Authorities have uncovered a multi-state marijuana ring operating out of a Southern California beach community.

Officials claim three men in their 20s made up to $30,000 a week by shipping pot to cities all across the U.S. from Pacific Beach, an area known by locals as a mecca for the bar-hopping crowd.

The men's next-door homes on La Jolla Boulevard was searched Wednesday morning along with a warehouse on Gaines Street in the Midway District.

Inside the warehouse, investigators said they found a sophisticated grow containing more than 400 pot plants. Officers also seized $500,000 in assets including bank accounts, cash, cars, silver bars and firearms from the suspects that included an SKS rifle, a shotgun and a handgun. Ammunition was also found.

"I had no idea what was going on," neighbor Oliver Austria said. "Came out and saw all these police officers parked outside. Looked like, not sure if it was SWAT team, but they were dressed to the nines with gear."

Austria said he couldn't believe the scope of the drug bust in his Pacific Beach neighborhood.

"It's all a shock to me. I had no clue," he said.

The three suspects – Chris Gillen, 24; Kyle Gillen, 25; and Matthew Schneider, 28 – allegedly ran a highly-active marijuana ring via the U.S. Postal Service, mailing 15 to 20 pounds of pot to customers each week in several states including New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York.

Lt. Lon Turner of the Chula Vista Police Department said the suspects also used the U.S. Postal Service to receive large sums of the money for the drug shipments  - making up to $20,000 to $30,000 a week.

The bust was part of a yearlong investigation spearheaded by multiple agencies including the U.S. Postal Service and the Chula Vista Police Department’s Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Unit, National City police, SDPD and deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The three men were arrested and booked into San Diego Central Jail on multiple charges, including money laundering, cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy.

The three men appeared in court Friday for their arraignment. They stood side by side as prosecutors laid out the charges against them.

Deputy District Attorney Stacey McReynolds said the investigation into the Pacific Beach marijuana ring began in July 2012 with officials from the U.S. Postal Service monitoring packages of money being delivered between the suspects and correspondents in the East Coast.

McReynolds said an anti-money laundering task force then became involved, investigating whether there was a reason why the suspects were receiving so much money in the mail.

Through surveillance, McReynolds said investigators were able to link the Gillen brothers and Schneider to the marijuana grow at the warehouse on Gaines Street.

According to McReynolds, the suspects were allegedly shipping marijuana grown in San Diego to the East Coast, with cash payments for the weed being mailed or wired back to them.

They used several different mailboxes to conduct their business.

McReynolds said investigators tracked more than 150 pounds of pot allegedly shipped by the defendants to the East Coast, where McReynolds said a pound of pot sells for up to $6,000.

The prosecutor said the marijuana grow operation allegedly spearheaded by the suspects was extremely sophisticated and contained more than 400 plants growing in different stages.

McReynolds said the plants were on different timing cycles and the warehouse contained advanced growing equipment.

On Friday, a judge set bail at $150,000 for each of the defendants. All three are scheduled to appear in court again on Jun. 11.

McReynolds said the Gillen brothers are both local college students who are originally from New Jersey, where much of their marijuana was allegedly being shipped. Schneider is a native San Diegan.

If convicted, McReynolds said Kyle Gillen and Schneider could face up to 10 years in prison. Chris Gillen could face less time because investigators believe he wasn’t as heavily involved in the pot ring as the other two suspects, McReynolds said.

Worried parents may soon have a better idea if their child's school keeps and practices an updated emergency safety plan.

A bill aimed at tighter regulations on school safety has cleared a first hurdle in the California Senate.

Recent tragedies in Newtown, Conn. and Moore, Okla. have renewed questions about safety in San Diego schools.

State law mandates all schools must keep an updated school safety plan and practice emergency drills but, little is done to check that this is actually happening.

A bill, now on its way to the state Assembly, would change all that.

Sen. Ted Lieu from Los Angeles said the state does not have accurate figures on how many public schools have updated school safety plans in place.

