Ethan Couch, the Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving crash, was moved Friday afternoon from a juvenile detention center to the Tarrant County Correction Center in Downtown Fort Worth.

Couch, 19, is currently being held for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, pending a hearing Feb. 19 to determine whether his case will be moved from juvenile court to adult court.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said during a news conference Friday afternoon that a juvenile court judge signed a revised order of detention that allowed for Couch's housing change.

Anderson said the sheriff's department was notified of the housing change once Couch was under way Friday afternoon and that he arrived at the downtown corrections center at about 1:30 p.m.

Couch is still under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and his case is still continuing under the original judge's order, Anderson said. The move to the adult jail doesn't change his juvenile standing.

A continuation hearing related to Friday's housing move will be held on Feb. 12, Anderson said.

Anderson added Couch is considered a high-profile inmate and is being held in a single cell, away from the general population, for his safety and not because he's considered a threat. Couch, Anderson said, has been soft-spoken, very respectful and has asked for no special treatment or accommodations.

Before the move Friday, Couch had been detained at the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center in North Fort Worth since he was extradited back to the U.S. last month. Couch had fled to Mexico, along with his mother Tonya Couch, after missing a meeting with his probation officer.

Authorities believe Couch and his mother fled Texas in her pickup truck after an online video appeared to show Ethan Couch at a party where people were drinking. Couch had been sentenced to 10 years' probation in juvenile court for the 2013 drunken-driving crash, and the terms prohibit him from drinking or leaving Tarrant County, Texas.

If Couch's case is transferred to the adult system and if he violates his probation again, he could face up to 10 years in prison for each person killed in the 2013 crash, a total of 40 years.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Friday, NBC News reported.

"Our reasons for endorsing Sen. Rubio are many. Notably, the Florida senator has deep personal connections to the state," the editorial board wrote, noting that he spent ages eight to 14 in Las Vegas.

The paper said it required the candidate needed to meet with its editorial board. The paper also insisted the owner, Sheldon Adelson — who has yet to personally endorse a candidate — played no part in its decision.

Republicans in Nevada caucus in two-and-a-half weeks on Tuesday, February 23.  

In response to the fast-spreading Zika virus now declared a global emergency, the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) announced Friday that those who have recently traveled to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central or South America should not donate blood – at least for a while.

The SDBB – the primary supplier of blood to the majority of hospitals in San Diego County – is encouraging blood donors who have traveled to the aforementioned countries to wait 28 days after returning to the United States to donate blood.

Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, usually causes mild illness but is now suspected in an unusual birth defect, and possibly other health issues. The disease has been predominantly linked to Latin American countries and the Caribbean. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Zika an international emergency as the disease spreads.

Robert Baracz, vice president of marketing for the SDBB, said the blood bank is curbing donations from travelers “simply as a safety precaution,” even though, as always, the organization needs blood.

Zika virus can be present in the blood of an infected person who has no symptoms of illness, the blood bank says.

At this point, there have been no Zika cases reported in San Diego County.

Last week, officials with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) said the insect tied to the virus – the Aedes aegypti mosquito – has been detected in San Diego, in small numbers, over the past 18 months. The mosquito, which experts believe transfers the Zika virus, has also been detected in Los Angeles County.

Health officials said the Department of Environmental Health is tracking the mosquito locally. So far, health officials have not found any of the mosquitos detected in San Diego County to be carrying the Zika virus. Health officials said Aedes aegypti mosquitos are not native to California and do not travel far.

For more information on Zika, click here. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also has information on the virus here.

Japanese soldiers and US Marines have been training together for the last two weeks at Camp Pendleton to refine individual and small unit skills.

The Japanese soldiers, from the Western Army Infantry Regiment and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, worked with Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit for the second phase of training focusing on sniper tactics, beach raids, amphibious assault, and platoon-sized attacks.

The second phase culminated in military planners from each country working together to formulate an amphibious assault operation for the final phase of training.

