A group of military veterans was denied service at an Oceanside restaurant because of what members were wearing.

The American Legion Riders Chapter 328 went on a ride to Oceanside from Norco this weekend as a farewell ride for a member who is about to go on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

When they stopped for lunch at Davina's Cabo Grill, the riders said an employee told them they needed to remove their vests in order to eat.

American Legion Riders 328 president Carlene Warren said the employee explained the restaurant’s policy. Watch video

“They explained to me that they did not allow colors. They were referring to our vest and typically colors are used to refer to motorcycle gangs,” Warren said.

“We're all veterans. These are veteran patches. All the patches that are on there are military based. The pins are all military based,” Warren said adding the group of riders has no affiliation with any type of motorcycle club.

In a statement posted on Facebook the restaurant's general manager offered this explanation:

"Unfortunately due to the location and nature of our business, it has become policy to require that any and all organizations that wear representation on jackets and vests to remove them. Whether they are gangs, bikers, locals, out having fun, weekenders, military, etc….”

It was something the veterans refused to do.

"We would not take them off and it meant going someplace else, we would go someplace else and that's exactly what we ended up doing,” said Warren.

Warren says the group of 28 ate and hung at The Longboarder Cafe and Haunted Head Saloon.

“I sincerely feel that an apology is necessary, it would have been simple in the beginning just to acknowledge the fact they had made a mistake,” Warren said.

The managers at Davina's Cabo Grill said they are also veterans and hate that this happened but they have to follow the rules.

If they allow one group in with the vests, they'd have to allow others.

Oceanside is located north of San Diego and is home to Camp Pendleton which has a daytime population of 70,000 military and civilian employees.  More than 77,000 retired military personnel reside within a 50-mile radius of the base.
 

A mother was caught leaving two children under 5 in a running car while she went shopping in an Eastlake store.

Chula Vista say the woman left her 4-year-old and 8-month-old in the car with the engine on and the door unlocked.

She told police she was only going to be a couple minutes.

Chula Vista Police say 30-year-old Glenda Palafox went into the Target store on Telegraph Canyon Road Saturday for about ten minutes.

The threat of overheating wasn't a factor since the car’s air conditioning was left on officials. Officers say the biggest concern was that the door was unlocked with a key in the ignition.

“We've all seen the stories about kids who've been kidnapped, kids who have been unattended in cars, kids who have access to a car with the engine on…put it in gear. There's so many different possibilities,” said Capt. Gary Wedge.

Palafox was cited with misdemeanor child endangerment.

Any parent knows that bringing children into a store can be a difficult task but parents said there's never a circumstance when you should leave them in the car.

New mom Marissa Reyes said juggling kids and errands is a part of life.

“It is a lot of work, “Reyes said. “I actually just left my baby at home with my husband because I just wanted to run in and out of Target.”

“She should have been arrested. It's unimaginable leaving my kids even at 10 years old. We don't leave them in the car. It's too dangerous,” said San Ysidro resident Ernesto Ochoa.

Palafox was never booked or taken into the police station but rather, cited on the spot by officers.

“She was crying as you might expect. Nobody has said that she's a bad person but the choice she made that day was a poor choice,” Wedge said.
 

Authorities have arrested the internet celebrity known as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" in connection with the murder of a New Jersey lawyer.

Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, who received the nickname because he used a hatchet to subdue a man who ran over a California utility worker, was arrested at a Greyhound Bus terminal in Philadelphia, police said.

Officials believe McGillvary, 24, killed Joseph Galfy, who was found in his Clark, N.J. home on Monday, dead of blunt force trauma. Prosecutors say Galfy met McGillvary in Times Square Saturday night, and brought him back to his house to spend the night.

They say they believe the two men had a sexual encounter.

Authorities said McGillvary, who has appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," pondered on his Facebook page Tuesday the idea of waking up in a stranger's house with a groggy head and injuries, and the realization of being drugged and raped. "What would you do?" he wrote, according to officials.

McGillvary gained notoriety earlier this year when he was hitchhiking with a man who allegedly attempted to run over a utility worker.

According to the Fresno Bee, McGillvary pulled a hatchet out of his backpack and struck the driver in the head after the dispute, and others held the man until police arrived.

McGillvary describes himself as "homefree," rather than "homeless," and said on Kimmel that he steals from Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway and gives away the loot.

