The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is searching for a man who was caught on surveillance camera vandalizing a police facility, throwing a brick at a glass door and chucking rocks at patrol cars.

The SDPD released surveillance footage and photos of the suspected vandal on Wednesday.

According to investigators, the unknown man was loitering in front of the Northeastern Division’s Mira Mesa facility located at 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd. on June 7 around 9:15 p.m.

The man threw a brick through the front door, shattering the glass. He then walked to the side of the building and threw rocks at the front windshield of two Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) marked vehicles, police said, shattering both windshields.

The police department said the vandalism caused approximately $1,100 in damages.

Investigators describe the suspect as a black male wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, light-colored pants and dark-colored shoes. The suspect may have a light beard.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the identity and whereabouts of the suspect should contact the SDPD’s Northeastern Division at (858) 538-8000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

A family who operates a popular Vietnamese sandwich shop in Linda Vista destroyed in a fire said they felt moved by the outpouring of community support and plan to rebuild the business.

“They love this place. A lot of people ask when we’ll open back up,” said Man Tran, one of the owners of K Sandwiches. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”

K Sandwiches at 7604 Linda Vista Road was a total loss after a cooking fire started in the oven just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Everyone inside made it out safely, but one of the owners suffered an unknown medical emergency after seeing what happened to his business.

On Wednesday morning, many regular patrons were pledging support to their beloved business, some even offering to help financially to reopen it.

One of the shop’s regulars, a customer named Michael, said he has friends who enjoy K Sandwiches so much that even though they’ve moved away, they make a point of visiting the sandwich shop when they are in town.

“It’s going to be a big loss because a lot of people come here regularly,” Michael said.

The shop, which has been in business for 10 years and specializes in Bahn Mi sandwiches, suffered about $1.5 million in damage.

One of the owners, Man Tran, said his family is still in shock and hadn’t made any specific plans to rebuild. Fortunately, the business is covered with insurance.

“We really don’t know what to do next,” he said. “It’s family work. To see it crash to ground, it’s hard.”

Another one of the family members, Nick, said he felt grateful no one was hurt and that it could have been a lot worse.

He pointed to the patriarch of the family, an elderly family member who has passed away, but was instrumental in launching K Sandwiches.

“He’s still watching over us,” he said. “We’ll be OK.”
 

Doctors say a man is lucky to be alive after he wandered into an Oceanside hotel with a bullet lodged in his head, according to Oceanside Police.

The man, bleeding from his wound, walked with a woman into the lobby of the Best Western Plus Oceanside Palms at 909 N. Coast Highway at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday.

After the hotel clerk called 911, the couple became uncooperative with arriving paramedics and officers.

Medics told the man he needed to go to the hospital, so he left for Tri-City Medical Center, where doctors performed a CT scan.

They discovered an entry wound above his right eyebrow, and a small caliber round was lodged in his head, just above his right ear, police say.

Doctors told investigators the man could have died.

Police say they believe the shooting happened in Santa Ana or Orange County.

The man and woman were not registered guests at the hotel, nor did they have a car parked there. Police are not sure how they showed up in the lobby.

The owners of three San Diego residential care facilities will have to pay more than $2.2 million for “egregious” wage theft violations, forcing nine caregivers to work 24-hour shifts for less than $2 an hour, the California Labor Commission said Wednesday.

Lamberto “June” DeLeon and Jesusan DeLeon, the owners of Fairhill Castle LLC, face multiple minimum wage, overtime, meal period and workers’ compensation violations for how they ran their businesses from September 2013 to August 2014.

During their investigation, Labor Commission officials found the owners would hire two people — typically a husband and wife team — to work at each of their three facilities, located on Fairhill Drive, Prather Place and San Diego Street in Spring Valley.

The employees were told to provide 24-hour care, six to seven days a week, to elderly residents who had Alzheimer’s or advanced stage dementia. Some were bedridden or receiving hospice care.

For their work, the employees were paid between $1.25 and $1.80 an hour in cash, according to the commission.

Investigators said during their eight years of operation, the DeLeons had not reported wages to the proper state, federal and local agencies, and they did not have a history of workers’ compensation coverage.