“Even with a language barrier, warriors will find common ground and communicate to accomplish the mission,” said Col. Clay C. Tipton, 11th MEU commanding officer.

Approximately 200 Japanese soldiers and 400 U.S. Marines will transition Twentynine Palms north of Palm Springs, for phase the third phase of training. The training exercise will happen on February 12.

“It is inspiring to watch the interaction of the Japanese soldiers and U.S. Marines as they conduct this individual/small unit training in preparation for larger, more complex training, which is the company-sized bilateral attack at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms, Calif,” said Tipton.

Three San Diego County teenagers drove into a raging creek this weekend for fun and forced a massive rescue effort.

Becky Ripley couldn’t get a hold of her 17-year-old son, Ben, this past weekend. When she didn't get a response to her texts, she sent a text to one of her son's friends. That’s when she found out there was something very wrong.

The teen’s truck was in a creek and rescue teams were working tirelessly to save the kids.

“It wasn’t until a little later found out that they were sitting on a truck in the middle of a river. Freaked us out. We couldn’t imagine what was going on,” she said.

Thirty firefighters and swift water rescue team members were working. The cost of the rescue ran thousands of dollars.

It was a heart wrenching situation for Riley. She didn’t have any control and the process took hours.

Ben was with two friends who thought it would be fun to drive through a raging creek in Rancho Santa Fe. They never made it to the other side. The water took hold of the truck they were in and flipped it.

“They were fortunate enough to get pinned up against that tree and have enough time to get out of the window and climb out,” said Encinitas Lifeguards Capt. Larry Giles.

The teens managed to sit on top of the truck. It took two hours for rescuers to chainsaw through trees, get lines out and put all the measures in place for a safe rescue. All this time minutes felt like hours for Ripley.

“It was the most horrific feeling as a parent to know you have no control over the situation and I didn’t get all of the details until they were actually saved. Which was probably a good thing, found out how dangerous the situation was,” she said.

Now days later, Ripley is appreciative of the swift water teams and firefighters who rescued her son and his friends. She also hopes their story serves as a warning to anyone, not just teens.

The warning: don't drive through water, whether it’s in a creek or on a street, because it can be extremely dangerous.

Vista Pop Warner is asking for donations to survive what it described as a “huge misappropriation of funds at the hands of a former board member.”

A statement from the youth football league claims there is an investigation underway into the theft of between $90,000 to $100,000.

"The loss of funds has crippled the organization," the statement reads.

"In October of last year some vendors who are owed money by Vista Pop Warner contacted members other than the ones usually responsible for the money saying we hadn't been paid," Kenneth Elliott, attorney representing the board members told NBC 7. "An investigation began late September early October. It was pretty clear pretty early on that a former board member had appropriated funds to themselves rather than paying the vendors. By the time we had all the paperwork that we needed we calculated about $93,000 loss."

The league believes the theft began in March 2014 and continued through late Fall 2015.

"I'm disgusted," head cheer coach and parent Amber Arredondo said. "I'm so disappointed. I just I can't believe that somebody would do that to these kids and be involved in their lives. It's just, it's disgusting."

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating according to the league’s statement. SDSO spokesperson Jan Caldwell told NBC 7, "This is an ongoing matter and right now, there is nothing we can say."

In order to continue operations, VPW said it needs donations to pay back creditors owed.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A reporter lay injured beneath a canopy of branches. In a 911 call, you can overhear her cries for help, as her news photographer is on the phone with a dispatcher.

“I’m scared, Mike. My back hurts. Mike, I’m scared,” you can hear her saying in the emergency call released by 10 News.

Marie Coronel, the reporter for 10 News, and photographer Mike Gold were soon rescued by emergency responders after suffering grave injuries on Monday morning while covering the storm in Mira Mesa. They were both crushed by a falling tree as they prepared to go on live TV.

This week, 10 News has reported the two are expected to make a full recovery.