State data from 2009 shows less than half the schools in L.A. actually followed that law.

Lieu's bill would add teeth to the existing code by requiring the Department of Education to check on the plans and fine districts that don't comply.

An exclusive NBC7 investigation also found only two school districts of 42 in San Diego County are documenting doing all of their required safety drills.

NBC 7 Investigates: Most Districts Don't Review School Drill Documentation

Lieu said his office is now working on crafting legislation that would address this issue as well.
 

In just hours, 30,000 runners will swarm through Little Italy, Old Town, Normal Heights and through downtown to Petco Park in the annual June tradition of the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon.

Sunday's race includes a new route that will finish downtown at Petco Park.

After the recent Boston Marathon bombing, event organizers say there will be enhanced security measures in place throughout the event to keep runners safe.

The marathon, which began in San Diego 16 years ago, takes over the central area of the county. Main roads and even highways are closed for the event. See Closures Here

Then there are the bands. Music fills the route with a band positioned at every mile. Runners in costume, cheerleaders along the route and rock ‘n’ roll – the run is a favorite for local marathon runners and weekend warriors alike.

Alan Culpepper, Vice President of Central Region Events said organizers market to elite athletes and first-time marathon participants.

“It's a combination as a world class event but added event of music, cheer team and all the fun that comes with it. You can work toward something, set goals and have fun while you're doing it,” Culpepper said.

If you don't want to run, but simply want to watch the fun organizers suggest you use the trolley to get close to the action. There are three trolley stops that will help you get a great view.

• 12th & Imperial trolley station for the Finish Line
• Morena/Linda Vista trolley station for Marathon Mile 17.5
• Fashion Valley trolley station for Marathon Mile 19.5

Click here for map

There will be a health and fitness expo at the San Diego Convention Center Friday and Saturday. Then on Saturday, at 8 a.m., the children will race at Petco Park.

A 7-year-old East County girl who was nearly killed in a car accident five years ago had a heartfelt reunion with the doctors and nurses who saved her life on Friday.

On May 17, 2008, when Skylar Potter was just two years old, she was critically injured in a car crash in El Cajon after an SUV plowed into the vehicle she was riding in.

Skylar became unresponsive following the crash and stopped breathing. The toddler was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital in critical condition.

Skylar stayed at Rady Children’s Hospital for two months recovering from extensive injuries, which included a traumatic brain injury. At one point, the toddler spent three weeks in a medically-induced coma.

Miraculously, Skylar was eventually released from the hospital and sent home with her parents, Ricky Potter and Ashley Pederson. The toddler had to learn how to walk, talk and throw a ball again.

Now, five years later, Skylar is a happy, healthy first-grader who has fully recovered from the accident that nearly took her young life.

And she certainly has a lot of people of thank.

On Friday, Skylar and her parents reunited with the staff at Rady Children’s that cared for her during her time at the hospital, including the nurses and doctors who were among the first to treat her.

The reunion marked the first time the doctors and nurses had seen Skylar since her accident.

Dr. Susan Duthie, attending physician at the Intensive Care Unit at Rady Children’s Hospital, worked side-by-side with Skylar on her recovery five years ago and was overcome with emotion when she saw the first-grader again on Friday.

As soon as Skylar saw Duthie, she ran into her arms and the two shared a long, overdue hug.

Skylar told Duthie a bit about herself, telling the doctor that she’s now seven years old and loves running and math.

Duthie and the medical staff couldn’t believe how well Skylar looked.

“Skylar, you scared us – but look at you now,” Duthie told her. “I lost a lot of sleep over you.”

Duthie told NBC 7 that Skylar’s recovery is a true miracle, given her critical condition five years ago.

“Like I just told Skylar, I lost a lot of sleep over her. She was really sick, she was unstable. She needed a lot of care the first couple of weeks she was in the ICU. She needed a lot of time from the physicians and the nurses and therapists. It was intense,” recalled Duthie.

The medical staff also had a chance to catch up with Skylar’s eternally grateful parents on Friday, who said their child is an active, healthy, typical 7-year-old.

