It began as a routine probation check but quickly turned into a trip to the Oakland Zoo after Alameda County Sheriffs Deputies walked into a house on the 19000 block of Mount Jasper Drive in Castro Valley and came face to face with Mr. Teeth.
 
The five-foot-long Caiman alligator was in a Plexiglas tank in one of the bedrooms.

Sgt. J.D. Nelson said when deputies got to the bedroom they found Mr. Teeth “guarding” a 34-pound stash of dried processed marijuana.

“Instead of a guard dog you had a guard alligator,” said Nelson. “When it’s in there it’s a little unnerving to have a live alligator that opens its mouth when you walk in the room so anyone that would come in that room would cert be concerned as the deputies were.”
 
The size of the gator was another surprise.

Nelson said Animal Control had picked up gators before, but none as big as Mr. Teeth. The man who was the target of the probation check is 32-year-old Assif Mayar. Nelson said he’s been on probation less than a year for a “disturbing the peace” offense.
 
When investigators were trying to determine the age of the gator, Nelson said one of the most bizarre pieces of information came out. “He said he got it to commemorate the death of Tupac Shakur so that’s how we knew it was approximately 16 years old.”
 
When NBC Bay Area knocked on the door Wednesday night, the lights were on and dogs were barking, but no one answered. Neighbors told NBC Bay Area Mayar and his wife moved into the house about two years ago before their son was born.
 
A mother of two who didn’t want to be identified said she’d been inside that house before, but noticed and heard nothing out of the ordinary.  “They’re just family people like us and she has a little boy very cute, about 20 months, so of course you wouldn’t suspect or expect anything like this from this neighborhood,” she said.
 
Another neighbor who also did not want to be named added: “It doesn’t belong in a neighborhood with little kids and there are lots of little kids. There’s a school about a block away  and if the thing got out, that could be really dangerous.”
 
Caimans are generally from South and Central America and require a lot of care. They need a heat source, large pond with extra space, and fresh meat bi-weekly. Mr. Teeth was taken to the Oakland Zoo where it’s recovering at the veterinary hospital under constant care. Zoo officials described its condition as “very sick.” It is set to be in quarantine for 30 days, following standard protocol to test for parasites and bring its health back.
 
Mayar is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $160,000 bail and is set to make his first court appearance 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon.


NBC Bay Area's Lori Preuitt contributed to this report.

An Apple Valley woman accused of murder for allegedly feeding chili powder to a toddler who later had a seizure and died pleaded not guilty Thursday in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

Amanda Sorensen, 21, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and assault on a child causing death.

Prosecutors said Sorensen fed chili powder to her boyfriend's daughter, causing the seizure and subsequent death of 2-year-old Joileen Garcia, shown in a family photo below.

In a complaint filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court in Victorville, prosecutors said that Amanda Sorensen, 21, acted with "malice aforethought" to murder the child.

The judge entered a plea of not guilty for Sorensen, who was assigned a public defender, at Victorville Superior Court on Thursday morning.

Authorities were called out on a report of a girl suffering from a seizure after ingesting chili powder at a home in the 20000 block of Cayuga Road in Apple Valley on Sunday.

She later died at a hospital.

At an initial arraignment hearing that was postponed Wednesday was a man who said he was the boyfriend of the toddler's biological mother. Manuel Lopez said he had raised Joileen since she was 1 1/2 years old and considered himslef her father.

"Early in the morning, she would always jump into bed with us. She went with us everywhere," Lopez said. "Bright kid, smart, intelligent, running around. ... She loved animals and horses."

He said Joileen's biological mother was devastated.

"She's just broken down," Lopez said.

NBC4's Jacob Rascon contributed to this article.

The presidential inauguration ceremony is getting its first Latino and LGBT poet.

Richard Blanco, born in Spain to Cuban exiles, will recite a selection of his work during President Barack Obama's second inauguration on Jan. 21, Obama's Inaugural Committee announced. Blanco also will be the youngest inaugural poet at a swearing-in ceremony.

"Richard’s writing will be wonderfully fitting for an Inaugural that will celebrate the strength of the American people and our nation’s great diversity,” President Obama said in a statement.

Blanco's parents emigrated to New York City days after he was born then settled in Miami. Interested in the “engineering” of language, Blanco's first poetry collection, "City of a Hundred Fires," won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and his second book, "Directions to The Beach of the Dead," won the PEN American Center Beyond Margins Award. 

