A fire burning in an Oceanside riverbed grew to about four acres, North County fire officials say.
The flames started behind Mission Vista High School at about 2:40 p.m., near the 1300 block of Melrose Drive.
Firefighters say the fire was moving through dense brush but at a slow rate of speed.
No structures were threatened and no evacuations ordered. Crews had the fire out by 3:30 p.m.
A suburban Chicago police chief has apologized for making a comment about shooting and killing the department's police dog, Biko.
Harold Kaufman, the Midlothian police chief, was recorded talking to an Oak Forest police dispatcher and saying, "Our K-9 officer just came in and quit on me, so now I'm going to be stuck with either going and shooting the dog and killing it or finding somewhere to put it."
Kaufman said that because Biko is an active police dog, he must be placed with a proper handler and cannot simply be taken in as a pet.
After the recording went public, Kaufman apologized at the Midlothian village board meeting Wednesday night. Kaufman's apology was recorded by a Midlothian resident, who posted the video to YouTube. Midlothian Clerk Michael Kohlstedt confirmed that the video shows Wednesday's meeting.
"My statement about shooting Biko was admittedly inappropriate and unprofessional," Kaufman said at the meeting. "I assure you that at no time did I actually intend to shoot Biko or harm him in any way."
Kaufman said that he would not make an excuse for his statement about Biko, who is a Belgian Malinois, according to the Orland Park Patch.
"As the head of the police depratment I recognize that I need to accept responsibility for my actions and move forward accordingly," Kaufman said.
Jon Ryczek, the K-9 officer who left his job with the department, said he did not believe Kaufman's apology was sincere.
"It was forced, he didn't even stand up, look anyone in the eye and address them," Ryczek said in an email. "... It's a shame for the residents who have to deal with that."
Biko has since been placed with a new handler in the Midlothian police department who is training with the dog, Kaufman said.
Crews worked to fix a gas leak outside a National City beauty salon early Thursday, officials said.
The leak happened at approximately 1 a.m. at a pipe in front of Italy’s Beauty Salon at Highland Avenue and 16th street.
Police said the leak may have been caused by vandalism as they found a brick lying next to the broken pipe.
The street was closed as crews dug into the street to find the gas line and clamp it off.
The Fire Department was on scene in case there was a fire. National City police said they will investigate the incident to see if it was caused by vandalism.
A 19-year-old man was hit and killed by two cars after he fled the scene of an accident on State Route 78 Thursday morning.
Oceanside police said the teen was driving a 2015 Mazda 6 eastbound on SR-78 at Barnham just before 4:30 a.m. when he came up behind a 2002 Volvo S80. The driver of the Mazda was going too fast to avoid the Volvo and slammed into the car's rear end.
Both cars lost control before coming to a stop along the right shoulder of the freeway.
Shortly after the collision, the Mazda's driver got out of his vehicle and ran across the eastbound lanes, jumped the center dived and ran northbound across the first two lanes before being struck by two cars "nearly simultaneaously," police said.
A 2006 Mercedes E350 coming up on the initial accident was unable to avoid the Mazda, which was partially blocking traffic in the slow lane.
All but one lane was closed and drivers were being detoured via Nordahl Road. The freeway reopened before 7 a.m.
The drivers of the Volvo and the Mercedes suffered minor injuries and the 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, Oceanside police said.
It did not appear drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.
A trip to the floating maritime museum on San Diego's Embarcadero will now include viewing a Hollywood-produced movie.
Using letters and interviews, “Voices of Midway” producers tell the story from the perspective of the young men who fought and died in the battle.
“You’re going to hear the words of the young boys who went into the darkness and did not return,” said museum spokesperson Rudy Shapee. “That, we believe, is the heart of the Battle of Midway.”
With its waterfront location and wealth of exhibits, the Midway Museum was recently ranked among the best museums in the United States.
The popular travel website announced its “Travelers’ Choice” awards for museums across the U.S. and the world, as ranked and reviewed by jet-setters.
The museum – set aboard one of America’s longest-serving aircraft carriers – boasts 60 exhibits and also houses 29 restored aircraft.
