Any time there’s talk of military budget cuts, there is sure to be strong reaction in the military town of San Diego.

On Monday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced a proposal to cut the defense spending budget. The proposal would shrink the U.S. Army to roughly 440,000 soldiers, compared to the peak of 570,000 after the 9/11 attacks. That would be the smallest number of soldiers since before World War II.

There would also be cuts in housing allowances and health care benefits for military families. The proposal also includes $1 billion in subsidy cuts to commissaries.

“One of the big things is we get a food allowance that kind of ties into our pay,” sailor John Scanlon said. “If they’re going to raise the prices at the commissaries, then they’re going to have to start giving us more money for food.”

However, Executive Director of the San Diego Military Advisory Council Larry Blumberg says the proposal could actually be good news for the Navy and Marine Corps in San Diego County.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Blumberg said. “He (Hagel) talked about increased money for cyber, unmanned air systems, UAVs. Northrup Grumman, General Atomics, they're right there. They build those things, so there will be some offsets, but I think in the overall scheme of things, San Diego is in good shape.”

“We would not want to see sequestration return. I don't think anybody does, especially since it represents across the board cuts, which is an issue that affects all of us,” said defense contractor Dwayne Junker.

The biggest local hit would be limiting the Navy’s littoral combat ship fleet, which has been the target of controversy because of cost and performance.

The proposal has a long way to go. It still has to get through Congress, which could be a hard sell in an election year.

One person was killed and another was injured in a horrific crash Monday night in Carlsbad.

The accident happened around 10:15 p.m. on Calle Barcelona at Rancho Santa Fe Road. A Sig Alert was issued for the area.

First responders performed CPR but were unable to save one of the victims. That person’s identity has not been released.

The second victim was trapped inside the vehicle, and firefighters had to cut off the doors to get him out of the car. The man was transported to the hospital where his condition is unknown.

Carlsbad police are investigating.

Check back for updates.
 

NBC 7 Investigates found animal bones and remains in a dumpster outside a San Diego-area pet mortuary – the same company accused by a former worker of not fulfilling at-sea burials promised to pet owners.

Rachael Williamson has worked in the pet afterlife industry on and off for the last 10 years. She often forms a strong bond with grieving pet owners.

“The most rewarding part is the stories that they tell about their pets and feeling like I'm helping by taking their beloved pet from a situation where they have to go from body to spirit,” Williamson said

In October 2013, Williamson started working at San Diego Pet Memorial Park doing everything from filing and answering phones to engraving urns.

According to its website, San Diego Pet Memorial Park opened in 1962 to "provide a living memorial to all companion animals." San Diego Pet Memorial offers two types of cremation services: Individual and communal.

In individual cremations, the pet is cremated for a fee then its ashes are returned to its owner. If you choose a communal or group cremation, the remains are cremated and according to their website, the ashes are scattered at sea.

Williamson says while working at San Diego Pet Memorial she learned some startling information from another employee.

She was told that group cremations were not being scattered at sea, but thrown into a dumpster in order to save money.

“His words to me were, ‘it's not like they wanted their pets back anyways,’ and I was appalled by that,” Williamson said. “And I asked him, ‘Well do you at least process them first? And he said ‘no’ they just put them in the dumpster.”

Experts that work in the aftercare industry told NBC 7 Investigates once an animal is cremated it is reduced to mostly bone. It is then put through a grinder, called "processing" which crushes up the bone into an ash-like texture. After this second step, the animals are reduced entirely to an ash-like substance.

Williamson confronted the park's manager, Mick Palermo. She says he denied it and told her group remains were not being put in the dumpster.

So NBC 7 Investigates staked out the Memorial Park's dumpster, which sits at the top of a long driveway. We watched a driver from the park empty out the trash then we looked at it ourselves.

NBC 7 found a mix of trash, pet tags labeled "group cremation", dog collars, toys, blankets, and what appeared to be ash and burned animal bones.

We took those remains to San Diego State University, where two forensic archaeologists examined everything closely.

Arion Mayes, an SDSU Bio-archaeologist asked, “First of all, is it bone? And yes. It is clearly bone. The next question is, is it human? And yes I could say it was definitely not human remains.”

The team determined that what we found in the dumpster were the remains of at least two dogs.

“Certainly the minimum number of individuals is two and your question is could it be more? Yes it could be more,” Mayes said.

