Attorneys for a U.S. Marine jailed in Mexico said Tuesday they will file a motion requesting a mistrial based on constitutional violations they claim occurred in the first eight hours their client was held by Mexican custom officials.

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, of Weston, Florida, has been in Mexican custody facing weapons charges since he was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on April 1 with three U.S.-registered guns in his possession.

Jill Tahmooressi updated her son's condition Tuesday when she spoke to local media in Solana Beach, California. 

She saw her son Monday when they both attended the third hearing held in the Marine’s case.

"Each time he goes before the judge he is so hopeful that the judge will be compelled to  just let him go right then and there but that's not realistic," she said. 

For the first time, Tahmooressi's attorney Fernando Benitez explained why they are unable to get the charges dismissed for what they describe as an honest mistake by a misguided U.S. Marine.

“This is a case where a compounded series of mistakes has a young man in prison, fighting for his life,” Benitez said.

The Tahmooressi family was inexperienced in the Mexican legal system and missed the window of opportunity to file a motion to dismiss the charges, the attorney said.

Now, Benitez explains, they must go through the process and work for a positive outcome. 

“We respect Mexican law and he was on Mexico soil with firearms and these are the consequences,” Jill Tahmooressi said.

On Monday, defense attorneys questioned Mexican officials about the eight hours Tahmooressi was detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on April 1.

It was during this hearing that Benitez said he was able to gain the information needed for a motion to file for a mistrial.

He said the customs officials who stopped Tahmooressi testified Monday that a document designed to explain an individual's rights before a search was handed to the Marine after the search had begun. The document was also in Spanish.

Benitez said the paperwork necessary to perform the search of Andrew's vehicle was filled out days before the U.S. Marine crossed the border.

"Our contention is the search is illegal and everything resulting from that search is tainted with that same illegality and therefore cannot be used," Benitez said.

Benitez said that his client was not provided an interpreter or legal representation in the eight hours he was in the custody of customs officials, before he was presented to the Mexican federal prosecutor.

Benitez said that is not justified under the Mexican constitution.

Family members and friends have said Tahmooressi was confused and made a wrong turn into Mexico while carrying three U.S.-registered firearms in his truck.

Mexican officials claim they have information provided by U.S. authorities showing that Tahmooressi had entered through the same border crossing on three prior occasions.

The federal prosecutor Mario Galindo also released details about the specific firearms found in Tahmooressi's truck. Officials say they seized a 12-gauge loaded shotgun, a 5.56-caliber rifle loaded with a 30-round clip and with two additional clips, a .45-caliber loaded pistol, loaded with 10 .45-caliber rounds and with two additional clips.

Andrew Tahmooressi is being protected 24/7 while imprisoned and is able to call home twice a day, his mother said.

"There is a level of despondency I haven't seen before," she added.

When they speak, Jill said she reads the comments and prayers left on the family's Facebook page to her son to help lift his spirits.

"Any words, any support. Prayers he would greatly appreciate," Jill Tahmooressi said.

She said her son - who once ate only organic food - eats a bun and sugar water for dinner.

The veteran of two tours of Afghanistan who is now in the reserves was in San Diego in March to receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

His mother said he is already approved to begin treatment for PTSD at a facility in the U.S. if he were to be released by the government.

Two FBI agents visited a family grocery in Berkeley on Monday to investigate a broken window they believe animal rights activists smashed because the market has a butcher shop.

Berkleyside first reported the connection between the smashed window the federal investigation on Tuesday.

The Pappas family has run Star Grocery on Claremont Avenue since 1922. Its front window was smashed around 2 a.m. on July 27, according to owner Nick Pappas. He wasn’t aware of the animal rights connection until the FBI contacted him a few days later, he said.

"We've had burglaries, we've had hold-ups," Pappas said, not thinking much of the vandalism at first. He was "shocked" when the FBI called shortly afterward. "I guess someone didn't like the fact that we sold meat."