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6 to 12 and $10 for retired military with a valid ID. Children under 5 get in free. Active-duty military personnel can also visit for free, with a valid ID.
A new development in the wide-reaching scandal involving Navy ship movements traded for luxury travel, hookers or cash - a Navy captain has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy of bribery.
NBC 7 has learned that Capt. Daniel Dusek, who was under investigation in the alleged bribery ring involving a Singapore businessman, has surrendered to authorities.
When the allegations surfaced involving Leonard Francis, known as "Fat Leonard" to Navy officials, Dusek was relieved of his command of USS Bonhomme Richard.
Dusek served as deputy operations officer aboard the USS Blue Ridge from January 2009-February 2011. It was during this time that Dusek provided classified information to Francis and his associates "dozens of times" according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege Francis bribed Naval officers to make sure their ships were docked at Asian ports, where Francis’ companies allegedly overcharged the Navy for docking services.
The overages cost the U.S. Navy more than $20 million, federal prosecutors allege.
Court documents released Thursday include emails from Francis that describe Dusek as a "golden asset to drive the big decks [aircraft carriers] into our fat revenue GDMA ports."
In exchange for releasing confidential ship movement information and advocating for GDMA to senior Navy officials, Dusek received a stay at the Marriott Waikiki and the services of a prostitute while in the Philippines among other things, the documents show.
Dusek arranged for USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Group to use Port Klang, Malaysia in October 2010. The port is owned by Francis.
In February 2011, federal officials say Dusek was provided an eight-night stay in Manila with alcohol, entertainment and prostitutes.
The value of items received by Dusek as a result of the relationship was estimated to be $10,000.
Dusek's guilty plea was revealed just hours before Francis was expected in court to formally enter his own guilty plea to bribery charges.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
For the second time in two days, San Ysidro High School classes were disrupted after receiving a recorded bomb threat.
School officials said a Skype call came in at 7:39 a.m. warning that there was an explosive device on the Airway Road campus.
This time, the recording said there was 65 pounds of dynamite on campus that would detonate at approximately 8:30 a.m., officials said.
School officials and police say the threat was very similar to one made Wednesday at the same campus.
Principal Hector Espinoza said the bomb threats are the first in the school's history.
"They're similar messages. They are automated. It's not speaking to a specific person," Espinoza said.
Police dogs searched the campus before students were returned to class by 9:45 a.m.
Cecilia Martinez stopped by the school to pick up her 15-year-old daughter who was scared.
"It was a threat but what if something happened for real," Martinez said.
On Wednesday, students were evacuated to the football field after the school's secretary answered the phone and heard a recorded message that stated a bomb could go off in a few minutes, according to the San Diego Police Department. No device was found.
On Thursday, administrators moved the entire study body and staff into the gym and explained the situation while police swept the school.
"We can't ignore [the threats] obviously but we take the necessary precautions to make sure we're 100 percent guarantee that there are no explosives or bombs on campus," Espinoza said.
San Diego Police were expected to stay on campus throughout the school day as an extra precaution.
Espinoza said investigators were working with Oceanside Police to see if the person behind the San Ysidro HS threats was responsible for a similar threat to Oceanside High School Wednesday afternoon.
He said the source of the threats would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Pope Francis promises he'll canonize Junipero Serra, the missionary who first arrived in San Diego and brought Christianity to the western United States in the 1700s.
The pope said he'll honor Serra during his visit to the United States in September.
"He was the evangelizer of the Western United States," Francis told reporters on the papal plane as he flew from Sri Lanka to the Philippines as part of his Asia tour.
Signs of Serra's influence in San Diego range from the Serra Museum atop the hill along Interstate 8 to the mascot for the city's baseball team.
Most San Diegans learn of the significance of Father Junipero Serra in fourth grade during the missions projects.
In 1769, he was among those who established the first mission in the region. He would go on to establish eight other missions in California.
Serra was 71 when he died at the Mission of Carmel, near Monterey.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s first State of the City address covered a lot of ground Wednesday, but prominent observers and listeners are raising questions about his lay of the land on two key issues: a new stadium and the proposed -- but legally and financially hamstrung -- expansion of the convention center.
