State Sen. Toi Hutchinson dropped out of the contest to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress Sunday and threw her support behind former Rep. Robin Kelly.
The move comes just nine days before the Feb. 26 election and intends to advance Kelly in the 2nd District Special Democratic election race after the New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's political action committee reportedly spent nearly $2 million on ads for Kelly.
"I have said from day one that this campaign is not about me or any one person; it’s about moving America forward and standing with President Obama to create new jobs and safer communities," Hutchinson said in a statement. "Robin is a friend, and has captured momentum in pulling our community together."
Hutchinson's announcement comes in light of a recent news report detailing Hutchinson's alleged payments to her mother as a campaign consultant.
Joyce Washington, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 2nd, said the campaign payments bear too many similarities to former scandals from Illinois politicians.
“We hear the same tired, stale explanations from Ms. Hutchinson that we heard from the other professional politicians,” Corey Dabney, Washington's campaign manager, said in a statement. “’It’s all perfectly legal,’ they say. Isn’t that what they all say?”
After a funding scandal brought down Jesse Jackson Jr., Washington said Illinois voters are ready for a change.
"The only way to break the never-ending cycle of scandals and to bring honest and integrity back to government is to elect a reformer, an outsider, and someone from outside the corrupt system," Washington said in a statement.
Hutchinson was also in the line of fire along with former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson for past support from the National Rifle Association after Chicago became a center figure in the debate on gun control.
"While Senator Hutchinson and I haven’t agreed on everything, we have a strong mutual respect, share a passion for public service and dedication to the people in Chicago and the Southland," Kelly said in a statement. "In Congress, I will work with Senator Hutchinson, President Preckwinkle and other leaders throughout our district to get guns off our streets and bring jobs to our neighborhoods.”
Kelly announced via Twitter that she'd raised more than $200,000 from 500-plus individual donors.
Other supporters of Kelly hope to work hard against gun violence and applaud Hutchinson's move.
“This election is too important for our party to remain divided," Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky said in a statement. "I’m thrilled that Senator Hutchinson has joined me today in supporting Robin Kelly’s campaign for Congress. I applaud her for doing what is best for the Democratic Party today and joining the Kelly campaign so Robin can go to Washington to work with me and President Obama for common sense gun safety laws.”
Hutchinson's move also puts supporter Cook County Board Preisdent Toni Preckwinkle behind Kelly.
"I’m proud of Toi for agreeing to put voters before her own ambitions," Prekwinkle said. "Robin is a strong leader and will thrive in Congress. I wish her all the luck in the world and I know we will work closely together on issues of mutual importance to our Southland constituents.”
Of the now 21 candidates, five are Republican: Lenny McAllister, Beverly Reid, Paul McKinley, James H. Taylor Sr., and Eric Wallace.
A man was shot to death in the Mountain View area Saturday night, police confirmed.
According to the San Diego Police Department, officers were called to the 900 block of South 45th Street at around 11:10 p.m. to investigate reports of shots fired in the area.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a male victim lying on the ground, suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
The man was not responsive, and despite resuscitation efforts, he died at the scene. His name has not yet been released.
Investigators say the victim was standing on the curb when he was approached by two unknown males on foot. After a brief conversation, investigators say one of the men shot the victim.
The two unknown males ran south on 45th Street, fleeing the scene by the time police arrived.
Police are searching for the shooting suspect. No suspect description has been released and the motive for the shooting remains unknown.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Japanese Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area prepare to commemorate the incarceration of thousands during World War II during a Day of Remembrance this Sunday in San Francisco's Japantown.
The Day of Remembrance, an annual event to be held in memory of the internment camps that held around 120,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent, features the words and memories of survivors, but organizers said it is as much about the present as the past. They say it is important to realize the same thing could happen today.
In Los Angeles, Day of Remembrance events were held on Saturday, at the Japanese American National Museum.
Rev. Michael Yoshii, pastor of the Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda, said many in the Japanese community see parallels between the internment camps of World War II and the treatment of those in the South Asian and Arab communities in the years since 9/11. "Our story is connected to the stories of other communities as well," said Yoshii, who has worked to build alliances with the Muslim community.
"We need to be vigilant about protecting civil liberties." While Japanese Americans felt deep sympathy for the victims of those terrorist attacks, they also felt the need to speak up for those who were vulnerable, said Yoshii, who will receive the 2013 Dr. Clifford I. Uyeda Peace and Humanitarian Award at Sunday's event.