Though the Labor Commissioner typically only cites the business entity, Lamberto was also cited as an individual because “he caused the violations through his daily control of the facilities’ operations,” officials said in a news release.

The DeLeons must pay $1,332,129 for underpaid wages and premiums, $716,846 for liquidated damages and $171,305 for civil penalties.

An appeal in this case wrapped up earlier this year, but not before the DeLeons closed the facilities under the Fairhill Castle business name, officials say.

The Fairhill Drive location has since been reopened under the name Jade's House, with their eldest daughter Emmercelle listed as the owner.

The daughter said her business, which is now an independent living facility, is completely separate from the Fairhill Castle facilities, and her parents have no part in the operation. She said her family has no comment about the Labor Commission fines.

NBC 7 Investigates, which has been covering wage theft in California, discovered state courts have identified more than $273 million in stolen wages.

We analyzed five years of wage claim data generated by the state Labor Commission, and the numbers are staggering: California workers are owed more than $250 million for hours worked but never paid by their employers. San Diego-area workers are owed at least $820,000.

NBC 7 Investigates also learned that the state Labor Commissioner does not track whether companies comply with those judgments, and no state agency enforces them. Workers must sometimes file lawsuits in civil court to try to collect wages owed them. Those lawsuits cost money, with no certainty of success.

A violent stabbing in the South Bay remains a mystery even to the Eastlake family who lives in the home where the altercation took place.

Chula Vista Police homicide investigators described the incident as a "violent struggle" that took place  around 6 p.m. Tuesday on Cielo Circulo near the reservoir and the Olympic Training Center.

Witnesses say Carlos Guitierrez was chased down and stabbed to death while trying to escape his attacker by running into a neighbor's home.

There were multiple locations outside where the victim was stabbed. The attack apparently began outside of a garage.

Guitierrez ran from his attacker and tried to seek refuge in a home of people he didn't know. His attacker followed him, straddled him and stabbed him to death, investigators told NBC 7.

A neighbor's son saw the entire attack. The boy's parents took him to therapy Wednesday because the child was so shaken up over what he witnessed.

Nayeli Guitierrez and her family were in limbo for most of the day Wednesday. They gathered to burn sage outside the condo not knowing if Carlos was the victim or the suspect.

“My brother is the most calm person,” Nayeli told NBC 7. “He rarely raises his voice.”

“He'll probably tell me to calm down before he gets angry,” she added.

The family said they weren't certain of Carlos's death until nearly 24 hours after the attack because some misinformation was distributed via police about the names of the two people involved.

Officials initially identified the suspect as Carlos Orozco but later corrected that information and named Saul Orozco as the suspect in custody.

The Guitierrez family says Saul was Carlos' friend who attended Otay Ranch High School.

Nayeli said her brother's attacker likely "lost his mind."

Orozco was hospitalized Wednesday with what officials described as self-inflicted stab wounds and a dog bite from a police dog.

Once he is released from the hospital, he will likely be arraigned on a murder charge, police said.

No motive has been given for the attack.

More plane debris, including a window, has been recovered from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, Malaysia's transport minister said Thursday, NBC News reported. 

Liow Tiong Lai told reporters at a news conference that "many items" have been recovered and sent to authorities for investigation to determine if they are linked to the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

Malaysian authorities said Wednesday a wing fragment found on the same island came from the missing aircraft, but French authorities have been more circumspect about the discovery. The Malaysian authorities have been criticized for jumping the gun on confirmation. 

Lai said Thursday that "we respect" the French decision to continue further verification on the wing fragment, but that the Malaysian team who are "actually the experts" have confirmed it to be from MH370.

A sinkhole in Downtown San Diego has temporarily shut down some trolley service in the area, officials said. 

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon near 4th Avenue and C Street after a water main break. As of 7 a.m., the leak has been repaired but the track must be fixed and the street needs to be repaved.

The Blue and Orange Lines downtown will be disrupted as crews work to repair the damage, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) said. The closure is expected to last past noon on Thursday. 