In a newly released 911 call and in an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune, the tense and uncertain moments are apparent.

“At that moment she was in shock and terrified she was going to die,” Gold told the U-T in a recent interview.

In the 911 call, Gold tells the dispatcher simply: "We got hit by a tree.”

“One of them fell down on us,” he says. “I’m talking to you with a busted leg. My reporter is on the ground and she’s scared.”

As the dispatcher tells Gold that both of them should stay still, Coronel repeats that she’s scared and Gold is then heard comforting her.

“Hold me,” Coronel is heard saying.

“I’m right with you, Marie,” Gold says.

Gold had to direct emergency responders to the two’s whereabouts as it was pitch dark and the two were covered by branches, he told the U-T.

He suffered a compound leg fracture. Coronel was recovering in the intensive care unit at Scripps Memorial Hospital.

She had this message Thursday morning before her spinal surgery:

After she underwent surgery, 10 News tweeted:

A former U.S. Marine staff sergeant convicted of sex crimes against six young women in San Diego – including one attack while he was dressed in military fatigues – will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Former Camp Pendleton-based Marine Staff Sgt. Ted Amparan, 41, was convicted in May 2015 on multiple charges, including forcible rape, kidnapping and rape by foreign object.

On Friday, he was sentenced to 97 years to life behind bars.

Amparan's defense attorney argued for a more lenient sentence, given Amparan's military service. The judge said that she recognized Amparan's service, but said that when someone uses that as an excuse to deceive and hurt others, it loses weight.

According to investigators, Amparan attacked raped and sexually assaulted six women along San Diego’s El Cajon Boulevard over a five-year period – between 2007 and 2012 – when he was an active duty Marine.

Prosecutors said Amparan targeted prostitutes, taking them to secluded areas of Camino Del Rio South to sexually assault them.

"He picked the most vulnerable of our population in that they were sex workers on El Cajon Boulevard, almost all of them, and that's how he can get them in the car, and once they're in the car, they're at his mercy," said prosecutor Mary Ellen Barrett.

The women were between 16 and 23 years old and, though petite, fought back against him, prosecutors said.

One of the victims wasn’t a prostitute, but became lost while trying to find a friend on El Cajon Boulevard. Dressed in his military fatigues, Amparan stopped his car and offered her a ride.

When she realized that she was about to be raped, she fought back, Barrett explained.

"And it hurt her, and all she was asking for was please don't hurt me," said Barrett. "And he gained control of her with the use of the knife and he went on and hurt her, disregarding whatever she had said because she just wanted to survive."

In some cases, to get away from Amparan, his victims went as far as to scale a six-foot fence and cross two lanes of Interstate 8.

Some of the women testified at trial that Amparan told them nobody would believe their stories, and their cases would not be investigated.

"They are all amazingly strong women, I can say that," said Barrett, "and they are going on with their lives, which is incredible given what happened and the response and how long it took."

Amparan was booked into the South Bay Detention Facility in Chula Vista on May 24, 2012, where he has been in custody every since.

A fire that broke out at a two-story apartment building Friday turned out to be arson San Diego Fire-Rescue confirmed.

Fire crews and San Diego police responded just before 1 p.m. in the 5300 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. They found heavy smoke showing from an upstairs unit.

The fire was confined to a sofa in the apartment. They found light smoke damage to two neighboring apartments. No residents were displaced.

The resident was seen running from the scene and has been taken into custody.

Damage is estimated at $5000 for the apartment and $2000 for the contents.

Two men and a woman are missing after two small planes collided mid-air Friday evening and crashed into the waters near San Pedro.

A small debris field was located after a plane was reported down about 3:14 p.m. near the Point Fermin Lighthouse, according to Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department, which was assisting in a multi-agency search effort.

The crew of a fishing boat reported a plane hitting the water, an official with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguards Division said.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that two aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision and that tail identification numbers were recovered from both. A multi-agency search involving boats, helicopters and divers continued after nightfall.

