A bill proposing hit-and-run drivers lose their licenses as punishment cleared committee Tuesday.

Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D) sponsors the bill AB 1532 that suggests the punishment for a hit-and-run driver who doesn’t stop after striking a pedestrian should be automatic suspension of the driver’s license.

The law would apply even if the victim’s injuries were minor.

The Assembly Public Safety Committee approved the proposed legislation 7-0.

The California Public Defenders Association argued against the proposal. The group says that under existing law, charges have been appropriate when there has been any injury, not matter how minor.

According to a San Diego criminal defense attorney, current law requires fines of about $1000-$1,200, 8 to 12 hours of Level II traffic school, and two points on a driver's record for a misdemeanor hit-and-run crash. There would likely be no immediate impact to your drivers license.

Home sellers are sure to lock up their jewelry and other valuables before an open house.

But what about prescription drugs?

As prescription drug abuse rises, people are finding creative ways to get their hands on them. That includes raiding medicine cabinets and nightstands during public open houses.

San Diego County law enforcement, drug treatment centers and real estate agents have launched the Safe Homes Coalition to fight the growing trend.

“Young people in particular are using prescription drugs to get high. Some move on to heroin because it gives a similar high and is a lot cheaper,” District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said at a news conference Tuesday.

According to Dumanis, cases involving prescription drugs went up 84 percent in the last five years.

The coalition recommends putting prescription drugs inside the trunk of a car during an open house.

The San Diego Association of Realtors will have special bags in all of their offices countywide. The bags include instructions on how to properly store or dispose of prescription drugs.

Anyone with unwanted prescription drugs can drop them off at 24 drop boxes around the county.

March is Prescription Drug Awareness Month in California.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Safe Homes Coalition Facebook Page
  
• Find Drop Box Locations

Relatives of a sexual molestation victim describe the victim as a once a happy and outgoing girl who now, years later, blames herself for the abuse and no longer draws pictures of rainbows.

The child's mother and maternal grandparents addressed a San Diego judge Tuesday moments before he sentenced the man responsible for the abuse - former special education teacher Loren McDonald.

The girl was 3-years-old when she was molested for more than a year in secret, family members said.

As a result, the now-5-year-old girl started showing personality changes that ranged from screaming tantrums to behavioral problems in school.

“She blames herself,” the victim’s mother said.

The former teacher at Olympian High School in Chula Vista was arrested in May and pleaded guilty to seven separate counts of committing a sex act on a child. His victim was not a student at the school.

The child's grandfather described a little girl who preferred to hide under bushes rather than play in the park.

“Her drawings showed sad people, clouds and rain. No rainbows,” he told the court.

In public, McDonald appeared to be a model citizen who was a natural with children.

“He was really charming, seemingly kind and thoughtful loves to work with children,” the victim’s grandmother said. “When young families got together on our block, everybody loved it because Loren is going to play with the kids. We were all blindsided.”

But in private, the child’s grandmother said, McDonald read books to the little girl on how to recognize inappropriate touching while he was molesting her.

“How twisted and sick,” she said. “We were all totally blindsided.”

Judge Timothy Walsh sentenced McDonald to 18 years in prison.

The child’s mother asked that McDonald not be released in the same county after time served.

“I really hope this case sets precedent and tells other young victims that they have a voice and mothers of sexually abused children that they are supported by the criminal justice system and ultimately truth will prevail and justice will be served,” the mother said.

The victim’s grandparents wanted to go on the record about the abuser’s ability to disarm others.

Please don’t let him blindside you on the day he comes up for parole,” the grandmother said. “Please be careful with this man. He’s very dangerous.”

On May 6, McDonald was arrested at his workplace on multiple charges. The school immediately placed McDonald on leave.

 A massive, multiple-alarm fire at Fourth and China Basin streets in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood burned for hours Tuesday, sending a plume of black smoke high into the sky.

The blaze, which burned at an apartment building under construction just south of AT&T Park, was reported at 4:56 p.m.