He published a third collection in 2012 called "Looking for The Gulf Motel."
 
The Inaugural Committee describes his work as an exploration of "the collective American experience of cultural negotiation through the lens of family and love, particularly his mother’s life shaped by exile, his relationship with his father, and the passing of a generation of relatives. His work also explores the intersection of his cultural identities as a Cuban-American gay man."
 
"I’m beside myself, bestowed with this great honor, brimming over with excitement, awe, and gratitude,” Blanco said. “In many ways, this is the very ‘stuff’ of the American Dream, which underlies so much of my work and my life’s story—America’s story, really.  I am thrilled by the thought of coming together during this great occasion to celebrate our country and its people through the power of poetry.”

Rev. Louie Giglio, an evangelical pastor from Atlanta tapped to give the benediction at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, has been dropped from the ceremony amid controversy over his past comments on gays, NBC News reported. 

The move comes after the liberal political blog Think Progress highlighted a past sermon where Giglio called homosexuality a “sin” and promoted “ex-gay” therapy. The site said the 54-minute sermon called “In Search of a Standard – Christian Response to Homosexuality” was from the mid-1990s.

For full coverage, visit NBCNews.com.

"We were not aware of Pastor Giglio's past comments at the time of his selection and they don't reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this Inaugural,” the Presidential Inaugural Committee said in a statement. “Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part for his leadership in combating human trafficking around the world. As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration's vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans."

Giglio is founder of the massive Passion Conferences aimed at college students.

Four years ago, Obama faced a backlash from liberals when he tapped conservative pastor Rick Warren, founder of the evangelical megachurch Saddleback Church and high-profile opponent of gay marriage, to give the invocation.

His benediction that year was given by civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery.
 

A student armed with a 12-gauge shotgun entered his classroom at a Southern California high school Thursday morning and shot a classmate, who is in critical but stable condition, and attempted to shoot another one, authorities said at an afternoon press conference.

The gunman was taken into custody after a teacher and campus supervisor intervened and convinced the student to lay down his weapon.

"If it weren't for this teacher and a quick response, we don't know," Kern County Sheriff Don Youngblood said at an afternoon press conference. About 30 students were in the classroom when the gunman entered about halfway through the session.

The teacher who intervened suffered minor injuries—possibly a pellet wound to the head—Youngblood added, while two other students also suffered minor injuries "during the melee of people trying to get out."

Emergency crews responded to the scene—about 120 miles north of Los Angeles (map)—at about 9 a.m. Students were evacuated to a football field, according KGET, and SWAT team members searched the school, room by room.

The shooter—described as a 16-year-old male student who lives near the school—had "a dialogue" with the victim before Thursday morning, Youngblood said. After shooting the first student, the gunman shot at, but missed, a second student as the teacher attempted to "get students out of the classroom."

The teacher and campus supervisor who confronted the gunman have not been identified, but were widely praised by law enforcement officials.

"The heroics go without saying. To stand there and face someone who has a shotgun and has already shot a student—we're very proud of the job they did," Youngblood said.

It was not immediately clear how the student gained access to the weapon, sheriff's officials said. Youngblood said the gunman had "numerous" shotgun shells in his pocket as the teacher and supervisor spoke with him.

"We cannot thank them enough for what they did today," said Taft Police Chief Ed Whiting. "They are really awesome people."

A school security officer is usually assigned to the school, but weather conditions might have prevented the officer from arriving at the campus Thursday, Youngblood added.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a vocal gun control advocate who has pushed for an assault weapon ban in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut last month, said in a statement that her thoughts and prayers were with the victim of this latest shooting.

"I have visited this school over the years—in fact, my own father attended Taft Union," Feinstein said.

"How many more shootings must there be in America before we come to the realization that guns and grievances do not belong together?" she added.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, a Republican whose district includes the town Taft, issued a statement too, on behalf of himself and his wife.

"I am deeply saddened and troubled by news of the shooting," he said. "Judy and I offer our prayers to the victims, their families and the entire Taft community,"

The shooting occurred on the second floor of a science building on the campus, according to Kern County Sheriff's Department.

The high school is located in Taft, a city of about 9,500 residents near a massive oil field at the southwestern edge of the Central Valley.

