A Northern California couple is behind bars for taking advantage of pet owners.

An employee of PetSmart in San Mateo took information from customers who were boarding their pets, such as their address and length of time they'd be gone. Then, the thieves ransacked their homes, stealing everything from jewelry to a car, according to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Department.

“Especially when you're boarding your pet with somebody, you're putting a tremendous amount of trust in them," said Point Loma resident and dog owner Courtney Yates when she heard about the crime.

"I'm actually going to think twice whether or not I'm going to board them at a facility versus a family member with whom I don't have to second guess my choice," Yates said.

In an email, PetSmart's corporate communications manager Erin Gray said, "Pet parents have been incredibly supportive of PetSmart and understand that one bad apple does not change our deep commitment to them and their pets. In our 26-year history, we aren't aware of anything like this ever happening before and believe it was an isolated incident."

Both the San Diego Police Department and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department have senior volunteers who will do vacation checks on your home when you’re away. To sign up, just call your local law enforcement agency.

There are other precautions you can take to protect your home. Jan Caldwell with the sheriff’s department recommends not posting travel details on social media and only giving details of your trip to someone you trust. Caldwell suggests asking neighbors you truly trust to keep an eye on your home.

Also, light timers are a good idea because it gives the appearance of someone home. You can set the timers to turn the lights on at a certain time and on what days.

Lastly, Caldwell suggests placing a hold on your mail and all deliveries, such as water and newspaper, so it won't be obvious to thieves when you're away.

San Diego Police arrested a suspect Thursday who they say forced two women to drive him to ATMs and pull money from their accounts at gunpoint.

The victims told police a man walked up to them as they were getting in to their vehicle on 7700 Draper Avenue in La Jolla on May 4 just after midnight.

Threatening them with a gun, the suspect forced them into their car and ordered them to drive to nearby ATMs, according to SDPD Lt. Chris McGrath.

Both women were told to withdraw a significant amount of money from their account. They complied.

The man then ordered them to drop him off at a specific location, where he took the money and ran off. McGrath did not say where the man was dropped off or how much money he stole.

After months of investigation, police identified 24-year-old Keith Russell Lucket as the suspect in this case.

Lucket was arrested Thursday at a Moreno Valley home and booked into jail on two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery with a gun.

If you have any information about this case, call the San Diego Police robbery unit at 619-531-2299.

A two-day U.S. Marshals Service operation spanning San Diego’s East County resulted in the arrests of 34 fugitives wanted on felony warrants, officials confirmed.

“Operation Heatwave” – a collaborative effort with U.S. Marshals as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies – wrapped up Thursday. Over the course of the sweep, officials made several significant arrests, including felons with violent criminal background and gang ties.

One of the people taken into custody was El Cajon resident Catalina Andrews, the mother of Don Andrea Torrillo, the inmate who escaped from San Diego Central Jail earlier this month under a different name and was later captured at an El Cajon motel.

Andrews allegedly assisted Torrillo while he was on the run and was charged with harboring a fugitive from justice, officials said.

Brenton Haligowski, a documented member of a local skinhead and white supremacist group, was also arrested at a trailer park in Lakeside during the operation. He was hiding in a bathroom with numerous syringes in his pockets at the time of his arrest, officials said, and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

Joshua Gessl was also arrested at his home across the street from Lindo Park Elementary School in Lakeside for child cruelty. He’s currently being held at San Diego Central Jail on $210,000 bail.

Beside the 34 arrests, officials said they also cleared 48 warrants and seized narcotics during Operation Heatwave. Numerous leads were also generated that will help in future fugitive investigations.

Some of the agencies that participated in the sweep included the El Cajon Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among many, many others.

As one U.S. Marshals Service official noted, coordination was critical in the large-scale operation.

“Making sure all of the different agencies are together and show up at the same time [is important] and that we do our homework before we come out here to these addresses,” he said.
 

A San Diego man who beat a 75-year-old owner of a small jewelry store with a hatchet after his credit card was declined will spend the next 14 years in state prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

Travis Kelley, 25, was sentenced to more than a decade behind bars for the violent attack that occurred at Hamlin’s Jewelry in El Cajon on Jan. 22, 2014. He pleaded guilty last month to attempted murder, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.

According to police, Kelley entered the business on a ruse to purchase jewelry. When his credit card -- which was stolen -- was declined, he became enraged and attacked the owner of the shop, Carl Hamlin, striking him multiple times on the head with a hatchet.