"For us, there was another narrative," Yoshii said. "We had seen something different because of what happened to our families in World War II."
Several of those who will speak at Sunday's event at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco also testified 25 years ago before the Commission on Wartime Relations in favor of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
The law, signed by President Ronald Reagan, provided redress and reparation payments for survivors of the camps and their families.
Some, however, were excluded. Grace Shimizu, the daughter of Japanese Peruvians who were kidnapped by U.S. forces and brought to the United States during World War II, said that around 2,200 Japanese Latin Americans were brought to the United States in similar circumstances as part of a hostage exchange program.
However, they were not granted redress, and their survivors are still fighting for recognition.
Shimizu drew a parallel between the kidnappings, which also affected Germans and Italians in Latin America, and recent reports of "renditions" of terrorism suspects to military prisons and to other countries. She noted that the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act allows the indefinite detention without trial of both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals suspected of involvement in terrorism.
"The government is taking liberties," Shimizu said. Sunday's event will be dedicated to the memory of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a key player in the fight for redress and reparations. A decorated veteran and the longest-serving Japanese American in Congress, Inouye was also the longest serving Japanese American in Congress until his passing in December of 2012. Congressman Mark Takano, D-Riverside, the first openly gay person of color to serve in Congress, will also attend and pay tribute to Inouye on Sunday.
Sunday's event is free, and will take place at 2 p.m. at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco's Japantown. A reception will follow at 1840 Sutter St.
African cheetah, Taraji, took the stage at the San Diego Zoo on Feb. 15 as part of the “Discovery Days: Cool Cats,” where guests enjoyed animal encounters, chats with zookeepers and special presentations about the zoo's different cool cats.
South Floridians who happened to be looking in the right place at the right time Sunday night saw one spectacular light show – possibly a sporadic meteor.
The Coast Guard began getting flooded with phone calls about 7:30 p.m., with reports of folks seeing flare-like objects from Jacksonville to Key West, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Laberdesque.
People called in, describing the flares “as orange or red fireballs in the sky,” Laberdesque said. The display was limited to the sky: No injuries were reported, Laberdesque said. Watch Video: Streak Lights Up Night Sky Across Fla.
A sporadic meteor is basically a rocky object that comes from the asteroid belt, said Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, based in Genesee, N.Y. The group logged 27 reports within about the first two hours of the event, he said.
"This is a lot of reports to come in quickly," Hankey said.
Gauging by the reports, it happened somewhere over the ocean.
"These fireballs are common," Hankey said. "It’s rare for any one person to see one more than once or twice in their lifetime. But on any given night, it might happen somewhere in the globe a few times in a day."
Hankey added: "People should not be scared of the sky falling or anything at all."
Amanda Mayer, of West Palm Beach, said she saw something in the sky and said she thought it was somebody flashing a light. She said she hit record on her camera.
"I was like, 'Wow! That's weird," Mayer said. "I just started videotaping, and that's when it happened."
It turned out to be good timing: The ball of light appeared as she recorded, she said.
"I was pretty sure it was a meteor because of everything else that's been happening," Mayer said.
The Coast Guard said it had suspected Sunday's sighting was a meteor shower, but Hankey disagreed. "Meteor showers usually are much dimmer and faster moving," Hankey said.
After a meteor exploded overhead near Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Friday, reportedly injuring more than 1,000 people, many people elsewhere in the world have wrongly thought that streaks they've seen in the sky, including planes, are meteors, Hankey said.
"We’re getting a lot more false reports," Hankey said.
But with false reports, the group tends to receive only one report describing an incident, Hankey said. If the same event is reported over and over in five or 10 minutes, then that’s more likely to be "a legitimate event,” or sporadic meteor, Hankey said.
In South Florida Sunday night, the Coast Guard found that the light streak vanished in an instant. The Coast Guard sent out a helicopter to check out a report of a flare near the MacArthur Causeway in Miami, but found nothing there, Laberdesque said.
McFarlane's mother, Angela Blakely, said McFarlane was not the intended target and that the bullet was intended for a friend she was with. Blakely said McFarlane had asked two male friends to go with her to the store because she didn't feel safe walking alone.
