sunglasses, Esparza said. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call San Francisco police at (415) 575-4444, text a tip to TIP411, or call 911.

2 Local Rappers Help Rescue People from Burning Building

Two local rappers helped rescue residents from a burning apartment building near Oakland's Highland Hospital Tuesday afternoon. The one-alarm fire started at about 2:20 p.m. in a ground-floor apartment at a three-story building in the 1500 block of 31st Street. Rapper Sleepy D, 21, said he was watching TV with fellow rapper Big Hongry inside an apartment on the top floor when they smelled smoke. The pair jumped into action, heading downstairs and kicking in the door to an apartment where there was an elderly man inside, he said. They also broke into another apartment to get to other residents they believed were trapped, Sleepy D said. "We had to get everybody out of there," he said. "We just kicked their doors in." Oakland fire Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton said residents and firefighters worked together to get the building's occupants to safety. "There were a few residents who were assisting with the evacuation," she said. When firefighters arrived, they were told there were children and adults with mobility problems who were trapped. "It was a very hectic scene when we first got on scene," she said. However, everyone managed to get out safely, and no injuries were reported. The fire was confined to one apartment, with smoke damage to three other units, Drayton said. Damage was estimated at $80,000 to $100,000. Eight adults and two children -- a 10-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy -- were displaced, and the American Red Cross was called to assist them, she said. She said it appeared the apartment where the blaze originated was empty at the time. When the family came back home, they told firefighters they did not know how the fire started. Investigators are exploring the possibility that the fire was sparked by an electrical problem, but the cause has not been determined, Drayton said.

Family of Giants Fan Bryan Stow Share News of Condition

The family of severely beaten Giants fan Bryan Stow shared news through a family website about Stow's condition at San Francisco General Hospital. Last month Stow's doctors upgraded his condition from critical to serious after being a coma since a March 31 attack outside of Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. The family wrote on their website for Stow, a 42-year-old Santa Cruz father of two who worked as an emergency medical technician in Santa Clara County, that his fever has been down since Wednesday and he does not have any infections. With these improvements, the family said they hope Stow can receive a shunt in his brain. "We have heard from many people that this could, while eliminating excess fluid, help with his responsiveness," family members wrote. San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said Stow remains in serious condition at the hospital under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Geoff Manley. Stow has been receiving treatment at San Francisco General Hospital since transferring from a Los Angeles hospital in May.

Brother of I-5 Strangler Victim Touched by Finding Remains

The brother of a woman killed in 1977 by a man known as the I-5 Strangler said Tuesday that having his sister's remains, which were found earlier this year and positively identified last month, provided "personal contact" to his sister for the first time in more than 30 years. "It made us feel more in touch with her," said Carl Burleigh, whose sister Lou Ellen Burleigh was 21 when she left her Walnut Creek home for a job interview and never returned. "It brought her back with us somehow," he said. Lou Ellen Burleigh's car was found in Pleasant Hill, but the case went cold for years until DNA evidence finally linked Roger Kibbe, now 72, to the disappearance, Walnut Creek police said. Kibbe admitted in 2002 to luring Burleigh with a fake job ad before raping and killing her. He said he left the young woman's body in a dry riverbed near Lake Berryessa, but extensive searches in 2003 and 2007 failed to turn up her remains, police said. A Napa County sheriff's deputy became interested in the case earlier this year and, after revisiting the district attorney's case notes, went back to search for Burleigh's remains, according to the sheriff's department. The deputy, Michael Bartlett, found a piece of her pelvic bone in a small creek on March 10. Carl Burleigh said the Walnut Creek Police Department contacted his mother on Wednesday, June 22, and said officers were coming to her home outside Seattle on Friday to give her an update on the case. It was not until the investigators arrived that they revealed to Carl Burleigh, his younger brother and their mother that Lou Ellen Burleigh's remains had been found. "They did a tremendous job," Carl Burleigh said. He said learning about the remains provided some relief but did not have the same emotional impact as some of the other milestones in the case, including finally learning in 2004 that his sister had been murdered. "Until then she'd always been a missing person, and then all of a sudden, boom, she was a murder victim," he said.