Authorities said he will be processed in Philadelphia and returned to New Jersey in the coming days.

News of the arrest came just as family and friends had gathered at a New Jersey funeral home for Galfy's wake.

"I prefer to think that Joe was a decent person who opened his door to someone and paid a hell of a price," said Michael Savvis, a friend of Galfy's. "I thought he was a good man, a great attorney."

--Pat Battle and Pei-Sze Cheng contributed to this report

Firefighters battled a brush fire in the Jamul area on Thursday, Cal Fire officials said.

The fire was reported around 1:10 p.m. near Otay Lakes Road and the north side of State Route 94.

Cal Fire officials said the blaze spread quickly and scorched roughly 10 to 15 acres.

A bulldozer, 15 fire engines, three fire crews, two air tankers, one water tender, two helicopters and two chief officers were assigned to tackle the fire. Cal Fire officials said additional engines were being staged to assist, if needed.

By 2:05 p.m., fire officials said the spread of the fire had stopped. Firefighters will monitor the scene for the next three to four hours and mop up hotspots.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries have been reported.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

Officials conducted compliance checks on more than three dozen sex offenders who live in the North County on Thursday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Station said.

From 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., deputies from the Encinitas Sheriff’s Station and the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force checked in on 36 sex offenders who live in Encinitas, Solana Beach, Cardiff by the Sea, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe.

During the door-to-door compliance checks, officials contacted 31 out of the 36 sex offenders. Next week, officials say the SAFE Task Force will conduct follow-up checks on the five remaining sex offenders not contacted today.

To register for a free service that allows you to receive email alerts when a sex offender moves in and out of your neighborhood, visit this website. For more details on sex offenders in your community, visit the Megan’s Law website.
 

No one won Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, which is good news for somebody: There will be an even bigger drawing on Saturday night.

As of Friday, the jackpot hit $600 million. That's the largest jackpot in Powerball history and the second biggest lotto drawing overall. A sole winner opting for an immediate cash payout would suddenly have an extra $376.9 million on hand, which would make that lucky gambler wealthier than both Mitt Romney and Beyoncé Knowles.

There are many ways to spend that sort of fortune. Here are 12 suggestions:

DO SOMETHING ALTRUISTIC

• Reduce the nation's debt: The jackpot could reduce the United States' $16.7 trillion debt by about 4 thousandths of a percent. If a winner wanted to feel more useful, he or she could alternatively choose to pay off the entire $200 million government debt for the Kingdom of Tonga, a small nation in the South Pacific, and still have money to spare.
   
• Give $5,454 to every single one of the 110,000 people living below the poverty line in Washington, D.C.
   
• Give about $11,765 to each of the estimated 51,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles county.
   
• Help young professionals: The average 25-year-old owed about $20,326 in student loan debt last year, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. With $600 million, a Powerball winner could wipe out debt for nearly 30,000 recent graduates.
   
• Pay the bills of American consumers: A winner could bail out more than 38,000 credit card debt-saddled American households. According to nerdwallet.com, the average American household kicked off the year owing credit card companies $15,422.
   
• Give the children of Malawi an education: Annual secondary school fees in Malawi range from less than $30 to more than $700. In a country where more than 40 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, even the least expensive options are still too costly for many families. A Powerball winner willing to donate $300 per pupil could easily cover the cost of one year of schooling for more than 2 million Malawians.

TREAT YOURSELF AND THOSE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE YOUR FRIEND

• Blow it on a mega-yacht. Or maybe two: Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko made headlines when he bought a 394-foot ultra-luxury yacht, equipped with its own helipad. It rang in at $300 million.
   



• Buy fancy cars: The most expensive car on the market, according to thesupercars.org, is a Lamborghini Veneno. Each one is priced at $3.9 million, which means a Powerball winner could afford 153.
   
• Take a round trip space voyage every day for the next 20 months: A trip to outer space with five friends costs $1 million with Virgin Galactic.
   
• Buy a sports team. According to a Forbes report earlier this year, the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets are in your price range.
   
• Produce the most expensive movie in history. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which ranks among the priciest, had a budget of about $330 million.
   