Two men followed McFarlane and her friends out of the store, police said, and one of them fired nine rounds, missing his target and hitting McFarlane in the head.
McFarlane’s younger sister, 14-year-old Destini Warren, who attended the speech, recalled McFarlane saying she was "excited for [Destini]" to see the president.
Warren said the president’s speech "really connected to what was going on" and she "didn’t expect that to happen."
Warren also did not expect the speech to relate to her so personally.
"We could go to each other for everything," she said. "We were more of best friends than we were sisters."
Blakely said McFarlane was "her little buddy."
"Me and Janay were so close," she said. "It was always 'mommy, go with me' or 'mommy, let's do this.'"
McFarlane was a senior at the World Changers Leadership Academy and was scheduled to graduate in June. She had plans to go to culinary school.
Blakely said she and McFarlane were supposed to go prom dress shopping later this week.
McFarlane is survived by her sister, mother and 3-month-old son, Jayden.
Ex-LAPD officer-turned-fugitive Christopher Dorner, who went on a deadly shooting rampage and then died after a shootout and fire last week, first tried to charm fishermen in San Diego into giving him a ride to Mexico, sources told NBC 7 San Diego.
Dorner's deadly crimes were allegedly part of a revenge-filled plot he outlined in an online manifesto targeting law enforcement officers and their families.
Authorities searched for Dorner all over Southern California — from Irvine to National City — and led extensive checkpoints at the San Ysidro border, believing Dorner was trying to flee into Mexico.
Fishermen at Driscoll Wharf told NBC 7 San Diego exclusively that Dorner was on the pier near Nimitz and Harbor Island Drive on Feb. 5 trying to charm his way into a boat ride to Mexico.
"He kept saying he wanted to go fishing off Mexico. I said 'Mexico? That’s kinda weird. You could go fishing on the bay,'" said Jeremy Smith, a local commercial fisherman.
Smith spoke exclusively with NBC 7 San Diego on Saturday night.
Smith and others at the dock said Dorner was willing to pay $200 to $400 for someone to take him out to sea. He told the fishermen he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan and just wanted to go fishing in Mexico first.
But at this pier, far away from popular fishing charters, most people were making repairs on their boats, not ready to go to sea.
Smith offered to show him around a luxury yacht that was for sale docked at the pier. But he asked him to remove the military style boots Dorner was wearing to keep the white carpeting clean. Dorner declined.
"Maybe he had a gun," Smith guessed. "Usually people want to see inside."
Dorner's request for a ride surprised some local fishermen, including Roy Sherman.
"I’ve been down here for 40 years and he’s the first guy that came down here and asked for a ride," said Sherman.
San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown said she was not aware of this particular Dorner sighting in San Diego.
"We’re not going to discuss details of an ongoing investigation," Brown said, and referred questions about the incident to the Irvine Police Department.
Several other law enforcement sources — not in the San Diego Police Department — confirmed the man described by local fishermen was likely Dorner.
Dorner did spend time in San Diego between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.
A surveillance video taken behind an auto parts store in National City on Feb. 4 shows Dorner tossing bullets, a uniform and other items that linked him to the Irvine double-homicide into a dumpster.
After spending an hour at the pier the next day, the fishermen said Dorner left, but returned with fish tacos for Smith, hoping that would convince the fisherman to help him find a charter.
The witnesses reported Dorner was very friendly, always with a smile on his face, calling himself "Mike."
The man who called himself "Mike" told Smith a story about a friend who was having problems with the police and said his friend had been fired.
"I think he was talking about himself, now that I think about it," added Smith.
Dorner eventually left peacefully without his ride to Mexico, the group of fisherman said.
Driscoll Wharf is adjacent to Naval Base San Diego on North Harbor drive.
Smith said Dorner returned to the wharf on Feb. 6 but still couldn't find anyone to take him to Mexican waters.
That same day, a man fitting Dorner’s description tried to steal a boat from a San Diego marina, according to officials. An 81-year-old man on the boat was tied up but uninjured. The would-be boat thief was unable to steal the boat and fled.
Later that night, police issued Dorner's description, and the fishermen said they notified authorities of their encounter.
Today, fishermen on Pier 6 at Driscoll Wharf are amazed the kind man who brought them fish tacos on Feb. 5 was the dangerous fugitive accused of fatally shooting four people, including a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy.