As daylight waned, the flames calmed and the smoke turned from black to white. San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Eric O'Neal said in a statement that all residents on the east side of Fourth Street had been evacuated and that the Red Cross was on the scene.

About 150 firefighters responded to the blaze and prevented the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. Teams were expected to remain there throughout the night.

A firefighter suffered minor burns battling the blaze and was transported to a hospital, officials said.

San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White also said crews would let the building collapse upon itself.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.

• Download the Free NBC Bay Area News App

The fire torched what was due to become a 172-unit apartment complex. The site is owned by the San Francisco-based BRE Properties.

The company late Tuesday said a cause of the fire is unknown and that all associates and contractors were safely evacuated from the construction site.

"We are currently assessing the situation, including the cause of the fire, and we will be consulting with the appropriate authorities,'' the company said. "We carry comprehensive insurance coverage for events such as this including hard cost replacement, soft costs and loss of revenue.''

• Massive SF Fire's Impact on Bay Area Air Quality

San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said the fact that building was under construction made battling the blaze more difficult because the building's fire suppression systems had not been completely installed.

Workers were in the process of installing sprinklers, but none were working yet, according to public records.

Strong northerly winds gusting up to 30 mph were blowing smoke from the fire south toward Potrero Hill and the Dogpatch neighborhoods, according to NBC Bay Area meteorologist Jeff Ranieri.

• PHOTOS: Crews Battle Building Fire Near AT&T Park

South side of building just collapses.. @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/60ubdm1m7y

— Felipe Escamilla (@FotogFeep) March 12, 2014

Witnesses near the scene told NBC Bay Area's Stephen Stock they were concerned about the fire spreading to occupied buildings.

"I'm looking at a pretty bad fire here,” the witness said. “You can feel it."

Firefighters on the scene confirmed that burning embers from the fire spread to the roof of the nearby Smith Cardiovascular Research Center at UCSF, but crews were able to quickly extinguish those flames.

San Francisco-resident Janice Jentz was on her way home from work when she saw large clouds of smoke hovering over her building.

"(I) started running home and tried to make sure he was rescued and he was OK," Jentz said of her dog, who firefighters were able to rescue. "I'm happy they pulled through and helped me out."

The Mission Bay site is 3.7 acres on two parcels and represents BRE’s only property in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco.

• Witness Describes Portion of Building Collapse

BRE reportedly expected the cost of the development to be around $227 million, or $630,000 per unit.

The Mission Bay project is one of five the company has under construction in California and Washington. There are two other projects underway in the Bay Area, one in Sunnyvale and one in Redwood City.

Suffolk Construction is the contractor working on the building. The company had "no comment" when contacted by NBC Bay Area.

View aerial footage of the fire crews battling the blaze late Tuesday in the video below. The video was submitted by an NBC Bay Area viewer and was filmed using a quadcopter drone.

The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.

The Miami Dolphins announced Tuesday night that they have traded Jonathan Martin – the player at the center of a bullying scandal that drew national attention – to the San Francisco 49ers for an undisclosed draft choice.

Martin suffered "significant emotional distress" at the hands of three of his Dolphins teammates, including fellow offensive lineman Richie Incognito, according to independent NFL investigator Ted Wells.

• Martin: I Felt "Trapped" in Dolphins Locker Room

“We feel that this move is in the best interests of all parties involved. We wish Jonathan well,” new Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey said on Twitter.

The offensive tackle responded to the trade by saying he was "Beyond Blessed." He also tweeted the below messages:

Opportunities are few in the NFL... Can't wait to get to work #9erEmpire

— Jonathan A. Martin (@J_Martin71) March 12, 2014

Can already tell the 49ers have a great fan base #NinerNation

— Jonathan A. Martin (@J_Martin71) March 12, 2014

The trade brings Martin back together with his former coach at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh.

Martin abruptly left the team in October as the Dolphins' bullying saga began to unfold.

