Two men accused of robbing a North Park dispensary at gunpoint, resulting in the shooting death of an alleged accomplice will stand trial, a judge said Thursday.

Kurese Bell, 18, is charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery in the April incident, and Atiim Smith, 22, is charged with attempted murder and felony robbery.

Smith is suspected to have been the getaway driver after his prints were found inside a vehicle police impounded following the robbery, a latent print examiner testified.

Another defendant, Jonathan Vincent Collins, 21, who avoided police for five months before being found by U.S. Marshals in Texas, pleaded guilty to robbery and gang allegations and is expected to be sentenced to 12 years in state prison on April 2.

According to police, two of the men entered the store in the 3800 block of Ray Street in the middle of the day April 25 and held the people inside at gunpoint.

The men got into a shootout with a security guard, resulting in one of the suspects being shot and killed. The security guard was also shot in the pelvis, according to testimony heard Thursday.

Bell was also charged in a robbery at a smoke shop just four days prior to the dispensary robbery. He was 17 at the time, but charged as an adult for the crimes.

Both defendants are headed to trial and their next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11.

A massive bronze art put on display Thursday in downtown San Diego has already done what the artist had hoped it would - open up dialogue.

San Diego is the first city in the U.S. to showcase a bronze exhibit by Mexican sculptor, Rivelino which addresses the right of free speech. 

“Our Silences” is made up of 10 bronze figures weighing approximately a ton each.

Each figure has a metal plate covering its mouth, representing the importance of freedom of expression.

“What this exhibit is about is precisely about making anyone who sees this anywhere in the world to understand is that it’s important for them to say what they think, to say what they feel,” Rivelino said.

With one important exception, he added, “Freedom of expression does not mean freedom of aggression.”

The exhibit also includes a "touch box," a cubic sculpture made of steel with smaller pieces based on the larger figures.

The sculpture has toured many cities around the world where it creates a different experience based on the local landscape.

Rivelino said in the three days of setting up the exhibit, his staff has faced 3,000 questions.

"That is just a sample of what will happen over the two months that this exhibit will be here," he said.

The Consulate General of Mexico partnered with the Port of San Diego to bring the exhibit to San Diego as a way to raise awareness about Mexican art in the U.S.

“For San Diego to be the first city, the stop in the US, I think speaks volumes,” San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer at Thursday’s installation.

The project also aims at strengthening common grounds between the two nations.

"Our Silences" will remain on display until March 15 in Ruocco Park at the corner of Harbor Lane and Pacific Highway in downtown. 

California appears to be facing a fourth consecutive dry year, with water reservoirs already at critically low levels, the results of the state's second snowpack survey suggest.

Snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where spring water runoff produces a vital source of water for more than 25 million Californians, are "dismally meager," according to the Department of Water Resources. The agency conducted its second manual snowpack survey of the season Thursday, confirming the below-normal levels reported by electronic sensors.

At Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento, snowpack was at 12 percent of normal for this time of year. Statewide, levels are 25 percent of historical average, according to the water agency.

The numbers are even lower than the previous manual survey conducted in late December. January is typically one of California's wettest months of the year, but precipitation has been well below normal after a few storms brought rain and snow to the state in December.

"Unfortunately, today’s manual snow survey makes it likely that California’s drought will run through a fourth consecutive year," DWR officials said in a statement.

Heavy precipitation and cooler temperatures would be required over the next three months to provide any reason for optimism around California's water supply, according to the agency.

The snowpack measurement is an important factor in the drought forecast because spring runoff from the Sierras flows into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which then feeds California's major water reservoirs. Without adequate spring runoff, those reservoirs will remain at critically low levels into the dry, hot summer months.

For example, the State Water Project's principal reservoir, Lake Oroville in Butte County, contains just 41 percent of its capacity.

State climatologists estimate the state would need at least 150 percent of normal precipitation by the end of the water year, which is Sept. 30, if California has any chance of significant drought improvement.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in January 2014 and asked Californians to reduce water use by 20 percent. State records show its a figure residents have had difficulty meeting.

A 28-year-old Carlsbad man is having to re-learn how to speak and write after a tragic freak accident involving a softball bat.

Mike Petracca was in Las Vegas on Jan. 18 for a softball tournament. Right before the third game, he was walking in between two fields when the bat flew out of another player’s hands and struck Petracca in the temple. Petracca immediately collapsed to the ground and hit his head again.