The 10-day manhunt for Dorner ended on Feb. 12.
After barricading himself in a Big Bear-area cabin, he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said. That cabin went up in flames during a shootout between Dorner and officers, and the fugitive's charred remains were later found inside.
Crews are scheduled to begin work again Monday in a Point Loma neighborhood flooded by a water main break.
For the second day, nearby residents were without water after a pipe burst Sunday around 1 a.m. in the 2700 block of Nimitz Boulevard.
The break caused extensive flooding and damage to different apartments in the area.
City of San Diego Public Utilities Department spokesperson Arian Collins called the rupture of the 16-inch cast iron water main one of the department’s largest in recent memory.
Some residents told NBC 7 San Diego their apartment units were flooded, with the water causing damage to their homes and belongings.
Kimberly Callahan said the flood water destroyed her computer, sentimental personal items and brand new furniture.
"I just had a brand new beautiful kitchen dining room set, with a bench and four chairs and a big top," she said. "The top is peeled back from water damage."
Property owner Curtis Klapp said the basement of one of his rental units was flooded with about seven feet of water.
“This is a bad situation," said Klapp. "It's a mess."
Residents had trouble finding free hotels. Klapp said he went to 10 different locations.
Some residents told NBC 7 San Diego they had to travel to Mission Valley to find a place to stay and a hot shower.
Collins said the City would be working and assisting residents whose homes were damaged by flooding as a result of the main break.
The cause of the main break is still under investigation, but Collins believes it could be attributed to corrosion.
City workers initially said water service would likely be restored to homes by 6 p.m. Sunday, but problems with equipment used to cut the broken main prevented service from being restored by nightfall.
Nimitz Boulevard was temporarily closed down as crews worked to repair the main break and clean up the mud and debris.
Buss died at 5:55 a.m. Monday, according to Medical Center spokeswoman Sally Stewart. On Thursday, sources familiar with the situation had confirmed that Buss had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai with an undisclosed form of cancer.
"We not only have lost our cherished father, but a beloved man of our community and a person respected by the world basketball community," a statement released on behalf of the Buss family said.
Buss -- the Lakers won 10 NBA titles since he bought the team -- had been hospitalized for much of the past 18 months, according to a family statement that cited a "long illness." He spent time in a hospital last summer for dehydration. In December 2011, he was hospitalized for treatment of blood clots in his legs that officials said were caused by extensive traveling.
A family spokesman said at a noon news conference that the cause of death was kidney failure. Health problems prevented Buss from attending Lakers games during the past two seasons, but family spokesman Bob Steiner said he watched games on television.
Steiner did not provide details regarding Buss' illness.
"The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "More importantly, we have lost a dear and valued friend."
Buss had owned the Lakers since 1979. The franchise won 10 of its 16 NBA titles under under his ownership. Buss had recently put his son Jim in charge of more of the team’s day-to-day operations. Daughter Jeanie Buss is the team's head of business operations.
"It was our father’s often stated desire and expectation that the Lakers remain in the Buss family," the Buss family said in a statement. "The Lakers have been our lives as well and we will honor his wish and do everything in our power to continue his unparalleled legacy."
Buss earned a Ph.D in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California before becoming one of the most influential figures in Southern California sports in the late 1970s. In 1979, he also bought the Los Angeles Kings, the Forum -- which became the place to be seen in a city of stars -- and a ranch for $67.5 million.
"I really want to have fun with this thing," Buss said at the time he purchased the Lakers.
The fun began immediately for the Lakers and their fans. The team drafted Earvin "Magic" Johnson out of Michigan State and then went on to win the NBA title in Buss' first season.
The Lakers won their second NBA title under Buss two years later before another championship in 1985 with a victory in the finals over rival Boston. By the late 1980s, the "Showtime" Lakers were in the spotlight with Hollywood celebrities in line for front-row seats to watch the dynasty win back-to-back NBA crown in 1987 and 1988.
"RIP Jerry Buss. Your encouragement and support along with your stories of staying true to yourself had an enormous impact on me," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tweeted.
Buss added to the "Showtime" Lakers sideline spectacle when he created the Laker Girls, the dance team that developed its own devoted following and provided inspiration for similar squads. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"This one day, I think I've received more happiness than I've given away over the past two years, or so," Buss said on the day his star was unveiled.