Less than impressed with Faulconer’s speech are the San Diego Chargers – with whom city officials haven’t spoken in nearly two months – and former council president Todd Gloria, whose backers want him to run against Faulconer next year.
They think the mayor is wasting time, heading in the wrong direction with a "group of civic leaders,” as Faulconer billed them, rehashing ideas that critics say date back to predecessor Dick Murphy's mayoral administration in 2002.
"I will introduce the membership of this group at the end of the month,” the mayor told an audience of hundreds gathered in downtown’s Balboa Theatre Wednesday evening. “They will be charged with studying two different options: building a stadium at the current Mission Valley location, or building a stadium along with an expanded convention center downtown."
The Chargers gave up the ghost on the Mission Valley site years ago, after a "mixed-use" replacement stadium project linked to residential and commercial development was made unworkable by the recession.
There's been talk of involving San Diego State University, but officials are said to be gun-shy and short of funding.
The "civic leaders" approach has already come up empty, so the Bolts don't expect much from another one.
"And when they object to another citizens task force, it says to me that not all is right behind the scene,” Gloria said in an interview Thursday. “And that the vision of trying to keep world-class sports in this world-class city is not going well.”
Gloria has more pointed thoughts about the stadium project – currently targeted for an East Village site near Petco Park – and the convention center expansion, which the Chargers would rather see abandoned in favor of their hybrid sports complex and meetings facility.
Those are pricey ventures when the city's infrastructure repairs deficit is an estimated $3 billion dollars.
“It's very clear that the citizens of this city will be voting on a new football stadium before we'll ever have a chance to vote on repairing our neighborhoods," Gloria told NBC 7. "I think last night's speech missed critical details, key information and really, some hard truths. Leadership is about making difficult decisions for the greater good."
The Chargers’ front office declined an interview on these issues.
But they're lodging heated objections to civic mover and shaker Steve Cushman serving as the mayor's point man on the stadium and convention center projects, believing he sandbagged them on previous site proposals.
“If Steve Cushman does come up with some kind of a plan, our strong view is that it will be a plan designed to provide political cover, not to actually result in the building of a stadium,” Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said in a Q&A piece published on the team’s website.
Fabiani concluded with this observation: “Whether yet another task force – which will undoubtedly hire other experts – will come up with ideas that haven’t been thought of by everyone else over the last 13 years is, of course, a real question.”
The mayor's office sent NBC 7 the following response:
"It was never said that Steve Cushman was a member of the stadium group. He is not a member. Our office has clearly communicated this to Mr. Fabiani. As the Mayor has said, it will take all of us working together to find a solution."
Cushman has not responded to request for comment on all this, and what appears to be a growing rift in the city’s relationship with the team.
Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor, charged with reckless conduct in the shooting of a 95-year-old World War II vet, testified Thursday that he had no idea how old the man was when a police call sent him to the Victory Center Assisted Living facility.
Taylor was called to the scene after John Wrana became combative with emergency medical technicians trying to take him to the hospital for medical treatment, according to prosecutors.
Taylor testified that he was to be the second man in a so-called "stack" procedure, a backup for his commander, whose Taser misfired while he was trying to subdue Wrana, who allegedly refused to cooperate with police and pointed a kitchen knife at the officers.
"When I saw Mr. Wrana with that knife in his hand," Taylor said, "threatening to kill me and my fellow officers, I was afraid. I thought I had to do something."
He fired his less-lethal beanbag weapon five times, striking Wrana four times. Wrana later died from internal abdominal bleeding, officials said.
On Wednesday, an expert witnesses on police tactics testified Taylor's actions were unreasonable and unnecessary, arguing there was no imminent threat.
Before Taylor took the stand, Wrana’s family came forward to express their disappointment with the way defense attorneys have portrayed him in court.
“We are greatly saddened by the false statements disparaging our grandfather under the cloak of providing the best defense,” said Wrana’s grandson Tom Magnerson.