The Coast Guard, which ordered the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor closed to all vessels, was "coordinating a surface level search effort," an official said.

During the search effort, rescuers found debris and a log book from one of the planes, said Capt. Jennifer Williams of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials said the two planes were expected to return to Torrance Airport where they had departed.

Long Beach Fire Department and Los Angeles Port Police also were involved in the search.

"We don't want to give up on anybody that is potentially out there," Williams said.

Helicopter crews were expected to return to the area Saturday morning to reassess and determine if the effort would continue as a rescue mission or a recovery.

Vikki Vargas, Hetty Chang and City News Service contributed to this report.

Humanitarian aid has been cut off to thousands of people as the city of Aleppo, Syria, has fallen under government siege, NBC News reported.

Russian airstrikes, which have increased in recent days, have also killed an estimated 150 civilians, according to U.S. officials on Friday.

The bombardment has also interrupted U.N.-led peace talks scheduled in Geneva this week. Officials said Russia and Syrian President Bashar Assad were not in compliance with a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for access for aid workers and to end bombing of civilians. 

When three California Highway Patrol (CHP) cruisers were stolen in separate incidents by suspects in handcuffs, one question arose: What happened?

All three vehicles were taken within a five-month period — two of them within three days of each other. Fourteen months after the first theft, the CHP revealed new answers Friday as to how the thefts happened through a California Public Records Act request from NBC 7.

In the first case, Casaundra Lane was arrested on suspicion of stealing a car near Mission Bay Park at Interstate 5 on Nov. 7, 2014. The officer handcuffed her and placed her in his patrol cruiser’s back seat. While the officer, who happened to be off-duty at the time, was filling out his paperwork outside of the vehicle, Lane climbed into the front seat and drove away.

The theft happened because, according to the CHP, the cruiser didn’t have a protective screen between the passenger section and the driver’s area.

According to CHP Officer Ricardo Rodriquez, the officer didn’t follow policy when driving a cruiser with no protective screen.

The arrest reports reveal no details about what happened to their stolen vehicle during the resulting chase, but Lane was ultimately taken into custody with the help of San Diego Police officers.

Additional documents include extraordinary details about the other two cases. Both involved men who had allegedly been drinking, smelling of alcohol with red, watery eyes. Both men were handcuffed, seated in the front seat of the cruiser and escaped the same way.

The second case happened on March 10, 2015, in Rainbow off Interstate 15. After colliding with a truck and trailer, Aaron Teruya stopped on the freeway shoulder and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The CHP officer put the handcuffed suspect in the passenger seat of his SUV.

As the CHP report stated, Teruya “slid both hands underneath his legs” to bring his hands in front of him, jumped in the driver’s seat and sped away. The officer quickly climbed into a tow truck and took off after his car.

Though the cruiser had GPS that officials could track, the chase went on for an hour and 50 minutes. It ended 10 miles from where it began when Teruya veered onto a dirt road east of Gird Road and crashed into a rock. No one was hurt, but the cruiser had moderate damage.

In describing the third theft on March 13, 2015, the CHP report reads like a page from a “Fast and Furious” movie script. Witnesses along the route said they saw the CHP vehicle going 91 miles an hour and driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

It began when John Perryman III allegedly tried to run from the scene of a crash in Westminter in the Los Angeles area. CHP officers caught him, put him in handcuffs and sat him in the passenger seat of their patrol vehicle.

Like Teruya, Perryman maneuvered his hands to the front of his body and took off in the CHP car, the arrest report states. 

An intense, high-speed pursuit ensued for 18 minutes. Once again the GPS system located the car, but by the time the CHP got it back, its windshield was cracked, the light bar destroyed and the side mirror was torn off.

No one was hurt in that case either, and no recent cases of stolen CHP cruisers have been reported.