The NBA's 1990s power-shift brought an era dominated by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers went without a title in the decade before the organization returned to championship glory behind Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson with NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
"He loved the Showtime, but he loved the championships in the 2000s, as well," said Steiner.
LA's free-agent moves brought two more titles in 2009 and 2010, when Buss was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
"Believe me, when I was 21, I never thought I'd be enshrined,'' Buss said during the ceremony, at which he was joined on stage by former players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, and coach Pat Riley.
Buss was born Jan. 27, 1933 in Salt Lake City. He grew up in the ranching community of Kemmerer, Wyo. and attended the University of Wyoming before moving to Southern California for graduate studies.
He formed the real estate firm Mariani-Buss Associates and taught at USC before parlaying money from the real estate business into professional sports ownership. Buss purchased the Los Angeles String of World Team Tennis in 1974 before buying the Lakers five years later.
Steiner was working for the World Team Tennis public relations department when he met Buss.
"He looked at things differently than most sports people I ever knew," Steiner said.
"Condolences to the Buss family. Dr Buss was not only the greatest sports owner, but a true friend & just a really cool guy. Loved him dearly," Worthy tweeted Monday morning.
Worthy won three NBA titles as a member of the Buss-owned Lakers.
Laker Pau Gasol tweeted, "Today is a very sad day for all the Lakers and basketball. All my support and condolences to the Buss family. Rest in peace Dr. Buss."
The Dodgers also issued a statement on Buss' death, calling him "one of the greatest owners in NBA history.
"Jerry Buss made great contributions to the sporting landscape of Los Angeles and America and was a true champion in every sense of the word," the Dodgers organization said in the statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Buss family."
Funeral and memorial service arrangement are pending, according to the Buss family statement. The family requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Lakers Youth Foundation.
Buss is survived by sons Johnny, Jim, Joey and Jesse and daughters Jeanie Buss and Janie Drexel; eight grandchildren; former wife JoAnn; half-sister Susan Hall of Phoenix; half-brother Micky Brown of Scottsdale; and stepbrother Jim Brown of Star Valley, Wyoming.
Correction: An earlier version of this article indicated Dr. Buss was 79. He was 80, according to a Lakers spokesman.
A motorist became trapped in the wreckage of a vehicle that slammed into a sign pole on Interstate 8 near San Diego State University Sunday.
According to officials, the single-vehicle collision happened just after 11 a.m. and involved a Honda that crashed into a sign pole on the side of the freeway.
The car overturned and an occupant became trapped inside. Fire crews were called to extricate the person from the wreckage.
The patient was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. It is unclear if the patient was the driver or passenger of the vehicle.
The crash blocked two lanes of eastbound Interstate 8. CHP officials issued a SigAlert and traffic in the area was snarled for a while following the crash.
No other injuries were reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
No, the home of the Whopper has not become the home of the Big Mac.
Hackers apparently took over Burger King's Twitter account Monday and began sending out anti-BK tweets -- and even changed the logo and name on the account to those of fast food rival McDonald's.
It appears the @BurgerKing account was hacked just before noon ET on Monday, but the ruse didn't last long. A message on the Twitter page appeared at 1:30 p.m. saying "Sorry, that user is suspended."
There was no immediate word on whether the FBI had put a trace on the Hamburglar's IP address, but at least one journalist drew a link between Monday's hack and a group that infiltrated Paris Hilton's cell phone back in 2004.
The first bizarre tweet from the @BurgerKing account on Monday mentioned "DFNCTSC," which Caitlin Kelly of The New Yorker linked to the Hilton cell phone hacking.
That hack by an alleged member of the self-proclaimed "Defonic Team Screen Name Club" led to the contents of her address book being posted online, including the private phone numbers of many celebs.
A Burger King spokesman told The Associated Press that the company asked Twitter administrators to suspend the account. According to the AP, Burger King planned to post a statement on Facebook later Monday to apologize, especially for the offensive posts, and hoped to have the Twitter account back up soon.
For their part, McDonald's was a good sport about the ordeal, tweeting out the following message Monday afternoon: "We empathize with our @BurgerKing counterparts. Rest assured, we had nothing to do with the hacking."
A Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport Monday morning after police discovered he was illegally carrying a handgun, authorities said.