Daly City Man on Trial for Dropping Baby into Hot Oven, Accused of Child Endangerment, Child Abuse

A Daly City man accused of dropping his 17-month-old son into a hot oven told police that the child turned on the range by himself and crawled in backward, causing second- and third-degree burns on his legs. A video of the police interview was played Tuesday morning in San Mateo County Superior Court, where 20-year-old Gregory Colver is on trial for child endangerment and child abuse. Colver has been accused of trying to teach his son a lesson about the dangers of a hot stove by dangling him above an open range in their Daly City kitchen on December 28, 2010, and dropping him on the hot oven rack when the boy began to squirm. The child was brought to Seton Medical Center with multiple horizontal and vertical burns on the sides and backs of his lower legs. He was later transferred to a burn unit at San Francisco's St. Francis Memorial Hospital. In an interview taped early the following morning at the Daly City Police Department, Colver -- who had not yet been arrested -- told two police officers and an investigator from San Mateo County Child Protective Services that he had fallen asleep on the couch when his son knocked down a child barrier to get into the kitchen. "I'm a hard sleeper because I work all night," Colver said. The defendant then said that his toddler son -- whom he called "not that bad of a climber" -- used an empty toy box to crawl on top of the oven, where he turned on the range, opened the oven door, dropped on to the door and crawled in backward, burning his lower legs on the rack. Child Protective Services investigator Michelle LaVynh testified that Colver's girlfriend -- the boy's mother who was not in the apartment at the time of the incident -- told her that Colver had been heating the oven to cook a frozen pizza at 450 degrees, and that the boy accidentally crawled in. Inconsistencies in the parents' stories led police to arrest Colver on December 29.

Pitssburgh Man Testifies He Didn't Beat Girlfriend to Death with Baseball Bat

A Pittsburg man testified Tuesday afternoon that he did not beat his estranged girlfriend to death with a baseball bat at her home in Novato nearly two years ago. James Mitchell, 29, testified in Marin County Superior Court that he struggled with two men at his ex-girlfriend Danielle Keller's Diablo Court home, snatched his daughter from one of them and fled with her on July 12, 2009. Mitchell, who was arrested later that day in Citrus Heights, is charged with Keller's murder and kidnapping their daughter Samantha on her first birthday. Mitchell testified that he did not see who bludgeoned Keller to death. He said while he was struggling with the two men -- one of whom was wearing a white shirt while the other was wearing a black shirt -- one of the men hit him in the back with a baseball bat. Mitchell said one of the men grabbed his daughter and he chased after him and snatched her from him on the street, then got in his car and drove away. He said he was sad when his mother called him while he was driving with his daughter and told him Keller was dead. "Yeah, I was pretty upset," he said without showing any emotion. The Marin County District Attorney's Office will begin cross-examining Mitchell Tuesday afternoon.

BART Authorities Release Few New Details about Civic Center Incident

BART officials held another news conference Tuesday but released few new details about the confrontation at San Francisco's Civic Center station on Sunday in which BART police shot and killed a knife-wielding man. BART Deputy Police Chief Daniel Hartwig told reporters at a morning briefing at the transit agency's Oakland headquarters that investigators hope to learn the man's identity later Tuesday. He is believed to Caucasian and between the ages of 30 and 50, Hartwig said. The shooting happened during a confrontation on the platform of the Civic Center station at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday. Hartwig said Tuesday that police do not yet know how many shots were fired, but that three bullet casings were recovered on the platform. BART had received reports around 9:30 p.m. of a white man wearing a tie-dye shirt and green military fatigue pants who was carrying an open container of alcohol -- which is illegal in a BART station. A call a few minutes later into BART dispatch said the man was drunk and "wobbly on the platform." Hartwig said the two officers arrived at the Civic Center station on an East Bay-bound train at 9:45 p.m. and confronted the man, who was aggressive and combative and didn't comply with orders. He was armed with a knife and a broken alcohol bottle he was wielding as a weapon, BART officials said. A minute after the confrontation began, the man was shot. One of the officers suffered minor cuts in the confrontation, Hartwig said. Medical personnel performed CPR on the man, who was shot in his front torso area. He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital where he was pronounced dead around 10:45 p.m. The two officers have been placed on administrative leave. One of the officers involved in the shooting has been on the BART police force for six years, and the other for 18 months. One of the officers was carrying a Taser at the time of the confrontation but did not use it, BART officials said.