• Buy Downton Abbey, which was valued at $400 million by the Movoto real estate blog. Or you can but this Beverly Hills mansion, which is actually on the market. The "Legendary Beverly House" can accommodate a 400-person sit down dinner, has an art-deco night club wine cellar, two projection rooms, a spa, gym, massage room, tennis court, indoor bar, media center guest house and an eight-car garage. The property, which appeared in "The Godfather" and "The Bodyguard," goes for $115 million. You'll probably need the rest of your winnings for furnishings and upkeep.

Thousands of runners and walkers will take over the Coronado Bay Bridge on Sunday for the Navy’s 27th annual Bay Bridge Run/Walk.

The four-mile walk and run starts at 8 a.m. Participants begin their route from the Hilton San Diego Bayfront over the Coronado Bay Bridge to Tidelands Park located at One Park Blvd. in Coronado.

After the event, which includes live entertainment and prize drawings at the park, a bus or ferry will transport participants back to San Diego from Coronado.

The annual event acts as a fundraiser for the Navy’s Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs.
MWR “Quality of Life” programs provide fitness and recreation opportunities to more than 500,000 active duty and retired military, reservists, their families and civilian employees in San Diego County.

Registration for this year’s event has already sold out, but details on the run/walk can still be found here. For a map of the route, see below.
 

Staff at San Diego County’s leading trauma center now has the most advanced technology at their fingertips.

On Thursday, UC San Diego Health Care unveiled the newest addition to the county's trauma care system with its state-of-the-art Level 1 Trauma Center.

Trauma teams have access to the latest in diagnostics, digital imaging, and communication.

Center director Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD, FACS said the cutting-edge technology will allow staff to resuscitate patients more rapidly.

Among the additions, a modern x-ray system that delivers “film” three seconds after an image is taken straight into the system’s computers. That’s a big difference than the old system where staff would wait 15 to 20 minutes for the same image.

Results from laboratories will also pop up directly on the computer screens. Staff will no longer have to run to the lab to get the results Coimbra said.

There is also a unique camera system that allows medical staff to guide four patients at once, splitting a monitor and giving a specialist or other doctors the ability to see what’s happening in several trauma rooms simultaneously.

“The most modern trauma center in San Diego County that we are opening today,” Coimbra said. “I hope other the trauma centers will follow our lead on this system.”

The center on W. Arbor Drive serves approximately 2,900 patients a year covering the area south of Interstate 805 to the ocean and Interstate 8 to the Mexican border.

UC San Diego’s Trauma Center has served as a model for other countries and was recently certified as a Level I trauma center.
 

Federal and state investigators have ruled the cause of the deadly fire and explosion at a fertilizer facility in West as undetermined.

The April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. killed 15 and injured hundreds while laying waste to much of the tiny town.

Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said a ruling of undetermined is made when the cause "cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty."

"This could be due to insufficient information or if multiple causes could not be eliminated," he said.

Robert Champion, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dallas Field Division agent in charge, said the following could not be eliminated: a 120-volt electrical system, a golf cart and an intentionally set fire.

A West first responder was arrested last week on suspicion of possessing bomb-making materials, but Champion said investigators would not speculate about whether Bryce Reed is connected to the blast.

Investigators have ruled several possible causes, such as the rekindling of a fire, spontaneous ignition, the 480-volt electrical system that ran the plant's heavy equipment, anhydrous ammonia, ammonia nitrate, smoking and weather.

The investigation into the fire is open and ongoing, although the excavation of the scene is complete. The State Fire Marshal's Office, the ATF, the Department of Public Safety, the McLennan County Sheriff's and District Attorney's Offices will continue to have staff in West to work on the investigation.

Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz released the following statement on the investigation:
"We appreciate the individuals and agencies who have worked to investigate the cause of the tragic explosion in West. Our prayers remain with those struggling to recover and mourning the loss of loved ones. While the cause remains undetermined, it is our sincere hope that at the end of the investigation, the residents of West can find closure and begin to heal."

Details of the fire

The fire, which started in the fertilizer and seed building, sparked two explosions, investigators said. The explosions were "milliseconds" apart, and most people would have registered them as one explosion, investigators said.

The fire was reported at 7:29 p.m., and the two explosions occurred at approximately 7:51 p.m. The fire department was dispatched at 7:32 p.m. and firefighters arrived at 7:38 p.m.

Water from the firefighting activities did not contribute to the cause of the explosion.