After the blows, Hamlin fell behind the counter. He pulled out a small caliber handgun and pointed it at the suspect in self-defense. At that point, police said the pair began fighting again as Kelley tried to grab the victim’s gun.

Police said Kelley was able to wrestle the gun away from Hamlin. The suspect then fled from the store on foot, with the victim’s gun, before officers could arrive.

Kelley then got into a getaway car driven by an accomplice, Ali Armeen Toombs, 21.

Hamlin suffered multiple head injuries and was hospitalized for several days but survived the attack.

Kelley was arrested a few days later in Ocean Beach. Toombs was also taken into custody and pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary. He was sentenced to one year in jail with credit for time served.

Prosecutor Gordon Paul Davis said the motivation for the brutal burglary was drugs, as both Kelley and Toombs were looking for a way to fuel a heroin habit.

He said Kelley went in and out of the jewelry store several times, striking Hamlin time after time, and making sure he had succeeded in hurting him.

"We charged him with a violent felony for each and every one of those assaults," said Davis.

The prosecutor called Hamlin "tough" and said the jewelry store owner is a man of integrity, adding, "He's a good guy."

Police are investigating an apparent homicide at an El Cajon apartment complex.

Just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a woman called 911 to say her boyfriend needed help at an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Broadway.

El Cajon Police officers found a 38-year-old El Cajon man not breathing inside a unit. Paramedics were unable to save him, pronouncing him dead at the scene.

Before his death, the man called his girlfriend to say he had been in a physical fight and asked her for help, according to ECPD Lt. Frank Lahaye.

The case is being investigated as a homicide, but there is no suspect information at this point.

The victim's cause of death still needs to be determined as well.

If you have any information about this incident, call the El Cajon Police Department at 619-579-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

The San Diego Police Department is losing ground, not gaining it, when it comes to having enough sworn officers to keep San Diego safe, falling 846 officers short of staffing goals, according to a report presented at a city council committee meeting Thursday.

This is not a new issue. The shortage of sworn officers in San Diego was described as a crisis in 2006. The latest report shows things could be getting worse – not better.

Sworn officers are retiring, taking experience with them. Others are leaving for higher paying jobs in other agencies.

"We've had to reduce investigative units such as vice, auto theft, gangs, narcotics and domestic violence,” said Jeff Jordan, Vice President of the San Diego Police Officers Association.

Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said during the last fiscal year, 160 officers were hired, but 162 left. That's a net loss of two officers.

The department, she said, is 846 officers below the budgeted staffing despite efforts to recruit and restore holiday pay, uniform and equipment allowance.

Officials have also increased overtime pay.

"Right now all you're doing is treating the symptoms. You haven't gotten to the cause, and the cause is compensation," said Jordan.

San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey said: "We've only got so much money."

However, he agreed the problem is a top priority, along with infrastructure and other city needs.

The chief understands, but if the trend continues, she worries about the crime rate.

"Yes, we're holding, but if we continue to lose the amount of officers we do every single year with the experience, my concern is not only is it going to go up, but it will continue to be unsafe as we go down this road,” said Zimmerman.

The report was done by the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and presented to the council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee.

Pabst Brewing Company, North America’s largest privately held brewing company, is the latest U.S. beer firm to be sold to an international buyer.

Russia-based brewer and beverage company Oasis Beverage and TSG Consumer Partners LLC, an American private equity firm, are partnering to buy PBC. TSG, based in San Francisco and New York, will take a minority stake, The New York Times reported.

The Pabst Brewing company, owned by billionaire investor C.Dean Metropoulos, is best known for Pabst Blue Ribbon, a beer brand that has become a favorite in recent years among hipsters. The Los Angeles-based company has more than 30 beers in its portfolio, according to Pabst's website. Other notable brands include: Colt 45, Old Milwaukee, McSorley's, Stag, Schlitz, and Lone Star.

Oasis Beverages is the biggest independent brewer in Russia, according to the Times.

“Pabst Blue Ribbon is the quintessential American brand – it represents individualism, egalitarianism and freedom of expression – all the things that make this country great,” Oasis' Chairman Eugene Kashper said in a statement. “The opportunity to work with the company’s treasure trove of iconic brands, some of which I started my career selling, is a dream come true. It will be an honor to work with Pabst’s dedicated employees and partner distributors as we continue to build the business.”

