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Source: MedleyStory
A suspected burglar was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Redwood City, police said.
Around 4:45 p.m. detectives from the Redwood City police Street Crime Suppression Team arrested 36-year-old Redwood City resident Jason Cerrutti at his residence in the 400 block of Stambaugh Street, police said.
During a search of his home, vehicle and storage locker, detectives found property believed to be stolen from a home burglary in Redwood City in January and property apparently from two commercial burglaries in Santa Clara County in February and January.
Cerrutti is a parolee and as a condition of his parole authorities periodically search his property.
Cerrutti was booked into San Mateo County Jail on charges of residential burglary, possession of stolen property and violation of his parole, according to police.
The Street Crime Suppression Team is comprised of Redwood City police and San Mateo County Sheriff's detectives.
Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:48:19 -0800
Bay Area home sales reached a five-year high in January even as the median home price continued to fall, according to a real estate information service.
A total of 5,479 homes sold in the nine-county Bay Area in January, a number that was up 10.3 percent from January 2011, according to DataQuick.
It was down 26 percent from December, but Dataquick officials said a decline is normal from December to January.
The median home price in January was $326,000, down 2.8 percent from December and 3.6 percent from December 2010.
Median home prices are at their lowest point since April 2009, when they reached $304,000. They hit their lowest point in the recent downturn in March 2009, at $290,000.
DataQuick officials said the median home price in part reflected declining property values along with a large proportion of sales made up by distressed and low-cost properties. Distressed property sales made up 51 percent of the market in the Bay Area in January.
Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:42:02 -0800
Petaluma police arrested a woman Friday on suspicion of committing her fourth DUI.
Petaluma police Officer Ron Klein saw a gold 2001 Honda Accord abruptly change lanes and almost collide with a Chevrolet pickup truck at Washington and Keller streets around 12:15 p.m., Sgt. Kevin Savano said.
Klein stopped the Honda driver, 28-year-old Fallon Elaine Wilson, of Petaluma, and recognized her as a repeat DUI offender, Savano said.
Wilson is on active DUI probation and her driver's license is suspended, Savano said. Her blood-alcohol level when she was stopped was 0.12 percent and she was arrested for felony DUI, Savano said.
Klein said he found a small amount of wine in a water bottle in Wilson's car, Savano said.
She was booked into the Sonoma County jail under $45,000 bail for felony DUI, violation of probation and driving on a suspended license. Police impounded her Honda for 30 days, Savano said.
Wilson's previous DUI arrests were in May 2006, April 2007 and October 2009, Savano said. Petaluma traffic officers were monitoring her to make sure she was complying with her probation terms, Savano said.
Wilson complied with those terms during checks in November 2009, November 2010 and August 2011, Savano said.
Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:38:20 -0800
You've probably noticed a growing trend of people constantly using their cell phones, whether talking on it, texting or checking the device for other reasons.
A study backs up a new addiction being called "nomophobia" or "no mobile" phobia.
It is estimated there are 5.6 billion cell phones in the world and in the United States there are more cell phones than there are people.
Some of the people we spoke to Friday backed up this new addication.
"I feel like I'm missing something on my body because you carry your phone everywhere. You use it for everything," said Eloy Ramirez of San Jose.
"I'm not afraid. I might be concerned," said Craig Kennedy of Los Altos. "I like to have it with me."
A survey of one thousand people in the United Kingdom revealed that 66 percent suffered from nomophobia. That's an increase of 13 percent from four years ago.
The largest number of nomophobics is in the 18-to-24 age group followed by those 25-to-34 years old.
Women and more concerned about being disconnected than men.
"If you start fearing not having your cell phone, it probably shows that you're overdoing your phone a little bit and maybe you're too connected," said Jessie Kissinger of San Jose.
Not too surprisingly, the survey found people over the age of 55 are the least nomophobic.
"I know where I'm going and I have myself and I don't need to be talking to anyone else, so why would I need a cell phone?" said Suzanne Karlak of Saratoga, "I'm out enjoying nature."
There is even a suggested treatment for nomophobia. First, imagine what it would be like without a cell phone. Then spend small amounts of time away from it.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:43:33 -0800
A judge Friday set a Sept. 17 trial date for Giselle Esteban on a charge that she murdered nursing student Michelle Le, coincidentally on the one-year anniversary of the day Le's remains were found in a remote area between Pleasanton and Sunol.