Chris Morgan, the archaeologist that worked with Mayes said, “Certainly there could be other kinds of animals there or different species.”

NBC 7 emailed Mick Palermo, the manager at San Diego Pet Memorial Park, asking for an interview and response to the allegations.

On Jan. 9, he responded saying he and his family had just been through a personal tragedy and that since June, he had "not been on my A game."

He invited me to inspect the dumpster.

"True, we haven't been taking ashes out to sea for a while and are just storing them until we get someone to take them out for us," Palermo wrote.

He did agree to an interview and to show NBC 7 the stored remains. But, the night before our interview, Palermo sent NBC 7 an email, saying he had spoken with the owner of San Diego Pet Memorial Park and they decided to cancel the interview.

Their "back-logged communal remains" - the ones we were told we could see for ourselves - had been "taken out to sea" that day by a private company. He said he would be using their "services for now."

Williamson said, “If I found out my pet had been put in a dumpster, I would be angry. Not only is it defrauding the public, it's desecrating the memory of these pets.”

After a few weeks, Williamson stopped working at San Diego Pet Memorial Park.

She said she didn't want to work there anymore. Mick Palermo told me they let her go.

“I'm not trying to punish anybody. I'm not trying to get back at anybody. I'm just hurt by this going on because this is an industry that I loved working in. They're tarnishing the industry,” Williamson said.

NBC 7 checked and it is not illegal to throw away animal bones, ashes or other remains.

We spoke to the San Diego County Veterinarian, who said if animal remains do not contain a health risk to humans, they can be thrown away in a dumpster and ultimately taken to a landfill.

A spokesperson from the International Association of Pet Cemeteries, which is made up of members in the pet aftercare industry, also told us pet cemeteries and crematories are not regulated by any state or federal agency.

Construction will close all lanes of Interstate 805 in both directions near the merge with Interstate 5 over  three nights this week.

Caltrans will be painting new stripes along the southbound lanes from the merge to just south of Mira Mesa Boulevard/Vista Sorrento Parkway from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday according to a Caltrans news release.

Crews will be doing the same thing for the northbound lanes in the same area from 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Thursday and Friday.

Highway signs will direct drivers to a detour.

The work will help open the new freeway carpool lanes but the Direct Access Ramp (DAR) will not open until next month.
 

NBC 7 Investigates found animal bones and remains in a dumpster outside a San Diego-area pet mortuary – the same company accused by a former worker of not fulfilling at-sea burials promised to pet owners.

Special Section: NBC 7 Investigates

Rachael Williamson has worked in the pet afterlife industry on and off for the last 10 years. She often forms a strong bond with grieving pet owners.

“The most rewarding part is the stories that they tell about their pets and feeling like I'm helping by taking their beloved pet from a situation where they have to go from body to spirit,” Williamson said

In October 2013, Williamson started working at San Diego Pet Memorial Park doing everything from filing and answering phones to engraving urns.

According to its website, San Diego Pet Memorial Park opened in 1962 to "provide a living memorial to all companion animals." San Diego Pet Memorial offers two types of cremation services: Individual and communal.

In individual cremations, the pet is cremated for a fee then its ashes are returned to its owner. If you choose a communal or group cremation, the remains are cremated and according to their website, the ashes are scattered at sea.

Williamson says while working at San Diego Pet Memorial she learned some startling information from another employee.

She was told that group cremations were not being scattered at sea, but thrown into a dumpster in order to save money.

“His words to me were, ‘it's not like they wanted their pets back anyways,’ and I was appalled by that,” Williamson said. “And I asked him, ‘Well do you at least process them first? And he said ‘no’ they just put them in the dumpster.”

Experts that work in the aftercare industry told NBC 7 Investigates once an animal is cremated it is reduced to mostly bone. It is then put through a grinder, called "processing" which crushes up the bone into an ash-like texture. After this second step, the animals are reduced entirely to an ash-like substance.

Williamson confronted the park's manager, Mick Palermo. She says he denied it and told her group remains were not being put in the dumpster.

So NBC 7 Investigates staked out the Memorial Park's dumpster, which sits at the top of a long driveway. We watched a driver from the park empty out the trash then we looked at it ourselves.

NBC 7 found a mix of trash, pet tags labeled "group cremation", dog collars, toys, blankets, and what appeared to be ash and burned animal bones.