Pabst Brewing Company was founded in Milwaukee in 1844 by Jacob Best and later sold to brewing magnate Paul Kalmanovitz. When Kalmanovitz died in 1987, the company was aquired by the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. The IRS forced the foundation to sell the company to Metropoulos due to a federal law that bars charities from owning for profit-businesses.

In 2009, one of America’s biggest cultural icons, Anheusher-Busch, was sold to the Belgium-Brazilian brewer InBev.

In 2002, Miller Brewing Co. was sold to South African Breweries PLC for $5.6 billion, creating SABMiller, the world’s second largest beer company in the world.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

The Riverwalk Golf Club in Mission Valley will be replaced with condominiums as early as 2018, according to early plans submitted to the city.

The golf course falls on private land and the developer, Related California, plans to turn the 200-acre parcel into an urban village with most of the construction focusing on residential use.

The Mission Valley Planning Group has yet to take an official stance on the project, but voted unanimously to move the process along, showing cautious optimism in the project’s early stages.

The project excites some city leaders because it would include space along the San Diego River for a trail. This falls in line with the larger vision of a continuous river front trail stretching from the mountains to the coast.

While city insiders say the Riverwalk Golf Club has never been part of the long term vision for Mission Valley, local residents who heard about the project are concerned about traffic impacts.

“It’s definitely upsetting just because of the traffic flow already. It just creates a lot more traffic and being a golfer myself, and like that course, it’s kind of hard for me to support,” said Nick Herbrig.

Mission Valley is also prone to flooding during heavy rains.

“I wouldn’t live there because of the flooding” said Cathy Roys. “I’ve seen it all my life. It will always flood and it’s crazy. It’s very disruptive. I just think less is more.”

The project could take as many as 20 years to complete and could include a portion of the golf course.

The San Diego City Planning Department estimates it would take at least two years for the environmental impact reports and public forums to be completed before construction begins.
 

The woman on trial for her husband’s murder said she shot him out of self-defense, her father testified Thursday.

John Cihak reluctantly took the stand in the trial of his daughter Julie Harper, 41, accused of first-degree murder in the death of her husband, beloved Carlsbad High School teacher Jason Harper. He was shot to death inside the couple’s Carlsbad home on Aug. 7, 2012, just days after his wife asked him for a divorce.

Prosecutors made it clear in court that Cihak was not willing to testify against his daughter, but the District Attorney’s Office sent him a subpoena to require it.

Cihak told the jury his daughter unexpectedly showed up alone at his Normal Heights real estate office on Aug. 7, 2012.

She walked in and told him “Jason was dead,” he said.

Cihak asked her to repeat it.

“‘Jason is dead,’” recounted Cihak, “and I’m… I sort of went into shock. I started saying something like, ‘What, when, how. Just got into a lot of trauma in my mind.”

But when the prosecutor asked him what Harper’s answers were, he said he did not recall.

The only thing he said he could remember of their conversation was, “she said something, uh, ‘I shot Jason to defend myself.’”

Cihak told the court his first reaction was shock, and his second thought was to seek out a defense attorney.

The deputy district attorney asked it if occurred to him to call 911, and he said he did not think of that. Nor did he ask about the gun Harper used or about why she needed to defend herself, Cihak testified.

Under prosecution questioning, he did say he did not see anything on Harper that would indicate she had been in a physical struggle.

Cihak and Harper set up a meeting with defense attorney Paul Pfingst, who advised them not to talk with police about the case, the suspect’s father said.

That night, the two picked up Harper’s three children and took them to Cihak’s Scripps Ranch home. Again, Cihak told the court he and Harper did not discuss what happened between her and Jason before they went to sleep.

At 5:30 the next morning, they were awoken by Carlsbad Police officers ringing the doorbell, but Cihak said they did not answer because of Pfingst’s advice.

Harper turned herself over to police later that day at her father’s home while Cihak took his grandchildren to Rady Children’s Hospital for a police-mandated evaluation.

That same day – Aug. 8, 2012 – police searched Cihak’s house and seized his computer, his personal guns and some money.

What they missed, proseuctors pointed out, was a bag that Cihak said he had kept in his car because he thought it belonged to one of his grandchildren.

Instead, the bag held a gun, the family’s passports, $39,000 in cash, jewelry and prescription pill bottles holding at least 300 pills, which Cihak did not discover until days later, he said.

"Did you wonder to yourself why there is a bag with a gun, passports, jewelry and $39,000 cash?” the deputy DA asked Cihak.