Incognito and two other starters on Miami’s offensive line, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey, “engaged in a pattern of harassment directed at not only Jonathan Martin, but also another young Dolphins offensive lineman and an assistant trainer," Wells said as his final report was released last month.

Incognito was suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team on Nov. 3.

• Martin Says He Looks Forward To Resuming Career

Local war heroes are remembering the sacrifices of their fallen comrades through a special traveling replica wall dedicated to U.S. service members that has made its way to San Diego this week.

“The Wall That Heals” (TWTH), a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be on display Thursday through Sunday on the lawn at Tuna Harbor Park on North Harbor Drive, adjacent to the USS Midway and near the famous “Unconditional Surrender” statue.

The wall – part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and set up by volunteers – will be open for public viewing 24 hours a day while it’s in San Diego. There will be an opening ceremony at the wall on Thursday.

The replica is a perfect 50 percent scale of the actual wall in Washington, D.C., right down to the font of all 58,286 names of veterans. The traveling set-up also includes a timeline of the war, a history of the wall and two panels of pictures of soldiers.

More than 350 San Diegans gave their lives in the Vietnam War, leaving local veterans with emotional and physical pain that lasts to this day.

Vietnam veteran William Buchanan said the wall represents the ultimate sacrifice many gave for our country.

“This wall here, it shows some of us gave some, but these people on this wall gave all. They gave everything to this country and it’s just a great feeling to be here and be in the presence of that wall,” he said.

The San Diego resident said he earned a Purple Heart after taking a grenade to the stomach on the battlefield. Buchanan said that with the wall, his fallen comrades will now finally get the recognition they never received after the war.

Organizers of the traveling wall project say San Diego has the largest concentration of veterans like Buchanan in the country. The Wall That Heals has made more than 350 stops across the country, at each stop raising money to build an underground Education Center adjacent to the original wall in Washington, D.C., near the Lincoln Memorial.

Buchanan says the memorial wall is important, but there’s still a long way to go when it comes to life after war for veterans.

"Some veterans come back without legs, arms, some come back with no hearing. When a veteran does that the country should take care of them. They shouldn't come back here and be homeless, they shouldn't come back here and have to beg for help or beg for assistance," he said.

Construction for the Education Center begins in 2016. It will feature a display about what it means to serve the nation, “from Bunker Hill to Baghdad,” and will also boast exhibits showcasing items left at the wall through the years – everything from baseball mitts to a brand new motorcycle. Many of the mementos are left for fallen veterans by total strangers. The center will also include the “Wall of Faces” exhibit, which will include photos of every soldier who was killed or went missing during the Vietnam War.

A closing ceremony will be held at The Wall That Heals on Sunday in San Diego. After that, the wall will head to New Mexico for its next stop.

To learn more about the wall, visit the VVMF website.
 

The newly-appointed chief of the San Diego Police Department did some appointing of her own Tuesday, announcing three new assistant chiefs of police within the department.

In a memo to SDPD personnel sent by Chief Shelley Zimmerman, she announced the appointments of Sarah Creighton, Todd Jarvis and Terrence “Terry” McManus to the position of Assistant Chief of Police.

The assistant chiefs begin their new roles effective Saturday, according to Zimmerman’s memo.

“Sarah, Todd and Terry bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position and are committed to the success and improvement of the Police Department,” wrote Zimmerman.

Zimmerman – a 31-year veteran of the SDPD – was officially confirmed chief of the department on Mar. 4, exactly one week ago.

• Read: Faulconer Names New SDPD Chief

The chief, who stepped up as former SDPD William Lansdowne stepped down, has taken on the leadership role amid police officer sex scandals plaguing the department.

For her part, the new chief has said she’s ready to accept the challenge and has big plans for the future of the SDPD.

“We will instill a culture of excellence in our police department. We will demand it of ourselves because our community deserves it,” said Zimmerman, before the city council, during her confirmation last week. “It starts with the chief of police all the way to our newest recruit and our entire civilian
staff.”