Berkeleyside reported that the FBI apparently had been monitoring the website of Bite Back, an animal liberation organization based in Florida. The site posted pictures of the broken windows of Star Market in its “Direct Action” section. The magazine received news about the windows from someone who calls himself “veganarchist lone wolf.”

“On the night of June 26th two windows were smashed at Star Meats in Berkeley CA, a butcher shop that boasts about its organic and locally sourced meat,” the site said. “Cage free, organic, murder is murder and death is death. This is a continuation of last years actions in which windows were smashed out of Waylands Meat Market in Oakland and windows smashed in an East Oakland Burger King.”

Included in the post was a photo of Star Grocery's smashed windows.

Neighbors thought the vandalism was a shame.

"This is a neighborhood treasure," said loyal customer Sandy Friedland. "There is no reason to throw rocks at windows. There are other ways to protest."

The wife of the man who shot cellphone video of police putting Eric Garner in an apparent chokehold during an arrest last month has been accused of attacking a woman on Staten Island, police say.

Chrissie Ortiz was issued a desk appearance ticket for a third-degree assault charge after she allegedly attacked the woman in front of a store on Bay Street, police say. The victim, 35, was taken to the hospital with bruises and cuts.

Ortiz’s husband, 22-year-old Ramsey Orta, shot widely circulated video of Garner's arrest, which showed officers putting the 43-year-old man in an apparent chokehold.

Garner was being arrested for allegedly selling untaxed single cigarettes and died in police custody. His death was ruled a homicide.

Orta was arrested over the weekend on gun charges, and Ortiz alleged that his arrest was a setup.

"It's not fair," she said Sunday. "And it's obvious. Once they ruled this a homicide, now you all of a sudden find something on him? C'mon. Let's be realistic. Even the dumbest criminal would know not to be doing something like that outside. So the whole story doesn't fit at all."

Attorney information for Ortiz wasn't available.
 

Authorities are warning drivers parking in one New Jersey town to watch out for razor blades when they put money in meters.

Rutherford police say eight utility knife blades have been found in borough parking meter coin slots over the last six months, most recently on Monday. 

The blades were found in meters along Park Avenue, Ridge Road, the Kip Garage and The Park and Ride, Rutherford Police Chief John Russo said.

"It may be a disgruntled resident who doesn't want to pay the parking, but it could be someone definitely trying to injure someone," Russo told NorthJersey.com. "Either way someone could really get hurt."

Russo says investigators are processing fingerprints pulled from the meters where the razors were found.

Police posted an alert on the borough's website urging residents and visitors to be "mindful and vigilant when depositing monies into parking meters."

Anyone who discovers a razor blade in a meter or sees someone putting one in a meter is asked to contact the Rutherford Police Department at 201-939-6000.

An off-site power surge stalled the Dallas Zoo Monorail Safari on Wednesday afternoon, stranding dozens of passengers in mid-air for the third time in as many years.

The passengers were trapped about 12 feet off the ground in the open-air cars for about an hour while zoo officials tried to restart the train and await rescue help from Dallas Fire-Rescue.

Zoo officials handed up water and snacks to the stranded passengers. Once DFR arrived, the 48 passengers and the driver were escorted down the ladder to the ground below.

A power surge caused the slow-moving monorail to unexpectedly stop Wednesday afternoon, Zoo officials confirmed to NBC 5. The cause of the surge is unclear, but zoo officials told NBC 5 that several barns also lost power.

The monorail is expected to be closed through Friday while zoo officials examine the conditions of the track and trains.

The monorail is 24 years old and carries hundreds of thousands of riders each year, according to zoo officials. Long term, the zoo is looking to replace the monorail, but it will need to be privately funded.

This is the third such incident that has stranded passengers on the monorail in as many years.

On Feb. 13, 2013, 93 people were stranded due to a monorail malfunction at the Dallas Zoo. 