According to friends, Mike suffered a skull fracture and swelling of the brain.

He has Broca’s Aprasia, which means – although he’s aware of everything around him – he’s lost the ability to speak and do other things associated with that part of the brain.

“Two inches either way. Two inches higher would've missed him. Two inches the other way and we'd be having a different conversation right now,” said Michael Petracca, Mike’s father.

Mike is back with family and friends in Carlsbad. Most of his speech is limited to “yes” and “no” responses right now, but he’s improving every day. In just one week, he regained a significant amount of control and strength in his right arm and hand. He told NBC 7’s Candice Nguyen he’s able to eat and brush his teeth on his own now.

When asked if he feel frustrated, Mike said he was just happy to be alive.

“It's made me more proud of him to see the love people have for him,” said his father.

People from all over the world, especially from softball and LGBT communities, have shown their support with donations and kind words. Some of the donors are from as far as Australia.

“When you look at these donations and what people are saying who don’t even know him saying that – it just makes you feel good about humanity,” said Michael.

We asked what the outreach means to Mike and he said it means “everything” and “[He] loves them so much.”

To help in Mike’s recovery, you can make a donation here: http://www.gofundme.com/mikepetracca

There’s also a fundraiser planned for Saturday February 7: https://www.facebook.com/events/828725507188220/?pnref=story

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck admitted Thursday that mistakes were made in allowing a convicted killer to be a keynote speaker.

With heavy security, the LAPD escorted a hitman for the Mexican Mafia into downtown LA to speak to law enforcement and wealthy business leaders.

Beck said in a news release Thursday that he has directed the department to "more thoroughly review future events before committing LAPD resources."

The news came a day after the president of the LA Police Commission called for an investigation into the use of LAPD resources to arrange for the meeting.

Rene Enriquez, a high ranking hitman in the Mexican Mafia serving two life sentences for murder, got an LAPD escort to and from a secured downtown LA location on Spring Street where he was to give a crowd of about 125 firsthand insight about the inner-workings of the criminal enterprise.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said he immediately reached out to Beck with a message.

"Any resources taken off the street and used in this way, in my opinion, it was wrong and shouldn't have happened," he said.

Before heading back to prison, Enriquez signed copies of his biography to those in attendance. Police are expected to hold a meeting to talk more about the case next Tuesday.

New Yorkers packing the Roebling Sporting Club on Super Bowl Sunday will be watching the Brooklyn bar’s eight TVs to see whether the Patriots or Seahawks reign supreme.

Ryan McLaughlin, the bar’s manager, will follow a different contest — one played out at the beer taps.

“Bud Light will outsell any other beer that day, except maybe Budweiser,” said McLaughlin, who has worked the taps there for about a year and a half. But he’s “absolutely” seeing more people ordering craft beers like Great Divide’s Nomad or Coney Island’s Mermaid Pilsner, even during the Super Bowl, he said.

Craft beers — defined as beers from independently-owned, traditionally styled brewers making less than 6 million barrels a year — are more popular than ever across the U.S. But Super Bowl Sunday has traditionally been home turf for big American brewers like Anheuser-Busch and Miller-Coors, which can compound their worldwide cultural status with titanic advertising budgets.

Rather than try to compete on the grand scale, craft brewers say they’ll celebrate in their own small ways — unveiling a specialty beer, hosting a brewpub game-watch or simply posting a timely reminder on Facebook.

“We prefer word-of-mouth, social media and more organic advertising,” said Hilary Coalis, the director of marketing for San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits, which is growing rapidly and now distributes on both coasts. “We know it’s a big beer-drinking holiday, and we rely on our fans to make their choices.”

Stone Brewing Co., one of America’s largest independent craft brewers, has sworn off advertising altogether, said Nickie Peña. The brewery in Escondido, California, instead hosts what Peña calls "anti-Super Bowl" events. On the morning of the game, Stone invites its fans — national sales director Jason Armstrong calls them “true beer geeks” — to sample vintage or archived beers.

In 2013, American craft brewers collectively dethroned America’s biggest brand, Budweiser, shipping 16.1 million barrels to Budweiser’s 16 million, according to industry analyst Beer Insights. Craft beers have steadily grown by 10.9 percent over the past decade, said Julia Herz of the Craft Brewers Association, even as overall domestic beer sales have fallen.