There is a sad update to a pot bust that included a 5-foot alligator-like creature who was used by his owner to guard drugs in Castro Valley.

Veterinarians at the Oakland Zoo reported on Thursday that "Mr. Teeth" died overnight.

Dr. Karen Emanuelson said the animal, which looks like an alligator, was actually a dwarf caiman. And when he was came to the zoo Tuesday after an unusual drug bust, he was critically ill and non-responsive.

Veterinary staff said they examined Mr. Teeth, took blood samples, and determined his prognosis was poor. Emanuelson confirmed Thursday that the animal died sometime in the night, but no one at the zoo would explain or discuss any more. It was not clear why the caiman, thought to be about 16 years old, died, or if guarding drugs at a man's house had any connection to his death.

The odd story of the caiman came to light when Alameda County Sheriffs deputies walked into a house earlier this week on the 19000 block of Mount Jasper Drive in Castro Valley to do a routine probation check.

The found the suspect, 32-year-old Assif Mayar, and the drugs and the animal. 

Mayar apparently acquired the caiman in 1996 to commemorate the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, deputies said.
 
The caiman was found in a Plexiglas tank in one of the bedrooms and was being used as a deterrent to would-be thieves.

Sgt. J.D. Nelson said when deputies got to the bedroom they found Mr. Teeth “guarding” a 34-pound stash of dried processed marijuana worth about $100,000."

When NBC Bay Area knocked on the door Wednesday night, the lights at Mayar's home were on and dogs were barking, but no one answered. Neighbors told NBC Bay Area Mayar and his wife moved into the house about two years ago before their son was born.
 
A mother of two who didn’t want to be identified said she’d been inside that house before, but noticed and heard nothing out of the ordinary.  “They’re just family people like us and she has a little boy very cute, about 20 months, so of course you wouldn’t suspect or expect anything like this from this neighborhood,” she said.
 
Another neighbor who also did not want to be named added: “It doesn’t belong in a neighborhood with little kids and there are lots of little kids. There’s a school about a block away  and if the thing got out, that could be really dangerous.”
 

Caimans are generally from South and Central America and require a lot of care. They need a heat source, large pond with extra space, and fresh meat bi-weekly.

Mayar was booked into the Santa  Rita Jail in Dublin on drug possession and sales charges. The department of Fish and Game is expected to recommend adding charges of animal cruelty.

NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.

Three birds were found with their heads detached from their bodies in Pacific Beach Thursday morning, lifeguards said. 

At about 11:20 a.m., a man notified lifeguards of some potentially "mutilated" birds he found at the Tourmaline Surf Park on Tourmaline Street, according to a lifeguard spokesperson. 

The birds were found near a drainage area at the beach. Authorities placed the carcasses in a bag while they waited for Animal Control to pick them up. 

The three birds are not common to the area, but lifeguards said they could not identify the birds. They did have a type of tracking device on them though. 

The San Diego Police Department was also notified of the incident. No suspects have been named. 

The same officer who saved a mother and her two teenage daughters from a burning building earlier this week has made a second heroic rescue.

Just after midnight Thursday, police said a driver lost control on Field Street in Clairemont and drove over an embankment.

The car landed up-side-down against an apartment building, and the driver in the car was trapped inside. when emergency personnel arrived. 

The San Diego Police Department responded to assist. Among the officers at the scene was Zach Bradley, who pulled the driver safely out of the vehicle. She was not seriously injured. 

Bradley was the same officer who responded to a fire Tuesday in Clairemont. As the fire was burning in the apartment building, Bradley circled around the back of the building to find a mother and her two daughters crying for help in a room on the second floor.

"They were terrified," said neighbor James Anderson in a Tuesday interview. "They were like 'help us help us' and smoke was billowing out."

He told them to jump, and caught all three.  

Meanwhile, the driver whom Bradley rescued was arrested after failing a sobriety test, police said. 

Bradley spoke to the media Wednesday night about his heroic actions at an apartment fire in Clairemont on Tuesday. He said, however, that he doesn't consider himself a hero.

"Our job when we get there is help people get out and help who we can until fire gets there and they put out the fire," Bradley said of the Clairemont fire. "I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

That fire forced 21 people to evacuate and caused over $1 million in damage. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by a grease fire when a woman cooked French fries. 
 