“All of us will strive to be the very best at what we do in the very best police department and in the most beautiful city in the world,” she continued. “We are committing every single second of every single day to the words that are written on the doors of our police cars: “America’s Finest.” These are not just words, these are our core values.”
 

Opposition signs in hand, teachers from a school in San Ysidro protested a possible 24 percent salary cut at a school board meeting Tuesday night.

With signs that read, “I don’t want to strike but I will,” teachers gathered at Sunset Elementary School to voice their frustrations on a potential pay cut of 8 percent each year over the next three years.

Teachers say the pay cuts are coming after the San Ysidro School District canceled a deal with a solar panel company. After suing the school district for breach of contract, the company won a judgement, ordering the company $12 million in damages.

As a result of the deal gone south, teachers say the school is now trying to make up those funds with a pay cut for its teachers.

Jeffrey Scarlett, a teacher at Sunset Elementary School, said the San Ysidro School District is “hiding” the truth about their financial situation and making teachers pay for the district’s mistakes.

“Our school district had grossly mismanaged money,” Scarlett told NBC 7. “They’re squirreling away millions of dollars. They have money. They’re lying about the fact that they’re broke. They’re going to rip off teachers and snake them for 24 percent of their earning over the next three years and just ignore 5,000 of the neediest students in Southern California in the process.”
 

Two teenage girls are behind bars following allegations they tortured a boy with "a diminished mental capacity."

The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said 17-year-old Lauren Bush and a 15-year-old girl recorded the assaults against the 16-year-old victim on their cell phones. The teens allegedly stabbed the victim, dragged him by his hair and forced him to perform various sex acts.

• Baltimore Man Kills Wife During Trip to Virginia: Police

Investigators said the suspects also coerced the teen to walk on a partially frozen pond, which resulted in him falling through the ice several times. Each time, police said, the suspects refused to help the boy out of the frigid water.

Both girls have been charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, soliciting the subject in the production of child pornography, and false imprisonment.

• Woman Says She Found Lizard Head in Restaurant Salad

Bush was charged as an adult. She is being held at the St. Mary's County Detention Center. The other teen is being detained at the Waxter's Children's Center.

The St. Mary's County public defender's office had no comment on the case at this time.

• Bank Robbery Suspects Nabbed After Police Search I-270

The sheriff’s department believes a landscaper who was hit by a car Tuesday morning in Poway was wearing earplugs at the time of the accident.

The accident happened around 8:42 a.m. on Twin Peaks Road, west of Maple Street.

According to sheriff’s officials, the 41-year-old worker was standing in the bike lane and using a leaf blower. That’s when a Lexus sedan, driven by an 81-year-old woman, struck him.

The man was taken to Palomar Medical Center for what were described as life-threatening injuries to his head and body.

The man works for Heaviland Enterprises, Inc., according to sheriff’s department.

The woman driving the car stopped immediately and was questioned at the scene. Officials said speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash. No charges are pending at this time.

Deputies are advising drivers to be aware of roadside workers and give them a wide berth.

"If you see somebody working on the edge of the roadway, pay attention," said San Diego County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Cheever.

The accident also prompted a SigAlert.
 

The wife of convicted child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky broke her silence for the first time since the former Penn State assistant football coach was sent to jail, saying the case against her husband was based on lies and his accusers motivated by money.

“Do I believe him? I definitely believe him. Because if I didn't believe him, when I testified at trial, I could have not said what I said. I would have had to tell the truth," Dottie Sandusky said in an exclusive interview with NBC’s “Today” show from her home in State College, Pa.

“I think it was, they were manipulated, and they saw money,’’ she told NBC's Matt Lauer. “Once lawyers came into the case, they said there was money.”

Jerry Sandusky, 70, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted in June 2012 on 45 of 48 charges of sexually abusing young boys over a 15-year period.