And in September 2011, 30 people, babies among them, were rescued from a monorail that carries passengers through a 20-minute tour of the Wilds of Africa exhibit.

No injuries were reported.

An off-duty MTA police officer accidentally discharged his weapon at his Long Island home Tuesday, shooting his 3-year-old son in the chest, authorities said.

The child underwent surgery to remove the bullet and was listed in stable condition Wednesday afternoon.

The transit officer was also hit by a bullet when the gun discharged at his Smithtown home; he was listed in stable condition at the hospital.

It wasn't clear if multiple shots were fired, or if the bullet ricocheted. 

Seattle-based Amazon.com has expanded its same-day delivery service to six more cities, now reaching a wider scope of customers than competing programs from tech giants based in California's Bay Area

Amazon's "Get It Today" option, which guarantees same-day deliveries to customers who place orders no later than noon on any day of the week, is now able to reach shoppers in select zip codes in Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, and the D.C. metro area, the company announced Wednesday. Same-day delivery was previously limited to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Seattle. 

Over a million items are available for same-day delivery, and the catalog of options is diverse, ranging from everyday household supplies, health and beauty items, baby items, toys, movies and games, to electronics, office supplies, sporting goods, apparel and home accessories, according to the announcement.

Amazon Prime members pay $5.99 for all the same-day delivery items they can order and non-Prime customers pay $9.89 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item.

"We aim to offer the largest same-day selection at the lowest price," Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime, said in the company announcement.

Other big-name brands with roots in the Bay Area  have also begun offering same-day delivery to customers in various cities, such as the "Ebay Now" program and "Google Shopping Express," but so far Amazon's program reaches the most cities. 

Amazon also recently rolled out "Amazon Fresh," delivering groceries to Amazon Prime members located in parts of Northern and Southern California as well as Seattle, offering same-day delivery on orders over $35. Amazon plans to reach New York City later this year.

Target and Wal-Mart have been testing their own grocery delivery options, too, in select cities, according to TechCrunch.

A North Texas mother has not only set a new world record for the amount of donated breast milk, she has tripled the previous record.

Alyse Ogletree, a mother of two from Denton, donated 53,081 ounces of breast milk to the Mother’s Milk Bank of North Texas — a total of more than 414 gallons.

Ogletree found out Monday that she had been admitted into the Guinness Book of World Records after having applied back in March.

The previous record-holder was Amelia Boomker of Illinois, who donated 16,321 ounces of breast milk.

Ogletree told NBC 5 in March that she was overproducing breast milk when her son Kyle was born in January 2011, filling the hospital’s reserves of breast milk. A nurse asked if she’d ever considered donating her milk, an option Ogletree previously had not known existed.

Soon after, Ogletree found the Mother’s Milk Bank of North Texas and donated 1,880 ounces in total.
After the birth of her second child, Kage, she resumed donating to the milk bank, producing on average 130 ounces per day, Ogletree said.

“It's wonderful to be a part of something as special as helping out little babies,” she said in March.

The Encinitas Little League All-Stars baseball team is moving on up. And fans are taking notice.

“We think they’re going to the World Series of course,” Rodney Johnson said.

His grandson, number seven Wyley Sharp, is one of several young players on the team now representing all of Southern California in the Western Regional tournament in San Bernardino.

Earlier this week, as Sharp went up to bat, his grandparents were in the stands to cheer him on.

“There were two guys on. Wyley hit a great double,” Johnson said.

In the past week, the team has already proven themselves. They've beaten Northern California and Utah and earned a spot in the final four of the tournament.

Sharp’s grandparents were among several other fans, former players and coaches at Oggi's in Encinitas Wednesday to watch the team take on Nevada.

Former coach Don Garcia got to the restaurant early to get a good seat.

“It’s really good to see the kids advance. They never have. Just hope they go all the way,” Garcia said.

The team started out strong against Nevada with a few good runs. But in the end they fell short, 8-4.

Still, they are already in the final four semi-finals on Friday. And that’s when the game will really count.