Those taking the Blue and Orange Lines Wednesday should expect a 15 to 20 minute delay for any trips heading to or going through downtown. A shuttle train is operating between American Plaza and Civic Center. 

The Orange Line will end at the Civic Center Station. The Blue Line will end at the Fifth Avenue station. Those looking to transfer to or from the Green Line can make the change at 12th and Imperial Transit Center. 

MTS said they hope to restore service by noon.

Firefighters found a charred body inside of a car on fire overnight near Escondido.

The light blue Nissan was parked on Country Club Lane at the dead end of Harmony Grove Road.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies and arson investigators are looking into what may have started the fire.

Just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday, firefighters and sheriff's deputies were called to the remote area for a car fire.

The fire was in full force when engines arrived. It wasn't until they put the fire out that crews found a severely charred body in the driver's seat.

Investigators haven’t identified the gender of the person inside the car or whether they think the fire is the result of any foul play.
 

Police have arrested a homeless man who is accused of giving a "Wet Willy" to a 4-year-old boy in the waiting room of a Connecticut business on Tuesday.

Michael Migani, 34, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with second-degree breach of peace and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Police said he allegedly approached a 4-year-old boy playing with his mother in the waiting room of a business, stuck his finger in his mouth and then put it in the boy's ear.

He drove off when confronted by the child's mother and employees of the business. Police pulled Migani over to confirm his identity and later arrested him for the alleged inappropriate contact with the boy.

He was released on $500 bond and is due in court Aug. 19. It's not clear if Migani has an attorney.

Police were called to an NJ Transit bus terminal in New Jersey Tuesday after a worker found a tombstone with an 8-year-old boy's name on it.

The tombstone was found by a maintenance worker in the NJ Transit bus depot in Nutley. Authorities are looking into which cemetery may be missing a headstone. The name on the tombstone is Max Ferreira, born June 16, 1990, died Sept. 29, 1998.

Nutley detectives are calling local cemeteries to ask them about the tombstone and a police alert was sent to surrounding agencies. Police say the stone may not have been reported missing.

"We've reached out to a number of cemeteries and they're all looking," Nutley Police Det. Sergeant Anthony Montanari said. "They're all trying to help, but to date we haven't been able to find the cemetery where it was taken from." 

It's not clear if it's a real headstone. Nutley Police Chief Thomas Strumolo said until authorities can determine how and why it was left at the bus terminal police can "only speculate that it was removed from a human grave."

"If this was the loss of a child, his parents must have been devastated, and to learn that someone would intentionally remove his headstone is unnerving," said Nutley Mayor and Police Director Alphonse Petracco. "I hope that someone can identify where this occurred so that we can return it to where it belongs."

San Diego’s AleSmith Brewing Co. has signed agreements to distribute its craft beers in Minnesota and Virginia.

Officials of the Miramar-headquartered company said its beers are now being distributed by Clear River Beverage Co. in Minnesota, and by Specialty Beverage in Virginia. Financial and other details of the long-term distribution deals were not disclosed.

AleSmith styles including Speedway Stout, AleSmith IPA and Nut Brown Ale are now available in both states.

AleSmith was founded in 1995 and is led by current owner and CEO Peter Zien. The company will soon open a new 105,500-square-foot brewery in Miramar, featuring an 80-barrel brew system and larger tasting room in a leased building being renovated on AleSmith Court, formerly Empire Street.
 

President Barack Obama called for an updated version of the Voting Rights Act Thursday, 50 years after it was first passed, amid what he said is a steady effort to roll back the landmark law.

Obama proclaimed September 22 "Voter Registration Day," acknowledging a three-year-old effort to register voters across the country. The Voting Right Act was signed on August 6, 1965, 

"Citizens: Seize the power that you have. Make this democracy work," Obama said at a newsconference Thursday afternoon. "Heroic things happen when people get involved."

On Thursday, Obama linked his current office to the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed racial discrimination at the ballot box through obstacles like literacy tests. Writing in an op-ed published on the website Medium, Obama thanked the civil rights leaders whose work led to the law,

"We owe them a great debt. I am certain I wouldn’t be where I am today without their sacrifices," he wrote.

