uDAVIS (AP) — Police in the college town of Davis, California are investigating multiple cases of sexual assault, all stemming from women possibly being drugged at downtown bars.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Doroshov says since April the department has been notified of nine instances where college women in their early 20s may have been drugged.
KCRA-TV reported Saturday that six of those cases were reported in last two months, and three are being investigated as sexual assault.
Doroshov urges anybody who thinks they may have been drugged to get tested right away. He says no specific bar has been named because the alleged victims typically visited multiple bars.
uPILOT INJURED IN HOT AIR BALLOON CRASH AT FESTIVAL: GALT (AP) — A person has been injured in California after a hot air balloon caught on fire and crashed.
The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday that the hot air balloon crashed Saturday at a Galt festival injuring the pilot, who was the only person on board.
Officials say it was the beginning of the annual two-day Hot Air Balloon Festival in Galt, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Sacramento.
Authorities say the balloon that was tethered to the floor for people to explore began malfunctioning around 8:40 a.m.
Officials say the balloon caught on fire, became untethered, went up in the sky and crashed down in a nearby field.
uCALIFORNIA POLICE SEEK SUSPECTS IN 2 LUXURY RETAIL ROBBERIES: BEVERLY HILLS (AP) — California authorities have begun searching for multiple suspects in two Beverly Hills robberies.
KABC-TV reported Saturday that the Beverly Hills Police Department is searching for five people suspected of stealing tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise Saturday from two luxury retailers.
Police say one of four people who reportedly stole about $40,000 worth of purses from Saks Fifth Avenue around 2:30 p.m. was arrested.
Authorities say another two people reportedly stole several high-priced purses at the same time from a Neiman Marcus down the street.
Authorities say the two unrelated robberies happened during business hours inside the stores about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Los Angeles.
Police say this is not the first time multiple robberies occurred at the same time, citing a similar incident in 2018.
uLYFT DRIVER SUSPECTED OF RAPING PASSENGER IN SAN BRUNO: SAN BRUNO (AP) — Police have arrested a Lyft driver on suspicion of raping a female passenger in the San Francisco Bay Area.
San Bruno police say the 25-year-old victim told investigators she scheduled the ride early Saturday while intoxicated at a bar in San Mateo and passed out in the back seat.
Detectives say the driver, Tonye Kolokolo, took the woman to his residence without her permission and raped her.
KPIX-TV reports the 46-year-old faces charges of false imprisonment and rape. .
uPOLICE: NO ARRESTS AFTER 4 SHOT, WOUNDED IN PARKING LOT: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police are investigating after four people were shot and wounded in a parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Officer Robert Rueca says gunfire was reported at 11:36 p.m. Saturday at an intersection in the Western Addition neighborhood.
KNTV reports one person’s wounds were life-threatening. Officials say the other three victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
SACRAMENTO ZOO TEMPORARILY CLOSED AFTER GIRAFFE DIED: SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Sacramento Zoo has been temporarily closed following the death of one of its four giraffes.
The California zoo says Val was found deceased in her sleeping quarters early Saturday. She turned 24 on Valentine’s Day (hence the name Val) and was starting to show signs of aging, including lameness in her front left leg and joint deterioration.
Zoo spokeswoman Laurel Vincent says the zoo was closed so the animal care team can focus on transporting the giraffe to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. A necropsy will be performed there to determine the cause of death.
Val was known for being the laid-back leader of the herd
LA JEWISH CENTER SHOOTING COMMEMORATED ON 20TH ANNIVERSARY: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A moment of silence marked the day 20 years ago when a white-supremacist gunman wounded children and staff at a Los Angeles Jewish center before killing a Filipino American postal worker.
The Los Angeles Times reports family and friends of victims were on hand Saturday outside a U.S. Post Office where a plaque commemorates letter carrier Joseph Ileto (“ill-LET-oh”), who was gunned down Aug. 10, 1999.
His brother, Ismael Ileto, called for stricter gun control laws, citing the rise in mass shootings and recent violence in California, Texas and Ohio.
Before killing Ileto, Buford Furrow shot a woman and four children at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the San Fernando Valley. All survived.
Furrow, a member of the white-supremacist group Aryan Nations, was eventually sentenced to life in prison.