In particular, the family says they’re angry with Attorney Terry Ekl for saying that Wrana, after he was injured, told doctors he wanted to die.
“We have family members who are objecting to what they say happened when they don't have the facts,” Ekl said.
Among the defense witnesses was Dr. Steven Salzman, the trauma surgeon who tried to treat Wrana.
He told the judge that there was no question he could have fixed the injuries from the beanbag gun, but repeatedly, his patient, who had a do not resuscitate order, told him to let him die.
“He did not want to die in the way that Park Forest police chose for him, but he did want to live with the dignity head for 95 years,” said Magnerson.
A South Florida family is outraged at North Miami Beach Police after mug shots were being used at a shooting range for police training.
It was an ordinary Saturday morning last month when Sgt. Valerie Deant arrived at the shooting range in Medley, or so she thought.
Deant, who plays clarinet with the Florida Army National Guard’s 13th Army Band, and her fellow soldiers were at the shooting range for their annual weapons qualifications training.
What the soldiers discovered when they entered the range made them angry: mug shots of African American men apparently used as targets by North Miami Beach Police snipers, who had used the range before the Guardsmen.
Even more startling for Deant, one of the images was her brother. It was Woody Deant’s mug shot that taken 15 years ago, after he was arrested in connection to a drag race in 2000 that left two people dead. His mug shot was among the pictures of five minorities used as targets by North Miami Beach police, all of them riddled by bullets.
“I was like why is my brother being used for target practice?” Deant asked.
Deant’s fellow guardsmen were angry too, but they tried to console Deant, who was devastated.
“There were like gunshots there,” Deant said. “And I cried a couple of times.”
She immediately called her brother, Woody Deant, who was 18-years old when the picture was taken.
“The picture actually has like bullet holes,” Woody Deant said. “One in my forehead and one in my eye. …I was speechless,” she added.
The City of Medley owns the Medley Firearms Training Center and it leases the facilities to law enforcement agencies in the area. The shooting range staff doesn’t select the targets use by law enforcement and the military.
North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis admitted that his officers could have used better judgment, but denies any racial profiling.
He noted that that the sniper team includes minority officers. Dennis defended the department’s use of actual photographs and says the technique is widely used and the pictures are vital for facial recognition drills. But the Deant family questions why officers were firing targets with images of real people, in this case African-Americans, especially at a time when relations between minority communities and law enforcement are so tense.
“Our policies were not violated,” Dennis said. “There is no discipline forthcoming from the individuals who were involved with this.”
NBC 6 Investigators spoke with sources at federal and state law enforcement agencies and five local police departments that have SWAT and sniper teams in an attempt to find out if this is a common practice. All law enforcement agencies said they only use commercially produced targets, not photos of human beings for target practice.
“The use of those targets doesn’t seem correct,” Alex Vasquez, a retired FBI agent, said. “The police have different options for targets. I think the police have to be extra careful and sensitive to some issues that might be raised.”
Dennis said the police department uses an array of pictures including that of whites, and Hispanic males. What concerns his police department, he said, is that the picture was from someone that happened to be arrested by his agency.
“That individual would be someone that was on the streets of North Miami Beach,” Dennis said.
The police chief said his department will resume use of human image targets after it expands the number of images in its inventory. His officers, Dennis said, will not use any booking photos from suspects they have arrested and he’ll direct his officers to remove the targets after they use the shooting range.
But Woody Deant, who did four years in prison after his 2000 arrest, expressed outrage.
“Now I’m being used as a target?” said Woody Deant. “I’m not even living that life according to how they portrayed me as. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a career man. I work 9-to-5.”
The Deants contacted Attorney Andell Brown. He said he finds the use of human images for target practice extremely disturbing.
“This can create a very dangerous situation,” Brown said. “And it has been ingrained in your subconscious what does that mean when someone [police] comes across Woody or another person on the street and their decision-making process on using deadly force or not.”
The Deants agree.
“Automatically in his [police officer] mind he’s going to think target, target, target…,” Woody Deant said.
