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Man arrested in Visalia for driving while suspended after DUI court hearing
Undercover police appeared at the courthouse in Tulare County Tuesday. The officers were not there to attend hearings, but to follow defendants into the parking lot after the specified defendant's had appeared in court. Visalia Police say that they decided to run an undercover sting to catch people appearing in court on drunk driving charges if they drove to the courthouse after a suspension of their driving privileges.
The Visalia Police say that they were targeting drivers who were suspended or revoked due to a DUI arrest. Law enforcement says that 10 people who appeared Tuesday in Tulare County Superior Court were followed from the courthouse. Officials say that the sting operation was used to ensure that drivers with allegedly suspended or revoked licenses were targeted to ensure that the individuals had found alternate means to appear in court on the DUI charges.
One man who was followed from the courthouse reportedly was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended or revoked license during the sting operation. Visalia Police say that the sting was set up using grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
NTSB urges expandaed use of ignition interlocks in DUI cases
The use of ignition interlock devices in drunk driving cases has garnered attention across the country in recent years. Four counties in California are currently experimenting in the use of the devices in cases involving allegations of driving under the influence. The device is essentially a breath test machine that is installed in the car.
A driver must blow into the Breathalyzer before attempted to start the vehicle. If the device detects a specified level of alcohol, the car simply will not start. In most states, the driver must also periodically blow into the device while driving, and information from that breath test is recorded for download at specified times while the device is required after a DUI conviction.
Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board unanimously recommended that all 50 states pass laws to require the use of ignition interlock devices in all DUI cases.
The federal agency says that the use of the devices will reduce wrong-way car accidents across the country. In addition to the recommendation that all states use the devices in all DUI cases, including first-time drunk driving offenses, the NTSB urged another federal agency to speed up its research on infrared technology used to detect the presence of alcohol in drivers.
Torrance woman suspected of DUI after driving with dying man on hood
People reportedly spotted the woman's car driving in Torrance with a man on the hood of the car. Several people approached the car and flagged down the driver, according to media reports. One of the people claims to have reached into the vehicle and taken the keys from the ignition.
Emergency responders were called to the area where people flagged down the woman. Police say that the man was struck slightly more than two miles from where the group is credited with stopping the car. Investigators say that the man was partially embedded in the windshield when emergency responders arrived. He was responsive at that time. However, police say that the man later died at the hospital.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and drunk driving charges related to the incident. News reports suggest that the woman works as a drug and alcohol counselor. Police claim that she panicked after the accident. Authorities say that the woman tested nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol under California's drunk driving laws.
Teens found in San Mateo neighborhood arrested on burglary charges
Police in San Mateo recently issued a public statement over a perceived increase in residential burglaries in the city. Law enforcement claims that they enlisted the help of what media reports describe as neighborhood agencies to assist in investigations. The city says it put in place a rapid response system for burglaries.
San Mateo Police say that a call came in reporting a possible burglary in progress. The California Highway Patrol dispatched air support and the neighborhood agencies reportedly set up a perimeter around the area where the possible burglary report came from.
San Mateo Police claim that three young men, two juveniles and an 18-year-old adult were found during the search of the area. The three males were arrested on suspicion of burglary and other charges. Police now accuse the three, ranging in age from 13 to 18-years old of as many as seven burglaries in San Mateo.
Law enforcement says that two of the males were detained fairly quickly during the neighborhood search, but the circumstances surrounding how the officers or neighborhood agencies singled out the two are not clear. A third suspect was picked up in the area a short time later, according to police.
Police say three men used sledgehammers in failed Santa Cruz robbery
An alleged variation of an attempted "smash and grab" has California authorities searching for suspects. Police in Santa Cruz, California say that two men used sledgehammers while trying to break the glass cases holding watches at a jewelry store Friday. Police further assert that a third man, who entered the store with the two sledgehammer wielding men, used pepper spray to assault a female worker at the jewelry store.
Emergency responders reportedly treated the woman at the store. Police claim that the three young men fled the establishment empty handed after the alleged attempted theft Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz Police reportedly fielded reports of an Audi driving recklessly in downtown Santa Cruz.
Authorities say that an Audi was found abandoned roughly an hour and a half after the alleged attempted robbery. A police spokesperson says that the Audi displayed dealer plates from an outfit in Oakland. The car dealership had not reported the car stolen, but says that the vehicle was taken from the auto-dealership lot.