Mother Ashley Pederson said Skylar is “just a regular kid” these days, and “not an accident victim.”

Pederson said reuniting with the doctors and nurses who saved her daughter’s life is something that’s very important to their family.

“Seeing Dr. Duthie and everybody else that helped Skylar in her recovery is always sad but really, really happy too at the same time. You’re just so grateful and forever indebted to them for everything they did to help her,” Pederson told NBC 7.

Father Ricky Potter said his family makes it a point to keep in touch with the hospital staff and continues to thank them to this day.

“The team that worked with Skylar did such a remarkable job. I think it’s important to come back and let these people know the difference they make in people’s lives every day. It’s a job to them, but without Dr. Duthie and the team, Skylar wouldn’t be alive,” said Potter.

Reflecting, Skylar’s parents said that dark period in their lives in 2008 made them stronger as a family. Pederson says they think about those times – and the people who made a difference – each year on May 17, on “Skylar’s accident day.”

“Skylar still talks about her doctors and nurses, five years later,” she added.

For Duthie, Skylar is a patient she’ll personally never forget.

“It’s just wonderful that her family keeps in touch with us, lets us know how she is. Us, in the ICU, we love it when kids come back to see us. It makes those long, sleepless, horrible nights worthwhile,” she said.

Duthie said reunions with former young patients like this are rare, which is why seeing Skylar again was so special.

“Seeing Skylar is why I do what I do; making kids better, pulling them through incredible odds, getting to know their family. It’s wonderful,” said Duthie. “Today is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

Skylar’s nurse – whom she affectionately nicknamed “Mary Poppins” during her time at the hospital due to the nurse's kind nature and English accent – also attended the reunion and was happy to see Skylar.

The girl’s parents said Skylar has a few small scars left over from her time at the hospital, but other than that, the horrific car accident is now in the past.

Her parents said Friday’s reunion helped heal their family's other scars, emotional ones, and will help their daughter move forward in her happy, healthy future.

Filmmaker James Cameron came to San Diego to receive a prestigious award from the science community on Friday.

Cameron, 58, is this year’s recipient of the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for his record-setting dive of 6.8 miles below the ocean surface in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. He performed the dive in a one-man submarine and is the first solo diver to go submerge that depth.

The deep-sea equipment used in the dive has since been donated to Scripps, which collaborated with Cameron for the project.

The prize, which includes a bronze medal and $25,000, honors the memory of national science leader William A. Nierenberg, who served as director of Scripps for more than 20 years.

Cameron is donating the prize money to Scripps to kick-start operations of a new laboratory.

An Escondido woman was shocked to receive her water bill, saying she owed $16,000 for roughly a month’s worth of service.

Margaret Kreusser tells NBC 7 that she usually uses around 150 gallons of water a day, which is pretty standard for a single woman. But the Escondido Utility Billing Department said her water rate jumped to more than 87,000 gallons a day and told her she needed to pay up.

“It’s just a worry, constant worry,” said Kreusser.

The Escondido woman usually pays about $115 a month, so when she received the $16,000 charge for water between the month of Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013, she was astonished.

A local water expert agrees with Kreusser.

“It’s absolutely preposterous,” said George Newman, a water works expert working with the consumer group UCAN.

The utility company said Kreusser must have had a leak on her property that averaged more than 87,000 gallons of water a day.

That amount of water breaks down to more than 3,000 gallons an hour, 60 gallons a minute and one gallon a second. It’s essentially like dumping out three swimming pools onto Kreusser’s property every day.

According to Kreusser, city workers initially said the water probably seeped into the ground or ran into a nearby creek, but Kreusser said she hasn't seen any evidence of that happening.

Newman said a leak like that would be obvious to everyone.

“That would blast out of the ground like you wouldn't believe,” he said. “It might go 75, 80 feet high. There would be a sinkhole there you could put half a dozen busses in.”