The blast left a 37-block area of damage and a crater that was 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The furthest piece of evidence was found two and half miles away, but most evidence was found within a 3,000-foot radius.

The origin of the fire was determined to be in the northern area of the fertilizer and seed building, in what is referred to as the seed room.

The golf cart that could not be eliminated as a possible cause of the fire was located in that room. The 120-volt electrical system that could not be ruled out was also located in the building.

Investigators estimate that between 28 and 34 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, the equivalent of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of TNT.

An additional 20 to 30 tons in the building and approximately 100 tons of ammonium nitrate in a nearby railcar did not explode.

Connealy said the families of those killed in the blast were briefed on the findings before the press conference.

In addition to the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire, the fire marshal's office has also been conducting a firefighter line of duty death investigation, as required by state law. Work on the report for that investigation is expected to take several months.

The Texas Rangers and McLennan County Sheriff's Office last week opened a criminal investigation into the blast. The fire marshal's office said Thursday that the fire investigation had been considered a criminal investigation since the case was opened.

Los Angeles was the worst city in the U.S. for dog attacks on letter carriers last year, according a new report by the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service released its dog attack city rankings on Wednesday as a prelude to National Dog Bite Prevention Week and urges pet owners to help reduce the incidence of dog bites to letter carriers.

“If our letter carriers deem your loose dog to be a threat, you’ll be asked to pick up your mail at the Post Office until it’s safe to deliver,” said Ken Snavely, acting postmaster of Los Angeles, where 69 postal employees were attacked last year.

Nationwide, 5,879 postal employees were attacked.

Snavely said that in situations where a dog roams the neighborhood, delivery to the owner’s neighbors could be curtailed as well.

Also, when letter carriers come to a customer’s door, pet owners are asked to place dogs in a separate room and close the door, as many canines have been known to jump through screen and glass doors.

Dog attacks are a nationwide issue and not just a postal problem.

Nearly 5,900 letter carriers were attacked last year, but that pales in comparison to the 4.7 million Americans annually bitten by dogs — more than half of whom are children — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Many dogs are cherished members of their family and people believe their dog won’t bite, but given the right circumstances, any dog can attack," Snavely said. “Dogs do not reason like people do and they will react to their instinct to protect their family and territory."

Just last week, a woman was fatally mauled by several pit bulls while on a jog in the high desert community of Littlerock, north of Los Angeles. Three days later, a girl on a walk in Corona was attacked by a pit bull.

An Chicago man was sentenced Thursday morning in connection with a beach party fight that turned deadly.

James Malecek, 19, waived his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

A judge accepted the plea agreement, and Malecek will serve 145 days in jail beginning July 1.

Malecek punched Mt. Carmel high school student Kevin Kennelly during a July Fourth disturbance in Long Beach, Ind., in 2011.

Malecek had just graduated from Loyola Academy and was set to begin college at Texas Christian University in Forth Worth. Both families owned second homes in Long Beach.

A teary-eyed Malecek apologized to the victim's family in court, saying, "Mr. and Mrs. Kennelly, I never intended to injure your son, Kevin. It truly was a terribly accident."

But the Kennelly's aren't happy with the plea deal.

"He's been given a gift," Kevin Kennelly, Sr. said outside the courtroom. "He did it, he's been very lightly sentenced for it, he believes it was an accident, I don't know how anyone could believe that."

Malecek will have to wear an electronic monitoring device for up to three-and-a-half years after he's released.

Sex crimes detectives from the San Diego Police Department are searching for an unknown man who allegedly tried to sexually assault a woman in North Park in broad daylight.

According to detectives, a man attempted the sexual attack on a 61-year-old woman on Tuesday at around 10:15 a.m. on the pedestrian ramp from University Avenue to the Georgia Street bridge.

The scene is near Grace Baptist Church and Sprouts market in North Park.

On Thursday, the SDPD released a sketch of the suspect.

Detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating the man, who’s described as a 35 to 40-year-old Hispanic male. He’s 5-foot-9, 160 pounds and has a “wiry” build and ruddy complexion. He has black hair and a thick mustache.

The case is under investigation. Anyone with information should contact the SDPD at (619) 531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

Federal agents served search warrants at a tech company based in San Diego that has offices in more than 20 cities in the U.S. as well as China.

Agents arrived Thursday at Technology Integration Group (TIG) on Trade Center Street north of Miramar Road.