They are scheduled to play Nevada again at 2 p.m. on Friday and if successful, they will move on to the championship on Saturday.

Either way, it’s been a great experience for Johnson to see his grandson play so well.

“We're so proud of that kid. Can't even begin to tell you.”
 

San Diego police issued an unusual alert Wednesday, telling officers to be on the lookout for a man wearing a clown mask and rainbow-colored wig.

A man wearing those two things robbed a Bay Park gas station clerk at gunpoint just after midnight, police said.

The clerk inside the USA Gas Station on Morena Boulevard was standing in one of the aisles when the man came in holding a gun and demanding cash.

The employee then handed him some money and the man took off on foot.

Along with the clown mask and wig, investigators say the man was wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

Officers are not revealing how much cash was taken but one gas station employee told NBC 7 the amount couldn’t be very high because the store has a limited amount of cash in the register on the overnight shift.

The clerk also told NBC 7 this isn't the first time this place has been robbed, but it has been a couple years and it may be the first time a suspect was wearing something like a clown mask with rainbow-colored hair.

When a person running from police used an El Cajon man’s backyard to hide the homeowner immediately thought “not again.”

Robert Johnston and his family live on Cuyamaca Street off Interstate 8 and Main Street.

Early Wednesday they woke up to the sound of sirens in their neighborhood and police lights outside their home.

California Highway Patrol officers had led a pursuit of a stolen car through La Mesa right to Johnston’s back yard.

While Johnston went to see what was going on, he told his wife and daughter to hide in their room.

He saw the pursuit suspect from his window.

“I watched him lift the garbage can and get into shed,” Johnston said.

CHP officers said the driver was speeding on I-8 heading eastbound near State Route 125 in La Mesa.

The driver pulled over and pretended to stop then took off again on the 125 North exiting on Fletcher Parkway, officers said.

The driver then started driving in the wrong direction and at one point almost hit patrol cars, CHP officers said.

One the driver hid in a backyard shed, CHP officers say it turned into an hour-long standoff.

The 35-year-old man was arrested, accused of DUI, felony evading and vehicle theft.

The stolen car was an Infiniti SUV with new “Carmax” license plates.

It's actually the second time a driver in a stolen car used the family's yard as a hideout from officers. In May 2013, they had a similar incident when a woman stole a car and led law enforcement officers on a pursuit. She darted out of the car just outside the Johnston’s home and ran into their backyard.

The family says they slept through the entire pursuit last time but this time they saw the whole thing play out.

While Wednesday’s pursuit damaged a parked car belonging to a neighbor's family member, Johnston is glad it happened when it did.

Just a couple weeks ago he was camping in the backyard with his daughter.

A woman accused of making it through airport security without a boarding pass and taking a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Los Angeles pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor trespassing charge after being arrested at LAX two nights earlier.

Marilyn Hartman, 62, was charged in connection with willfully and unlawfully entering Los Angeles as a stowaway on an aircraft, a misdemeanor, according to the LA City Attorney's Office. She was ordered to 24 months on probation and three days in jail.

Hartman, whose court-appointed attorney said she was homeless, was also ordered to "stay away from LAX" unless she has a ticket to board a flight.

Hartman allegedly bypassed a document checker after a few failed attempts at Mineta San Jose International Airport on Monday night and boarded Southwest Airlines Flight 3785 to LAX.

Southwest flight crews noticed the Bay Area resident after doing a head count when the plane landed in Los Angeles, officials said.

Hartman has previously breached security at San Francisco International Airport and has a history of trying to get on flights without a ticket, officials said.

Three times in February, twice in March and at least once in April she tried to board flights at SFO, where she has a restraining order against her, officials said.

At least twice she was able to breach Transportation Security Administration security and make her way into the boarding area. But the Los Angeles-bound flight from San Jose was the first time she flew anywhere.

The flight to LAX caught the attention of a US congressman who sits on a Homeland Security committee.