A 19-year-old man and two teens were ordered to stand trial Thursday in the beating death of a University of Southern California graduate student from China.
Xinran Ji, 24, was attacked with a baseball bat near the campus south of downtown Los Angeles in July as he walked back to his apartment from a meeting with a study group. He struggled to the apartment building, where his roommate found his bloodied body in a bedroom the following morning.
Charged with his murder are 19-year-old Jonathan del Carmen, Alberto Ochoa, 17, and Alejandra Guerrero, 16. Proceedings against a fourth defendant have been delayed for mental competency evaluations.
The three were ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing this week at which surveillance video of the attack was presented. Security camera video also was shown of Ji returning to his apartment after the beating.
Hours after Ji was beaten, the defendants were arrested when they allegedly robbed a young couple at Dockweiler Beach. The vehicle in which the defendants were traveling at the time of the arrest had a license plate identification that matched one captured by license plate reader technology in the area where Ji was attacked.
The plate reader and security cameras were installed after two other USC grad students from China were shot and killed near the campus about two years ago. Ying We and Ming Qu were seated in a car about one mile from campus when they were gunned down.
Two men convicted in the slayings were sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
The next court proceeding in the Ji case is scheduled for Jan. 29.
Residents of San Diego County reduced their water use by 29 percent in December compared to the same month a year previous, though drought conditions across the state continued, according to numbers released by the San Diego County Water Authority.
The heavy rainstorms in December helped curb the county’s water usage as residents, businesses and farmers turned off irrigation systems for long periods of time.
“While rainstorms over the past several weeks are welcome, don’t be fooled into thinking that the drought is over,” said Dana Friehauf, an acting water resources manager for the Water Authority, in a press release. “Reservoir storage levels remain low, and it’s far too early to be certain about our water supplies for 2015. That means we all need to redouble our efforts to improve stored water reserves in coming months.”
The total savings for the last month of the year reached 10,636 acre-feet, despite the fact that it was the fourteenth consecutive month of above-normal temperatures in San Diego. The amount of water saved during December alone is enough to serve more than 21,000 typical four-person households for a year.
“People across the county capitalized on the wet weather and achieved an extraordinary reduction in water use last month,” said Mark Weston, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors, in a press release. “That effort highlights our region’s long-term commitment to water conservation, which has driven down per capita water demand by more than 20 percent since 2007.”
Nearly 100 percent of California is still in drought, however, after only light to moderate rain fell in parts of the state during early January, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The percentage of the state in "Exceptional Drought," the most severe of the Monitor's five categories, increased from 33 percent to nearly 40 percent since last week. Ninety-eight percent of the state is under at least one drought category, representing no change since last week.
At the start of October, more than 58 percent of the state was in "Exceptional Drought" and 100 percent of the state was under some type of drought.
The state's water reservoirs have been well below normal during the three-year dry spell. Reservoirs near and north of the Sacramento Valley are above critically low levels at the start of the water year in October, but water-year-to-date totals have dropped back to near average after last month's storms brought precipitation to the region.
Last November, the city went into “drought alert status” and issued tighter water use restrictions that took effect at the start of November across San Diego after approval by the City Council to combat the state’s prolonged drought.
The 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be coming to San Diego's Petco Park in 2016, the Padres announced Wednesday.
The Padres put in a bid to host the game in December, the same month city officials approved a measure to rubber stamp city funds for the event. Thursday Baseball Commissioner Allan H. Selig awarded the 2016 game to the Padres at the conclusion of its quarterly owners meetings.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement that the event would bring "great things" to the city's future.
“San Diego is a city full of unlimited opportunities and this news is proof that great things are on the horizon," Faulconer said. "The 2016 MLB All-Star Game will once again put San Diego on the world stage, and give San Diego fans a front-row seat to some of today’s best ballplayers."
This will be the third time San Diego has hosted the game and the first time the game will be at Petco Park, which opened in 2004. The Jack Murphy Stadium hosted the All-Star game in 1978 and 1992.
Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler said the Padres are honored to host the game.
“Padres fans have been awaiting the return of the Midsummer Classic for more than two decades, and we are thrilled with today's news," Fowler said.