We took those remains to San Diego State University, where two forensic archaeologists examined everything closely.

Arion Mayes, an SDSU Bio-archaeologist asked, “First of all, is it bone? And yes. It is clearly bone. The next question is, is it human? And yes I could say it was definitely not human remains.”

The team determined that what we found in the dumpster were the remains of at least two dogs.

“Certainly the minimum number of individuals is two and your question is could it be more? Yes it could be more,” Mayes said.

Chris Morgan, the archaeologist that worked with Mayes said, “Certainly there could be other kinds of animals there or different species.”

NBC 7 emailed Mick Palermo, the manager at San Diego Pet Memorial Park, asking for an interview and response to the allegations.

On Jan. 9, he responded saying he and his family had just been through a personal tragedy and that since June, he had "not been on my A game."

He invited me to inspect the dumpster.

"True, we haven't been taking ashes out to sea for a while and are just storing them until we get someone to take them out for us," Palermo wrote.

He did agree to an interview and to show NBC 7 the stored remains. But, the night before our interview, Palermo sent NBC 7 an email, saying he had spoken with the owner of San Diego Pet Memorial Park and they decided to cancel the interview.

Their "back-logged communal remains" - the ones we were told we could see for ourselves - had been "taken out to sea" that day by a private company. He said he would be using their "services for now."

Williamson said, “If I found out my pet had been put in a dumpster, I would be angry. Not only is it defrauding the public, it's desecrating the memory of these pets.”

After a few weeks, Williamson stopped working at San Diego Pet Memorial Park.

She said she didn't want to work there anymore. Mick Palermo told me they let her go.

“I'm not trying to punish anybody. I'm not trying to get back at anybody. I'm just hurt by this going on because this is an industry that I loved working in. They're tarnishing the industry,” Williamson said.

NBC 7 checked and it is not illegal to throw away animal bones, ashes or other remains.

We spoke to the San Diego County Veterinarian, who said if animal remains do not contain a health risk to humans, they can be thrown away in a dumpster and ultimately taken to a landfill.

A spokesperson from the International Association of Pet Cemeteries, which is made up of members in the pet aftercare industry, also told us pet cemeteries and crematories are not regulated by any state or federal agency.

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a man in Boulevard, a rural community east of San Diego.

According to deputies, 42-year-old Frank Paul Caruso was found dead on his property on Tierra Heights Road around 6 a.m. Monday.

Deputies said Caruso’s wife found him with what appears to be a head wound. An autopsy will determine the official cause of death.

The sheriff's department is ruling it as a homicide.

They said Caruso was found dead inside an outbuilding on his property.

There is also a $1000-reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest in the case.

Call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

Say goodbye to the iconic slogan "Got Milk?" that sparked the series of humorous milk mustache commercials.

After two decades, the milk industry is replacing the catchphrase with the new tagline "Milk Life."

The new campaign is designed highlight the nutritional benefits of milk and to get consumers to rethink the drink, Milk Processor Education Program CEO Julia Kadison told Ad Age. MilkPEP is an industry marketing program funded by milk processors.

"A lot of people don't know that milk has protein, so it was very important to make that connection between milk and protein," Kadison says. In addition to focusing on protein, she says MilkPEP wants to make milk "relatable, relevant and meaningful to Americans." 

The "Got Milk?" line was created by the advertising agency Gooby, Silverstein & Partners and originated in 1993 as a rebranding initiative for the California Milk Processor Board.

In 1995, MilkPEP licensed the well-known slogan. The phrase rose to popularity in the campaign's ads, which featured about 300 celebrities such as Bill Clinton, Elton John, Steven Tyler and David Beckham.

The California processors, which are still partnered with Goodby, will continue the "Got Milk?" campaign in California.

MilkPEP's "Milk Life" slogan was designed by the advertising agency Lowe Campbell Ewald in hopes of not only conveying the power of protein after drinking milk, but also boosting milk sales. Per-capita fluid milk consumption has declined by 25 percent since 1975, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

MilkPEP plans to spend more than $50 million on the campaign, Ad Age reported.

The new tagline ads will be released today, featuring ordinary people and reflecting milk as a key ingredient to a healthy and active lifestyle.

California is changing the way its funding school districts.

In the past, the state gave funds that were earmarked for specific expenditures, without any consideration to the needs of each individual district.

Now, each local school district will have the ability to decide the best way to manage its funds.