When asked if her husband of 47 years was guilty of inappropriate behavior with some of the young boys who have accused him, Sandusky said, “I don't believe that, I believe he showered with kids. That’s the generation that Jerry grew up in ....There were always people coming in and out no matter what time that was.”

Sandusky was joined during the interview by filmmaker John Ziegler, who researched the case for two years and has interviewed Jerry Sandusky twice in prison. He believes Jerry Sandusky is innocent.

“I presumed, like a lot of people, that Dottie has to be delusional or not understand the case,’’ Ziegler said. “I'm certain of one thing above everything else after two years of investigating this case, and that is that Dottie Sandusky is not delusional. She knows the case better than the vast majority of media members, and she is positive that Jerry Sandusky is innocent.”

During the interview, Sandusky took Matt Lauer to her basement where the accusers said some of the abuse occurred.

"It is not a dungeon," she said. "It is not what those kids said. You can scream, and you can hear it up to the second floor.”

Lauer pointed out that the house is quite small and that one of the victims said he screamed in the basement while he was sexually abused and that Dottie never came down to check what was going on. Dottie said she never heard anyone “because he didn’t scream.”

Lauer also asked about an article in The Washington Post in which Melinda Henneberger wrote, "We know that predators prey on the more vulnerable, who they can later paint as unstable; that’s standard. But they also tend to choose spouses who can be counted on to suppress any unpleasant ideas that might occur to them."

"I'm not a weak spouse,'' said Sandusky, who visits her husband once a week at a maximum security prison in Waynesburg, Penn., a three-hour drive from her home. "As you know...they call me 'Sarge' because Jerry said I kept everybody in line. If they want to say that, let them say that. I know who I am. And I know who Jerry is. And I know he did not do the horrible crimes that he's convicted of.”

Lauer pointed out to Ziegler and Sandusky that it may be hard for the public to believe that everyone in the case has been manipulated or is lying.

“Look, the reality is, I understand exactly what you're saying,’’ Ziegler said. “People will think that this is insane because they were given a perception of this case that was totally wrong.”

A San Jose police officer has been charged with raping a hotel maid whom authorities say he was tasked with helping after she had fled a fight with her drunken husband.

San Jose police said that Officer Geoffrey Evatt Graves, 38, was arrested on Monday of one count of felony sexual assault following a five-month investigation. The Santa Clara County District Attorney, however, ended up filing one count of forcible rape.

Graves, who is out of custody, will not be formally arraigned until March 24. If he is convicted of the charge, he could face a maximum of eight years in prison and have to register as a sex offender, according to court documents filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

A judge may decide at a probable cause hearing to force him to take an HIV test.

Graves self-surrendered  into the Santa Clara County Jail on Monday before posting his $100,000 bail. He was also placed on paid administrative leave. It was not immediately clear who was representing Graves, and he could not immediately be located for comment. An attorney of record was not listed on the court documents. In an email, Jim Unland, president of the San Jose Police Officers Association, said: "Our members are surprised by the relevations of this troubling event. It is a tough day for our department."

In a phone interview on Tuesday, his former stepfather spoke about what Graves used to be like when he was younger.

"He was a good kid," Art Calimpong told NBC Bay Area. He added that he was surprised to hear the charge against Graves, whom he helped raise from elementary school through Gilroy High School. "He knew what he wanted to do."

What he wanted to do was become a fire chief where he was working in Shasta Lake, according to Calimpong, who lives in Gilroy. That’s where Graves moved to after he couldn’t find a job after finishing Menlo College in Atherton, Calimpong said.

The Shasta Lake Fire Protection District confirmed to NBC Bay Area on Tuesday that Graves volunteered at the fire agency from July 2002 and resigned in May 2004.

Calimpong, who said he hasn’t seen Graves in “six or seven years,” believes Graves went on to be a paramedic before being hired by the San Jose Police Department.

In a statement, San Jose Police Chief Larry Esquivel said: "Please know that once I became aware of this incident, we quickly and proactively initiated a criminal investigation ...This is an extremely serious allegation, and if proven true, the officer will be held accountable.  While this incident is very troubling and tugs at our integrity, it is an isolated incident and by no means a reflection of our officers who perform their duties with honor and professionalism on a daily basis."