4 Vineyard Workers Exposed to Pesticide Spray

Four vineyard workers were treated for respiratory problems Tuesday after being exposed to pesticides sprayed on Monday night, according to the Napa County Sheriff's Office. The workers experienced breathing problems at about 8:30 a.m. after arriving for work Tuesday, Napa sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart said The vineyard had sprayed 21 acres with chemical products including Sylgard, Flint and Altacor, Stuart said. The vineyard covers 80 acres in the 4000 block of Big Ranch Road near Oak Knoll Avenue, north of Napa, Stuart said. The workers were taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

Bison Euthanized in Golden Gate Park

One of the bison living in a Golden Gate Park meadow was euthanized Tuesday, according to a San Francisco Zoo spokeswoman. Tenny, one of the five American bison living in the park, had recently become ill. After separating herself from the other bison, Tenny "laid down and basically never got up again," San Francisco Zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said. "She really went downhill very quickly. The first sign was when she separated herself from the herd," LaMarca said. A grazing animal, bison usually feed standing up, and after treating Tenny for two days, zoo staff concluded that Tenny's quality of life had deteriorated. She was euthanized before noon Tuesday. LaMarca said the precise cause of Tenny's illness could not be known until after a necropsy had been performed. LaMarca said that the zoo is working with the parks department to introduce more bison in Golden Gate Park. "Hopefully by year's end there will be more because the bison here are old," LaMarca said. Bison typically live anywhere from 20 to 30 years. Of the remaining four bison, two are 20 years old and two are 28 years old, so they are not expected to live much longer. Tenny was 20 years old. Tenny and the other four bison are descendents of two bison introduced in 1984 as a gift to then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein from her husband, Richard Blum. Bison were first introduced to Golden Gate Park in February 1891 by the Park Commission as the native American animals were on the brink of extinction. Tuesday, Golden Gate Park is one of several protected habitats for bison, and the zoo is collaborating with the parks department to maintain them in San Francisco.

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No Injuries, Cause of Garage Fire Under Investigation

Firefighters extinguished a one-alarm blaze that started in a garage in San Francisco's Telegraph Hill neighborhood this morning. The fire was reported at 1:51 a.m. at a three-story building at 294 Francisco St. The blaze began as a car fire that spread to the garage and surrounding structure, a fire dispatcher said. The fire was under control by 2:30 a.m. and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Soda and fitness -- arguably on extreme ends of the health spectrum -- will meet in the middle in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood today, when the city accepts a $250,000 gift from Coca Cola.

The donation to San Francisco Parks Trust will mean a new trail in Golden Gate Park, along with other amenities in the park's northeast corner.

City and state leaders will meet at the Rochambeau Clubhouse at 238 25th Ave. to accept the gift from the beverage giant. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg are expected to attend the check presentation.

A Coca Cola representative is expected to speak about the company's Live Positively and Active Healthy Living programs, which are part of the company's commitment to parks and outdoor recreation.

The presentation is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

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BART Police Shoot, Kill Knife-Wielding Drunk at Civic Center - Officer Had Taser

One of the two BART police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man at San Francisco's Civic Center station on Sunday night was equipped with a Taser but didn't use it, BART's police chief said Monday. 