“In San Diego County, we have over 40 school districts,” said Moises Aguirre, Manager of Charter Schools for San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). “Every school district can adopt a different set of priorities.”

The Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) are required to cover eight areas including basic services, implementation of Common Core standards, student achievement, student engagement, parental involvement, course access, school climate and other student outcomes (ie: physical education and the arts.)

SDUSD has been holding community forums to explain the process.

The “Vision 2020: What Kind of Schools Do We Want” meetings cover everything from class size to campus improvements.

Those attending the forums have requested funds to support language-immersion programs, more advanced technology and better preparation for kindergarten students.

On Tuesday, the Coalition for Local Education through Accountability of Resources (CLEAR) released their recommendations on how school districts can get the most out of those meetings and develop LCAPs representatives of all stakeholders.

Their list includes identifying metrics that will be reported publicly and convenient meeting times to bring in as many voices as possible.

CLEAR also suggests that districts should also train parents and other community members so that they understand budgets and know how to evaluate academic data.

• Read: CLEAR Recommendations to School Districts

Penny Adler, Education Chair for League of Women Voters, said her organization is joining forces with CLEAR to call for transparency in how the local-control accountability plans are formulated.

“The San Diego Unified School District is so large that even within SDUSD there is a big difference between what La Jolla and University City might want to do with their money versus a Southeastern area, that has Hoover and Gompers, might see the need,” said Adler.

Carol Green, President, Ninth District PTA, said her group will be reaching out to parents, urging them to get educated on the process so they can be part of the discussion.

“We don’t just want to be told what’s happening in a plan, we want to be part of the process,” said Carol Green, President, Ninth District PTA.

It’s a long-term process Aguirre adds, with years of work and discussion ahead.

“We want to make sure the community has the input, the dialogue with staff because together we can do this better,” Aguirre said.

SDUSD has two upcoming meetings planned for Mar. 3, 7-9 p.m., Mira Mesa High School, 10510 Reagan Rd. and March 10, 7-9 p.m., Crawford High School, 4191 Colts Way.

Find out more from your child’s school district. Get the contact information from the San Diego County Office of Education.
 

A woman says she was taunted and robbed in San Francisco for wearing Google Glass.

The woman, Sarah Slocum, mentioned on Facebook that she was in a bar in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood Friday night showing off the wearable computer accessory when someone took it from her face and ran, while another told her that she and her techie friends were "destroying the city," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Slocum said she chased the assailant who she says took the Google Glass and retrieved it, but another person had taken her purse and cellphone.

The incident comes amid mounting tension between techies and other San Francisco residents who feel the tech workers are driving up costs without adding infrastructure or bettering neighborhoods.

While Slocum reportedly wasn't doing anything annoying or rude, Google has released a list of do's and don'ts for using Glass so users won't annoy people. None of them warn users to beware of class warfare.

Whether you’re an animal lover, a movie buff or a foodie, there’s something to suit everyone’s taste this weekend in San Diego.

Thursday, Feb. 27

Casual Curry Cooking Class
10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. in Pacific Beach
Impress at your next dinner party with tastes from the Far East.

Friday, Feb. 28

Twilight Trek
6:30 p.m.- 8 p.m. at the San Diego Zoo
When the sun goes away, nocturnal animals will play. This is an exclusive chance to explore the zoo after the general public has left.

Saturday, March 1

Oscar Best Picture Showcase
Starts at 12 p.m. at AMC Mission Valley and AMC Fashion Valley
Watch all five nominees for the Oscars “Best Picture of the Year” movie marathon-style.

It’s hard to imagine what could convince the driver responsible for a deadly accident to leave the scene.

San Diego criminal defense attorney Anthony Solare says, often times, the drivers don’t know themselves.

“I have people in my office on a regular basis saying, 'I have no idea why I did this,'” said Solare.

NBC 7 counted at least eight deadly hit and run accidents in San Diego County since Jan. 1.

Six have been in February alone, including the deadly crash Sunday night in Hillcrest that ended the life of a man walking a dog on University Avenue.

Solare said it’s not unusual to find that suspects are drunk or high at the time of the collision. Those drivers may think driving away from the scene will be better than getting a DUI.

Solare says that is not necessarily true.

For a hit and run accident where no one is injured, he says, it’s true.

“The penalties for a non-injury hit and run are significantly less than what they are for a non-injury DUI,” the attorney said.