Le, a 26-year-old San Mateo woman who was attending Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, had disappeared from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hayward on May 27.
Esteban, a 28-year-old Union City woman who attended high school with Le in San Diego, was charged with Le's murder on Sept. 8 -- before Le's body was found -- based on DNA evidence and cellphone records.
An Alameda County criminal grand jury indicted Esteban on an identical murder charge on Dec. 14 at the end of a three-day hearing. Prosecutors sought the indictment to try to speed up her trial.
The indictment allows prosecutors to bypass the step of having a preliminary hearing at which a judge determines if there is enough evidence against a defendant for a case to proceed to trial.
Esteban, who is being held at the county jail without bail, is scheduled to return to the courtroom of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta on March 5 for a hearing on several pretrial motions.
According to the transcript of the grand jury's hearing, prosecutors believe that Esteban stalked and murdered Le because she blamed Le for wrecking her relationship with Scott Marasigan, who is the father of Esteban's daughter.
Esteban gave birth to a second child in November while she was in custody but the father of that child hasn't been disclosed.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:29:24 -0800
A 19-year-old Oakland man was sentenced Friday to 35 years to life in state prison for murdering a man who was on his way to the store to buy milk for his family.
Eugene Richardson was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the death of 23-year-old Wayl Aljunaidi near a Walgreens pharmacy and a taco truck in the 3200 block of Foothill Boulevard in Oakland at about 10:45 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2009.
Prosecutors in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office said Aljunaidi was on his way from his family's home near Foothill Boulevard and 35th Avenue to the Walgreens when Richardson and two other men accosted him.
They said Richardson shot Aljunaidi in the back as he tried to flee and then Richardson and the two other suspects robbed Aljunaidi of his money and jewelry and fled from the scene.
Richardson and Devonne Young, one of the other suspects, were arrested two months after the fatal shooting.
Young pleaded no contest to a robbery charge shortly before Richardson's trial began. The third suspect hasn't been identified.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:04:47 -0800
While it takes years or even decades to develop new passenger jets, the government is taking a hands off approach when it comes making sure the spacecraft being designed for passenger flight are safe.
Virgin Atlantic airliners and Virgin America jumbo jets are visible at SFO any day of the week.
But Virgin Galactic, a still unrealized commerical venture into space, begins at Mojave Airport in the high desert of California. The Mojave Desert is the holy high temple of the "right stuff," the place where humankind first broke the sound barrier, the X-15 became the first real rocket powered manned spaceship and the space shuttle repeatedly landed.
Manned spaceflight is getting ever closer to going commercial.
"We expect to see some test flights as early as this year and some of the companies are planning to be in formal operations as early as next year, so we're really quite close to seeing a lot of activity in that area," said Federal Aviation Administration's Commerical Space Administrator George Nield.
The only reason we're as close as we are to passengers in space is because eight years ago, the U.S.Government took a hands off approach, letting commercial space entrepreneurs develop thier craft without regulation.
That freed up the thinking of people at the Mojave Aiport. These are intensely entrepreneurial men and women who simply want to be allowed to do what they do best. They like to call Mojave the "Silicon Valley" for new space.
Virgin Galactic looks to be first to take tourists into space. Enrico Palermo, an executive with the spacecraft building arm of Virgin Galactic called the Spaceship Company, told KTVU his company closing on its objective.
"We are certainly a long way through its testing program of its vehicles the White Knight Two and Space Ship Two," said Palermo. "That's really an example of things that are happening across the industry."
For $200,000 a ticket, Virgin's Spaceship Two will carry six tourists to an altitude of 360,000 feet or 68 miles. That is "space' for all intents and purposes. But with commercial flights coming in as little as two years, how can a spacecraft be certified for tourists in such a short time?
Commercial airliners such as Boeings and Airbuses take many years to certify. The answer comes from Stuart Witt the CEO of Mojave Air & Spaceport.
"The FAA and Congress has said 'We're not going to certify these craft for human space flight. We're going to achieve an equivalent level of safety,'" said Witt.
"There's rules that these vehicles are licensed to operate under and we need to meet those rules," adds Palermo.