At the heart of the pitch the council approved last December was the projected economic benefit of having the game here, including the five ensuing days of fan activities.
MLB officials say it would bring in about $80 million to the city of San Diego. Officials with the San Diego Tourism Authority said it would draw more than $1 million in sales tax and $1.2 million in hotel taxes.
The exact amount of revenue the game would bring into the city is in dispute.
The president of the National University Institute for Policy Research said he suspects most of the people attending the game will be from San Diego. Also, the summer time is already peak tourism season here.
“The analysis that has been done after the fact of these games suggests that these economic projections that are made by people are a lot more hype than they are substance,” said Erik Bruvold of the National University Institute for Policy Research.
Bruvold said that ultimately the big winner could be the Padres, who could include an All-Star Game seating priority to season ticket holders.
Consumer Reports has issued new guidelines on how much rice you and your children should eat.
The ratings magazine analyzed Food and Drug Administration data on more than 600 foods that contain rice and found some with worrisome levels of inorganic arsenic, which is linked to several types of cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration recommends parents consider other options rather than rice cereal for their children’s first solid food. Consumer Reports’ analysis found that hot rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more arsenic than its lab saw in previous tests.
So Consumer Reports now recommends that children rarely eat these foods, which means not more than twice a month. And the group recommends children under five limit rice drinks, rice cakes and ready-to-eat rice cereals. Levels of arsenic vary.
The reviewers based their recommendations on the higher levels in each food group to offer consumers the best protection. As for rice itself, lab tests in 2012 found high levels of inorganic arsenic in white rice and even higher levels in brown rice.
Consumer Reports has tested other types of rice and other grains and has found several alternatives with much lower levels of inorganic arsenic. Some good choices — sushi rice from the U.S. and white basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan. On average they had half the amount of arsenic as most other types of rice.
And brown basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan has about one third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rice. Other good options — bulgur, barley and faro, as well as gluten-free grains like amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.
In response to Consumer Reports’ investigation, the USA Rice Federation issued this statement:
“Research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. rice industry shows arsenic levels found in U.S.-grown rice are below safe maximum levels established this year by the World Health Organization. Studies show that including white or brown rice in the diet provides measureable health benefits that outweigh the potential risks associated with exposure to trace levels of arsenic. The U.S. rice industry is committed to growing a safe and healthy product; we continuously test our crop, and research ways of reducing the already low levels of arsenic found in rice even further."
The Food & Drug Administration issued this statement:
"The FDA’s ongoing assessment of arsenic in rice remains a priority for the agency. Last year, the FDA released what we believe to be the largest set of test results to date on the presence of arsenic in rice and rice products, and we are planning to release a draft assessment of the potential health risks associated with the consumption of arsenic in these same foods. Until that review is completed, the agency continues to recommend that consumers, including pregnant women, eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of grains. Parents should feed infants and toddlers a variety of grains as well, and consider options other than rice cereal for a child’s first solid food. Published studies and ongoing FDA research indicate that cooking rice in excess volumes of water – five to six times that of the rice – and draining the water can reduce the arsenic content, though it may also reduce the nutritional value of the rice."
A body found in Palm Desert, California, on Thursday afternoon is that of the 33-year-old LA executive who vanished a week ago, his family told NBC affiliate KMIR and said on Facebook.
Omar Arce Meza disappeared Jan. 8 after walking out of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort about 11 p.m. while in Palm Desert for a business trip.
A vice president with AIG Financial Distributors, Meza missed scheduled business meetings the following day.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said about 4:30 p.m. Thursday the body was found in the 74800 block of Country Club — the same block as the JW Marriott. Authorities have not identified the body or released a cause of death.
Meza's family released a statement Thursday evening on Facebook about his death.
"We are with heavy hearts tonight as we announce the passing of Omar Meza. He was a very loved son, husband, brother & friend. We would like to take this time to grieve his passing and ask that everyone please respect our privacy at this time.
"We would like to thank all of the supporters this past week. It brings tears to our eyes to see how well loved Omar was, he will be missed by many," the statement read.