Da'Quan Bowers, a defensive end for the Buccaneers, was arrested at a check-in counter after he was found with a loaded .40 caliber firearm in his carry-on bag, spokesmen for the Port Authority and the Queens District Attorney's office said. He was about to board a US Airways flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.
The former All-American player was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. A spokesman for the Buccaneers said Bowers is currently declining to comment as the organization investigates.
He's scheduled to appear in court Monday evening.
Bowers has played defensive end for the Buccaneers for two years. He played college football for Clemson University and graduated from high school in Bamberg, South Carolina.
Rain, snow and wind are expected to slam parts of San Diego County Tuesday and Wednesday.
The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather statement saying wind gusts could reach up to 35 mph at the coast on Tuesday. Up to two inches of rain could be seen throughout the county and temperatures will also be cooler than usual for San Diego. Hail is also possible for Tuesday night.
Mountain areas will get more extreme weather. Wind speed could reach up to 75 mph and snow is also expected. Between 4-16 inches of snow could be seen in places above 3,500 ft. elevation and areas above 4,500 ft. could see up to 2 feet of snowfall.
NWS warns driving could be difficult, especially in the mountains.
A man wearing a red mask and armed with a gun robbed four convenience stores in San Diego County over the holiday weekend.
All four incidents involved 7-Eleven locations.
They include the Lake Jennings Park Road store in Lakeside, the E. Bradley Avenue store and the location at 335 Jamacha Road in El Cajon were robbed overnight. The 7-Eleven at 1498 Jamacha Road in El Cajon was robbed two nights ago.
The suspect has been described as a Caucasian man, 5-foot 7-inches tall, wearing a black hoodie and a red mask according to San Diego County sheriff’s deputies.
Ex-LAPD officer-turned-fugitive Christopher Dorner, who went on a deadly shooting rampage and then died after a shootout and fire last week, first tried to charm fishermen in San Diego’s Driscoll Wharf into giving him a ride to Mexico, sources told NBC 7.
Dorner, 33, led authorities on a massive manhunt after allegedly killing an Irvine couple and a Riverside police officer in a crime spree across Southern California that began on Feb. 3.
Dorner's deadly crimes were allegedly part of a revenge-filled plot he outlined in an online manifesto targeting law enforcement officers and their families.
Authorities searched for Dorner all over Southern California -- from Irvine to National City -- and led extensive checkpoints at the San Ysidro border, believing Dorner was trying to flee into Mexico.
Fishermen at Driscoll Wharf told NBC 7 exclusively that Dorner was on the pier near Nimitz and Harbor Island Drive on Feb. 5 trying to charm his way into a boat ride to Mexico.
“He kept saying he wanted to go fishing off Mexico. I said ‘Mexico? That’s kinda weird. You could go fishing on the bay,’” said Jeremy Smith, a local commercial fisherman.
Smith spoke exclusively with NBC 7 on Saturday night.
Smith and others at the dock said Dorner was willing to pay $200 to $400 for someone to take him out to sea. He told the fishermen he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan and just wanted to go fishing in Mexico first.
But at this pier, far away from popular fishing charters, most people were making repairs on their boats, not ready to go to sea.
Smith offered to show him around a luxury yacht that was for sale docked at the pier. But he asked him to remove the military style boots Dorner was wearing to keep the white carpeting clean. Dorner declined.
"Maybe he had a gun," Smith guessed. "Usually people want to see inside."
Dorner's request for a ride surprised some local fishermen, including Roy Sherman.
“I’ve been down here for 40 years and he’s the first guy that came down here and asked for a ride,” said Sherman.
San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown said she was not aware of this particular Dorner sighting in San Diego.
“We’re not going to discuss details of an ongoing investigation,” Brown said, and referred questions about the incident to the Irvine Police Department.
Several other law enforcement sources - not in the San Diego Police Department - confirmed the man described by local fishermen was likely Dorner.
Dorner did spend time in San Diego between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.
A surveillance video taken behind an auto parts store in National City on Feb. 4 shows Dorner tossing bullets, a uniform and other items that linked him to the Irvine double-homicide into a dumpster.
After spending an hour at the pier the next day, the fishermen said Dorner left, but returned with fish tacos for Smith, hoping that would convince the fisherman to help him find a charter.
The witnesses reported Dorner was very friendly, always with a smile on his face, calling himself "Mike."
