DIVER HELPING WITH SEARCH AT LAKE DROWNS: REDDING (AP) — Sheriff's deputies say a diver brought in to help recover the body of a man who drowned in a Northern California lake also drowned.
Ken Smith was pronounced dead at a Redding area hospital on Sunday. He was hired by the Shasta County Sheriff' Office as a salvage diver and was attempting to free an underwater remote operated vehicle that became entangled in Lake Shasta.
The vehicle was brought in to help with the search for 18-year-old Robinson Sok, who drowned on Friday. Deputies say Sok jumped into the lake to help a friend who was struggling in the water, but never resurfaced.
MAN FALLS OFF RAFT, DIES ON NORTHERN CALIF. RIVER : RANCHO CORDOVA (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a man who drowned while rafting on a Northern California river.
The man fell off a raft at the San Juan rapids of the American River in Rancho Cordova on Sunday. Rancho Cordova is about 15 miles east of Sacramento. The man has not been identified.
Authorities say the man was wearing a life vest. The life vest resurfaced, but he did not.
CAR JUMPS FREEWAY, HIT BY TRAIN; DRIVER DIES: SAN DIEGO (AP) — Authorities say a driver was killed when his speeding car flew off a Southern California freeway and was hit by a train.
The driver attempted to avoid a collision with another car Sunday night in San Diego County, but he lost control of his 1997 Honda.
The Honda flew off Interstate 5 and landed on the railroad tracks at San Onofre State Beach. About 15 seconds later the car was hit by an Amtrak train.
The California Highway Patrol says the Honda was traveling at more than 100 mph and weaving in and out of traffic
A SURROGATE PARENTING AGENT TO PAY IN FRAUD CASE: MODESTO (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the owner of a surrogate parenting agency to pay $1.7 million to the victims of a fraud scheme carried out through her Central California-based operation.
The U.S. Attorney's office said 37-year-old Tonya Ann Collins — the owner of the defunct Surrogenesis agency in Modesto — was ordered to pay the restitution on Monday.
Collins was sentenced in May to five years and three months in prison.
The government said Collins took money from prospective parents and used it for personal expenses, including automobiles, homes, jewelry, clothing and vacations, between 2006 and 2009.
As a result, Collins' clients, surrogates and other businesses suffered losses of more than $2.4 million.
REMAINS OF 2 PEOPLE FOUND AT S. CALIF. FIRE SCENE: COMPTON (AP) — Human remains have been found in the burned-out rubble of a Southern California commercial and residential building where two people have been missing.
Los Angeles sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said the remains of two people were found Monday, and homicide and arson officials were investigating. There was no further information about the remains.
A family of six lived in a converted loft on the second floor of the Compton property, above an auto mechanic shop that the father ran. The father and three children escaped the fire without injuries. But the mother and a daughter have been missing since the blaze, which started just before 2 a.m.
The family members were the only people living in the building.
The fire on East Compton Boulevard burned for nearly an hour and a half, with flames shooting through the roof and sending up huge plumes of smoke.
Dogs from the coroner's office were used to search the 5,000-square-foot building, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Miller.
SENATE OKS LIMITING LOCAL IMMIGRANT DETENTIONS: SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Senate has approved a bill prohibiting law enforcement agencies from detaining people for deportation if they are living in the country illegally and are arrested for a minor crime.
AB4 by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco creates a statewide standard for how local agencies comply with a federal program that requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone arrested. The Secure Communities program also says that those who are in the United States illegally should be detained for immigration officials.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed similar legislation last year because it did not let officials detain those convicted of crimes such as child abuse and drug trafficking. Those crimes are exempted from this year's version.
The bill passed 24-10 Monday and returns to the Assembly.