The statement also said the family canceled a news conference that had been scheduled for Friday.
Diane Meza, the vanished man's wife, told NBC4 earlier this week that one of his co-workers put him in an Uber car.
"The intention was to send him to his hotel. I think there was probably some confusion on which Marriott to go to," she said.
Diane Meza called her husband "absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me. He made everything better."
He was scheduled to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott, but security cameras captured him walking out of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort instead. His jacket and wallet were found on the resort's golf course.
Divers searched golf course ponds Monday after bloodhounds pointed in the direction of water traps on the golf course. Authorities said Thursday they completed the search of the resort property.
A representative with AIG declined an interview with NBC4 but said the company is working with authorities and their thoughts are with family and friends.
A foreign defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” pleaded guilty Thursday in an international Navy bribery scheme, admitting he gave military officials prostitutes, luxury travel and cash so he could overbill the government by more than $20 million.
Leonard Glenn Francis, 51, the CEO of the Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) in Singapore, admitted to bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and defrauding the U.S. government in the scandal that ensnared eight people, including Navy officers, a senior NCIS investigator and Francis’ own cousin.
At his April 3 sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and could be forced to forfeit $35 million.
Francis changed his plea in San Diego’s U.S. District Court Thursday after a wave of defendants admitted their guilt in the scheme. According to his plea agreement, between 2004 and 2013, Francis lavished influential Navy officials with gifts to garner contracts for GDMA, which has serviced warships in Pacific ports for over 25 years.
In exchange for about $500,000 in cash, high-end hotel stays, prostitutes and extravagant gifts, Navy officers would provide Francis with confidential ship schedules for the Navy's 7th Fleet and information on competitors' pricing, performance and bids.
Using the classified information, the plea deal says Francis would convince his co-conspirators to steer ships — especially lucrative aircraft carriers — away from low revenue ports like Singapore and toward "fat revenue" ports like Phuket in Thailand.
The plea deal says Francis and co-conspirators created sham companies to pass off as bona fide port authorities to the Navy. They then inflated the costs of services and goods like fuel, tugboats and sewage disposal. In all, GDMA overbilled the Navy by more than $20 million.
Six others have pleaded guilty to various bribery and conspiracy charges. Also on Thursday, Navy Capt. Daniel Dusek admitted to one count of conspiracy of bribery after he was relieved of command on USS Bonhomme Richard.
Earlier this month, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez accepted a plea deal, in which he said he accepted $100,000 cash, entertainment, travel and prostitutes from Francis for proprietary Navy information.
Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Edmond A. Aruffo admitted to his role in the scandal in July 2014. He said he worked for GDMA and used letterhead from several Japanese vendors to send the Navy inflated invoices. When the U.S. paid those invoices, vendors would send GDMA.
Navy Petty Officer First Class Dan Layug pleaded guilty, saying he accepted a “bucket list” of electronic gadgets, as well as $10,000 in cash, from Francis and provided the defense contractor with classified information.
Alex Wisidagama, a GDMA company manager and Francis’ cousin, admitted in court to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.
The first to plead guilty in the investigation, senior Navy criminal investigator John Beliveau II said he used his law enforcement training to help Francis avoid detection. Francis paid him with envelopes of cash and travel to Virginia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Another Navy commander, Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, has pleaded not guilty to his alleged involvement.
Read more details about what Francis pleaded guilty to by clicking here.
A North County senior care facility is turning away visitors to protect residents from a recent flu outbreak.
When residents started getting sick with influenza, the Emeritus Senior Living Center on El Camino Real contacted the county Public Health Department for advice.
Health officials recommended they place ill residents in private rooms, limit visitations, avoid new admissions, restrict group activities and serve meals in private rooms, not the dining room.
Center employees did just that, putting the facility under a “period of isolation.” A sign on the door reads, “Please refrain from visiting any of our residents unless it is an emergency.”
A county spokesperson told NBC 7 two dozen other senior living centers have experienced similar flu outbreaks. He said one strain specifically affects the elderly, which is why they are seeing more cases in this especially vulnerable demographic.