District Attorney Jeff Rosen also said in a statement that, while "rare," "on duty misdeeds bestow an unjustified blight on the stellar reputation of our hard-working peace officers."

The alleged rape occurred on Sept. 22, 2013, according to police and prosecutors.
 
That's when Deputy District Attorney Carlos Vega said four officers, including Graves, responded to a call at the woman's house where she lived with her husband in San Jose. Police determined both spouses were drinking but no crime had occurred. The woman, a hotel maid, asked the responding officers to bring her to a nearby hotel where she had previously worked to stay the night, Vega said. About 2:30 a.m. that morning, Graves took her to the hotel.

The woman got the hotel key, went to her room alone and fell asleep, said Vega, who also used to be a police officer in Southern California.

About 15 minutes later, she heard knocking and opened the door. Graves entered the room, allegedly grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed.

Vega said Graves then took off parts of his uniform - keeping his bulletproof vest on - and then allegedly took off her underpants.

"The defendant climbed on top of the victim while she resisted with verbal and physical communication,"  according to a felony complaint written by San Jose Police Sgt. Craig Storlie, with the department's internal affairs unit. "The defendant forcibly engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim before leaving the hotel approximately 10 minutes later."
 
On Oct. 15, 2013, this allegation was brought to the attention of the San Jose Police Department through the California Highway Patrol, the agency to which the woman reported her rape. That's when detectives began investigating. Prosecutors said that physical evidence corroborated the woman's allegations, and she positively identified Graves as her alleged attacker.

In an interview, San Jose's Independent Police Auditor LaDoris Cordell said that Graves' situation is unusual. In all of 2013, a report her office wrote showed that some San Jose police officers were disciplined for "conduct unbecoming" an officer, but none for abuse of force.

Earlier this month, San Jose Firefighter Mario Cuestas was arrested on charges of selling, possessing and attempting to sell methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.

One of the biggest international stories involving the alleged rape of a hotel maid involved claims against International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011. But charges were ultimately dropped against him after the woman's credibility was challenged.

Check out photos and reaction from the scene of the deadly building collapses in Manhattan.

Two people are dead, 18 are hurt and others are missing after two buildings collapsed following a gas leak explosion that rattled upper Manhattan and shattered windows with a blast that could be felt blocks away, officials said.
 

A new website has been launched as the first organized step in raising more donations for a fund created to help a local family solve a triple-homicide mystery that has enthralled San Diego since Christmas Eve.

The website is designed to raise more money for the Belvedere-Flint reward fund currently set up with the help of San Diego’s Crime Stoppers. While collecting donations, the website will also aim to educate the public on all three victims at the center of the unsolved homicide: Ilona Flint, 22, and brothers Salvatore Belvedere, 22, and Gianni Belvedere, 24.

Flint and Salvatore were gunned down in a parking lot outside a Macy's department store at Mission Valley Mall in the early hours of Dec. 24, 2013. Flint died at the scene, while Salvatore died a few days later from injuries sustained in the shooting.

Gianni -- Salvatore's brother and Flint's longtime boyfriend-turned-fiance -- went missing following the shooting of his loved ones. The San Diego Police Department launched a missing person search for Gianni over the next several weeks.

Finally, on Jan. 17, 2014, his body was discovered in the trunk of his car in Riverside, Calif., about an hour-and-a-half north of San Diego County. He, too, had been fatally shot.

Nearly three months later, the triple-homicide case remains unsolved. The families of the victims are trying everything to increase the reward for information on this case in hopes of bringing forward fresh leads.

A sister of the Belvedere Family spoke with NBC 7 Tuesday night, saying the newly-launched "Justice for Gianni, Sal and Ilona" website will be used to share new facts about the victims, including their life aspirations as well as their interests and history in the community.