For a misdemeanor hit and run Solare said you could face fines of about $1000-$1,200, 8 to 12 hours of Level 2 traffic school, and two points on your record.

There would likely be no immediate impact to your drivers license.

For a non-injury DUI, you face about $23,000 in fines, nine months in a "First Conviction Program," and at least a one-month suspension on your drivers license.

If the victim is injured or killed, which in many cases there's no way of knowing unless you stop, Solare said leaving this scene is never a good idea.

"Hit and run with an injury the courts will be a lot more stringent and more zealous in pursuit for stricter penalties," he told NBC 7.

Also, if you have no alcohol or drugs in your system and you leave a scene, you could turn what was a civil case into a criminal case.

Police and emergency crews were called to a Coco’s restaurant in Oceanside Tuesday morning after a woman accidentally drove her car into the eatery, officials confirmed.

The incident happened around 8:45 a.m. at a Coco’s located at 3905 Mission Ave.

Coco's employee Odeysse Bradford was waiting on a table when, suddenly, she said she saw a car come up a small embankment and crash straight into a window where her customer was sitting.

"It was very scary," Bradford told NBC 7, adding that the car appeared to be traveling fast just second before the collision.

Bradford said her customer sustained some scrapes but wasn't seriously injured. He was walking just fine, asking for a Band-Aid after the crash, she said.

Bradford said the driver of the vehicle, who appeared to be an older woman, was also not seriously harmed in the incident.

The building was heavily damaged, with shattered glass and debris scattered throughout the dining room. Still, Bradford is relieved no one was hurt.

"We had a crazy morning, there's lots of glass everywhere, but everybody is okay. We all made it through," she said.

Coco's manager Paul Pongun seconds that sentiment, and his happy all of his employees and customers are safe.

Pongun said he was in his office making a phone call when he heard a loud "boom" and screams coming from the dining room.

Upon running out and seeing the wreckage, Pongun immediately thought about the customer who had been sitting by the window. Pongun said he was extremely glad to find out that the customer had not been seriously injured.

According to police, the driver who plowed into the restaurant lost control of her Toyota Avalon. The driver was evaluated at the scene for minor injuries.

Officials said the woman’s car became lodged in the restaurant building, raising some concerns about removal. Building inspectors were called to the scene to determine how to get the vehicle out safely.

The incident remains under investigation and details about what caused the driver to lose control of her vehicle were not immediately released.

The restaurant was shut down for the day following the accident but Pongun said they would try to re-open by Wednesday if possible.
 

A 16-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department is now under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, the SDPD confirmed Tuesday.

SDPD Detective Karen Almos was arrested for a DUI Saturday just before 3:30 p.m. According to the police department, Almos was passed out in her personal, parked vehicle in the 2000-block of Pan-American Plaza in the Balboa Park area when paramedics contacted her.

She was later identified as an SDPD detective and arrested on suspicion of DUI by SDPD officers, Det. Gary Hassen said. She was not in uniform at the time of her arrest.

The investigation is ongoing. Almos has been placed on administrative duties for now, pending the completion of the investigation.

The San Diego Police Department has been in the limelight in recent weeks due to ongoing investigations into sexual misconduct allegations involving two separate police officers.

Former Officer Christopher Hays, 30 – who’s no longer employed with the department, effective last week – is accused of giving several women improper pat downs on the job. Officer Donald Moncrief, 39, is accused of touching a woman inappropriately during an arrest in the South Bay last year and allegedly exposing himself to the woman.

As a result of these recent cases, SDPD Chief William Lansdowne has called for an outside audit into the police department to review how the SDPD handles misconduct among officers.

The Alpine teachers strike ended early Tuesday after an agreement was reached overnight according to Superintendent Tom Pellegrino.

The teachers association voted on the proposal at a 7:30 a.m. meeting and agreed to the terms.

They say they are happy with the agreement and feel like the district listened to them. They are also happy to get back to their students today.

The superintendent said that once the deal was ratified, teachers would return to the classroom.

Teachers in Alpine walked off the job last Thursday to protest pay and benefit cuts.

The school board recently approved a 7.85 percent salary cut and an $8,000 cap on health benefit contributions, which went into effect Jan. 1.

Under the agreement that begins April 1, teacher salaries will be cut by 5.5-percent, not by 7.5-percent as originally proposed.