"It looked like a lot of stuff that she would accumulate when she was leaving her house,” said Cihak. He claimed the family was planning to go on an Alaskan cruise before Jason was found dead.

Julie instructed her attorney to use the cash to pay for her bail, which is why Cihak finally looked inside, he testified.

After Pfingst and a coworker arranged a meeting to hand over the money, they watched Cihak place the bag in his attic, he said.

The prosecution asked Cihak if he believed he was hiding items of evidence from the police, to which he responded, “No.”

Police executed another search warrant days later and seized the bag as evidence.

Harper's jury trial continues Friday. If convicted, she faces up to 50 years to life in prison.

An overturned fuel tanker and fuel spill shut down a North County highway early Friday.

Northbound Interstate 15 was closed from Poway Road to Ted Williams Parkway for several hours, officials said.

The tanker truck was traveling northbound along I-15 at 11:30 p.m. when the driver lost control and crashed, San Diego Fire Rescue officials said.

Approximately 2,200 gallons of gasoline spilled onto I-15 and into nearby storm drains.

Firefighters used sand to stop the flow of fuel while other workers brought in another tanker to offload the remaining fuel.

California Highway Patrol officers anticipated several lanes of NB I-15 would be reopened to morning commuters, but did not expect to clear the crash scene until 10 a.m.

NB I-15 HOV lanes were open to all drivers.

By 10:20 a.m., four of the five lanes had reopened.
 

Various new, small parks sprouted in urban parts of San Diego Friday as part of ongoing efforts to transform car-dominated areas into public gathering spaces.

First, in bustling downtown San Diego, a temporary pop-up “parklet” was unveiled at 4th Avenue, between Market Street and Island Avenue. A free street yoga class was held in the space typically reserved for vehicle traffic. Visitors were also able to play games in the roped off area and were treated to a free, live lunchtime concert.

Over on the roof of the 6th and K Parkade, another parklet opened to the public, complete with blue artificial turf, a pop-up tent, beach balls, pink flamingos and lawn chairs.

In all, about a dozen temporary mini parks sprouted throughout downtown, with most staying open through the afternoon.

The mini parks are part of “PARK(ing) Day,” a global event that aims to highlight the need for more public gathering spaces in busy urban communities and finding creative ways to reallocate even the tiniest of spaces for public use.

In San Diego, the efforts were spearheaded by the Downtown San Diego Partnership, as well as the City of San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter Association.

For downtown business owners like Darren Moore, it was a welcome sight. He told NBC 7 he loved seeing people hanging out in the street, playing games and using the area in a whole new way.

“This is offering residents an opportunity to see their downtown in a different way,” said Moore. “It’s nice to have people riding by on their bikes and stopping in and just taking it all in. It’s a real fresh way to look at what’s happening downtown.”

Moore said he’d love to have more permanent parklet move into downtown San Diego because it would shift the focus of the area from vehicle traffic to more pedestrians.

Meanwhile, over in North Park, a permanent parklet was set to be unveiled by San Diego City Council President Todd Gloria at 2 p.m.

Located at 4237 Alabama Street in front of Mama’s Lebanese Bakery, the mini park will replace two parking spaces and serve as an extension of the sidewalk, providing a public gathering area resembling a mini plaza.

This particular parklet is San Diego’s second permitted parklet. The city's first permitted parklet is located on 30th Street, in front of Caffe Calabria.

Back in June, a “pocket park” also opened in a 2,500-square-foot private lot snugly situated between buildings at 13th Avenue and J Street, next to the Mission Café.

Last month, the City of San Diego and the Downtown San Diego Partnership held a competition calling for innovative design ideas for a mobile “parklet” to continue this initiative. The winning design received $5,000 to construct a roving mini park.
 

A northern New Jersey high school teacher who was accused of sexually assaulting three 15-year-old students is now being accused of assaulting two more students, authorities say.

Nicole Dufault,  35,of Caldwell, was arrested Wednesday night for the alleged assaults inside Columbia High School in Maplewood and in her car since last year, the Essex County prosecutor's office said. The students were allegedly assaulted during the summer months and the school year, authorities said.

Dufault pleaded not guilty to charges involving the initial three students Friday morning. It wasn't clear when she would be arraigned on the additional charges.

Authorities said the additional two students did not just come forward; rather, "we just reached the stage in the investigation where the charges involved these students could be added," according to the prosecutor's office. 