After each of the incidents, the officers involved were “provided additional training and mandatory policy review to prevent future occurrences such as this,” according to Rodriquez.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is searching for a woman who suffers from medical conditions that place her at risk, her family says.

Mary Ann Bonifacio Lucas was last seen by her father and sister inside the Pala Casino in Valley Center at about 11 a.m. Thursday, investigators say.

Her mother reported her missing 24 hours later.

Lucas is a 51-year-old Asian woman, standing 4-feet-11-inches and weighing about 95 pounds. She has shoulder length, straight brown hair and brown eyes.

When her family last saw her, she was wearing a black jacket, gray shirt and black jeans.

If you know where Lucas may be, call the sheriff's department at 858-565-5200.

A man told Oceanside police Friday night that his girlfriend was kidnapped at gunpoint, but now police say that report was either a misunderstanding or the result of a quarrel between the man and woman.

At 9:30 p.m., an Oceanside police dispatcher received a kidnapping report from the motel at 901 N. Coast Highway. 

The boyfriend told officials that the suspects drove up to the couple in a Chevrolet Spark and made his girlfriend get into the car. He reported another person inside was armed with a handgun, police said.

However, undercover police tracked the woman down to another Motel 6 near Pointsettia and Avenida Encinitas in Carlsbad. She was unharmed and apparently not kidnapped.

Police are still trying to sort out the dramatic details, but they believe the woman and her boyfriend may have broken up earlier that day.

The woman may have left with an ex-boyfriend, police told NBC 7.

All parties have been accounted for, and no gun was ever found.

It's unclear if any charges will be filed at this point.

Two pit bulls were shot by an unknown suspect in San Diego's Shelltown neighborhood Friday night, according to San Diego police. 

The owner reported two shots at 8:15 p.m. in the 3900 block of Marine View Avenue, which is just north of National City and east of Interstate 5.

Walking into the front yard, the owner found the two dogs suffering from gunshot wounds.

The person called police, and a dispatcher told the owner to take the pit bulls to a veterinarian.

The animals were still alive as of 9:45 p.m., police say.

No further information was immediately available.

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews saved a person trapped up to his waist in dirt in a trench in Grantville, according to officials.

The hazard was created by an unstable dig by Ozzy's Plumbing Service in the 4800 block of Elsa Street. Since last Saturday, employees began digging to repair the sewer line between a house and the street.

Dr. Laurel Herbst, a neighbor, said the work continued, even without trench supports.

"They said they were trying to get the shoring plates to put in, but they haven't been delivered," said Herbst. "They kept calling the city for help, but they're busy." 

The situation became dangerous around 3:47 p.m. Friday, when the sides of the 15-foot trench partially collapsed around a plumbing contractor.

The falling dirt surrounded him to his waist, trapping him.

"Probably saved his life; if anymore dirt fell on that guy, he'd quit breathing," said Glen Holder, a SDFD Battalion Chief.

Rescuers worked quickly, placing ladders across the hole and reaching down to get the man out before he was buried fully in dirt.

The job is now on hold, pending an investigation by CAL/OSHA. An investigator on site said the dirt from the hole is piled too close. Holder told NBC 7 the trench is not properly supported and a large back hoe is also too close to the edge.

"You're risking an employee's life, and for firefighters, this is the most dangerous rescue there is," said Holder. "I would argue that a trench rescue is more dangerous then going into a structure fire."

The victim was rescued by 4:15 p.m. and was evaluated for injuries. The man told NBC 7 said he is OK, but his coworkers did not want to talk about the incident.

Firefighters are evaluating the dig to see what kind of citations to issue.

As the six-month countdown to the start of the Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro hit calendars across the world, one of Team USA’s biggest stars quietly wrapped up a training session in San Diego.

Swimmer Ryan Lochte spent the past three weeks living at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center while training at several high school pools across the county with his teammates on Swim Mac Elite based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lochte, who turns 32 in August, aims to represent the U.S. in his fourth Olympics.