“[Our fans] understand that instead of spending money on ads, we’re spending money on the product that we’re pushing out,” Peña said. “We’d rather create a product that’s locally made with high-quality ingredients, that isn’t watered-down, and put our money in that place, rather than putting our money on ads.”

At Top Hops Beer Co., a beer shop and tasting bar in New York specializing in craft beers, patrons said they prefer craft beers for the Super Bowl but are also picking up familiar brands for their friends.

“I like craft beers, Ommegang especially, but I think the general population is drinking Bud Light, Coors Light, and the other light stuff,” said Jonathan Spinner, a builder and designer. His friend Mike Warshaw, a plumber who was hosting his own Super Bowl party, said, “I’m probably going to buy a case of Corona, and Newcastle, but I’m into different-flavored beers.”

Ted Kenny, the owner of Top Hops, says he expects Budweiser and Stella Artois to sell well on the fourth Super Bowl he’s been in business. But he also expects to sell more craft beers than any other day of the year.

“I expect to sell more New England beers for people who want more themed parties — Sam Adams, Smuttynose,” Kenny said.

This year’s game has also provoked some friendly bets between brewers in Seahawks and Patriots country. Harpoon Brewery, with plants in Boston and Windsor, Vermont, and Elysian Brewing Company of Seattle (although recently acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev) have each staked three kegs on the outcome. The loser will serve the winner’s beer.

That’s another trend lifting small brewers: Drinking local. Small, independent brewers celebrate their hometowns, they say, and local fans respond by celebrating with their beer.

“More people are looking to buy local products and support businesses that are made or grown closer to home,” said Eugene Simor, the president of San Antonio’s Alamo Brewing Company. “That’s what’s driving craft, and the big guys can’t compete with it. It’s not an advertising or marketing thing. It’s people going back to the roots of what the beer industry used to be about.”

Simor has leaned heavily on local support to drum up Super Bowl business. Alamo partnered with Texas Public Radio, local academics and several local businesses to host a panel discussion of Super Bowl advertising and marketing. The panel will be hosted at the beer hall in Alamo’s newly-opened brewery in in downtown San Antonio. Simor expects a capacity crowd: 125 people.

Tim Miller, a craft brewer from Maryland, is hoping a sense of local pride can also restore some luster to old brands. In 2011, Miller resurrected National Premium Beer, an old Baltimore brand, with an eye on Baby Boomers nostalgic for a local favorite.

“Our market is male, 50-plus, from the mid-Atlantic, really loves the beer, loves the story, remembers it fondly,” Miller said. “Our plan is that during, say, the Super Bowl or Father’s Day, a father will tell his son about this beer he used to drink, their special beer.”

Craft brewers still face an uphill battle against the entrenched American heavyweights, however, especially during the Super Bowl.

“Over the course of 2014, 30 percent of the case volume sold nationwide was premium light beers: Coors Light, Miller Lite,” said MillerCoors spokeswoman Cat Corrigan, citing a Nielsen statistic. “We know that those beers will be the prominent choice for sports fans who are sitting down to watch the Super Bowl.”

Bartenders at sports bars know it, too.

“I predict Bud Light, Miller Light, and Coors Light,” said Pete Fecht, a manager at St. Mark’s Ale House, a Manhattan sports bar. “A football crowd always drinks the cheapest beer in the biggest quantity.”

Big brewers are paying handsomely for that attention. Anheuser-Bush is the Super Bowl’s exclusive beer advertiser, ensuring that spectators will get their fix of the brand’s iconic Clydesdales (and, now, golden retriever puppies). MillerCoors, on the other hand, is promoting its brands through live events likely to drum up outside media coverage. Coors Light is sponsoring ESPN’s Super Bowl party, Corrigan said. Miller Lite is sponsoring a Super Bowl party co-hosted by Rolling Stone magazine and featuring Aerosmith.

Back at the bar at Roebling Sporting Club, McLaughlin will have Bud Light on hand. But craft beers will be on tap.

“People ask for what’s local,” he said. “I’m a staunch craft beer supporter. It’s the beer renaissance here in the United States.”
 

A Southern California lawmaker wants to increase the legal smoking age in the state from 18 to 21 in an effort to make it harder for teens to get their hands on cigarettes.

Democratic State Sen. Ed Hernandez introduced Senate Bill 151 on Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.

“We can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines while big tobacco markets to our kids and gets another generation of young people hooked on a product that will ultimately kill them,” Hernandez said in a statement.