Seniors’ immune systems begin to weaken as they age, making them more susceptible to influenza and serious complications from it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths in the U.S. occur in people 65 years and older.
Scripps Hospitals have also put visitor restrictions in place to protect staff and patients from the flu.
The CDC says flu deaths in the country have reached an epidemic level.
The defense attorney for a man accused of a bizarre sexual assault in a Big Lots bathroom said the attack - and the pink Barbie costume he wore during the assault - were brought on by the use of drugs.
Opening statements from the defense claimed that Gregory Philip Schwartz, 41, was drunk and high on meth, and had been up for hours at the time of the assault. She said Schwartz suffered from drug-induced “transvestic fetishism."
Some evidence, including the stolen Barbie costume, was presented and testimony was heard from the victim, a Big Lots employee and a security guard who encountered the defendant the day of the attack.
Schwartz is charged with multiple felonies, including assault with attempt to commit rape, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and false imprisonment by violence in the February attack. He is also charged with shoplifting the dress he donned during the attack – a child’s pink Barbie cheerleader costume.
The victim said she entered the restroom while talking on the phone and went into a stall. She was getting ready to take a seat when something caught her eye.
“I noticed something in my peripheral vision, so I looked over and I saw a man’s bare feet…in the stall next to mine,” the victim said in court Thursday.
She said the man then climbed up on the toilet and peered over the stall at her before getting down on all fours and crawling into her stall to attack her. Schwartz allegedly grabbed the woman, held her by her neck and attempted to sexually assault her, police said.
The woman fought back and was able to escape and run to a store security guard.
Prosecutors allege that Schwartz ran back into the men's restroom to change out of the Barbie costume before trying to leave the store. The defendant was confronted by a Clairemont Town Square security guard and dropped a pair of women’s underwear on the ground before brandishing what appeared to be a screwdriver, then fled the store, according to the security guard's testimony.
An employee at a nearby hair salon said she was sitting in her car when the defendant opened the passenger door and asked her if she wanted to do meth, according to preliminary testimony by Detective Carmelin Rivera with the San Diego Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit.
Schwartz was later identified after surveillance footage from the store captured what investigators described as unusual behavior for several hours. He was also seen on camera entering the restroom wearing the dress he had stolen, according to San Diego Police Lt. Chuck Kaye.
Schwartz entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in March, and bail, which was initially set to $100,000, was raised to $110,000 for a parole violation related to a misdemeanor for child endangerment and cocaine possession conviction.
The prosecution said although the victim made it out of the alleged attack, the case is important for public safety.
“I have never handled a case like this before,” said Deputy District Attorney Mary-Ellen Barrett, prosecutor in the case.
“Based on the charges and what happened in the case, we’re taking it very seriously as a public risk and thankfully the victim came out fine. She’s injured and she’s scared, but she will recover and that’s all we want,” Barrett added.
If convicted on the assault charges, Schwartz faces seven years in prison. The trial is ongoing.
Escondido police arrested a 32-year-old mother after they discovered her 3-year-old child left locked in a car alone at Westfield North County mall, officers said.
Myngan Le of Escondido was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and booked in the Vista Detention Facility.
Police said her daughter was found in the car on Wednesday afternoon, crying, sweating profusely and had skin that was red and flushed. The girl also had an “extremely elevated pulse,” police said. Police said the girl also was soaking wet.
The daytime temperature was 72 degrees, but police said temperatures were “significantly higher” inside the car.
Responding to a call just before 2 p.m., officers had to break the vehicle window open to pull the girl out, according to a news release from the Escondido Police Department.
The three-year-old girl was taken to Palomar Medical Center for treatment and later released to a family member. Child Protective Services was also notified of the matter, police said.
Police said the case was an example of why people should never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, calling it extremely dangerous.
“However short an errand may be, it is not worth the potential danger to a child’s health to leave them unattended inside a vehicle,” according to the news release prepared by Escondido police Sgt. Kevin Toth.
When NBC 7 went to the home of Le, a family member said "no comment."