Newman said there is absolutely no way one person could have used that kind of water. Kreusser was told by utility officials that her meter was spinning wildly but Newman is convinced the meter must have broken.

“Instead of the meter clicking in where it should, it keeps rolling over and counting up the water it never saw,” he said.

The city has since replaced the meter, and Kreusser has added new water pipes. Her water rate is back to normal, but the city said she still owes the $16,000. So she’s suing the city for more than $300,000.

The director at the Escondido Utility Billing Department said since this case is going to court, they cannot comment on the situation.

Kreusser said they did offer to lower her water bill to just $8,000 – but she said no.

The city has to respond to Kreusser's lawsuit by the middle of next month.

A driver traveling southbound on Interstate 15 led police on a high-speed pursuit through the North County on Friday evening, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The pursuit began around 6:25 p.m. CHP officers pursued a driver in a small sedan traveling at speeds in excess of 80 mph. The sheriff’s department ASTREA helicopter assisted in the pursuit.

By 6:45 p.m., officers had pulled over the driver on southbound I-15 near Camino Del Norte in Rancho Bernardo. He was taken into custody without incident.
 

The latest flashpoint in the heated political and financial confrontation between Mayor Bob Filner and San Diego's tourism industry has just ended on a peaceful note.

Once again, the dispute was over millions of dollars to bankroll promotional campaigns to attract visitors here.

It seemed the hostilities between the two sides had long since been settled, but that understanding soon enough passed by the boards.

The hotel industry's Tourism Marketing District accused the mayor of reneging on a funding agreement.

He said they were in default -- told them to stop "whining" and complaining".

Now, for the time being, things supposedly are 'all good'.

"I'm sorry, really, that once again it came to this kind of dispute,” Filner told reporters in a late-afternoon news conference Friday. “I thought the agreement was very clear … that the Balboa Park centennial event was going to be high on the priority list for funding by the TMD."

TMD officials issued a statement saying they're "hopeful" that the city's release of $5.7 million for the San Diego Tourism Authority and Balboa Park Centennial planning group takes place "by the close of business (Friday)."

Chairman Terry Brown called the breakthrough "a positive step forward for San Diego's tourism industry."

The hoteliers had warned that the Tourism Authority, which their district heavily underwrites for visitor promotion, would have to shut down Monday for lack of more than 5 million dollars promised by the city.

But Filner argued that TMD was short-changing on the 5 percent of the district’s accrued revenues it owed to the Balboa Park centennial project.

Late Friday, the TMD agreed to provide the up-front cash, and the city followed with its disbursement of funds.

But the mayor strenuously objects to the fact that the tourism money comes from a 2 percent room tax surcharge he claims is illegal, because it wasn't approved by the voters -- only by city's hotel owners in a private election that favored the biggest properties.

That funding scheme is yet to be resolved in the courts.

Filner figures the outcome will be in the taxpayers' favor under the rubric of Prop. 26 -- not the hoteliers'.

"It's a burr under his saddle; it won't go away -- that's one of his main points that irritates him,” says political consultant John Dadian. “And something that irritates Mayor Bob Filner is always going to come out in everything he does. And in this case, it’s a matter of negotiations and coming to agreement."

The two sides may be on more collision courses over the next two years, because the centennial planners can request up to 10 percent of future TMD revenues.

But the only guarantee is, they can't be "unreasonably denied".

That could become a phrase for a judge to interpret.
 

A suburban Chicago high school senior was struck and killed by lightning during Thursday's storm, officials said.

Jennie Dizon, 17, of Downers Grove, was found unconscious and not breathing in O'Brien Park, at 68th Street and Dunham Road, shortly after 5 p.m., officials said. She was pronounced dead at the scene and the DuPage County Coroner's report said the death is "consistent with a lightning strike."

Her death was just days before her graduation at Benet Academy, scheduled for Sunday.

"It was God's will," her father, Eric Dizon, said Friday.

The senior was on the color guard and was planning a trip to Europe. Her post-graduation plans were to study theater at the University of Cincinnati.

