• MAN SENTENCED IN BITING OF PARENTS: DALY CITY (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to probation after pleading no contest to felony assault in the biting of his parents when they said he couldn’t see the family cat.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh gave 26-year-old Yevgeniy Bolshakov three years of probation on Monday.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Bolshakov lived with his parents in Daly City and asked them to see the cat when he came home from an outing on Nov. 30. He was told he couldn’t because it was recovering from surgery.
Bolshakov punched and bit his 64-year-old father, ripping flesh from his arm.
The paper said he also punched and bit his mother on her hand when she tried to intervene.
• WOMAN RESCUED FROM SAN JOSE CLIFF: SAN JOSE (AP) — San Jose fire officials assisted by two helicopters have rescued a woman who fell nearly 40 feet off a cliff.
The woman suffered critical injuries in the fall at Alum Rock Park on Tuesday morning. Fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort tells the San Jose Mercury members of the department’s urban search and rescue team were called to the scene and rappelled down to the woman. They stabilized her.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter then used a winch to lift her onto the roadway. She was taken to Regional Medical Center on a second helicopter.
Van Elgort says the woman did not regain consciousness while she was being extracted.
• MATTRESS USED TO BREAK TODDLER’S FALL IN BURBANK: BURBANK (AP) — A 3-year-old boy who fell out of a third-story window in Burbank was saved by a quick-acting couple who threw a mattress out to break his fall.
Konrad Lightner and his wife, Jennifer, were moving out of their apartment Sunday when they noticed the toddler and his sister throwing their toys out the window.
When they saw the little boy throw his leg over the window sill, Konrad rushed to put the mattress down. He was able to break the child’s fall, placing him onto the mattress.
The toddler was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, but he did not suffer any major injuries.
A neighbor rushed to get the boy’s parents, who were unaware of what happened but grateful for the rescue.
• STUDENTS RESCUE WOMEN FROM BURNING HOME: SAN RAMON (AP) — Three San Francisco Bay Area high school students are being credited with helping to save two women from a burning home.
The students were driving around San Ramon on Monday morning when they saw smoke coming from a burning house.
The three boys and a 76-year-old neighbor, Bob Smith, entered the home. Smith told the Times the students went to the backyard to rescue a 71-year-old woman and then grabbed her 94-year-old mother, who was covered in soot.
They also dragged a dog out.
The mother was taken to a hospital and later transferred to a burn unit in San Francisco. Her daughter appeared to be unharmed.
Firefighters put the blaze out in about 45 minutes. The cause is under investigation.
• 14 TEENS CHARGED IN $1 MILLION MANSION BREAK-IN: POMONA (AP) — Authorities have filed criminal charges against 14 teenagers who allegedly broke into a Southern California mansion and held a party that caused more than $1 million in damage and losses, including the theft of a stuffed snow leopard.
Los Angeles County prosecutors announced the charges Tuesday.
Authorities say the party promoted on social media in November brought more than 100 teens to the La Habra Heights mansion while the owner was away.
According to investigators, partygoers entered through a window, trashed the place and stole several pricey items including designer suits, medieval armor, jewelry and the mounted leopard. Much of the loot was later recovered.
The teens, who are 15 to 18 years old, face misdemeanor and felony charges ranging from trespassing to burglary and theft.
• 1 HIKER DEAD, 1 RESCUED ON SANTA BARBARA TRAIL: SANTA BARBARA (AP) — Authorities say a hiker has fallen to his death in Santa Barbara County while trying to get help for a badly injured companion.
The sheriff’s office says 22-year-old Brenden Vega and 22-year-old Saylor Guilliams, both of Ventura, went for a hike late Sunday afternoon near Tangerine Falls.
Both fell off a trail. The woman broke both ankles and a wrist. Vega suffered a serious arm injury but got up after a time and went to get help. Authorities say he fell again, plunging 20 to 30 feet down a rocky ledge, and died.
Another hiking couple found Vega’s body at around 10:30 a.m. Monday. Other hikers found the injured woman 5½ hours later in a different area of the trail.