The man who called himself "Mike" told Smith a story about a friend who was having problems with the police and said his friend had been fired.
"I think he was talking about himself, now that I think about it," added Smith.
Dorner eventually left peacefully without his ride to Mexico, the group of fisherman said.
Driscoll Wharf is adjacent to Naval Base San Diego on North Harbor drive.
Smith said Dorner returned to the wharf on Feb. 6 but still couldn't find anyone to take him to Mexican waters.
That same day, a man fitting Dorner’s description tried to steal a boat from a San Diego marina, according to officials. An 81-year-old man on the boat was tied up but uninjured. The would-be boat thief was unable to steal the boat and fled.
Later that night, police issued Dorner's description, and the fishermen said they notified authorities of their encounter.
Today, fishermen on Pier 6 at Driscoll Wharf are amazed the kind man who brought them fish tacos on Feb. 5 was the dangerous fugitive accused of fatally shooting four people, including a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy.
The 10-day manhunt for Dorner ended on Feb. 12.
After barricading himself in a Big Bear-area cabin, he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said. That cabin went up in flames during a shootout between Dorner and officers, and the fugitive's charred remains were later found inside.
Firefighters battling a house fire in Vista were in danger when a low-hanging power line caught fire.
Fire crews responded to the home on Phillips Street around 3:30 p.m. Sunday and found flames pouring out of the front and side of the house.
They were forced to pull back though when the power line caught fire.
“It was actually burning over our heads at that point, and we needed to retreat a little bit out from underneath that and cordon off the area and then continue the attack,” said Battalion Chief Jeff Berg with Vista Fire Dept.
No one was injured. Firefighters managed to save the family’s dog from the fire.
The residents opted to stay with relatives for the night.
A woman told authorities she was attacked and sexually assaulted walking home from an Imperial Beach bar early Sunday.
San Diego County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the attack reported just before 2 a.m. near Palm Avenue and 5th Street.
The 48-year-old woman told deputies she was walking home when she was dragged into the bushes near Seacoast Drive and sexually assaulted.
She told them she recognized her attacker as a man from the bar.
"She doesn't know him.There was some question that she may have saw him in the bar earlier that night but we're not sure at this time," said Sgt. Joel Stranger.
Deputies say last July another woman was sexually assaulted in the same area and by a suspect fitting a similar description.
Officials have not confirmed the two incidents are related.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the Imperial Beach Sheriff's Patrol Station at 619-337-2000.
You can remain anonymous and be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward. Call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
One shot was fired when suspects in a police pursuit threw a gun out of the window of a moving car San Diego officials said Monday.
When the gun hit the ground, a single round went off according to San Diego police.
When officers saw a car speeding down 28th near Oceanview at 12:30 a.m., they tried to stop the car.
What turned into a high-speed chase ended in the 4400-block of Delta near National City.
The officer heard what sounded like a gunshot coming from the side of the vehicle.
“He wasn't certain based on where the flash was a gun shot or possibly back fire, but he said that over the radio. Obviously this was a much more dangerous situation than someone failing to stop for a speeding violation," said Lt. David Rohowitz.
Officers returned to the area of the noise and found a shotgun in several pieces on the pavement Rohowitz said.
He said the shotgun was loaded with four shells and appeared to have discharged.
One teenager and one adult were in police custody. Officers were searching for one outstanding subject.
Although some people believe that 30 and 40-somethings join Facebook to reconnect with old high school flames, at least one report says that half of all parents are doing it to keep tabs on their children.
According to the Education Database Online blog, about half of all parents said part of the reason they joined was to see what their kids were up to.
Another 43 percent admitted to checking their kids' status updates every day. And probably the worst of all, 92 percent on social media have "friended" their children.
Not surprisingly, one in three teens say they have been embarrassed on social media by a parent. Thirty percent of teens also responded they would de-friend parents if they could.
At the age of 13, when teens are allowed to join Facebook, about 65 percent request their parents as friends. That number drops to 40 percent by age 20.
Image: OnlineEducation.net
Parents obviously want to stay in touch with their children, and social networks are a way to do that.
The only problem occurs when parents are too nosy or too involved in their kids' lives — such as posting embarrassing photos or constantly messaging.
Like most things, parents have to learn when to back away and let their children act on what they have been taught at home.
Hopefully, that means being responsible and respectful online.