Workers at nearby businesses say the police activity started around 9 a.m. Thursday.

They watched as workers at the business gathered in the parking lot.

"I thought it was a fire drill," said one man off camera.

Others noticed the law enforcement jackets, some with "FBI" and realized it was something else.

At the same time, agents with the Department of Energy-Office of Inspector General, FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation served warrants on the TIG location in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

All officials would say only that the warrants were part of an ongoing federal investigation.

Neighbors say by midday it appeared most employees had left.
 

A Southern California Navy official has been removed from his post after he allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to two female members of his command, Naval Surface Force officials confirmed on Thursday.

Navy officials say Cmdr. Allen Maestas, Executive Officer of the Coronado-based Beachmaster Unit 1 (BMU), allegedly sent inappropriate texts and emails to two enlisted female members of his command.

Navy officials would not comment on the exact content of the alleged texts and emails.

The Navy released the following statement Thursday regarding the removal of Maestas:

"The executive officer of Beachmaster Unit (BMU) 1 was relieved May 16 because of inappropriate comments sent in text messages and e-mails to members of his command. Cmdr. Allen Maestas was relieved by Commander of Naval Beach Group (NBG) 1, Capt. Kevin Flanagan. Lt. Cmdr. Geoffrey Belanger, BMU-1 operations officer, has assumed the duties as acting executive officer. A permanent relief is expected to arrive in June. Maestas has been temporarily reassigned to the staff of NBG-1. Beachmasters manage the transfer of equipment and personnel from ship to shore."

The Navy says Maestas first enlisted in 1985 as an Electrician's Mate before working his way up the ranks. He reported to BMU-1 as executive officer in April 2012. Over his career, he has earned the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal, among other decorations.

Maestas’ removal comes on the heels of staggering new figures released by the Pentagon on the number of sexual assaults in the military.

Last week, Pentagon documents showed that up to 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted in the last year, indicating that unreported sexual assault in the military is a growing epidemic across the services.

Underscoring the problem, an Air Force officer in charge of its sexual-assault program, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, was recently arrested in a Virginia parking lot for allegedly groping a woman.

And earlier this week, NBC News reported that a U.S. Army sergeant who coordinated a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas, is being investigated for a host of sexual misconduct charges.

A Pentagon source told NBC News that the soldier is accused of having forced at least one subordinate into prostitution and of having sexually assaulted two others. He has been suspended from his job pending the probe by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and his identity has not been released.

A Chicago-area man is thankful he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar — it turned him into a millionaire.

Ricardo Cerezo's wife said she wanted to throw out a host of old lottery tickets that the family had stashed away in a cookie jar, and told her husband to chedk their value before he trashed them. Cerezo drove to a nearby gas station to see if he had a winner among the months-worth of unchecked tickets.

"The last ticket said, 'file a claim.' Not a congratulations, not an amount, just said 'file a claim," Cerezo said. Intrigued, he contacted the Illinois Lottery. 

The ticket, which he bought in February, turned out to be worth a cool $4.85 million.

The winning ticket couldn't have come at a better time for the family. Cerezo's home in Geneva, Ill. was facing pending foreclosure, and the family was reeling from the loss of his 14-year-old daughter Savannah, who died as a result of a series of seizures.

Savannah had bought the cookie jar for her father a few months before she died on August 12, 2012. The family kept the lotto tickets and some of their family keepsakes in that cookie jar.

The windfall, however, came with a bit of meloncholy.

"The honest first reaction was mammoth regret. Regret because our youngest wasn't here to enjoy this," Cerezo said.

But now he says he's able to find peace, knowing this was an incredible gift from his daughter.

The family plans to keep working to pay off their mortgage, pay for college and donate a portion of the money to charity and their church.

Police are searching for a hit and run driver who struck and injured 10-year-old boy in Chula Vista on Thursday and then fled the scene.

Lt. Fritz Arber with the Chula Vista Police Department told NBC 7 the collision happened around 3:30 p.m. in the 600 block of Oxford Street and Broadway as the boy was walking to a nearby park.

Police say a driver behind the wheel of a lifted blue Jeep with large tires hit the child and may headed eastbound on Oxford Street or south on Broadway.

According to dispatchers and officers, the boy was taken to Rady Children's Hospital with injuries. Lt. Arber says passers-by noticed the boy bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Further information about the victim and his current condition was not immediately released.