• TIMELINE: Triple Homicide Mystery

The San Diego Crime Stoppers reward fund for this case is currently at $10,000. With the new website, the family hopes to increase that reward in exchange for any information that leads to an arrest in the case.

Those who would like to read the new website and donate to the fund can do so here.

Also, anyone who wishes to call a tip into Crimestoppers regarding this case can call (888) 580-8477 or contact the San Diego Police Department.

Some Kensington neighbors are on edge tonight after strange encounters in their front yards.

The community is so worried, some residents are increasing security measures to their homes.

One woman had a man scratching at her back door at 2:30 in the morning.

Another neighbor says a man nearly walked into his home in broad daylight.

Skip Motsenbocker and his wife had a strange visitor at their home a few weekends ago.

"The guy standing here just like leaning against our gate just staring and peering into our backyard. It's weird and creepy," Motsenbocker said.

His wife called police while he went outside to make sure the man left.

"He was parked outside of our gate for almost four minutes just kind of waiting for passersby to go by and then just casually got up, opened up both locks on the gate like it was just nothing," he said. "He walked right in and you could actually see him reaching for the door handle like he was just going to walk in."

Motsenbocker has surveillance video around his home and believes the man had ill intentions.

Fast forward to last weekend just a few blocks away.
Jen, who didn't want to be identified for safety reasons, got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom when she heard some scratching at her back door.

"And as I'm standing here, I see a man walk by, and it scares me and i go to the window and i start hitting the window and the man comes back, and puts his face right in the glass. And i'm yelling at him and screaming at him, 'why are you here? Get out of here."

The man left but neighbors are concerned.

"Kensington has always been such a safe little neighborhood. We love it here," the resident said.

"It's a little disconcerting knowing that there's people wandering around lurching just kind of looking for a crime of opportunity," she said.

San Diego police advise residents that if they think someone is trying to get into their home, they should call 911.

They also recommend neighborhood watch programs.

Escondido police released cell phone and surveillance video catching Oceanside man, Brian Valencia, recording up women’s clothing in public places throughout the North County.

In one of the videos Valencia is at an Oceanside bookstore getting very close to his victim while recording with his cell phone. He gets so close she almost kicks and sits on him.

Surveillance video shows him walking behind a couple. He ducks down behind the girl and, in seconds, the boyfriend notices he’s up to something and steps near his phone. Valencia still doesn’t leave as the couple walks away suspiciously.

Detectives say Valencia is linked to 12 cases in the North County including some in Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos and Escondido.

Valencia pleaded guilty to three cases. He must register as a sex offender for life. He’s also banned from all businesses in which he committed those crimes.

Detective Jeff Udvarhelyi with the Escondido Police Department says many of the women had no idea they were being recorded.

“It wasn't until we were able to view the video that he had on his phone we were able to identify one store that had four separate victims. None of them knew they were victims,” he said.

Detective Udvarhelyi says this case is part of a larger and rapidly growing problem – “up-skirt” voyeurism.

“If you were to look at the internet right now and look for up-skirt type videos, you would find about 8,570,000 selections and suggestions,” he told NBC 7.

Right now, police have confirmed dozens of up-skirt voyeurism cases in the North County, but they believe there are hundreds more victims who have no idea they were recorded.

San Diego State alum Adam Muema has the sports world buzzing after a number of postings via Twitter talking about the end of the world.

Muema left the NFL Scouting Combine last month claiming God told him he'd be drafted to the Seattle Seahawks if he did.

Over the past 48 hours, the Aztecs running back went on another bizarre run on Twitter, saying, among other things, there won't be an NFL season this year because the world is going to end.

The post reads, "I Don't believe there would be a Football season next yr! Unless we're going to a new planet Earth!"

Muema's adviser, Rob London said last week his client needs some counseling.

• Read: Aztecs RB Adam Muema Leaves NFL Combine

An NFL.com writer posted an update to the story and added his opinion on Muema's prospects.