A fire that started out in a garage spread to a home in the Casa de Oro neighborhood of San Diego's east county.

Firefighters arrived to the home in the 4100 block of Avoyer Place at about 9 a.m., according to the fire department.

When firefighters got to the home, smoke was billowing out of the windows and doors. A tree outside the house was also ablaze.

NBC 7 spoke to a woman who lived in the house, who said her neighbor -- who she had never really met -- rescued her.

The neighbor kicked the door down, picked up the woman and took her out of the house to safety. Other neighbors also helped carry elderly residents out of the home.

Two people were treated on the scene for mild injuries.

Total damage for the home is more than $350,000. No other nearby houses were damaged.

San Diego is one of a handful of counties nationwide helping veterans get treatment and a new start after getting into trouble with the law.

The San Diego Veterans Court in the city of El Cajon is the place where veterans who are paroled and accepted into the program come for bi-weekly hearings.

Duane Patton, a retired marine, graduated from the program this week after facing incarceration for unlawful discharge of a weapon and attempted suicide. He says the treatment he received through Veterans Court changed his life.

“This treatment court is based on treatment itself. It’s designed so you can get counseling and mentors. You get the things needed to make you better,” Patton told NBC 7.

Patton is one of 25 veterans who have used the program to overcome prison time for crimes ranging from domestic violence, fights and driving under the influence. Without it, the criminal records could have become indelible.

“In a case where crime would certainly justify prison if the right findings are made, they come to this court and they are in treatment – not prison. That’s not available to every single defendant, not because we are favoring veterans but because the resources aren’t there for non-veterans,” San Diego Judge Roger Krauel told NBC 7.

San Diego County started its program nearly two years ago, after the county started to address the growing need. Among the 30,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 100 veterans a week enter San Diego county jail.

The program exists on grants and donations and the VA of San Diego houses many of the veterans during treatment.

Judge Krauel says he believes the program has promise and he hopes other states take notice.

“I will tell you, I feel a lot better about turning people back who are law abiding than in other kinds of cases because the resources aren’t there to deal with folks,” Krauel explained.
 

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department issued an alert Thursday regarding a string of alleged phone scammers who have been posing as deputies and demanding money from the public.

According to officials, the scammers call victims by phone and either identify themselves as deputies or say they’re representing the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The victims on the other end are told they have outstanding warrants. The scammers then claim they will clear the arrest warrant or cancel court appearances if the victim sends money within a certain timeframe.

In some instances, officials say the scammers have told victims they will have a local police officer come to their home and arrest them if they don’t send money.

On Wednesday, one of these scammers allegedly called a 69-year-old woman and claimed to be a sergeant from the Sheriff’s Financial Crimes Unit. He told the woman she had won $600,000, but would have to send him a check to pay taxes on the prize.

Officials say the victim in this case called the Sheriff’s Department, who confirmed the call was bogus.

The Sheriff’s Department urges the public to report any calls of this nature. Officials say real deputies or Sheriff’s Department employees will never call members of the public by phone to demand money or payment.

If you receive a solicitation for money like this from an alleged deputy, officials say it’s a scam and you should hang up immediately. Do not give the caller any of your personal or financial information.

Impersonating a deputy violates state law. Officials are searching for these scammers and ask anyone with information regarding these cases to contact the Sheriff’s Department.

A 20-year-old suspect has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting a man in Lincoln Park, investigators confirmed Thursday.

Suspect Aron Franklin was arrested Saturday evening in Mountain View for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of another 20-year-old man.

On Jan. 3, at around 2:45 p.m., police responded to reports of shots fired at the 200 block of 50th Street and Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a male victim lying in a walkway inside the common area of an apartment complex.

The man – now identified by police as Julius Batiste -- suffered at least one fatal gunshot wound. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police said a preliminary investigation revealed Batiste and several other people were standing and talking at the apartment complex when the shooting happened. Witnesses told police they saw several individuals run from the scene after shots were fired.

Police detained at least one female subject across the street from the shooting, at 220 Euclid Ave.

One week later, police announced Franklin had been identified as the suspect in the shooting early in the investigation. He was booked into jail on an unrelated charge as the homicide investigation continued this week.

On Thursday afternoon, he was charged with one count of murder.

Franklin is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Mayor Bob Filner is asking police to stop targeting pot dispensaries in San Diego.