Along with Martin Luther King Jr., one of those leaders he thanked was Congressman John Lewis, who joined Obama on a videoconference Thursday afternoon. 

Obama said that more needs to be done to shore up the voting rights of Americans of all races, arguing that the Voting Rights Act has been weakened in state legislatures and U.S. courts to defend against voter fraud, despite little evidence of fraud in in the country.

"Almost nobody wakes up and says 'I'm going to go vote in somebody's name,'" he said. 

For example, a Texas state law requiring prospective voters to show a state ID was overturned on Wednesday, with an appeals court ruling it violated the Voting Rights Act.

If similar efforts are allowed to continue, Obama said, "the decisions that are made in the corridors of power all over this country begin to reflect the interests of the few instead of the interests of the many." 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Heads up, Hillcrest and North Park drivers: University Avenue between Park Boulevard and Florida Street will be limited to one lane over the weekend.

Construction on that stretch of roadway will take place between Thursday morning and 6 p.m. Monday.

The work will close all eastbound lanes of University Avenue and westbound traffic will be limited to one lane.

Drivers are advised to take Polk Avenue to the north, Centre Street to the west, Mississippi Street to the east and Robinson Avenue to the south.

If you do use that stretch of roadway, drivers are being advised to prepare for delays.

The construction is intended replace about four miles of cast iron water mains in the University Heights, Hillcrest and North Park neighborhoods.

The Pentagon took its Joint Staff unclassified email system offline nearly two weeks ago, after detecting a "sophisticated cyberattack" by alleged Russian hackers, U.S. officials told NBC News on Thursday.

According to the officials, the intrusion occurred sometime around July 25 and affected about 4,000 military and civilian personnel who work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The officials said the suspected Russian hackers coordinated the cyber attack via social media accounts. It's not clear whether the attack was sanctioned by the Russian government or was the work of individuals.

A new, camp-style recreation area officially opened at the McGrath Family YMCA in Rancho San Diego Thursday designed with the enjoyment of the great outdoors in mind.

“YMCA Camp McGrath,” the newest addition to the McGrath Family YMCA at 12006 Campo Rd., includes some adventurous features such as the Thompson Family Rock Climbing Wall, which stands at more than 50 feet high. Then there’s the Gaga Pit, a large octagon court used for a game similar to dodgeball where kids can run, jump and dodge.

The Page Pavilion at the new site is a nod to the camp atmosphere: it features a rustic, camp-style amphitheater cooled by shade sails where more than 250 kids can gather for camp songs, awards ceremonies, skits and performances.

Finally, the Center for Oral and Facial Surgery Picnic Area allows kids and families to enjoy some picturesque views under protective shade sails.

The East County Family YMCA says the new outdoor space will be used for a variety of rec programs for local camp-goers and families.

It was built with help from six major supporters of the East County Family YMCA: Laurie McGrath; Tom Page; the Hendrix Family; William and Adele Woolman; the Thompson Family and the Center for Oral and Facial Surgery.

In addition to Camp McGrath, the McGrath Family YMCA includes a sports complex, a 35,000-square-foot facility with the Sycuan Wellness/Fitness Center, the Dallas Pugh Gymnasium, a Youth and Teen Development Center and multiple group exercise studios.

The East County Family YMCA operates the John A. Davis Family YMCA in La Mesa and the Cameron Family YMCA in Santee, as well as the McGrath Family YMCA in Rancho San Diego. For more information, please visit
 

Executives with Southern California Edison had several unreported communications related to the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, a state judge has found.

Activists and consumer groups have criticized what they consider to be an inappropriate relationship between SoCal Edison and top California Public Utilities Commission officials.

On Wednesday, Administrative Judge Melanie M. Darling ruled the utility’s officials engaged in 10 unreported exchanges between March of 2013 and June 2014.

The review was prompted by one or more meetings between former CPUC President Michael Peevey and SCE’s then-Executive Vice President of External Relations, Stephen Pickett.

For example, when describing a dinner between the two in March 2013, Pickett said he “didn’t recall anything of substance” said about the shutdown of the nuclear power plant.