The family said Dizon had dropped off her younger brother and sister, who also attend Benet Academy, at a dentist's office. The teen journaled often, and the family said they believe Dizon went to the park to write.

Younger sister Emmeline Dizon said she kept calling her sister's cell phone for a pickup from the dentist's office but didn't get an answer. Walking home, she said she saw the ambulances at the park but didn't know anything was wrong with her sister until police came to the door.

Police said it was a witness who saw lightning and saw Dizon on the ground. The witness went to help but Dizon was unresponsive, an officer said.

“Benet Academy is mourning the loss of senior Jennie Dizon, who passed into eternal life last evening, apparently having been struck by lightning during a thunderstorm," school officials said in a statement posted online. "Throughout the day today, Benet's chaplain, campus minister, counselors, administrators, and teachers have been available in the chapel, in their offices, in classrooms, and throughout the school building to offer assistance, comfort, and consolation to our students and members of the school community. Please join the entire Benet Family in remembering Jennie and the Dizon family in prayer.”

A Mokena man died last weekend after being struck by lightning while fishing with friends in central Illinois.

Lighting kills as many as 70 people in the United States each year and injures more than 500, according to estimates from the National Weather Service.

• When Lightning Strikes: Survivors' Shocking Details

A Chula Vista man, suffering from a head injury and broken bones, walked away from a San Diego hospital wearing only a hospital gown four days ago.

On Friday, San Diego police officers and family members spent all day searching canyons near Mission Valley for any sign of the man who officials say was likely disoriented and confused.

At 6 p.m., authorities confirmed they had discovered a dead body in the canyon area. SDPD Det. Sgt. Frank Hoerman told NBC 7 items found near the body included a hospital gown and neck brace.

The county medical examiner was called to the scene. The ME will work to identify the body and determine whether it is that of Thomas Vera, a man last seen at 6 a.m. Monday, May 27 at the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

The 58-year-old went into the hospital several weeks ago after falling down the stairs at his home.

Vera suffered a concussion and a broken collar bone his family said. His children said their father was fed intravenously and that doctors were waiting for swelling to go down so they could operate.

“I’ve been looking for the past three days,” Antonio Vera said while holding a flier for his father. “My biggest fear is that he’s stuck in a bush somewhere and not being able to talk,” he said.

Antonio said security cameras spotted his father leaving the area through the canyon, not along surface streets.

His daughter Tanya said Thomas last spoke with his wife on Sunday night.

"These are his words - he was being held in a garage in Texas - we're from Texas so he's thinking he's in Texas - that people were holding him against his will and drugging him, and so he was crying and telling my mom he was very scared," she said.

San Diego police used dogs to search canyons north of the hospital Friday morning. A command post was set up near the JCPenney store at the Fashion Valley mall.

Helicopters were flying over the canyons because the brush is so thick in some spots, the dogs couldn't even get through it to search.

By the afternoon, officials said teams had rappelled deeper into the dense brush, and rough, steep terrain. Once officials went further into the canyon, they ultimately discovered the body and hospital items.

“It is possible he fell, given the angle of the canyon,” Sgt. Hoerman told NBC 7.

Vera was last seen wearing a green medical gown with part of his head shaved according to investigators. His son said he has tattoos all over his chest, back, arms and ankles.

Family members spent the day handing out fliers showing images of Vera before his hospital stay and the photo showing Vera in a hospital bed taken on May 9.

They're asking for the public’s help to find their father so they could get him food and water.

“I’ve only slept three hours last night. First time in my life I’ve ever woken up screaming was last night,” Antonio said. “I’m just going to keep on going.”

The hospital told NBC 7 that they are "in the process of reviewing the incident."

If you're seeing black, chances are the broadcast is in commercial. Stay tuned.

NBC 7 can not live stream sports video because of licensing restrictions imposed by professional sports leagues.

If you have a news story you want to share, send an email to limsandiegonewstips@nbcuni.com.

If you have images of breaking news or weather around San Diego County upload them here.