In a statement issued Thursday night, the mayor asked the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department and Police Department to temporarily halt prosecution of city zoning code violations when it comes to medical marijuana dispensaries.

“As I made very clear during my campaign for Mayor, I support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and am committed to ensuring the people who legitimately need it for relief of pain are not kept from accessing it,” Filner said in his statement.

The mayor continued:

“I also want to assure the residents of San Diego that there will be the utmost safeguards surrounding these dispensaries. They will not be near schools, playgrounds or any areas where children might gather. Nor will they be allowed to infringe on the quality of life in any neighborhood. I believe that, in order to be a great city, we must also be a humane city and show compassion toward those who need help in dealing with chronic pain."

Filner says he plans to present the San Diego City Council with a new ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries soon.

On Tuesday, the mayor shared the same view on marijuana with members of the Americans for Safe Access.

A two-alarm fire engulfed a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe Thursday night, fire officials confirmed.

The blaze began around 9:20 p.m. at a residence in the 6700 block of Via Cordoba.

When fire officials arrived at the scene, smoke and flames could be seen stemming from the garage.

The fire quickly spread to the rest of the home, and officials requested back-up from additional crews.

At 9:50 p.m., Sheriff;s Bomb Arson officials and SDG&E officials were called to the scene.

Due to the size and intensity of the blaze, all firefighters were pulled out of the structure and crews continued a defensive attack, tackling the heavy flames from the exterior.

At 11 p.m., the fire continued to burn. There is no word on injuries or the cause of the fire just yet.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

The "heroics" of a teacher and campus supervisor protected students Thursday morning after a student with a shotgun opened fire on a 16-year-old classmate in a Kern County high school classroom, police and sheriff's officials said.

The victim was in critical but stable condition Thursday afternoon. The boy's injuries are not considering life-threatening, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Department.

Friday classes have been cancelled and all athletic events scheduled for this weekend have also been called off, according to an announcement posted on the school's website. Counselors will be available at 9 a.m. Friday in the Guidance Center, and students will be allowed to pick up their belongings between 10 a.m. and noon Friday.

Although officials would not name the teacher who confronted the student, he was identified Thursday afternoon as Ryan Heber, his father told NBC4.

Taft police received a report of shots fired at Taft Union High School (map), about 120 miles north of Los Angeles, at about 9 a.m. Two Taft police units were at the school 60 seconds later, police said.

The gunman, who is in custody, entered a classroom on the second floor of a science building and shot one student. He then tried to fire on another student but missed.

About 30 students were in the classroom when the gunman entered about halfway through the session.

A teacher who "engaged" the gunman in conversation after the shooting suffered minor injuries when he was grazed by a pellet from the 12-gauge shotgun, according to the sheriff's department. The teacher, joined by a campus supervisor, convinced the student to drop the weapon, said Sheriff Don Youngblood.

"If it weren't for this teacher and a quick response, we don't know," Youngblood said."They talked him into putting the shotgun down."

The shooter -- described as a 16-year-old male student who lives near the school -- had "a dialogue" with the victim before Thursday morning, Youngblood said.

After shooting the student, the gunman shot at -- but missed -- a second student as the teacher attempted to "get students out of the classroom."

The teacher "disarmed" the gunman before officers took him into custody, Youngblood said.

"He told the teacher, 'I don't want to shoot you,' and named the other person he wanted to shoot," Youngblood said. "He had intended targets -- there's no question."

The teacher's injury was described a graze wound to the head, caused by shotgun pellet. The teacher told investigators he was not certain how many rounds were fired.

"The student was still armed with a shotgun at the time," Youngblood said of the encounter. "They probably distracted him, allowing students to get out of the classroom. I don't know what his exact words were, but they're being interviewed at this point.

"The heroics go without saying -- to stand there and face someone who has a shotgun and has already shot a student, we're very proud of the job they did."

It was not immediately clear how the student gained access to the weapon, sheriff's officials said.
Authorities said they were not sure how a student with a gun was able to walk onto campus and enter a classroom. They would not speculate late Thursday as to a motive in the shooting.

One student, who did not want his identity revealed, shared a woodworking class with the shooter. The student says the boy drew violent pictures of stick figures shooting each other.

"I thought he was kind of weird, but I never judged him," the student said. "He was just another kid."