Dufault was being held on $500,000 bail at the Essex County Correctional Facility and police say they removed two children from her custody.

Information on Dufault's attorney wasn't immediately available.

The investigation began with school officials, who then flagged law enforcement, according to the prosecutor's office. 

Board of Education president Elizabeth Daugherty said in a statement Friday that the allegations "deeply disturbing," but declined to discuss how the investigation began, citing confidentiality rules. 

Daugherty said the board and the administration will cooperate with authorities in their investigation. 

Some parents were stunned by the news of the teacher's arrest Thursday and went to the school in search of information.

"We need to know what happened, when it happened and why it happened," said one mother who did not want to give her name. She said when she called the high school for answers, the person who picked up hung up on her. 

"That's not acceptable," she said. 

No one answered Dufault's home door Thursday, but a neighbor said she saw the mother of two young boys being taken away in handcuffs and is shocked by the accusation.

"I feel for the family," the neighbor said. 

Prosecutors say Dufault is a language arts teacher and has worked at the school for nine years.

The school was offering counseling and other assistance.

Follow Ida Siegal on Twitter @idasiegal4NY

Follow Danielle Elias on Twitter @danielle4ny

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The Marine Corps’ most recent graduate is a bit shorter than the other Marines.

And a little furrier. But he’s most certainly the cutest.

Smedley Butler, San Diego’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot’s mascot, graduated on Friday from recruit training. He now assumes the mascot duties from Cpl. Belleau Wood, who retired in April to a loving family in Temecula.

The English bulldog, born in San Diego in February, is the latest in a long MCRD tradition of English bulldog mascots. The first mascot was James Jolly Plum Duff, who was recruited in 1939.

He is named after Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, who at the time of his death was the most decorated Marine in Marine Corps history.

So what does a MCRD mascot do? He’ll participate in events, such as family day, motivational runs, graduation ceremonies and recruiting events.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

After announcing big plans to convert a military armored vehicle into a rescue tool, the San Diego Unified School District has decided to return it to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Superintendent Cindy Marten cited community concern as she announced the return of their mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle Thursday.

“Some members of our community are not comfortable with the district having this vehicle,” said Marten. “If any part of our community is not comfortable with it, we cannot be comfortable with it.”

The federal government granted the MRAP to the SDUSD Police Department under its Excess Property Program (1033 Program), which allocates surplus military equipment to state and local law enforcement.

SDUSD officials planned to use the vehicle in active shooter situations on campuses to break down barriers and evacuate students. They also wanted to equip it with thousands of dollars’ worth of medical supplies in case of an emergency where several hundred wounded need treatment.

But unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown, has sparked national criticism over the militarization of local police departments.

Rueben Littlejohn, SDUSD police chief, said they need to be sensitive to that perception.

“The value that this defensive tool would bring cannot exceed the value of retaining the public’s trust, confidence and perceptions of how we will protect our students,” he said.

Even School Board Trustee Scott Barnett spoke out against the acquisition, calling it misguided.

Instead of using the MRAP, the department will work with other San Diego-area law enforcement and the community to respond to emergencies, Littlejohn said.

District authorities say the process for returning the vehicle is underway, and the 1033 program coordinator has told them to hold on to the MRAP until they can find another place to send it.

San Diego police are looking for a man accused of trying to kidnap a 10-year-old boy in City Heights, demanding that the boy get into his van.

According to the San Diego Police Department, the attempted kidnapping happened Thursday just before 7 p.m. in the 4500 block of Mississippi Street.

The boy was riding his bike when a van drove up and stopped in front of him. The driver got out and started to open the sliding side door.

The driver then allegedly told the boy to get into the van, investigators said.

The boy was able to escape on his bike without further incident and made it home safely.

He told police the suspect was wearing a black ski mask and all black clothing. His van was described as a black 1990s Plymouth Voyager, similar to the van in the photograph above. The paint on the vehicle
was old and oxidized and the rear windows were blacked out.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information should contact the SDPD.
 

A proposal that would essentially create a “free market” for cabs in San Diego moved out of committee to the full City Council this week.

The measure would lift the cap on how many taxi permits the city hands out, eliminating an underground market for licenses that have costs ranging as high as $150,000 according to one published report.

Hundreds of people lined up to speak when the measure proposed by Councilwoman Marti Emerald and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was considered at the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee meeting Thursday.

The meeting room was to capacity and they had to open an over flow room.

Proponents believe the move would open the door for taxi drivers who now lease their cabs to start their own taxi businesses.