A new bronze memorial unveiled in Ocean Beach just one week ago has already been defaced, San Diego lifeguards confirmed Friday.

The memorial, a 6-foot statue meant to honor the San Diego lifeguards who keep our local beaches safe, was vandalized with bright green, blue and pink paint, according to San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma (see photo below).

“It was vandalized. Someone painted shorts and other items onto the statue. It has since been removed,” said Lt. Lerma.

Officials are not sure who put paint on the statue, but the incident is under investigation. Though the paint has been removed, there is visible discoloration on the bronze statue's head and chest (see photo to right).

The statue, located by the Santa Monica lifeguard tower, is only one-week-old and was unveiled on May 24.

It represents the sacrifices local lifeguards make each day to keep San Diego beaches safe and also honors the 13 victims who drowned in 1918 during an unusual, deadly rip current near Mission Bay.

The statue was designed by a former Point Loma high school student, Richard Arnold. A plaque stands next to the statue that describes the history of rescues by local lifeguards.

Moments after learning her son’s killer would be in prison for most of his life, a Pacific Beach woman found herself sharing her grief over the tragic crime with the defendant’s mother.

Connie Berki’s 18-year-old son Garrett was killed on May 11, 2011 when he drove to Paradise Hills to buy a laptop advertised on Craigslist.

Instead, Garrett had walked right into a trap.

Rashon Abernathy, Seandell Jones and Shaquille Jordan lured Berki there with the promise of a laptop, stole $600 from the college student and then drove off. After Berki drove after the teens’ car to try and get a license plate, Abernathy fired a gun at Berki, killing him.

On Friday, Abernathy was the first defendant to learn his fate. He will spend 50 years to life behind bars. Jones and Jordan were each sentenced to 25 years to life.

One of the defendants' mothers apologized to Berki when the two women met face-to-face in the courthouse restroom.

"She loses too. She lost her child too. And I told her that I was so sorry for her because she lost him too," Berki said. "[She's] not going to have grandchildren, same as me; not going to have a daughter-in-law, same as me."

The teenagers were convicted of first degree murder, robbery and shooting at an occupied vehicle.  Abernathy actually fired the gun that killed Berki but all three teens were convicted of murder.

Berki said her family has fallen apart since Garrett's death.

"I’m not the same. Every day I get up, I don’t have the same emotions, the same feelings. I am a different person than I was before I lost my son," she explained.

"You just wake up and you have a piece of your body missing and you know you’re not going to grow that back."

Berki said she has heard other parents can forgive their child's killers. She said that's not possible for her.

"The individuals have to live with that but I personally cannot forgive them," she said. "They chose what they did."

Berki's girlfriend Ali Faudoa was in the car and witnessed the shooting.

“I can’t say that 83 or 100 [years] to life wouldn’t be nice. Fifty… that’s their entire life and I’m okay with that,” Faudoa said.

Berki was a La Jolla High School graduate and a Mesa College student who was an avid surfer.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A San Diego girls softball team visiting Oklahoma City for a tournament hid for cover Friday evening as tornadoes ripped through the area.

The San Diego Mystic 00 team got in touch with NBC 7 to say they were hiding for cover, sheltered in the bathroom of a hotel. A total of 15 girls are in Oklahoma.

Girls said the situation is pretty scary, but they are safe for now.

Assistant coach Mike Gross said the girls are okay, just shaken up by the tornadoes. He said the team was huddle together, crying and holding each other as the tornadoes passed Friday evening.

Last week, the girls helped raise money for storm victims in Oklahoma.

Check back for updates on this story.

An 18-year-old man who fatally crashed his car into another driver on State Route 56 earlier this month was allegedly driving under the influence of Xanax and marijuana at the time of the crash, a prosecutor revealed on Friday.

Timothy Barnette, charged with gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of Nick Hart, 22, and driving under the influence of a controlled substance, pleaded not guilty in court.

His family filled the courtroom and many were in tears as prosecutors laid out the charges against Barnette stemming from a fatal May 16 crash.