By order of Congress, the FAA requires space lauch companies to assure the safety of all people and property on the ground. For space tourists, Congress set a different standard.
"They've asked us to use something called 'informed consent,' where launch operators are going to have to thoroughly brief their customers on all hazards, all risks," said Nield.
"Part of our job is to inform, as part of the FAA process, our customers of the risks," said Virgin Galactic's Palermo.
Nonetheless, nearly 500 passengers have already signed up. With that and contracts to carry scientific and industrial research packages into space, business is so good, Virgin's Spaceship Company is building a fleet, as are other companies.
"We've build this $8 million, 68,000 square foot facility here," said Palermo. "There are two facilites, bigger than that, being built a quarter mile down the road."
Those buildings will house Stratolaunch, brain child of Microsoft billionarie Paul Allen, whose soon-to-be-built, largest aircraft ever "mothership" will carry numerous payloads, human and cargo, for air launch into space.
Other companies from X-cor to Masten, Space Adventures to Space-X and Blue Origin to Rockethip Tours and others, here and abroad, all are racing to join the new space race. Passenger confidence in space tourism will blossom once prices decline and a solid safety record better than that achieved by the 550 government sponsored human space flights is built.
"We've go to do exponentially better than that in space travel to start achieving numbers that the travelling public expects from our industry," explained Witt.
"Certainly in the next 5 to 10 years, we're gonna see a lot of activity with hundreds of flights every year and a lot more people getting to experience spaceflight individually," FAA Commerical Space Administrator Nield added.
Eventually, this sub-orbital flying will take place from one-point to another, slashing flight times from city to city.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:52:54 -0800
A San Francisco police officer was charged Friday with assaulting a woman he was dating during an off-duty incident in January, a district attorney's office spokeswoman said.
Richard Soares was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor domestic violence battery in connection with the Jan. 7 incident, which occurred at the Slide nightclub at 430 Mason St., prosecutors said.
Soares allegedly pushed the woman, causing her to hit her head and suffer a 1-inch laceration to the back of her head, district attorney's office spokeswoman Stephanie Ong Stillman said.
Soares could be arraigned on the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of four years in state prison, as soon as Tuesday, Stillman said.
Police spokesman Officer Carlos Manfredi said that Soares, who worked in the department's field operations bureau, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:10:31 -0800
The upper deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge went eerily quite as Caltrans closed the westbound direction of the span for a major construction project during the long holiday weekend.
The westbound lanes were closed just after 8 p.m. Friday so crews can work on reconfiguring lanes on the upper deck, as well as pave the roadway and paint stripes for new lanes.
Caltrans says the westbound direction is scheduled to open at 5 a.m. Tuesday, as long as the weather cooperates, with no heavy rainfall.
The National Weather Service says a weather system is approaching the region, but is forecasting only a 20 percent chance of showers on Monday.
Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said that the closure will allow crews to construct a detour near the toll plaza and to stripe lanes and place a guide rail along the route.
Vehicle travel between Treasure Island and San Francisco will also be unaffected, according to bridge officials.
Alternatives for crossing the Bay include taking BART, which will run overnight service at 14 stations during the closure, hopping a ferry from the East Bay or Vallejo, or taking the Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo-Hayward or Dumbarton bridges.
AC Transit, which will not operate over the bridge during the closure, will provide regular service in the East Bay by connecting to and from the West Oakland BART station.
More information can be found at bart.gov, actransit.org, eastbayferry.com, baylinkferry.com and 511.org
During the closure, motorists are recommended to check the Bay Bridge website -- baybridgeinfo.org -- for updates on the construction project.
The construction taking place during the closure should shave six months off the completion date for the new bridge, and allow it to open in both directions at the same time.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:54:58 -0800
San Jose firefighters have rescued a Caltrans delivery truck driver who went off Mt. Hamilton Road and fell down a 100-foot embankment Friday afternoon, a fire spokeswoman said.
The male driver may have had chest pains when he lost control and veered off the road six miles up on Mt. Hamilton Road from Alum Rock at about 2:10 p.m., a dispatcher said.
A fire rescue response team responded to help hoist the man up the hill.
San Jose fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said the man was extricated from the truck, placed in a basket and then lifted with ropes.
The rescue was complicated due to the steep embankment, she said.