Chula Vista officials are at the scene investigating. Check back for updates. 

The bacon smell smelled so much of bacon, that now, the bacon must go.

A San Francisco bacon restaurant -- called Bacon Bacon -- must shut its doors after neighbors' complaints about the smell of bacon revealed a fatal permitting issue, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Bacon Bacon, at 250A Frederick Street, will close its doors at the end of service Friday after its owner "failed" to negotiate with neighbors who took offense to the pork restaurant's smell.

The smell led to the revelation that the restaurant lacked "proper health permits" last summer.

The restaurant may be able to secure a permit but the first time a hearing can be held is July. So the restaurant must close.

Neighbors claimed that the "porcine aroma" was overpowering and that grease was illegally disposed of in the sewers.

Neighbors also say that they offered to buy the restaurant owner a new air filter -- but he declined.

Owner Jim Angelus says he'll revive the restaurant's food truck -- when he can find an approved kitchen location in which to prepare meals.

More Local Stories:

• Restaurant Cleanliness: S. Bay Eateries Closer to Accountability
• Embarcadero's Dying Palm Trees Leave Big Bills
• Pot-Bellied Pig Stench Causes Neighborhood Ruckus

Eagles starting offensive lineman Evan Mathis has never strayed far from controversy even calling fans "idiots" for wanting former Eagles coach Andy Reid fired.

This time Mathis’ anger was geared towards the Internal Revenue Service.

Per Pro Football Talk:

Like most if not all Americans, Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis doesn’t like it.  Unlike most if not all Americans, Mathis has opted to make his views known, in an entertaining way.

“Audit This,” tweeted Mathis as he posted an Instagram photo making it look as if he's urinating on the sign for the IRS’ offices.

In the midst of a federal scandal involving the IRS’ treatment of Tea party and other right-wing non-profit groups Mathis’ photo created plenty of chatter online even getting its own Mashable writeup along with plenty of comments and retweets.

The most interesting aspect of the photo however could be the boot on Mathis’ left leg confirming an earlier CSNPhilly.com report that Mathis would miss the Eagles recent OTAs after ankle surgery.

The attorney who represented OJ Simpson in a trial stemming from a bizarre 2007 Las Vegas hotel room raid testified Friday that he advised Simpson to call police after the former NFL Hall of Fame player mentioned plans to retrieve sports memorabilia.

Yale Galanter's advice to Simpson -- who was sentenced to prison after the 2008 trial -- before the raid and decisions he made during the case have been the focus of this week's hearing in Las Vegas. The ex-USC Trojan wants a judge to throw out the robbery-kidnapping convictions on the claim that Galanter failed to disclose that he knew about the hotel room raid in advance, told Simpson it was legal and provided bad advice at trial.

Galanter, who previously won an acquittal in a Simpson road rage case, was asked Friday by attorneys for the state about a steakhouse dinner with Simpson the night before the raid. Simpson was in Las Vegas for a wedding, Galanter was working on a case, so the two decided to meet, Galanter said.

"In the middle of him explaining the rehearsal dinner, he said that he and some of his boys may be doing a sting in the morning," said Galanter. "When he first mentioned it, it went over my head. It was social, and about a minute later I leaned over and said, 'What are you talking about? What sting? What are you doing?'"

Simspon told him "some of his boys had an opportunity to get some of his property back," Galanter testified.

"He said he finally had a lead on some personal items of his that had been stolen from his house in California," Galanter added. "He wanted to know what I thought about it. I told him to call the police."

Galanter's testimony is an opportunity to defend his role in the case Friday during what is expected to be the final day of testimony. It is not clear when the judge will issue a ruling, but the outcome is part of a process that will determine whether the 65-year-old Simpson spends the rest of his life in prison.

He has already served four years in prison, but must serve nine of the maximum 33-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

During Thursday's proceedings, prosecutors told the judge they want to call a surprise witness. Simpsons' attorneys objected, claiming it was too late to add a witness.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Leon Simon told the Simpson attorneys a woman contacted the DA's office after Simpson testified Wednesday, according to Simpson's defense.  Outside the courtroom, Simon had no comment.

The judge is expected to rule Friday morning on the prosecution's request.