That day, at around 9:45 a.m., Barnette was driving a Land Rover traveling eastbound on SR-56, just east of Black Mountain Road, when his car drifted into the center median and into opposing traffic lanes of westbound SR-56.

At the same time, Nick Hart – a graduate of Poway High School -- was driving a Toyota traveling westbound on SR-56. Barnette’s Land Rover struck Hart’s car, and Hart was killed in the crash.

CHP officials arrested Barnette following the fatal collision on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. He was then released to a local hospital for immediate care because he suffered major injuries in the crash.

On Thursday, two weeks to the day of the fatal crash, CHP officials confirmed that Barnette had been arrested and booked into jail on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of a controlled substance causing injury or death.

Barnette appeared in court Friday in a wheelchair, wearing a cast on his wrist. At certain points, he wiped tears from his face. One family member yelled out “I love you, Timmy!” in the courtroom.

Deputy District Attorney Roy Lai said a preliminary toxicology report revealed that Barnette was driving under the influence of Xanax and marijuana.

Lai also revealed that three separate phone calls were made to 911 on May 16 regarding Barnette’s allegedly erratic driving, which including weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights.

Lai said one caller reported Barnette driving on the curb at Ted Williams Parkway, another caller said Barnette was driving recklessly on the I-15 onramp at SR-56 and a third caller reported Barnette allegedly driving erratically on Camino Del Sur.

After that final call was placed, Lai said Barnette got back on SR-56 and moments later, the fatal crash involving Hart occurred.

Barnette’s bail was set at $100,000. Lai argued for a $200,000 bail, saying he’s a danger to society, but a judge denied the increase.

Barnette faces a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars if convicted. He’s scheduled to appear in court again on Jun. 11.

A couple is accused of keeping two young girls – ages 5 and 10 – locked up inside an Anaheim mobile home, with broken toilets and piles of trash strewn about the trailer.

“Neither child has ever attended school,” Deputy District Attorney Lori Smith said. “The 10-year-old has never been registered or attended school, nor has the 5-year old.”

The girls had teeth damaged beyond repair and lived in what prosecutors called "filthy" conditions. It was not clear how the girls are related to the couple, but officials said they are relatives.

Petra Huffmire, 41, pleaded not guilty on Friday to two counts of felony child abuse.

Her husband Lester Huffmire faces the same charges, including false imprisonment and causing great bodily injury.

Prosecutors said the couple did not work, but rather spent their days playing computer games.

Neighbors said Petra Huffmire claimed to be from Germany and said she wasn’t allowed to leave the country.

Authorities said the girls were never allowed to leave the home, and neighbors said they suspected something was wrong.

“We’d see a corner of the drape lift up and there was a kid peeking out then it would drop real quick,” neighbor Grace McGee told NBC4.

McGee said instinct told her something may be suspicious about the couple living in the mobile home two doors away and that it went on for years.

McGee told NBC4 she tried to file a report with a child abuse hotline more than once. She finally convinced police to do a welfare check at the home.

Inside the home, police found piles of trash, appliances covered in mold, toilets that do not work and condoms piled next to a teddy bear, according to prosecutors.

McGee said she saw the children being taken into protective custody.

“They looked frightened; their hair was all matted,” she said. “They didn’t look good.”

Both Lester and Petra Huffmire are being held on $100,000 bail.

Chicago’s murder mayhem is declining, police said.

Chicago ended the month of May down four murders from May 2012, an eight percent decrease, according to Director of News Affairs Adam Collins.

Overall shootings for May saw a 31 percent decrease, marking 68 fewer shootings than last year, Collins said.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy attributes the decline to a comprehensive policing strategy that includes a return to community policing, gang violence reduction, narctotics targeting and a close partnership with the Chicago Police Department and the community.

As Chicago’s violence skyrocketed into the spotlight, the city’s overall violence rates are down this year when compared to last year’s murder rates.

To date, there have been fewer murders in 2013 than in 2012 and 2011, marking a 34 percent dip since last year.