"It's a safe assumption now that there is no way Seattle or any NFL team drafts Muema, who wasn't that coveted a prospect anyway," college sports report Mike Huguenin wrote.

A Miami Beach Police detective who is being investigated amid allegations that he had consensual sex with a 17-year-old known to him in his unmarked police car has been relieved of duty, officials said Wednesday. 

Detective Oldy Ochoa Jr. was relieved of duty with pay Tuesday as Pembroke Pines Police investigate the sexual battery allegations, Miami Beach Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez confirmed. 

According to a Pembroke Pines Police search warrant, the investigation centers around Ochoa having consensual sex with the 17-year-old girl. One of the alleged encounters occurred behind a building before he dropped her off at Florida Career College, the warrant says.

"We take these allegations very seriously. We are cooperating with the Pembroke Pines Police Department to make sure there is a thorough investigation," Miami Beach Chief Raymond Martinez said in a statement.

Ochoa has been with the department for 24 years and is currently a homicide detective, Hernandez said.

The case is still open, Hernandez said. The Pembroke Pines Police Department declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in a fatal hit-and-run collision in Hillcrest last month.

Aaron "Kurtis" Voorhies was struck and killed Sunday, Feb. 23 around  7 p.m. while walking along University Avenue between Vermont Street and 10th Avenue.

Voorhies was walking his roommate's dog when he was struck by a black pickup truck that failed to stop and continued driving eastbound on University Avenue.

The dog, a Chihuahua mix named “Minnie,” survived the collision.

Watch: Vigil Held for Hit-and-Run Victim

Police are still searching for the driver involved in the deadly hit and run crash.

Investigators believe the truck is a four-wheel drive vehicle. However, because the contact between the vehicle and the victim was slight there may be no damage to the vehicle. Officers said no identifiable parts from the suspect vehicle were left at the scene.

Witnesses said there was a passenger in the truck at the time of the collision.

Anyone with information can call San Diego County Crimestoppers at (888) 580-8477.

The FBI announced Tuesday that it has received “credible intelligence” that FBI Most Wanted Terrorist fugitive Daniel Andreas San Diego may be hiding on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Animal rights activist San Diego – the first domestic fugitive added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list -- was born in Berkeley.

The 36-year-old San Diego is a former resident of Schellville in Sonoma County. He is wanted for his alleged involvement in three homemade pipe bombs that were detonated in the East Bay more than a decade ago.

On Aug. 28, 2003, two bombs exploded approximately one hour apart on the campus of Chiron Corp., a biotechnology corporation in Emeryville, Calif. Then, on Sept. 26, 2003, one bomb strapped with nails exploded at Shaklee Corp., a nutritional products corporation in Pleasanton, Calif.

His motive in both bombings appears tied to his association with animal rights extremist groups that targeted the two companies claiming they participated in cruel experiments on animals, according to FBI officials.

San Diego, who was last seen in the Bay Area in October 2003, was indicted on felony charges in the bombings in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in July 2004, the FBI said.

According to FBI spokesperson Tom Simon in Honolulu, agents from the Honolulu and San Francisco FBI offices are canvassing specific communities, including Puna and Pahoa, looking for information about his whereabouts.

The FBI describes San Diego as about 6 feet tall and 160 pounds.

He has the following tattoos: A round image of burning hillsides in the center of his chest with the words "It only takes a spark" printed in a semicircle below; burning and collapsing buildings on the sides of his abdomen and back; and a single leafless tree rising from a road in the center of his lower back. These tattoos may have been removed, significantly altered or covered with new tattoos.

He is known to follow a vegan diet, eating no meat or food containing animal products and avoids wearing anything made with animal products.

In the past, San Diego has worked as a computer network specialist and with the operating system LINUX. The FBI thinks he may be using these skills as a form of income.

The FBI is offering a reward of $250,000 for information leading to the capture of San Diego.

Anyone with any information on San Diego should contact their local FBI office.

Information from Bay City News was included in this report.