Four people arrested on suspicion of Mariposa gem museum heist
Law enforcement has made four arrests in connection with the theft of gold and gems from a museum in Mariposa, California. However, police say that more arrests are not out of the question. With the size of the alleged take in the break-in, police apparently are looking to round up as many suspects as possible.
Authorities say that men broke into the California State Mining and Minerals Museum in Mariposa during the light of day and ransacked the place during the alleged robbery. Officials say that the alleged thieves were disguised as ninjas as they entered the museum. After gaining entry, officers say that the men moved two workers to a back room, and then went on a rampage-smashing display cases inside the museum.
The alleged thieves set off an alarm while accessing a vault at the facility. Authorities say that the alarm triggered an automatic sequence to close the vault door. The intruders reportedly were able to escape from the vault before the door slammed shut. A nugget reportedly mined during the California Gold Rush weighing nearly 14 pounds made of crystalline gold is housed in the vault, but reportedly was left intact at the museum.
San Jose Police: Pipe bomb found in van during DUI stop
Police in San Jose called in the bomb squad to deal with an item found in a van during an investigation into an alleged driving under the influence offense. Officers with the city's MERGE Unit, which the Mercury News says is the equivalent to a SWAT Team, decided to pull over a car for a DUI investigation. It is not clear what led to the police suspicion that the driver may have been under the influence.
Police also say that they found evidence of some kind of drug crime and evidence to support their suspicion of a DUI offense. Officers searched the Windstar van and found what they believed to be a pipe bomb.
The bomb squad reportedly was called to the area near First Street and Matrix Drive in San Jose, California. Authorities closed streets in the area, but the neighborhood was not evacuated. Police say that the bomb unit exploded the device in a controlled explosion. No injuries or damage has been reported related to the police detonation. Neighbors near to the location claim that the blast could be felt and heard.
Santa Cruz man arrested Thursday on drug allegations, arrested two more times since
Santa Cruz Police officers reportedly responded to a Manor Place home after law enforcement says that neighbors were complaining about alleged drug activity at the residence. A 60-year-old Santa Cruz, California resident was arrested on three times in a three day time span on suspicion of drug-related offenses. The man reportedly says that he provides care for his mother, who is in her 90s.
Police reportedly visited the residence in waves last week. The city says that it has more choices as a result of the police visits than merely bringing charges in criminal court.
The first visit to the property was reportedly prompted by a complaint of a neighbor alleging that some kind of drug activity was going on at the home. Authorities responded and arrested the 60-year-old man on suspicion of crack cocaine possession and a drug paraphernalia charge. The next day, law enforcement returned to the home on a report of a possible drug overdose, according to police. The man was arrested again, this time for allegedly being under the influence.
Cop accused of destroying evidence after California DUI arrest gets probation
A former Fullerton, California police officer has been sentenced to three years of informal probation after pleading guilty to destroying evidence. The sentence was not imposed in association with a plea deal with prosecutors. The Orange County district Attorney's Office sought time behind bars at sentencing for the former cop.
The charge arose after a drunk driving suspect the Fullerton cop had arrested committed suicide while being held in the city jail. Authorities say that the arresting officer destroyed his digital audio recorder after learning that the suspect hanged himself in his jail cell April 14, 2011.
Prosecutors say that the officer crushed the audio recorder and yanked out its circuit and mother boards, destroying any audio recording that the device contained during his encounter with the alleged drunk driver.
The 42-year-old former officer reportedly had said that while attempting to download the audio files to a computer, he became frustrated with the device because it would not download the information. He says that he threw the recorder, and it struck a wall and broke.
Two suspects detained in USC Halloween party shooting
The University of Southern California campus was put on lockdown for a period of time Wednesday night after a shooting incident injured four people. Authorities believe that a man critically injured in the shooting was the primary target, while three other people were bystanders who were swept into the incident.
The man critically injured is a former standout football player from Crenshaw High School who was dubbed as the "most versatile and feared player" on the 2009 Los Angeles area high school football team by the Los Angeles Times.
Authorities say that the athlete had attended a Halloween party Wednesday night on the USC campus. University officials believe that roughly 400 people attended the party. The former Crenshaw High athlete apparently became involved in some kind of disturbance with another man.
Several law enforcement agencies believe that the second man pulled out a gun and shot the athlete in the torso, leading to critical injuries. Three bystanders were also hit in the shooting incident.
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