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NEWS FROM ACROSS CALIFORNIA
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POLICE PROBE OFFICER’S SHOVE OF MAN IN WHEELCHAIR: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities are investigating an altercation between a police officer and a man in a wheelchair that was captured on video and circulated online.

A San Francisco police officer is seen in the video apparently trying to push the man and his wheelchair off the curb of a sidewalk. The wheelchair almost tips over, but it remained upright and a seat belt kept the man in his chair. The officer can be heard complaining on the video that the wheelchair ran over his foot.

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon while police were responding to a disturbance. Four men were issued citations.

 

POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED FOR ILLEGAL HOTEL ROOM SEARCH : SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a veteran San Francisco police officer of violating a tenant’s civil rights by illegally entering her hotel room.

Jiurors on Thursday found Officer Ashad Razzak guilty of violating the tenant’s rights, conspiracy, submitting a false report and signing a false pay slip for an informant.

A police report signed by Razzak said he led a team of officers to a room at the Henry Hotel to search for heroin with the occupant’s consent, eliminating the need for a search warrant.

But a video showed the officers entering without knocking after one of them opened the door with a key. The resident testified she was coerced into signing a consent form after the search in December 2010.

 

SURGEON CONVICTED IN LIPOSUCTION DEATH CASE: LOS ANGELES (AP) —  A former Southern California cosmetic surgeon has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 61-year-old patient during a liposuction operation that lasted more than 11 hours.

City News Service reports jurors deliberated just under two hours before returning a guilty verdict Wednesday against 46-year-old Ehab Aly Mohamed.

Mohamed was charged in the 2010 death of Sharon Carpenter after the procedure in which prosecutors say he gave her a lethal combination of lidocaine, fentanyl and oxycodone.

Mohamed was also convicted of elder abuse involving a second patient. Prosecutors say the 77-year-old woman lost consciousness during liposuction and had ongoing health issues afterward.

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GIANTS FAN’S ATTACKER PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CRIME: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who severely beat a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium has pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge.

Marvin Norwood pleaded guilty Thursday in Los Angeles to being a felon in possession of firearms. He faces 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced May 7.

Norwood, 34, and Louie Sanchez, 32, were sentenced to state prison for the 2011 stadium attack that left Bryan Stow with permanent brain damage. Federal authorities arrested Norwood when he finished serving time in the beating case.

Police investigating the beating has found semi-automatic rifles, other weapons and ammunition during a search of Norwood’s home. Both men had previous felony convictions in San Bernardino County.

 

COLLEGE POLICE SHOOT, WOUND ARMED MAN IN PARKING GARAGE: TORRANCE  (AP) — Authorities say a pair of campus police officers shot and wounded a suspect who pointed a gun at them in a parking garage on a Southern California community college campus.

El Camino College police chief Michael Trevis says the suspect had called police Thursday to say he was holding a hostage in the parking garage at the campus in Torrance.

The officers found the man who appeared to be in his early 20s next to a stairwell in the garage and when they saw a gun they fired on him. He was taken to a hospital where he was in critical condition and undergoing surgery.

A handgun was recovered, but no sign of any hostage was found.

 

LAWYERS SEEK DELAY OF CORRUPTION TRIAL AGAINST EX-SENATOR: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The public corruption trial of former state Sen. Ron Calderon and his brother is likely to be postponed until August because of the massive amount of evidence that needs to be analyzed.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers filed a stipulation request Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court to move the trial from May 19 to Aug. 11. A judge still needs to approve the delay.

Calderon, 57, has pleaded not guilty to pushing workers’ compensation legislation and a film industry tax credit scheme that was actually an FBI sting in exchange for $100,000 in bribes and trips. The Montebello Democrat’s term expired last year.

Thomas Calderon, 60, a former lawmaker turned lobbyist, has pleaded not guilty to laundering bribes through a tax-exempt group.

Papers filed in court said the interests of the public or the defendants in a speedy trial are outweighed by the need for lawyers to evaluate more than 300,000 pages of evidence.

Prosecutors have given defense lawyers bank records, business records and public records, along with 10,000 pages of FBI documents, 3,900 pages of grand jury transcripts, 2,000 recorded telephone conversations and 200 recorded meetings, according to the stipulation.