LA BULLDOZES FENCE AROUND OCCUPY PROTEST HOME: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles city officials have torn down a 6-foot-tall wooden fence surrounding a home whose owners are fighting a bank-ordered eviction.
Bulldozers from the city's Building and Safety Department removed the fence Monday. Officials said it posed a danger and was on public property.
The home has become an encampment of the protest group Occupy San Fernando Valley that has been helping owner Javier Hernandez fight eviction for the past 65 days.
The three-bedroom home was sold at an auction in August after Hernandez failed to make mortgage payments over the past four years. Bank of America says Hernandez failed to submit documents for a loan modification last year.
Hernandez bought the house for $546,000 in 2006.
FRESNO WOMAN FACES MULTIPLE IDENTITY THEFT CHARGES: FRESNO (AP) — A 45-year-old Fresno woman is facing identity theft and burglary charges involving 61 people who live between Visalia and Sacramento.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said Leisha Nelson remained jailed on $4.8 million bail Monday following her arrest on 224 felony counts Thursday.
Authorities say Nelson first came to their attention in March when they identified her as a suspect in the case of an elderly person who allegedly had credit cards and checks stolen by a care provider.
During a search of her home and another location, sheriff's investigators found data storage devices containing the names and bank accounts of several other people and fake ID cards.
LA CITY CLERK APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA PETITION: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles City Clerk has approved a petition that aims to get a question on next May's ballot asking voters to limit medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
City Clerk spokeswoman Kimberly Briggs said in a statement Monday that the initiative organizers will need to gather petition 41,138 valid signatures by Dec. 7 to get the issue on May's general election ballot.
The proposed initiative would bar new medical marijuana dispensaries, but allow those collectives that registered with the city as of Sept. 14, 2007 and meet other criteria, to continue operating.
The ordinance would also establish operating standards, including mandatory annual police background checks and distances from schools, parks and other designated places.
OFF-DUTY SAN DIEGO POLICE OFFICER SHOT AT ATM: ESCONDIDO (AP) — An off-duty San Diego police officer is expected to survive a gunshot wound to the back of his head sustained when he was robbed at an ATM machine.
Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter says the 57-year-old officer was shot shortly after noon Monday in the north San Diego suburb. The assailant, who was wearing a baseball cap with "police" on it, escaped with the officer's wallet, cell phone and an undisclosed amount of money.
Police say the officer is hospitalized in good condition. The bullet appears to have struck his skull and traversed around the side of his head.