The bill is likely to face opposition from tobacco companies, who have again become major players in Sacramento, the newspaper reports.

The city of San Diego is settling a pension lawsuit for $70,000 after spending more than $2 million on outside attorneys.

In a gender discrimination case, it’s granting $875,000 in legal fees to a plaintiff’s attorney to whom a jury awarded $101,000 damages.

All that money could cover the salaries of 65 new police officers, or 25 percent of a new fire station’s cost.

When it comes to spending and defending taxpayer bucks, the city received frustrating results in those cases – for which the City Council is scheduled to approve payments next week.

The costliest lawsuit involved a woman who retired after 33 years with the city.

She was single, and challenged the fact that only married retirees get a "surviving spouse  continuance benefit" – half of a retiree's pension – on grounds of illegal "marital status discrimination".

The city's legal eagles squawked for 12 years.

"They're in the 'fight' mode, not in the 'solve' mode,” says her attorney, Michael Conger. “They've hired outside counsel that has really been most interested in churning the file and making money."

Conger isn't making any money from the case; he just wants the city to stop subsidizing married retirees' post-death benefits to their spouses – a form of life insurance.

"What the city's essentially doing is they're giving married employees at retirement a Rolex, and unmarried employees a Timex,” Conger analogized in an interview Thursday. “And they're defending the case by saying 'What's the problem? They both tell time.' That's essentially what's happened for 12 years."

Conger's getting $875,000 lawyers' fees from the city in the case of a veteran female lifeguard awarded $101,000 in a gender discrimination suit over not being promoted.

Similar suits by four other women in the lifeguard’s division cost the city $350,000.

In the pension case, Conger said, the city argued the spousal benefit is necessary for recruiting new employees: "The city's done away with the pension system since 2012 for everyone but police officers. Now they have 401(k) plans. And they still can attract highly competent people."

Conger figures workers could replace the subsidy with a dollar per paycheck.

Taxpayer advocate Richard Rider has one word for the outcome of those cases: “Insane”.

Rider, chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters, recalls that a three-year case he filed years ago saved county taxpayers $3.5 billion while running up legal fees of only $500,000, split among seven attorneys.

Noting that San Diego’s outside legal fees and payments to plaintiffs and their counsel are approved by City Council members, Rider observed: "They have a tendency to genuflect to experts…the most important characteristic for a city councilman is not intelligence, it's not education -- it's skepticism. It's even being cynical. We need more of it. We seem to have a dearth of it down there right now."

By way of response, city attorney's spokesman Gerry Braun pointed out in an email to NBC 7that Conger represents labor unions that opposed pension reform measures.

“The source of Mr. Conger’s frustration is the retiree health reform that was adopted by the City Council will save taxpayers as much as $800 million. Conger keeps challenging it, and we keep winning.”

Braun said the spousal benefits pension case was settled to "avoid another decade of litigation" – and that that Conger had sought greater damages, and attorney fees.

In the lifeguard case, according to Braun, Conger requested more than $3 million.

The San Diego Chargers may be one step closer today to getting a new stadium.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer unveiled the group of leaders that will be in charge of developing a plan for a new Chargers stadium Friday.

The Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group will be made up of civic leaders and financial experts. The plan will include the optimal location and the best way to pay for the stadium.

The mayor said the city has had plans before, but never anything tangible until this task force.

“This independent group will give San Diegans the first real plan in the past 13 years,” Faulconer said in a statement. “These expert volunteers will explore all possibilities to finance the project, with the clear direction from me that it must be a good and fair deal for San Diego taxpayers.”

The advisory group has nine members that will analyze new stadium options at the current Qualcomm Stadium site and in the East Village downtown. In the fall, the group will recommend one of the locations and then develop a financial plan to make a new stadium. The plan then heads to the mayor’s desk for final consideration.

The members of the task force include:

• Doug Barnhart, Chairman of Barnhart-Reese Construction
•  Rod Dammeyer, Private Equity Investor
• Adam Day, California State University Trustee & Assistant Tribal Manager of Sycuan
•  Walt Ekard, former San Diego County CAO & City of San Diego COO
• Aimee Faucett, COO of the San Diego Regional Chamber
• Jason Hughes, President and CEO of Hughes Marino
• Jessie Knight, Executive Vice President of Sempra Energy, Chairman of the Board of SDG&E
• Mary Lydon, Executive Director of Urban Land Institute - San Diego-Tijuana
• Jim Steeg, former NFL Executive

The mayor also said in following through with his initial promise to include members of the public in the final plan, a citywide vote would be held if there is broad support for the proposal.