Chief Kenton Rainey said at a news conference at BART headquarters in Oakland Monday morning, however, that it appears the shooting was justified.

"When confronted with deadly force, (an officer) can choose to use a gun or not," Rainey said. BART officers and San Francisco police are working on separate but parallel investigations into what happened Sunday night at 9:46 p.m. when one of the two BART officers shot the man on the platform at the Civic Center station, Rainey said.

BART officials had received reports around 9:30 p.m. of a white man wearing a tie-dye shirt and green military fatigue pants with an open container of alcohol -- which is illegal in a BART station. A call into BART dispatch said the man was drunk and "wobbly on the platform," Rainey said.

Two officers -- one white, the other Asian -- arrived at the Civic Center station on a train from the Millbrae direction at 9:45 p.m., and a confrontation occurred between the suspect and officers.

Rainey said the suspect, estimated to be between 30 and 50 years old, was armed with a knife and a broken alcohol bottle he was wielding as a weapon. A minute after the confrontation began, one officer used his service weapon to shoot the man.

One of the officers was carrying a Taser at the time, Rainey said. He did not say whether the officer who fired his gun was the same one carrying the Taser.

Medical personnel performed CPR on the man, who was shot in his front torso area. He was then transported to San Francisco General Hospital where he was pronounced dead around 10:45 p.m., Rainey said. His name has not yet been released.

One of the officers suffered minor cuts to his arms but was otherwise uninjured, and no one else was hurt in the shooting, Rainey said.

4 Richmond Shootings Leave 3 Dead, 3 Injured

Four separate shootings within several hours killed three men and injured three others in the Richmond area on Sunday night, according to Richmond police and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

One of those victims was identified as 28-year-old Ray Anthony Hutson Jr., of North Richmond, sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.

Richmond police responded to the first shooting at about 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Ohio Avenue and South 39th Street, Richmond police Lt. Bisa French said.

Arriving officers found a man suffering from gunshot wounds.

He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, French said. Just before 10:30 p.m., the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office received word of a fatal shooting in the 100 block of West Ruby Avenue in unincorporated North Richmond, sheriff's Lt. Vic Fernandez said. Hutson, who was in his 20s, was found lying on the sidewalk.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, Fernandez said. A second victim, also man in his 20s from North Richmond, was taken to a hospital by helicopter. Lee said Monday morning that the second man was reported to be in critical condition.

Then, shortly after 11 p.m., Richmond police responded to a homicide in the 3200 block of Center Avenue. A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in his car as he was preparing to leave after visiting friends in the neighborhood, French said.

The last homicide was reported at the intersection of MacDonald Avenue and First Street at about 11:15 p.m., she said.

A 27-year-old man was fatally shot, and another man also suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, French said. It is too early to tell whether any of the shootings are related, French said.

Investigators are interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence at the various crime scenes, she said.

Body of Santa Rosa Man Found in Russian River

Emergency officials found the body of a Santa Rosa man who drowned while swimming near a Monte Rio beach Monday afternoon, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The body of 30-year-old Juan Martinez Leon was discovered in the middle of Russian River, in about 14 feet of water, at around 8:30 p.m. Monte Rio fire officials and Sonoma County deputies responded to the beach, located near state Highway 116 at Bohemian Highway, at around 2:20 p.m. in response to reports of a drowning, sheriff's officials said.

Responders learned that Leon and a woman had been swimming in the river when they unknowingly entered deeper water.

The current carried them downstream and the woman reportedly struggled to stay afloat. The woman told emergency officials that Leon helped her into a rescuer's kayak before he slipped underwater.

The Marin County sheriff's dive team was brought in to assist with the search for Leon. Leon's family was at the scene when he was found and they positively identified his body, sheriff's officials said.

Rohnert Park Fire Affects 12 Families

When a fire tore through an apartment building in Rohnert Park Monday afternoon, 12 units were damaged, affected an equal number of families, a Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety lieutenant said.