The healthcare cap will be $9,500, not the original $8,000 suggested when the teachers first went on strike.

If the state of California passes a restoration gap of 28-percent on July 1, teachers could get another 2-percent back from their salary cut. If the gap is larger, teachers would see a one-percent pay increase for every 3-percent restored in funding.

In addition, teachers will receive two paid professional development days.

Kindergarten teacher Wendy Yoshinaga said she was happy to return to work. "The community stood behind us and we appreciate that so much," Yoshinaga said.

Parent Jeanette McWilliams said her daughter will be relieved to have her teacher back in the classroom.

"I am so happy it's over. My daughter has missed these teachers so much. We're so excited they're back," McWilliams said.

The agreement will last until the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

The superintendent had argued that the teachers’ demands would bankrupt the district.

Pellegrino said the board was able to be flexible with budget to give teachers what they needed without risking a “financial meltdown.”

Now he said the staff must get back to the business of educating students.

"Any time parents feel like their children are caught in the middle of something, then we've got to prove ourselves again," Pellegrino said. "From the top on down we've got to prove we have complete focus on students and on learning."

This was the first teachers strike in San Diego County since 1996.

A New Jersey police officer is recovering from smoke inhalation after rescuing animals from a pet shop fire, officials say. 

The fire at Pet Center on State Highway 23 in Franklin, N.J. was reported at about 9 a.m. Tuesday, and officers Rafael Burgos and Jeffrey Korger were among the first responders on the scene, according to the Franklin Borough Police Department.

Burgos rescued all the pets inside the building as other officers evacuated nearby businesses, police said. 

Firefighters were able to put out the fire, and investigators say the blaze appears to be related to an electrical issue. 

Burgos is receiving medical attention for smoke inhalation, police said. No one else was injured. 

A local veterinary hospital is helping to temporarily care for the displaced pets. 

A candid photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel went viral Tuesday, with online observers buzzing about the appearance of a Hitler-like mustache on the German leader's face.

The image of the two leaders at a news conference, taken Tuesday morning by Jerusalem Post photographer Marc Israel Sellem, showed Netanyahu pointing his finger — and inadvertently casting a shadow on Merkel's face that many said resembled the Nazi leader's signature mustache.

"At the end when I saw Netanyahu begin to point, I thought it would be interesting so I just started shooting, something like seven pictures a second," Sellem told the Jerusalem Post.

Sellem said he was just as surprised as everyone else when he first saw the image on his computer. He said he included it in an e-mail to the editors of the Jerusalem Post and its sister publication, the Israel Post.

Initially, the Jerusalem Post decided to not run the photo, but after an editor at the Israel Post published it to their Facebook page, it was shared more than 1,000 times in the first few minutes, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Shortly after, Sellem and The Jerusalem Post were flooded with inquiries from media outlets asking if the photo were retouched (it wasn't, they reported) and for permission to reprint it.

The photo was taken as Merkel spoke at a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Jerusalem Tuesday, as the two met to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's planned peace talks framework slated for April.

In Jerusalem, Merkel said that she does not endorse boycotts of Israel. She said that although Germany sees Iran as a potential threat to Israel and Europe, she could not support Netanyahu's demand that Tehran give up all sensitive nuclear projects under any negotiated deal.

Authorities are investigating after former New England Patriots tight end and murder suspect Aaron Hernandez was involved in an altercation with another inmate at a Massachusetts jail Tuesday, according to Bristol County Jail Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.

Hernandez, a Bristol native, and the other inmate were both housed in the same special management unit in Bristol County Jail in New Bedford, Mass., according to WHDH in Boston.

Hodgson told WJAR in Providence that the Sheriff's Department is conducting an internal investigation into the incident that will take about a day-and-a-half to complete, depending on what investigators find.

• Arrest Made in Shooting of Man Involved With Hernandez Investigation

He does not believe anyone was injured during the encounter.

Hernandez could face criminal charges as a result of the investigation and have the time he's allowed out of his cell reduced from three hours to one hour per day, Hodgson told WJAR.

The details of the altercation are unclear. Hernandez will remain in the same housing unit overnight, according to WJAR.

• Man Involved With Hernandez Investigation Held on $1 Million After Club Shooting

Hernandez is accused of murdering semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Mass., last year and has pleaded not guilty.

He has also been linked to an unsolved 2012 drive-by double homicide in Boston.