"This can't happen," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California. "We're fortunate this woman was harmless. But we might not be so fortunate in the future."

"San Jose has training issues that I think it needs to fix, because passengers want to know only screened and ticketed passengers are on that plane," he said. "And if that's not the case, the general public's confidence in air safety will collapse, and that will affect all of us."

San Jose Airport officials said Wednesday the incident was not a security issue because the woman was screened by the TSA.

"She was screened for prohibited items," said Mineta San Jose International Airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. "This was not a security breach."

The TSA issued a statement and said the woman was not a threat.

"The individual was screened along with all other passengers to ensure that she was not a security threat to the aircraft. Following an initial review by TSA at San Jose International Airport, the agency has initiated minor modifications to the layout of the document checking area to prevent another incident like this one," the statement read.

Southwest Airlines and TSA officials said they have opened an investigation into what happened.

Tony Kovaleski and Conan Nolan contributed to this report.

A retired U.S. Army colonel living in San Diego County is remembering U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, who was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan Tuesday, as someone who deeply cared for fellow soldiers.

“He's always willing to help soldiers and that's what I always liked about Harry," recalled retired U.S. Army Colonel Gregory Fields, of Coronado. "He always wanted the best equipment and systems for them to go into battle with."

Greene, a two-star general, was one of the high-level officials visiting Afghanistan's National Military Academy in Kabul when a lone gunman dressed in Afghan army uniform opened fire with an automatic weapon. The attack killed Greene and injured more than a dozen Western soldiers, including several Americans, officials said.

Greene, 55, is the highest-ranking U.S. Army general to be killed in an overseas combat zone since the Vietnam War and his death marks the highest-ranking casualty in the Afghanistan conflict.

Two Afghan generals were also killed in the shooting. The gunman was killed after shooting his automatic weapon from a window, an Afghan intelligence source told NBC News.

Greene's 34-year career in the Army began at Fort Polk, Louisiana. A native of upstate New York, he earned a reputation as an inspiring leader with a sense of humility. He had been in Afghanistan since January, serving as deputy commander of a support command called the Combined Security Transition Command, in Kabul.

Fields told NBC 7 San Diego that Greene had a significant impact on his career. The two met in 1996 whens Field was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Greene was his sponsor and "showed him the ropes."

Fields explained that they were "the guys who wrote the doctrine that determines the type of systems the military would need in future. We managed all the research, development and acquisition of specialized equipment for the military. That's what he did. He was an expert in contracting too.”

Fields said the general had a great sense of humor but was also very professional. Fields believes Greene was in Afghanistan because of his extensive experience with military equipment.

“He was responsible for some of the most sophisticated communications systems that the military has today…first hand,” Fields recalled.

In a 2010 speech at the opening of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center, a research facility with the mission of improving the Army's understanding of communication networks, Greene said finding patterns in the tactics of insurgents was difficult, so the goal was to discover the patterns and determine how to anticipate and influence the actions of insurgents, according to the Army's account of the event.

"The enemy is every bit as good as we are at using that network to our detriment so this is essential work, this is about defending our country,'' Greene said. "You must know that there is a direct application on the battlefield and we're using it today, but we don't really understand it yet so this is a critical element.''

Greene leaves behind a wife and children in the East Coast. His son, Matthew, also is in the Army and their daughter, Amelia, recently graduated from Binghamton University in New York.

The family said in a statement Tuesday that America has "lost a true hero."

"He believed in what he was doing over there," they said.

After a search that lasted six weeks, A.J. Preller was announced as the Padres' new General Manager on Wednesday.

"A.J.'s passion stood out to all of us throughout the process," Padres CEO Mike Dee said in announcing Preller's hiring on Wednesday. "All along, the most important characteristic was who was going to bring the best overall talent to the organization."

He joins a Padres team that has not made the postseason since 2006 and has just one winning season since 2007.

"My mantra is building a championship team from top to bottom," Preller said. "They made it pretty apparent they want to do what it takes for that."