His truck will be towed Saturday morning.
At about 4:25 p.m., the man was airlifted to a trauma center. He has significant injuries from driving down the cliff, said Gutierrez.
The man was the only occupant in the truck.
The California Highway Patrol also responded to assist.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:52:01 -0800
A Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light-rail train collided with a big-rig in San Jose Friday afternoon, injuring two passengers and blocking train and vehicle traffic in the area for more than two hours, an agency spokeswoman said.
The northbound two-car light-rail train struck a semi truck around 1:20 p.m. at North First and East Taylor streets, midway between the Civic Center and the Japantown/Ayer Station, said VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress.
The truck appears to have been traveling west on East Taylor Street when it made a right-hand turn on to North First Street that brought it into the train's path, Childress said.
Two people on the train were transported to the hospital, Childress said. She did not know the extent of the passengers' injuries.
She also did not know how many passengers were on the train but described it as "fully loaded."
There were no injuries to either the train operator or the truck driver.
The accident was cleared from the scene shortly after 3:30 p.m., and train and vehicle traffic has resumed in the area.
As is standard in accident investigations, VTA officials will place the train operator on paid administrative leave while drug tests are conducted. In addition, video footage from cameras on the train will be handed over to investigators, Childress said.
San Jose police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office will be handling the investigation, with San Jose police taking the lead, she said.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:34:43 -0800
A newborn baby who was taken from Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley by her father early in the day before the infant was medically cleared by a pediatrician was returned safe Friday evening, authorities said.
Hospital officials said the baby's mother and father were waiting for the pediatrician when the mother stepped away and the father, 18-year-old Seagram Miller, left with the newborn.
The father of the two-day old infant girl took of the baby's security braclet and removed the baby from the maternity ward on the second floor of the hospital. Because both parents have legal custody of the newborn and the mother doesn't feel the infant is in any danger, authorities said no crime has been committed.
"The mother does not feel the baby is in any danger whatsoever," said Alameda County Sheriff's spokesperson J.D. Nelson.
However, the Alameda Sheriff's Department still issued an alert out of concern for the infant's well-being since the father had not been in contact with the mother since taking the child from the hospital. They were also concerned with how the baby would be fed away from the mother.
"We are very sorry that this happened to this mother and baby. As with any newborn, this baby needs to be with its mother," Eden officials said.
The father was able to remove the baby's security bracelet because she weighed only six pounds
The hospital said that although the mother had been discharged she remained at the hospital.
Just after 8:30 p.m., Miller's uncle Shakir Zaie told KTVU it was the baby's grandmother who tracked Miller down, got the baby girl and returned the infant to her mother at the hospital.
Zaie could not say where Miller was or whether he and 21-year old mother had any problems before the 18-year old took the baby.
"Whatever situation they were having is all settled and the baby is back," said Zaie. "He's young. His emotions were probably running high too, wanted to see his baby or something."
When asked if he thought the incident was simply a misunderstanding, Zaie replied "The mother didn't press any charges, so it had to be a misunderstanding."
Hospital officials said both mother and baby were about to be discharged Friday afternoon when the incident happened.
No one has said how someone could walk out of the hospital without being questioned, but officials said they will take a second look at all of their security measures.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:42:43 -0800
Oakland police secured the scene of a reported shooting in East Oakland Friday afternoon, but no victims or suspects were located.
Oakland police said two young Latino men and two young African-American men exchanged fire in a shootout at 100th Avenue and International Boulevard.
"Several individuals ran in all different directions," said Johnna Watson, Oakland police spokeswoman.
Police cordoned off the area to traffic, and several police officers were on the scene outside of an AutoZone after it was thought that one shooter barricaded himself inside the business, police said.
KTVU News Chopper 2 spotted several customers and employees exiting the AutoZone with their hands above their heads.
Then, a small group of armed tactical officers moved inside.
Officers said they spent less than a half-hour searching the store, but didn't find a gunman.
Police reported clearing the scene shortly before 3 p.m.
"We have seen an increase in violent crimes involving firearms in this area," Watson said.
Two hours before Friday's shooting, another a young man was shot in the arm less than a mile away at the 9600 block of E Street.
Coincidentally, City Councilman Larry Reid spent the morning discussing the city's 100-block safety plan with a few community groups.