At a news conference late Thursday, the sheriff fielded questions about whether the shooter had been the victim of bullying.

"I'm not sure there was any bullying that occurred," Youngblood said. "I'm sure there's a perception that there was, and there may have been, but it's been some time."

Youngblood said the gunman had "numerous" shotgun shells in his pocket as the teacher and supervisor talked with him.

"We can't thank them enough for what they did today," said Taft Police Chief Ed Whiting. "They are really awesome people."

Students were brought to the school auditorium to wait for their parents.

A school security officer is usually assigned to the school, but weather conditions might have prevented the officer from arriving at the campus Thursday, Youngblood said.

The high school is in the Kern County community of Taft, a city of about 9,500 residents near a massive oil field at the southwestern edge of the Central Valley.

The Taft shooting came less than one month after a gunman killed 20 children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., then killed himself.

Police made multiple arrests Thursday morning during a sweep in relation to an attempted murder that happened last year, according to officials.

One person was arrested at the 9200-block of Harness Drive in Spring Valley and two were arrested at the 3000-block of Olive Street in National City.

Chula Vista police detained 30-year-old Manuel Cadena, 22-year-old Oswaldo Mariscal and Paul Mariscal, 29. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The arrests were made in connection with a shooting last October on the 200-block of Kearney Street. The victims of the incident drove to the hospital and have since survived their wounds.

The County of San Diego Department of Animal Services is looking for the person or persons responsible for abandoning a dog inside a school dumpster in Spring Valley.

According to Animal Services, a 10-year-old male cocker spaniel was found dying in a dumpster at Mount Miguel High School on Saturday.

The tan-colored dog had been wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a large, black plastic bag that was tied shut. The bag was then placed inside the school dumpster.

When discovered, the dog was in critical condition, officials said.

The dog’s coat was so severely matted, Animal Services officials determined the animal could not walk. He was in such critical condition, the dog had to be euthanized at the Department’s animal care center in Bonita that same day.

Officials said no medical intervention could’ve reversed the dog's condition.

Now, the Department is searching for the suspect(s) responsible in this animal cruelty case.

Officials are asking witnesses or anyone with information to contact Deputy Director Dan DeSousa at (619) 767-2624 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. A $1,000 reward is being offered by San Diego Animal Advocates for any information leading to an arrest or conviction in this case.

If a suspect is arrested, he or she could face felony animal abuse charges, prison time and a $20,000 fine.

Local U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers got quite the surprise when they discovered nearly 310 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a shipment of vegetables at the Otay Mesa cargo facility.

Officers made the strange discovery Wednesday night.

A 29-year-old U.S. citizen driving a truck entered the cargo port and attempted to pass through with what he claimed was a large shipment of boxed carrots in the bed of the truck.

Upon further inspection, officers found the veggies were laced with something else: a whole lot of pot.

Comingling in the boxes of bright orange carrots, officers found 42 hidden packages of marijuana worth an estimated street value of nearly $500,000.

Officers said the driver of the truck, a resident of Maywood, Calif., was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

He’s facing federal charges for the attempted illegal smuggling of marijuana.
 

One person was sexually assaulted and another was stabbed in the neck during a hostage situation at a Los Angeles shopping mall that ended early Friday.

That hostage situation in a Nordstrom Rack store ended early Friday when a police SWAT team freed at least 14 people, hours after they were taken hostage by two gunmen and held in a storage area.

The hostages were being interviewed early Friday morning to determine what happened before 10 p.m. Thursday night, when LAPD officers from the Pacific Division received a 911 call from a man who said his girlfriend saw two armed men enter the store.

An officer on the scene then witnessed a man coming of the store who then ran back inside.

"That heightened officers' suspicion that something wasn't right," said LAPD spokesman Andy Neiman.

The officers later saw another man grab a woman, and he also and ran back into the store as well. That's when officers knew they had a possible robbery in progress and a tactical alert was issued. 

By 11:45 p.m., additional units were called to the scene, including LAPD SWAT officers who surrounded the Nordstrom Rack. A long search was conducted.

Shortly after 2:00 a.m., SWAT officers found 13 women and one man holed up inside a storage room and a bathroom. They were escorted out of the store and questioned by authorities. 

It is not clear what the men were armed with, police said. The promenade closes at 9 p.m. on Thursdays, according to its website.

View Larger Map