The deal is reportedly for five years, and executive chairman Ron Fowler said negotiations went late into last night.

"Has the deal been finalized?" he jokingly asked.

Preller, 37, has spent the last 10 seasons with the Texas Rangers. He was promoted to Assistant General Manger last November. He also worked in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and spent time working under Hall of Famer Frank Robinson at the Major League Baseball league office.

Preller was in charge of the Rangers' scouting and player development. He played a major role in the team's Dominican Republic development program and has a wealth of experience in International scouting, an area the Padres have been trying to strengthen for years.

The Rangers current active roster features 10 international players from six different countries.

Preller stressed that no decisions had been made about manager Bud Black or any other player personnel.

"I can promise you, we'll have the hungriest group, the hardest working group of employees in the game," he said.

The Padres interviewed eight candidates for the job, inviting four of them (Preller, San Diego native Mike Eppler, Kim Ng and Mike Hazen) back for a second talk.

After the firing of Josh Byrnes on June 22, the Padres allowed then-Assistant General Manager A.J. Hinch to guide them through the trade deadline.

In a hint of what was to come, Hinch resigned his post on Tuesday, saying the Padres are ready for a transition. Vice President/Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel Chad MacDonald also announced he was leaving the team on Wednesday.

Hinch's departure and the arrival of Preller and his staff means Fowler, Dee and the new ownership group will have their own, hand-picked people in the front office to fulfill their vision of how the San Diego Padres should be run.

Oh, and there's this fun little write up we found about Preller's time at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station, NY:

Voted Mr. Whitman 1995, Principal’s List, National Honor Society, Italian Honor Society, Scholar Athlete award, and a Gold Key award. He was also a class officer for all four years of high school, was captain of the baseball team, and played on the basketball and soccer teams.

If Preller accomplishes anywhere near that much in his new role, the Padres should be in good shape for a long time.

Three suspicious devices were found along Eastlake Parkway near the Otay Ranch Town Center Wednesday, officials said.

Chula Vista Police were called to the location just after 8 a.m. Wednesday by someone reporting something suspicious near Kestrel Falls and Eastlake Parkway.

Officials said they found a device and began looking for any others in the area. Soon after they found two similar devices.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Bomb Squad neutralized the devices.

No one was injured and no damage was reported.

The intersection is also the entrance to the shopping mall that offers a Best Buy, Macy's, REI and AMC theaters.

Chula Vista Police say they have launched an investigation into who may have left the devices.

If the end of summer is sneaking up on you, get your sunny fill with these local August events found on Yelp. From fairies to food truck and beer festivals, there’s so much fun to be had before the seasons change.

Dog Days Of Summer (Cardiff By The Sea; Aug. 9)
Grab your four-legged friends and come out to a festival that’s gone to the dogs! The fest features animal adoptions, custom pet products and six different dog contests (beginning at 10 a.m.), including Best Kisser and Best Dressed. With more than 200 booths, including rescue organizations and specialty pet products and services, Dog Days of Summer is San Diego County's largest dog-centric event. There will also be an agility course for your pooch sponsored by Zoom Room, plus food vendors for owners to enjoy.

Yelp’s Midsummer Night’s Dream (Escondido; Aug. 14)
Located at and benefiting The California Center For The Arts, Escondido (CCAE) and produced in partnership with SOS Entertainment, ‘tis no dream walk through the forest, but a party of magical proportions featuring delicious local businesses and luscious liquid libations. Join Yelp for this sexy twist on a Shakespearean Summer Soiree. You must be 21+ to attend and all the food, drinks and entertainment is included with a suggested donation of $10 per person, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the CCAE community programs.

Del Mar Gourmet Food Truck Festival (Del Mar; Aug. 16)
Bring your appetite! Some of the tastiest food on wheels is coming to Del Mar for the 4th annual Gourmet Food Truck Festival. Enjoy a variety of some of the hottest eats in Southern California as 50 food trucks are expected, all in one location, with gourmet chefs serving their eclectic bests at super prices (most items $4-$8). Fittingly, the mobile food event benefits charity partner Meals on Wheels.