Cab driver Abdikadir Abdisalan doesn’t want anyone to lose their taxi. He just wants to be his own boss.

“I want the city to give me the opportunity and the privilege to be an individual who can have his own cab, run his own shift, doesn't have to have anybody over his head telling him where to go or where to be,” Abdisalan saiad.

However, there is the question about what happens to those permit holders who invested thousands of dollars into a license only to have more businesses flood the market?

Opponents say local cab companies are already facing growing competition from ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. More permits, they say, means more drivers when there already isn't enough customers.

Cab owner Les Sevaard said the idea of creating a fair market sounds good on paper.

“If you put out more cabs nobody will be able to make a living and it will be chaos on the streets,” Sevaard said.

The measure now moves to the City Council for debate.

One person was killed in a five-vehicle collision on State Route 67 in Santee early Friday.

Moments after the crash occurred at 5:40 a.m., California Highway Patrol closed all lanes of northbound SR-67 at State Route 52.

The victim in the crash was a 23-year-old Ramona man who had gotten out of his vehicle to try and help victims in a two-car crash, CHP officials said.

The man was standing near the median, helping an occupant of one of the cars involved in the initial wreck when he was struck by an oncoming car.

The impact threw the man into the southbound lanes where he was struck again by another vehicle, CHP spokesperson Brian Pennings said.

At the same time, two more cars in the northbound lanes collided into other cars; five vehicles in total were damaged.

One other person was taken to the hospital with injuries. Further information on that person's condition wasn't immediately known.

All northbound lanes of the highway shut down in addition to one southbound lane.

An alternate route for northbound traffic would be to take Magnolia to Woodside, according to NBC 7's Whitney Southwick.

Now, California Highway Patrol officers have a message for drivers.

"First and foremost, if you're going to get out of your car, it is very dangerous and you need to be aware of oncoming traffic," said CHP Officer Brian Pennings. "We have a situation where someone was trying to help out. It's also very important for citizens to realize there's danger ahead and not become complacent when you're driving."

A South Jersey police vehicle slammed into a doughnut shop Friday morning.

The police SUV crashed into the Dunkin' Donuts shop along White Horse Pike in Berlin, New Jersey just before 11 a.m. Winslow Township Police said the SUV crashed into the building after colliding with another car.

The unidentified Winslow Township Police officer suffered minor injuries, according to investigators. The other driver refused treatment.

No customers or employees inside the store reported any injuries, according to police.

As SkyForce10 hovered overhead, you could see the Winslow Township Police SUV right through the front window of the coffee shop with the driver's side door open.

Police said the crash caused structural damage to the building. No word yet on when repairs will be made.

Investigators said that the officer wasn't headed to a call at the time of the wreck. The cause of the wreck remained under investigation Friday afternoon.

The City of San Diego has offered to settle a decade-long lawsuit over prime real estate in Mission Bay Park.

The offer by the city is to pay about $22 million plus attorney fees to the De Anza Cove mobile homeowners in relocation benefits before closing the park and kicking them out.

“In return, neither party would appeal and the residents would be required to leave, returning De Anza Cove to the City of San Diego,” a news release from the City of San Diego said.

The city’s offer to settle follows a ruling made by a Superior Court judge in August calling for the city to pay the homeowners $22 million.

The residents filed a class action lawsuit against the city in 2003 when the park’s lease expired. Their attorney Tim Tatro argues that under state law, lease expiration in a mobile home park does not constitute grounds for eviction.

Tatro has said at full occupancy, there were 509 homes in the park, about two-thirds of which remain. He said the rest have already been destroyed, taken to landfills or transported to Mexico.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith told NBC 7 this offer is important for two reasons. First, a judge has made a decision on a fair settlement amount after 11 years of litigation.

Second, the city has at last agreed to a judgment.

"I'd like this property to belong to the people of San Diego, and I know the city council and mayor agree," said Goldsmith.

The homeowners' attorneys released a statement Friday evening, saying the city's admission that it is financially responsible for the relocation costs is a positive first step. 

However, the judgment does not comply with the state law on park closure, they claim. 

"Plaintiffs will respect their ethical obligation to honor the confidentiality of these negotiations and will not provide public comment until the judgment is final and an actual agreement is reached," the statement read.

If they agree to the settlement, residents have 12 months to leave. If they refuse, they run the risk of the city winning the case, and they won't receive any money, Goldsmith says.