Overall crime is also down 13 percent since last year and has dropped 22 percent over the past two years, Collins said.

"The significant drop in murders, shootings and overall crime throughout Chicago is real progress, but it’s not victory,” McCarthy said in a statement. “We will have good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks, and we will continue our efforts to ensure everyone in Chicago enjoys the same sense of safety.”

The city’s violence received national attention with its continued gun violence debate and the deaths of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton and 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins.

The Illinois Legislature approved a gun measure Friday that would end the statewide ban on the concealed possession of a firearm in public, the last state ban in the nation.

But opposers of the legislation fear that concealed carry will further the city's violence.

Illinois' compromise measure reflected the division between gun rights advocates across the state and gun control supporters in Chicago, which continue to battle in the wake of gang violence and murders.

Marking the end of May, the city’s violence claimed an 18-year-old man and wounded nine others overnight.
 

A Crystal Lake, Ill., church is reportedly refusing to sponsor a local Boy Scout troop after the Scouts’ lifted their ban on openly gay boys.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, believed to be the first church in the Chicago area to ban scouts due to their new policy, notified local Scout officials by mail last week that the Cub Scout pack and Boy Scout troop it charted will need to find a new meeting place because they are “condoning” homosexuality, which the church opposes, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Boy Scouts of America on May 23 voted to allow gay Scouts, but not gay Scout leaders, in a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.

"Within our movement, everyone agrees on one thing, no matter how you feel about this issue, kids are better off in scouting. Our vision is to serve every kid. We want every kid to have a place where they can grow," said Wayne Perry, BSA National President.

Some churches that sponsor Scout units wanted to continue excluding gay youths, in some cases threatening to defect if the ban were lifted.

"We are deeply saddened," said Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee after learning of the result. "Homosexual behavior is incompatible with the principles enshrined in the Scout oath and Scout law."

The Assemblies of God, another conservative denomination, said the policy change "will lead to a mass exodus from the Boy Scout program."

Troop 550 Scoutmaster Charlie Payseur told the Tribune he and his assistant leaders were “livid” about the church’s move and said the scouts donated about $200 of raised funds to the church last year, and did gardening on the grounds.

The two local Scout groups reportedly have 10 members each and used the church for meetings and annual banquets three times each month.

Of the more than 100,000 Scouting units in the U.S., 70 percent are chartered by religious institutions.

Those include liberal churches opposed to any ban on gays, but some of the largest sponsors are relatively conservative denominations that have previously supported the broad ban -- notably the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptist churches.

A 50-year-old man was charged with having sex with a pit bull while on a tour of the Animal Care and Control Facility, prosecutors said Saturday.

Gerardo Perez, of the 2500 block of West 38th Streetm was charged with felony having sexual conduct with an animal, and burglary, after he was found having sexual relations with a pit bull at the city pound, according to police.

Perez was found in a cage with a white and grey pit bull by an empoyee after he entered a restricted area while on a tour of the Chicago Animal Care and Control Facility at 2741 S. Western Ave. on May 29, prosecutors said.

He was allegedly on his hands and knees on the side of the dog, appearing to have had just had sex with the animal, prosecutors said.

Perez then made "inculpatory statements" regarding the sexual conduct with the dog to other employees on the scene.

He was arrested at his home on Friday. Bail was reportedly set at $80,000 Saturday.

A total of 20 suspects with outstanding warrants were arrested Saturday morning during a sweep conducted by the San Diego Sheriff’s Court Services Bureau.

The sweep took place at 6 a.m. in Vista, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, La Mesa and El Cajon.

Sheriff’s Department officials said the goal of the operation was to apprehend suspects who currently have outstanding warrants for DUIs or domestic violence charges.

A total of 20 adults were arrested for outstanding warrants, and a total of 27 warrants were cleared during the sweep.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department wants to remind the public that those with outstanding warrants are highly encouraged to turn themselves in. That can be done Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at any Sheriff’s Court facility.