The meeting and both shootings were within a two-mile radius of each other.
"At some point, I'm just hoping we get all this under control," Reid said. "There's just too many guns on the streets in the hands of individuals that have no sense of value of life."
Police said they are investigating whether the two shooting were connected and gang related.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:45:55 -0800
The tedious and grisly search for the long-lost victims of two California serial killers continued Friday with the addition of dogs specially trained to sniff out human remains.
San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies and other searchers this week have extracted some 1,000 human bone fragments from an old well near the farming town of Linden, about 80 miles east of San Francisco. They hit bottom Thursday and spent Friday examining piles of debris taken from the well while ensuring the well itself was thoroughly searched.
The bones are being sent to the California Department of Justice for possible identification through DNA analysis.
Department spokesman Les Garcia said Friday that authorities are using specially trained "cadaver dogs" to examine the debris piles and determine whether other nearby wells also contain human remains. There's a possibility that another well will be dug up, depending on what the dogs find.
The dogs are on loan from Santa Clara County and are the same hounds that turned up two sets of human remains in Calaveras County two weeks ago that were tentatively identified as two women Wesley Shermantine was convicted of killing and burying on property once owned by his family.
Searchers are pursuing information provided by Shermantine, one of the two so-called "Speed Freak Killers" who are suspected of murdering as many as 20 people in the 1980s and 1990s. Shermantine, who was convicted of four murders and now sits on death row, has given investigators maps to the burial sites after Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla promised to pay him $33,000 for the information.
Shermantine's partner in the killings, Loren Herzog, committed suicide last month after being told Shermantine was cooperating with authorities.
Garcia said the dogs will help searchers determine where to look next after Shermantine provided information about five separate sites where he says the victims could be buried. A sheriff's hotline for people who believe their loved ones could be among the victims being found has received more than 50 calls.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:29:39 -0800
Philanthropist and bluegrass lover Warren Hellman will be honored Sunday with a free concert at Ocean Beach.
The day-long tribute to Hellman, who died at the age of 77 in December of leukemia, will feature performers including John Doe, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch, Boz Scaggs, Robert Earl Keen and Emmylou Harris and Hellman's band, The Wronglers.
All of the performers are regulars at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the annual Golden Gate Park musical festival that Hellman founded.
Hellman, a founder of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC, also helped found the San Francisco School Alliance and The Bay Citizen, a nonprofit news organization.
Sunday's concert will take place on two stages on Great Highway between JFK Drive and Lincoln Avenue from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Concertgoers can arrive as early as 8 a.m. but the concert area has limited capacity. The event will be streamed live online and organizers are encouraging viewing parties at home.
The event has street parking only, and those attending are strongly urged to use public transportation. A few schools in the area including Presidio Middle School, Francis Scott Key Elementary and Lafayette Elementary will offer paid vehicle parking, and there will be bike parking facilities at the event.
No pets are allowed except for service animals, and alcohol, tall chairs and umbrellas are banned.
More information about the concert can be found at www.strictlybluegrass.com.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:25:54 -0800
A parolee wanted in Pinole for a fraud offense was arrested in the attic of a Fairfield apartment after a high-speed chase along Interstate Highway 80 Thursday.
Pinole police Chief John Hardester said Xavier Watson, 21, of Fairfield, tried to pass a fictitious check using his own identification at the Chase Bank at 1541 Fitzgerald Drive in Pinole around 1:15 p.m.
Watson was gone when Pinole police arrived at the bank but bank employees gave a description of Watson's green two-door Honda, Hardester said.
Police broadcast the vehicle description over the dispatch center they share with Hercules police, Hardester said.
Hercules police officers spotted Watson's Honda and informed Fairfield police he was heading east on Highway 80 at 1:38 p.m., Fairfield police Lt. Joe Allio said.
The California Highway Patrol joined the pursuit that reached speeds as high as 90 mph and also monitored Watson's flight by plane.
Watson exited the highway at Air Base Parkway in Fairfield and drove to the Parkway Gardens apartments on El Basset Court where he either had a previous address or a contact, Allio said.
Watson ran into an apartment and Fairfield police tried to contact him on his cell phone and the phone in the apartment, Allio said. Police also used a public address system to urge Watson to surrender, but two officers eventually entered the apartment, Allio said.