Special Counsel to the president of the Chargers Mark Fabiani said in a statement that the Chargers have already committed to continuing their work on stadium solutions for the fourteenth year.

“We will be happy to share with the Mayor’s new task force the nine different stadium proposals the Chargers have made over the years, as well as the ideas produced by another City-appointed task force and by two separate outside experts hired by the City during this period.”

Fabiani added that they would also be willing to look at new ideas produced by the latest task force.

A report in January by NBC 7’s Gene Cubbison said the Chargers were less-than-impressed with the mayor’s initial proposal at his State of the City address.

It seems everyone has an opinion about the future of Qualcomm Stadium. Even NBC football analyst Cris Collingsworth gave NBC 7 SportsWrap his two cents.

Watch NBC 7 News Midday for the latest developments or catch the live stream here.

Anyone wishing to provide input for the project can email the mayor at StadiumInput@sandiego.gov.

San Ysidro High School received another threat – the eighth such one in two weeks – on Friday morning.

San Diego police said the school was temporarily placed into lockdown after they were notified just before 8 a.m. of the threat.

Officers swept the school’s campus and found nothing suspicious.

Officers said the school received a voicemail early Friday morning threatening a bomb and a possible gunman on campus.

The last two threats occurred two days ago -- also morning phone-in threats.

Friday morning, San Ysidro Principal Hector Espinoza issued a statement, saying the school, the school district and San Diego police are treating the threats very seriously.

"Although all threats to date have been 'low-level status,' rest assured we take them seriously and take all precautions necessary to protect our students, staff and community," the statement read.

Shots rang out when a carjacker attempted to take over the vehicle of a National Homeland Security officer in Delaware Friday morning, multiple sources tell NBC10.

The special agent was parking a government vehicle in a garage at 11th and Tatnell streets in Wilmington around 8 a.m. when a suspect tried to carjack the vehicle, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The agent discharged one round from his weapon in self-defense, DHS added.

The carjacker ran from the scene, but Wilmington Police officers apprehended the suspect.

Federal authorities and local police are working together to investigate the incident.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Professional Responsibility is handling the weapon discharge internally.

ICE is an arm of DHS.

One man is in jail after more than 30 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies teamed together to take down a suspected meth lab in Oceanside.

Officers from the Oceanside Police Department's SWAT, Special Enforcement and Narcotics Task Force teams worked together with the Drug Enforcement Administration, County Hazmat and the San Diego Fire Department to execute a search warrant on a 17-acre property housing an RV drug cook, according to Oceanside police.

Because authorities had reason to believe there was a working lab on the property, the execution of the search warrant required extra precautions, they said.

All 17 acres were searched by 36 law enforcement officers and Clandestine Lab-trained officers entered the RV containing the meth lab and secured it, according to a release.

More than four ounces of "freshly manufactured" methamphetamine was seized, as well as a number of other chemicals, including a high pressure cylinder filled with highly explosive hydrochloric gas.

Oceanside police said, "Due to the dangerous nature of the operation and its sheer geographical size," the use of three dozen officers and extra precautions were necessary.

The entire operation took seven hours to complete. Joesph Calcagno, 58, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and possession with intent to sell. The DEA seized some of the chemicals for evidence.

When you call 911 to report an emergency, you don’t expect to be put on hold but it does happen, San Diego Police Department officials said Thursday.

A member of the NBC 7 news team dialed 911 from a mobile phone Wednesday at 12:04 p.m. to report an emergency in downtown San Diego.

She was put on hold. After one minute, she hung up. At 12:07 p.m., she received a call back from a dispatcher who took her report.

When approached about the recording stating that 911 dispatchers were answering other calls, an SDPD spokesperson confirmed the call was not answered immediately and explained why.

SDPD received more than 200 phone calls in one hour that were handled by 11 dispatchers.

“We had 134 911 calls during that hour, and over 71 non-emergency calls just in that hour,” said spokesperson Lt. Scott Wahl.

Wahl confirmed the time it took our staffer to reach a 911 operator was two minutes and 41 seconds.

That high volume of calls produced the second busiest hour for the department’s dispatch that day.

