uBRENTWOOD (AP) — Former San Francisco 49ers center Jeremy Newberry says vandals have destroyed nearly half of the 4,000 cherry trees recently planted at his Northern California orchard.
Newberry tells the San Francisco Chronicle that a worker at his Newberry Cherry Farm arrived May 15 to find 2,000 new trees plucked from their roots and snapped.
Contra Costa County sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to the Brentwood orchard to take a report.
Newberry says he can’t imagine the effort it must have taken to cause such widespread damage. He says he’s heartbroken, but will replace the $30,000 worth of destroyed trees. And he plans to set up surveillance cameras.
The farm is still open for customers to pick cherries by the bucketful for purchase.
Newberry, now 43, played nearly two decades in the NFL before retiring in 2009.
uSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA POLICE SEIZE $1.25M OF METH, ARREST 2: APPLE VALLEY (AP) — California police have arrested two men in connection with the seizure of 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of methamphetamine valued at $1.25 million.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported Saturday that the operation also led to the confiscation of $38,000 in cash, five rifles, six handguns, and 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of fentanyl at an Apple Valley auto body repair shop.
Police say 55-year-old Manuel Gallardo of Apple Valley and 21-year-old Daniel Gonzalez of Ontario were arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, transporting meth for sale and possession of meth while armed.
uCORONER IDS MAN, WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN CALIFORNIA MOBILE HOME: SACRAMENTO (AP) — Homicide detectives are investigating after a man and a woman were found dead inside a Northern California mobile home.
The bodies were found May 14 after police responded to a 911 hang up at the residence in Southgate Mobile Estates park in South Sacramento.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office on Saturday identified them as 54-year-old Martin Gomez Ordonez and 39-year-old Maria Gutierrez Plascencia.
People gathered outside the home told the newspaper that the two were husband and wife.
uMAN SHOT BY OFFICERS AFTER STABBING WOMAN: GARDEN GROVE: (AP) — Police shot and killed a 20-year-old man who they say stabbed an 18-year-old relative at a Southern California home.
Authorities in Garden Grove say officers responded Saturday following reports of a suicidal man armed with a knife.
A police statement says the suspect was shot several times as officers approached the home. He died at the scene. The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Andrew Giovanni Meza.
The wounded relative, described only as an 18-year-old woman, was hospitalized in stable condition.
u$10M GIFT TO LOS ANGELES MUSEUM WILL MAKE ADMISSION FREE: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles says admission will soon be free thanks to a $10 million gift by the president of its board of trustees.
Carolyn Powers announced her donation Saturday night during an annual benefit dinner.
The Los Angeles Times says about 700 guests, many of them artists, leapt to their feet and applauded when Powers broke the news.
Powers’ gift will cover the cost of free admissions for the next five years. But the museum says it intends to make the change permanent.
uPOLICE: HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER LEFT PASSENGER AT CRASH SCENE: IRVINE (AP) — Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver they say struck a bicyclist and then left a passenger at the scene of the crash in Southern California.
The California Highway Patrol says the cyclist was struck by a light colored sedan Saturday in Irvine.
The CHP says the car’s driver took off while a passenger stayed at the scene with the victim.
KABC-TV reports the cyclist, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.
uSUSPECT IN HOMELESS WOMAN’S DEATH ARRESTED IN MODESTO: MODESTO (AP) — Police in central California say an anonymous tip has led them to identify and arrest a man wanted on suspicion of killing a homeless woman.
Modesto police said officers pulled over 37-year-old Joseph Chapman Friday night and took him into custody. He was booked into jail for investigation of murder.
Detectives released surveillance video earlier this week of a shirtless man with tattoos on his chest and arms and described him as a person-of-interest in the death of 47-year-old Christina Hill. The footage was taken at a liquor store Monday afternoon, an hour after Hill’s body was found in the driveway of a downtown business.
u1 KILLED, 5 SHOT AND WOUNDED AT VIGIL OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA BAR: LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Police say a woman was killed and five others were shot and injured while they held a vigil outside a Southern California bar for someone who recently died.
Long Beach police Officer Alvino Herrera said first responders who went to the parking lot of the Fabulous West bar early Saturday pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
She was identified as 57-year-old Jacqueline Glasby of Ontario.
He said three men and two other women were also wounded in the shooting. Four of them had injuries that were not life-threatening; the fifth was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
1 KILLED, 3 SHOT AND WOUNDED AT SACRAMENTO APARTMENT COMPLEX: SACRAMENTO (AP) — A woman was killed and three others, including a 4-year-old boy, were wounded by gunfire in an apartment complex in South Sacramento.
Witnesses said they saw five men flee after Friday night’s shooting and Sacramento County Sheriff’s investigators believe the victims were targets of the attack.
Sgt. Tess Deterding said a 27-year-old woman died after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. The injured included a 30-year-old man who was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