The two officers determined Watson was in the attic above the apartment, Allio said. Other officers used a battering ram to enter the next-door apartment that shared the same attic space, Allio said.
The two officers then fired pepper spray balls in powder form and entered the attic. Watson was found hiding under insulation and was arrested at 3:31 p.m., Allio said.
He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of a parole violation and evading police, Allio said. Hardester said Pinole police also will add charges against Watson.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:05:19 -0800
A man wearing a black ski mask robbed a 7-Eleven store in Palo Alto at gunpoint on Thursday morning, police said.
The robbery happened at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday at the 7-Eleven located at 708 Colorado Ave., according to police.
A man walked into the store with a handgun and asked for money. The clerk, who was the only person in the store at the time, handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the suspect fled on foot, then possibly drove away in a red sedan, police said.
The suspect remains at large. He was described as standing six feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing all dark clothing, dark sunglasses and dark gloves.
No one was harmed in the course of the robbery, which does not appear to be connected to two street robberies in Palo Alto and Menlo Park on Tuesday, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413, e-mail anonymous tips to paloalto@tipnow.org, or send anonymous voicemails or text messages to (650) 383-8984.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:58:45 -0800
Newark police are searching for a 28-year-old man suspected of fleeing the scene of a car crash that occurred Thursday evening as police pursued him.
Police said they located a loaded .357 Magnum revolver and marijuana inside a vehicle that was allegedly driven by Patrick Gregoire, who is wanted on two felony arrest warrants.
At 5:07 p.m., an officer observed the vehicle make a traffic violation, then speed off on eastbound Cedar Boulevard.
While trying to locate the vehicle, the officer encountered a crash between the suspect's vehicle and a second vehicle, police said. The driver of the second vehicle was transported to a hospital for a complaint of pain to his head and chest.
Witnesses told police that the suspect's vehicle had crossed into opposing traffic and collided head-on with the second vehicle before its driver fled on foot, possibly to the roof of a nearby shopping center.
Newark and Union City SWAT teams searched the building's roof but did not locate the suspect. Police Detective Sgt. Mike Carroll said the search was called off at about 10 p.m.
Gregoire was already wanted on two warrants in Alameda County and Newark for possession of stolen property and possession of narcotics for sale.
Police described Gregoire as a white man who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes and is known to frequent the Newark, Fremont and Castro Valley areas.
Anyone with information about the crash or Gregoire's whereabouts is asked to call Detective Sgt. Mike Carroll at (510) 578-4247, or the anonymous tip line at (510) 578-4000.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:51:00 -0800
A Santa Rosa man was arrested for child endangerment Wednesday after the California Highway Patrol stopped his car because a passenger was not wearing a seatbelt.
CHP Officer Shawn Harvey stopped a Plymouth van driving in front of him on East Robles Avenue near Santa Rosa Avenue south of Santa Rosa around 3:20 p.m. when he noticed a passenger was not wearing a seatbelt, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.
The driver, Jon Clarence Thomson, 36, of Santa Rosa, was on probation and was prohibited from using alcohol and possessing weapons, Sloat said.
Harvey smelled alcohol on Thomson's breath and noticed Thomson was carrying a knife, Sloat said. He arrested Thomson after he failed field sobriety tests, Sloat said.
A 12-year old boy, the boy's mother and another passenger who was sober were in the van, Sloat said.
Thomson was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of DUI, violation of probation and child endangerment, Sloat said.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:24:23 -0800
Hazardous materials workers are working to pinpoint the source of a sulfur-like odor reported in the area of Antioch Friday morning.
Contra Costa County's hazardous materials department first received calls around 3 a.m. from residents in the area reporting a "rotten egg-like" smell, according to county hazmat director Randy Sawyer.
Sawyer said it's unlikely the smell came from a wind turbine malfunction at a PG&E natural-gas plant on Wilber Avenue this morning, and a PG&E spokeswoman said investigators this morning determined that the equipment failure was unrelated to the smell.
No PG&E customers were affected by the malfunction, which prompted crews to shut down the plant around 4 a.m. to make repairs.
The plant was expected to be fully operational by 10:30 a.m., spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said.
Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:18:49 -0800
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