In the day, 88 percent of calls were answered in fewer than ten seconds, 91 percent in fewer than 20 seconds and 98 percent were answered in less than one minute, they said.

However, Wahl said the incident is a rare one for the dispatch center.

"We strive every day to answer those calls as quickly as we possibly can and when they hang up, although their call still stays in queue, it takes time for dispatcher to call back," he said.

He went on to suggest citizens not hang up and call back multiple times because that loads up the queue and slows the process down even more.

Dispatchers have to return each one of those calls, sometimes leaving voice mail messages if their return call is not answered.

A fire at an empty La Mesa home early Friday left no one injured.

At approximately midnight, a neighbor saw flames coming from a home on the 4000 block of 69th Street. That neighbor called 911, then knocked on the door. No one answered.

No one was home at the time of the fire. Firefighters said residents were in the process of moving out and were not on the property.

They said the cause of the fire was likely a space heater left in one of the rooms.

A San Diego taxi driver says he was beaten up by a Navy SEAL. Now, he's filing suit against the SEAL. The taxi driver asked us not to reveal his identity in fear of retaliation.

The driver says he picked up a Navy SEAL and his fiancé from a bar in the Gaslamp and took them to the Hilton Bayfront. He says they paid their fare but as they were getting out of the car, the SEAL punched him.

“I was shocked. I didn't know. I didn't know what to do,” said the driver as he describes the assault. "The whole time he was riding with me. I did not have any words with him. We didn't have any conversation. Nothing. He was quiet.”

The driver said the SEAL, who told police he was a part of SEAL Team 5, punched the driver’s door window, hitting him in the head. As he tried to talk to the SEAL about paying to repair the damage, the driver says, the SEAL punched him again. This punch busted his lip.

According to the police report, the Navy SEAL said the window broke as he was closing the door. He told police in was “in fear of his life” because the cab driver “looked Middle Eastern, possibly from Iraq or Afghanistan. He also told police he thought the driver was “possibly a Muslim extremist”.

The driver is Sikh. He says he’s disappointed in the justice system because he came to the United States for equality.

“I came here so I can have justice. I can make my future. I can make my life better and this looks like it's a corruption," the man said. "I feel sad. I thought this place was the best place on the globe.”

According the report by San Diego Harbor Police, officers on the scene said it looked like the crack in the window was pushed in an outward direction and appeared as if the impact occurred from inside the driver’s seat. The report says the Navy SEAL offered to pay to repair the window but the driver refused and insisted on a citizen’s arrest.

The taxi driver’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, says the SEAL was initially charged but those charges were dismissed. A restitution check of $140 was sent to the driver from the city attorney's office.

NBC 7 reached out to the city attorney’s office and the SEAL’s attorney, both had no comment.

A Southern California pharmacy was robbed Thursday when a thief hopped the counter and stole prescription drugs, San Diego Police confirm.

Officers responded to the CVS on Westview Parkway in Mira Mesa just after 7 p.m. following a robbery of the pharmacy counter involving one or more suspects.

Police were investigating the incident as grand theft but have not said whether it is connected to a recent string of robberies targeting pharmacies.

San Diego Crime Stoppers has offered $1,000 reward to information leading to an arrest in a recent robbery at the Walgreens Pharmacy on Navajo Road.

In that incident, someone walked into the Walgreens just before noon on Jan. 21 and handed a demand note to the pharmacist. 

The note said the man had a gun and wanted oxycodone. The employee handed the man the pills and the male left the store in an unknown direction.

Officials believe the man also robbed a San Diego CVS Pharmacy on Eads Avenue in La Jolla on January 13 with a demand note asking for Roxicodone, a generic name for oxycodone.

Officials are asking anyone with information to call the San Diego Police Department’s Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

Two people were airlifted to a hospital after a fight outside an Oceanside bar, police said.

At approximately 12:40 a.m. Friday, police said a fight broke out just outside Larry’s Beach Club on Eucalyptus Street and S Tremont Street.

Police said a mixed group about 12 people, including witnesses and suspects, were outside the bar. By the time police arrived, two men were down on the ground with injuries. One had been stabbed, the other had a head injury.

A police helicopter found one suspect hiding in a brush and the other walking down a side street. Both victims were airlifted to Scripps Hospital La Jolla.

The victim with the head injury is in critical condition and the condition of the victim with the stab wounds is unknown, though he is talking.

Both the victims have been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. The fight is not suspected to be gang-related.

Oceanside Police are investigating.