PEDESTRIAN KILLED BY POLICE CAR CHASING SUSPECT : WEST SACRAMENTO (AP) — A 17-year-old who police say stole a car and then led West Sacramento police on a chase that ended up killing a pedestrian is being charged with murder.
KCRA-TV reported (http://bit.ly/P0qqxj) that the pedestrian was hit by a squad car on Tuesday evening after an officer spotted the stolen vehicle, gave chase and radioed in other officers.
The car of a responding officer hit the pedestrian on West Capitol Avenue.
The unidentified teen suspect was later tackled and detained by a resident after he crashed the stolen car.
The suspect was booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of murder and grand theft.
Lt. Tod Sockman said when a bystander is killed or injured during a high-speed chase, the suspect can be held responsible.
DOG BRINGS HOME HUMAN FOOT IN MOJAVE DESERT: NEWBERRY SPRINGS (AP) — A dog brought home a human foot, leading to discovery of more remains in a remote area of the Mojave Desert, authorities said.
A woman called the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department on Sunday evening to report that her dog had turned up on the front porch of her home with the foot and attached leg bone.
Investigators found more remains near the home but were not immediately able to determine whether they belonged to a man or a woman.
BEVERLY HILLS POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR DUI : SIMI VALLEY . (AP) — An off-duty Beverly Hills police officer was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence after his pickup truck smashed into a house, a utility pole, severed a natural gas pipe and came to a halt upside down, authorities said.
Bystanders pulled the driver, Jeffrey Sweet, 42, of Simi Valley, from the vehicle after the 10:22 p.m. Tuesday crash at a curve on Royal Avenue.
Sweet was taken to a hospital after complaining of pain before being booked.
Simi Valley police said two homes were evacuated because of the broken gas line.
UC OFFICIALS MULL SETTLEMENT IN PEPPER-SPRAY CASE: DAVIS (AP) — University of California officials are set to consider a legal settlement reached with students hit with pepper spray during a campus protest last November.
The suit was filed in February by 21 current and former students who were pepper-sprayed during the Nov. 18 Occupy demonstrations.
The incident has already cost the university system a lot of money, including $445,879 paid to an independent consulting group that conducted an independent review of the pepper-spraying.
The officers captured on video spraying the seated students are no longer with the campus police department.
CPUC: PG&E IS PROPERLY INSPECTING PIPE WELDS: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California utility regulators say they found no problems after investigating complaints from welders who claimed welds on Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s pipelines had not been properly inspected.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday said staff thoroughly investigated reports from two welders with the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Steamfitters, who raised the concerns after working on tests of PG&E pipelines in 2011.
CPUC's Consumer Protection and Safety Division said they found no instances in which welds were not inspected in compliance with state and federal laws. Regulators concluded PG&E is evaluating defects when they are found.
A Sept. 9, 2010 explosion on a PG&E transmission line killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno.
MARINES ARRESTED IN ASSAULT ON GAY MAN: SAN DIEGO (AP) — The beating of a gay man outside a bar resulted in the arrest of four Camp Pendleton Marines and was being investigated as a potential hate crime, officials from the Marine Corps and a California police department said Wednesday.
The Marines were out on bail and have returned to their units, Camp Pendleton spokesman Maj. Manuel J. Delarosa said.
He said military officials were assisting police in Long Beach, Calif., where the beating occurred at around 2 a.m. Monday. The Marine Corps is also conducting its own probe and was still gathering "all of the details to ensure we have a full understanding of this incident," Delarosa said.
Long Beach police Cmdr. Joe Stilnovich was quoted saying at least one of the suspects used derogatory terms regarding the victim's sexual orientation. He also told the newspaper that authorities were still trying to determine each person's role in the assault.
Long Beach police spokeswoman Lisa Massacani said the victim was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Two others who tried to help the victim suffered minor injuries.
SOCAL MAN ARRESTED IN FATAL HIT-AND-RUN OF BROTHER: ENCINITAS (AP) — Authorities say a 37-year-old man drove his pickup on a sidewalk in suburban San Diego, hitting and killing his older brother before fleeing.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday that Camilo Perez got into an argument with his 44-year-old brother Joaquin Perez at a home in Encinitas. After Joaquin walked outside, Camilo allegedly got into his truck and hit his older brother intentionally, then returned on foot and called 911.
The sheriff's department says Camilo Perez then left the scene a second time Sunday night after calling 911 to report "a person down."
APPEALS COURT REINSTATES INMATE'S GROPING CLAIM : PASADENA (AP) — A federal appeals court has reinstated an Idaho prison inmate's claim that a female guard groped him after he tried to break off their nonsexual relationship.
Tuesday's decision comes after a lower court ruled the touching was consensual.
Three 9th Circuit Court of Appeals justices say the imbalance of power between an inmate and guard make it hard to tell consent from coercion.
The justices say sexual abuse in prisons is rampant and inmates sometimes trade sexual favors for things like gum, cigarettes, more phone time and longer visits with children.
Inmate Lance Conway Wood said he tried to end a relationship with guard Sandra de Martin after he became suspicious that she was married because adultery violates his religious beliefs.