Sunday Summer Concerts By The Sea (Encinitas; Aug. 17)
Soak in the fun in Encinitas at beautiful Moonlight Beach before the summer ends. You won’t want to miss the last concert by the sea of the year. Come listen to The Devastators, an up-and-coming reggae band, for a Rastafari Sunday Funday. Remember that alcohol, glass, smoking and dogs are prohibited on beaches but you can pack a picnic and bring the whole crew to this free and family-friendly event. All concerts are from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., right on the sand.

International Craft Beer Fest (Del Mar; Aug. 24)
Sample more than 100 different craft brews from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. during the Del Mar Racetrack Beer Fest held in the Seaside Concert area just west of the Grandstand. The international lineup will include unique German, Irish and Belgian brews! This is also the biggest race day of the season including the $1 million Pacific Classic. Meet local brewers, check out cool beer merchandise, learn about craft brewing and much more. For $18, attendees get five 7-ounce beer samples, and full-sized beers can be purchased in addition. Admission into the Beer Fest area is free with track admission of $6.
 

Trish Sanderson is the community manager and marketing director for Yelp North County San Diego. She leads the local community of Yelp reviewers both online and off.

It’s been exactly two years since a San Diego teenager was shot to death in an alley in Valencia Park but for the victim’s mother, the pain of her son’s unsolved murder remains fresh.

On Aug. 5, 2012, at 1:45 a.m., Mario Bernal, 19, was shot in the north alley in the 5400 block of Imperial Avenue.

When officers arrived on scene to investigate the shooting, they discovered Bernal suffering from gunshot wounds inside a nearby apartment. Despite efforts to save the young man’s life, he succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead a half hour later.



To date, Bernal’s murder remains unsolved, with San Diego homicide officials still actively investigating the case.

His mother, Catalina Bernal, said not knowing who killed her son has been unbearable.

“No mother should suffer this. I just want to know who did it. For peace in my heart, please,” Catalina told reporters on Wednesday. “My life has never been the same ever since that day. I don’t wish this on any mother – to go through this pain.”

Manuel Del Toro, acting lieutenant for the San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit, said a team continues to work on this cold case, but there simply isn’t enough information to make an arrest at this time.

He said any and all tips from the public would be beneficial to the ongoing investigation.



“It’s all a big puzzle that we’re trying to solve here. Any little bit of help from the community could be of assistance and put us over the top on gaining some ground on this case,” said Del Toro. “We believe there are individuals out there in the community who do have information on the murder of Mario Bernal back on Aug. 5, 2012.”

Del Toro said a car was spotted near the scene at the time of the shooting, but it’s unknown if the vehicle was linked to the murder. There is no vehicle description, he said.

Del Toro said it’s likely that two or more suspects were involved in the shooting, and it may have been gang-related, with Bernal as the gunman’s intended target.

Bernal’s friend was also injured in the shooting, but survived. Del Toro said that victim has been cleared and knows nothing about the motive behind the deadly shooting.

“We are seeking closure and justice for this family,” he added.

For Catalina, justice might begin to heal her broken heart but she said she’ll never recover from the loss of her only son.

“He was my only boy. He was 19 years old,” said the mother, fighting back sobs. “Please, I am begging you, if anybody knows anything, come forward.”

As with all local cold cases, anyone with information on Bernal’s killing should contact the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this unsolved case.

A 73-year-old bicyclist was injured at Lake Miramar Wednesday after crashing head-on with another cyclist, officials confirmed.

San Diego police said the bicyclists crashed into one another on a trail just before 4:30 p.m. Emergency crews were called and officials performed CPR on the 73-year-old.

That cyclist was transported to Palomar Hospital in serious condition. The other bicyclist was not hospitalized.