However, an internal email shows Pickett said “he was ‘working SONGS’ with President Peevey at the dinner,” according to the ruling.

Improper or unreported communications between commissioners and interested persons can taint the regulatory process and so the CPUC adopted rules in 1991 to avoid the practice.

The judge has ordered SoCal Edison to show why it should not be held in contempt and sanctioned.

Penalties for the possible ethics violations could total more than $34 million.

San Diego critics consider CPUC financial settlements in the $4.7 billion deal for the shutdown and cleanup of the San Onofre plant "a sellout" from the standpoint of ratepayers.

In March, Anthony Rendon, chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities, sent a letter to the Picker, asking for an investigation into the “dark clouds of the SONGS settlement,” which left ratepayers on the hook for $3.3 billion for the plant’s closure.

Approximately 10 firefighters worked to free a victim from a wreck in San Diego’s City Heights area Thursday morning, eventually pulling the man from his totaled vehicle.

Just before 8:30 a.m., two cars collided at 46th Street and El Cajon Boulevard. Officials said one of the vehicles overturned, landing on its side. A man was left trapped inside.

A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) crew quickly arrived on scene and was able to extricate the man from the wreckage. Firefighters ripped off pieces of the vehicle one-by-one until the victim was freed.

Mangle parts of roof of the car, glass and items inside the vehicle were strewn about the street, with the overturned car on its side, two of its tires completely off the street and in the air.

The second vehicle involved in the crash sustained significant damage to its front end.

Medics hauled away the victim on a stretcher. Officials said at least two people sustained minor injuries in the crash, but are expected to recover.

Police shut down eastbound El Cajon Boulevard at Chamoune to Menlo avenues while crews worked to clear the crash site.

The accident is under investigation.
 

Five young men, accused in a string of crimes including some targeting children in Chula Vista, faced a judge Thursday.

Delvon Miller, John Rocha, Mikey Palomata, Marco Morales and Sam Armasted range in ages from 18 to 20 years old and are  accused of multiple charges including attempted homicide, robbery and home burglaries.

Chula Vista Police say the crime spree began in October 2014 and ended in the arrests of seven defendants in June.

Morales and Rocha are linked to a May 26 incident in which a 13-year-old was robbed of his cellphone on the street. A few minutes later, two victims – ages 12 and 13 – called police to report being robbed by two men at gunpoint who took their iPad and cellphone.

Miller is charged with attempted homicide, conspiracy and mayhem.  Armstead is accused of attempted homicide and robbery.

Police said Palomata was arrested at the CVPD station after police told him to come in to pick up some recovered stolen items. Instead, he was charged with robbery.

Two 17 year olds were also arrested in the crime spree. NBC 7's policy is not to report the names of juveniles who are not charged as adults. 

The defendants appeared in a Chula Vista courtroom Thursday for a pretrial hearing.  Judge Ana Espana ordered the media not to show most of the defendants' faces.The case was continued to August 27 for their preliminary hearing.

"The community is affected by these crimes,” said Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap. “When you put a number on it crime doesn't just affect the person it directly impacts it has a broader impact on the entire community.”

“In this case there were multiple children that were impacted who were victims of crime,” Dunlap added.

Among the incidents were a home burglary on Wild Oak Road with reported losses nearing $17,000, an assault on Noble Canyon Road, a robbery on Northbrook Avenue and the mugging of a 15-year-old victim at the intersection of Ortega Street and Anapanu Avenue.

The defendants face between five and 15 years behind bars if convicted.

Anyone with information on this crime spree can call CVPD’s Crimes of Violence Unit at (619) 691-5202 or (619) 691-5151.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) used its helicopter Thursday to rescue an injured hiker stranded on a trail at Torrey Pines State Reserve.

The chopper made its way to the trail overlooking the ocean around 10:35 a.m. A rescue official dangled from a rope attached to the helicopter, getting down into the cliffs.

Within minutes, the rescuer had hoisted the injured hiker from the trail and onto the rope. The pair was then flown out of the area by the helicopter, both secured to the dangling rope.

Several witnesses could be seen gathered on the cliffs, watching the rescue unfold.

The extent of the victim’s injuries is unknown.