Simpson did not testify during the criminal trial -- a decision a member of his trial legal team said was a mistake during testimony earlier this week -- but he was on the stand for about six hours Wednesday. Simpson provided his version of events leading up to a confrontation at the Palace Station hotel during which the former Heisman trophy winner and an impromptu posse retrieved sports memorabilia and other items.

Simpson said the items disappeared after his 1995 "trial of the century" acquittal in the slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Simpson testified he did not want anyone in his group to bring guns. One of the dealers, Bruce Fromong, testified during the original trial that a gun was pointed at him and he was told he would be shot if he did not cooperate.

It's not clear what facets of Simpson's testimony the potential witness would contradict. Simon was to meet with her late Thursday.

Simpson testified that before he ever went to the Palace Station, he talked to Galanter about recovering stolen property, and used Galanter's advice in developing his plan. Galanter went on to serve as Simpson's lead attorney at trial.

Before the trial, Galanter signed a stipulation that he had no conflict of interest. But Simpson's current legal team contends he did have a conflict, and made decisions to protect his own interest in collecting more than a half-million dollars in legal fees from Simpson.

On Thursday, Simpson's position was bolstered by Malcolm LaVergne, who joined Simpson's legal team after the conviction to work on the appeal.  LaVergne suggested it might have been appropriate for Galanter to testify for Simpson, describing the advice he gave, rather than representing him.

LaVergne was asked if, in his opinion, Galanter's decisions were affected by a conflict of interest.

"From what I now know, absolutely," LaVergne testified.

As for the items Simpson wanted, a judge eventually ruled that the items should be delivered to Simpson's civil case attorney.

Trailing 5-0, the San Diego Padres had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning and were poised to do a little damage against Stephen Strasburg.

Special Section: San Diego Padres

A groundout by Everth Cabrera brought in one run, but then Strasburg struck out Will Venable to end the threat.

Strasburg went on to pitch a career-high eight innings against his hometown Padres, snapping a seven-start winless streak, and Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-2 victory against San Diego on Thursday night.

Strasburg's 54th big league start was his first professional appearance at Petco Park. The big right-hander went to high school in suburban Santee and pitched for Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State before the Nationals took him with the first overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft. He pitched twice at Petco Park for SDSU.

He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits while striking out four and walking three. He got the final out of the eighth on his 117th pitch.

San Diego's Jedd Gyorko led off the fifth with a double that caromed off the base of the stands in left and Alexi Amarista walked. With one out, pinch-hitter Kyle Blanks hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, whose throw to second sailed over Steve Lombardozzi for an error that loaded the bases. Everth Cabrera's groundout brought in a run before Strasburg struck out Will Venable.

"He worked his way out of that jam," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We tried to get a little closer. He got Cabby on that groundball and then ended up striking out Will. That's a situation we talked about where he made a couple of pitches to minimize the damage and that got him through the middle part of the game.

"The difference was the fourth and fifth inning for them and us not getting the big hit when we had the bases loaded."

Strasburg (2-5) had gone seven innings 10 times, including three this year.

In Strasburg's only other appearance against the Padres, he lasted just four innings in a 6-1 loss at Washington on May 15, 2012.

Strasburg held the Padres scoreless through four innings and allowed only one run in the fifth despite loading the bases with one out.

"He kept the ball down for the most part," Yonder Alonso said. "We had the bases loaded there and we couldn't get it done. I still feel like when we did get the fastball we just didn't put good swings on it. When we did, we didn't find the holes and they made some good plays. They played good defense behind him."

Harper, back in the lineup three nights after running full-on into the scoreboard in right field at Dodger Stadium, hit a monster shot estimated at 431 feet to straightaway center field on the first pitch he saw from Tyson Ross with two outs in the seventh. Harper's homer nearly reached the base of the batter's eye. It was his 11th.

Harper's violent collision with the wall at Dodger Stadium left the 20-year-old slugger with 11 stitches in his chin and a sore body. Harper said he felt a little better but his whole left side was still sore. He played left field and batted third.

LaRoche hit a two-run homer into the sandy play area beyond the fence in right-center off Edinson Volquez (3-4) with one out in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. It was his fifth.

The Nationals added three runs off Volquez in the fifth, on a two-run single by Ryan Zimmerman and an RBI single by Steve Lombardozzi.

Volquez allowed five runs and five hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked four. Chris Denorfia hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.