At 7:30 p.m., officials said the bicyclist's injuries had been downgraded to minor and the victim had been released from the hospital.

The collision is under investigation.
 

Doctors say just one plane ride can bring the Ebola virus to the United States. In Bethesda, Maryland, scientists are studying blood samples and measuring antibodies as they work on a vaccine.

"Someone can get infected in one of these West African countries, feel reasonably well, get on a plane, get off and then all of a sudden get sick here,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. “That's feasible, and I don’t think anybody can deny that."

But the U.S. is much better equipped to prevent the spread of the virus, health officials say.

"Extraordinarily unlikely that it will be an outbreak at all because of the way we take care of people, how we have the capability of isolating them, how we understand what one needs to do to protect the health care providers and the kinds of health care facilities we have," Fauci said.

With no effective treatments available, one of the best ways to stop the spread of Ebola is prevention in the form of a vaccine.

National Institutes of Health scientists have been working for more than a decade on an Ebola vaccine. As the latest outbreak continues to grow, so does the pressure to create a vaccine to prevent a disease that can kill up to 90 percent of its victims.

It's a complicated process of finding the right combination of genes from the virus that's effective with few side effects, but they are closer than ever, Fauci said.

"Vaccine has been tried in monkey models, and it seems to be really quite promising," he said.

The vaccine is made with genetic material from the virus, meaning there's no live virus involved.

"You don’t inject the entire virus of Ebola because that would be dangerous, so what you do is you get a very small component of the virus, which is a protein that coats the outside of the virus," Fauci said.

Scientists hope to be testing the vaccine on humans as early as the end of September, Fauci said. If it proves to be safe and effective, they hope to make it available by 2015. The first group to get it would be health care workers.

"It's difficult to vaccinate an entire population because you don’t know who's going to be at risk because you don’t know where an outbreak is going to be,” Fauci said. “But when you have health care workers who are putting themselves in clear and present danger of getting infected, those are the ones you want to protect."

Six-year-old Madison Bergstrom of Stoughton, Massachusetts, is like any other girl her age, dancing and lip syncing to One Direction and dressing up like a princess.

But Madi has been battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia off and on since she was 19 months old.

"She’s been through a lot for her age and she still has about two years of treatment to go," said her mother, Shauna McLaughlin.

McLaughlin has been through a lot, too, as a single parent and primary caregiver fighting this battle right alongside her pint-sized hero.

"It’s hard, it’s scary but she is resilient, and inspiring and that’s what helps – she makes me strong," she said.

So when some friends bought Madi One Direction tickets for her and her mom to go see the band at Gillette Stadium this Saturday, they were thrilled.

In home video from earlier this year Shauna asked Madi, "How much do you love One Direction?"

"Like to the moon!" Madi said.

"And how much do you want to go to their concert?" Shauna asked.

"I’ll ride to there as fast as I can!" said Madi.

"You want to go so bad?" asked Shauna asked.

"Yes!" exclaimed Madi.

"We are totally going!" Shauna said.

But sadly, Madi ended up back in the ICU this week at Dana-Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and she won’t be able to go to the concert.

Madi’s focused on the positives, such as ice cream sundaes in her hospital bed. But her mom was bummed, and posted a message on Facebook asking if anyone wanted to buy the tickets, figuring she could use the money to do something special with Madi once she feels better.

• Auction Being Held for Madi's One Direction Tickets

That post has led to another page with thousands of "likes" asking "One Direction" to visit Madi in the hospital.

"To see that there’s so much good in so many people and that they care, Madison has an army of people behind her," Shauna said.

Shauna says while it would be awesome to see the sparkle in her daughter’s eye from meeting her favorite band, she has much bigger hopes and dreams for her little princess.

"I want to see her grow up to be normal and I’m sorry," said Shauna tearing up, "I just want to see her be -- the range of normal – there is no range and this is our normal, but I want her to grow healthy, I want her to grow happy."