The fire at 6930 Commerce Blvd. was reported at 4:36 p.m., was at least a second-alarm fire, and took more than an hour to control, according to a public safety dispatcher.

Lt. Jeff Taylor said that cause of the fire remained under investigation.

One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion and was later released, Taylor said. No other injuries were reported. The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the affected families.

Grease Fire Erupts at San Jose Red Robin

Restaurant patrons and employees at one San Jose Red Robin escaped harm when a cooking grease fire broke out Monday night, a fire captain said.

Calls from the Eastridge Mall restaurant's alarm company came in to the fire department at 7:19 p.m., according to a San Jose fire dispatcher, and a subsequent call from the business reported a fryer fire.

The fire, which was contained to the eatery's kitchen, was extinguished within an hour, the dispatcher said. According to fire Capt. Michael Van Elgort, no one was injured.

CHP: Plane Made Emergency Landing on I-280 Due to Mechanical Failure

The California Highway Patrol Monday released a few more details about the emergency landing of a small aircraft on northbound Interstate Highway 280 on Sunday.

The pilot, Scott Bohannon, 53, of San Mateo, was forced to land on the highway north of Farm Hill Boulevard after the plane suffered a mechanical failure, according to the CHP.

Bohannan had taken off from the San Carlos Airport on a test flight and was on his way back when the mechanical failure occurred, CHP Officer Art Montiel said.

Bohannon radioed the airport as he was landing. The CHP began to receive reports at 7:13 p.m. that a small aircraft had landed on the highway.

As officers were responding, the airport also contacted the CHP about the incident.

The plane's landing gear struck the roof of a 2009 Mercedes coupe driven by Wendy Kwon, 47, of Sausalito, that was also traveling north directly below the landing aircraft, CHP officials said.

Kwon was alone in the car. The rear window of the car was broken, the roof was dented and the car was towed away from the scene, but there were no injuries.

The plane, a 1975 Cessna, landed safely and was able to come to a stop on the highway's shoulder.

Traffic was light and was only moderately affected. The plane was towed to the airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the plane was conducting a photo mission when it lost engine power.

Fire Burns in Pleasant Hill, No Injuries

A two-alarm house fire burned in Pleasant Hill Monday afternoon, but no one was injured, a fire dispatcher said. The blaze was reported at 1:20 p.m. in the 100 block of Julian Way.

When firefighters arrived, the residents were outside, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District dispatcher said. Seven engines were dispatched to the scene.

The extent of the damage was not yet known, the dispatcher said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Sailboat Capsizes Off of Benicia Coast

A small sailboat capsized off the coast of Benicia Monday morning, sending its two occupants overboard, a fire captain said.

Two civilian vessels offered assistance, ferrying the stranded sailors to the shore using a fishing boat and a jet ski, Capt. Todd Matthews said.

The Benicia Fire Department responded shortly after the 15-foot vessel capsized at around 10:35 a.m., and one of the two men on board was transported to a hospital where he was treated for minor hypothermia.

Neither man was seriously injured.

The boat was still afloat in the waters off of First Street early Monday afternoon.

First responders were unable to tow the boat back to shore, and tied it to a stationary object to be dealt with later, Matthews said.

Richmond Police Officer Transporting Suspect Crashed on Highway 4 

A Richmond police officer transporting a suspect to the county jail Monday morning lost control and crashed on state Highway 4 in Hercules, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The crash happened at about 10:50 a.m. on eastbound Highway 4 just east of Interstate Highway 80, near Willow Avenue.

CHP Officer Kevin Bartlett said it appears the man being transported became combative inside the car, which may have contributed the crash.

He did not have details on the crash but said a Honda Accord was also involved.

Two people were sent to hospitals, including one who was taken to John Muir Medical Center with minor injuries.

The crash initially blocked lanes, but the roadway was cleared just before noon.

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