“I remember when it was my 1st Olympics and I was one of the youngest guys on our USA team, and now I’m the oldest guy on the USA team, so it’s weird” said Lochte.

An 11-time Olympic Medalist, Lochte finds himself working harder than ever to compete against the next generation of swimmers emerging around him.

“I can’t be going out all the time partying, getting four hours of sleep and then going to practice and being fine,” said Lochte. Since the 2012 Olympics in London, he has embraced a regimented training schedule built on good sleep and a good diet.

“I hate greens. I’ve never been the one to really eat them and now for the past year -- year and a half -- I have a cook back home who is making greens and I’m starting to love eating salads,” said Lochte.

Team USA’s Olympic Swimming Trials, set for late June in Omaha, Nebraska, will determine who makes the 2016 Olympic Team.

Lochte is as close a lock to making the team as anyone in a Speedo, but still hasn’t decided whether to compete in the 400 individual medley, which earned him gold in London.

“I think it increases the chance of the U.S. to get a medal in that event, so we’re hoping that is something he and I can end up coming to as far as what he should do there at the meet,” said David Marsh, Swim Mac Elite Head Coach.

Lochte could opt to skip the 400 individual medley to conserve energy for later races since it is the meet’s first event.

He is the first to admit he can’t go “all out” like he used to, but proved at last year’s World Championships that he still has the physical tools to win Gold.

He also knows he has something the younger swimmers don’t have.

“It doesn’t get any easier, but you know, one thing we do have on them is confidence and experience”.

Deputies with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department began testing the use of body cameras Friday, with six stations participating in the 90-day trial.

The cameras will be tested at six stations including Rancho San Diego Station, Lakeside Substation, Vista Station, North Coastal Station, Rural Command, and in the Hall of Justice.

Personal body cams created by WatchGuard Video, TASER International, and Vievu will each be tested in 30-day long periods, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

At the end of the entire trial, deputies’ product feedback will help influence the brand or type of device the department selects, explained the Sheriff’s office.

The process of incorporating body cameras into the Sheriff's Department began in August 2014 when the department created a body cam committee. The committee researched companies, equipment, video storage options, and camera protocols and policies. Other agencies such as San Diego, Escondido, Chula Vista and Carlsbad Police Departments were also consulted about their experiences with personal recording devices. Representatives from the Data Service Division, Training Unit, Contracts Division, and Patrol and Detentions unit were included in the committee, said the Sheriff’s Department.

San Diego’s use of police body cameras started in 2012 when Coronado added several devices to their police force. The San Diego Police Department followed in April 2014 with a 10-camera trial. Other departments, such as Del Mar and Chula Vista incorporated cameras by late 2014 and early 2015.

For the current San Diego County Sheriff’s Department body camera trial policy and protocol, click here.
 

An English teacher at a Southern California high school was arrested Thursday for allegedly engaging in sex acts with a 15-year-old boy from San Diego whom he met online.

Lucas Michael Drake, 36, was taken into custody by police detectives in Yucaipa, California, on child molestation charges, including contacting a juvenile for sex.

Since Jan. 20, the Yucaipa Police Department and Chula Vista Police Department had been working together to investigate Drake – a teacher at Yucaipa’s Colton High School, a campus of about 3,300 students located six miles away from San Bernardino.

During the investigation, the Yucaipa Police Department says detectives discovered Drake had been communicating with a teenager online.

He later met that teen in San Diego County and took the teen to his home in Yucaipa, where he allegedly engaged in sex acts with the minor.

On Thursday, detectives executed a search warrant at Drake’s home. There, authorities found more evidence of molestation.

Drake was booked into the West Valley Detention Center on $100,000 bail. He is set to be arraigned on Monday in San Bernardino Superior Court.

There may be more victims in this case. Detectives are asking anyone with information involving similar incidents to call the Yucaipa Police Department Detective Bureau at (909) 918-2325 or the anonymous tip line 1-800-78-CRIME.