Detectives are trying to track down anyone who knew a San Diego County woman whose body was found in a Washington river last year.

On Jan. 10, 2014, the body of 61-year-old Maria Guadalupe Vega was pulled from the Spokane River, according to Spokane County Sheriff’s officials.

After a year-long investigation, Spokane detectives decided to come to San Diego to find friends and associates of Vega’s, who may have also gone by the name Rosalba Robayo Blanco.

By talking with her acquaintances, investigators are hoping to find out why Vega traveled to the Spokane area or more about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Vega, a Mexican citizen, lived in Oceanside and Encinitas and worked in the San Diego area for several years as a nanny. She also made frequent trips to Tijuana, detectives say.

If you know anything about Vega, call the Crime Stoppers of Washington’s Inland Northwest at 1-800-222-TIPS. You can also submit a tip through their website.

Air Force One touched down at San Francisco International Airport on Thursday evening, so that President Barack Obama can raise cash for the Democrats and deliver the keynote address at Stanford University regarding cyber security.

The president arrived aboard Air Force One, which touched down about 5:15 p.m. at San Francisco International Airport.

On Friday, his entourage heads to Palo Alto, where Obama will address the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. President Obama is expected to announce an executive order to encourage information-sharing between the private sector and the government, NBC News reported Thursday.

It's the first time a sitting president will speak at Stanford  since 1975, according to Stanford. That's when then-President Gerald Ford dedicated the Crown Quadrangle at the Stanford Law School.

President Herbert Hoover addressed students at Stanford in 1932, according to Stanford Report, and President Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the elite private university in 1903.  President Bill Clinton was a visitor to campus during his presidency, but in his private capacity as a Stanford parent to daughter Chelsea Clinton.

"We are honored to host this White House summit at Stanford University and are excited to play a pivotal role in convening experts from government, industry and academia," Amy Zegart, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution said in a statement. The summit will be livestreamed here.

The White House said the summit will help shape "public and private sector efforts to protect American consumers and companies from growing cyber threats." Afterward, Obama will host a roundtable with Silicon Valley business leaders. Friday evening, he will speak at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in San Francisco.

The president is then departing from SFO on Saturday and flying to Palm Springs in Southern California.

A dog missing for two years has been reunited with her owner thanks to the help of a neighbor, animal control and an unfinished breakfast sandwich.

Annie, a black and tan mixed terrier, was reunited with her owner June Nicolaus this week after disappearing in November 2012. She ran away from her owner's Manchester Township, New Jersey, home three months after being adopted, police said.

Manchester Township Animal Control officers believe Annie survived in the woods near Nicolaus' home for two years before being discovered. Apparently a homeowner had been feeding the dog since June 2014, police said.

But it wasn't until Tuesday when they called animal control. Officer Margaret Dellapietro came to the neighborhood and was able to lure Annie into a cage using a half-eaten breakfast sandwich.

Annie had lost her collar, was dirty and had matted hair, but a microchip allowed Dellapietro to reunite the dog with Nicolaus.

"In the back of my mind, I always held out hope," Nicolaus said in a police release. "Miracles do happen. I was over the moon."

Despite living in the elements for two years, Annie is said to be doing well.

There was a bit of disorder in a South Florida court when an 80-year-old woman facing charges of resisting arrest and violating an injunction called a judge "sweetheart" and asked if he would take her out for breakfast Thursday.

Dolores Sheinis had Broward Judge John Hurley cracking up after he ordered her to wear a GPS ankle bracelet for violating an injunction to stay away from her ex-husband.

"I don't particularly feel like keeping an 80-year-old woman in the jail who has no criminal record, but this is your second warning: Don't go around him again," Hurley said.

"I haven't bothered him for 31 years, why would I bother him now?" Sheinis cracked. "I swear to God and all that's holy on a stack of bibles, I will never go near him, talk to him, call him or even look at him."

"Ma'am, have you ever thought of doing a stand-up routine?" Hurley asked.

"If you pay me good money, sweetheart, I'll be there. I'm really short of funds," she replied.

"Ma'am, I have to tell you something: You seem like you have a great wit about you," Hurley said.

"I do, sir. Sweetheart, that's the only thing I have," said Sheinis, who records showed was arrested Wednesday in Coconut Creek.

"I haven't been called 'sweetheart' in this courtroom since I guess Mr. Miller took over," Hurley said.

"Does that mean you're taking me for breakfast?" Sheinis asked.

"Let me ask you something, ma'am. How have I done as a judge today? So far, how am I doing?" Hurley asked.

"Not bad, but you could do better," Sheinis shot back.

"You brightened my day, ma'am," Hurley responded.

"That's what the last guy said," Sheinis said.

A man missing since a pontoon boat crash at the Jersey Shore last summer has turned himself into authorities after allegedly faking his death.

Andrew Biddle, 45, turned up at Atlantic County Superior Court with his attorney on Thursday afternoon to surrender to authorities, Egg Harbor Township police tell NBC10.

The professional boater has been missing since July 20, 2014, when a pontoon boat he was piloting collided with an unlit buoy right off Longport, New Jersey. Biddle and a passenger were thrown into the water. The passenger was found ashore, but Biddle went missing.

Within weeks of the crash, police told NBC10's Ted Greenberg they didn't believe it was an accident and suspected that Biddle was still alive.

Egg Harbor Township police had charged Biddle with several counts of theft by deception months before he disappeared for allegedly defrauding customers during boat sales. They sent out a flier to other law enforcement agencies asking them to be on the lookout for Biddle.

The boat involved in the crash didn't belong to Biddle. Rather, it belonged to a Douglasville, Pennsylvania, couple who say the man and his company stole it from them.

Biddle's attorney Mark Roddy said he's unsure where his client has been since disappearing.

Biddle was arraigned Thursday afternoon and was granted $50,000 bail.

The Dallas mom who wrestled a carjacking suspect to the ground after he slammed into the minivan she and her child were in got a big surprise Thursday: a brand-new van.

Video of Jessica Liesmann, 29, went viral Wednesday when she confronted the driver, who was fleeing police, after he slammed into her minivan at a red light in North Dallas.

Her 13-year-old son and her boyfriend were also in the car.

Liesmann, not knowing the man was involved in a police chase, immediately jumped out of her van, rushed over to the driver and slammed his car door into his body before grabbing him by the shirt.

Then, with the help of her boyfriend, she wrestled the man to the ground until police arrived, earning her a new nickname, courtesy of Dallas police: Mama Bear.

“He was just looking at me. I was expecting something to come out of his mouth, but it didn’t,” Liesmann said.

Officers arrested 40-year-old Artrai Alexander for aggravated robbery and evading arrest.

The shocking video caught the attention of the "Kidd Kraddick in the Morning" team on KISS-FM, who asked Liesmann to be on their show Thursday morning.

“I was like, wow! It just kind of caught me,” said cast member “Big Al" Mack.

Mack said initially he and the other cast members just wanted to talk to Liesmann about what happened. But the more he heard her story, the more he wanted to help.

Mack found out that Liesmann had lost her 4-year-old son last year due to a medical condition, and without her van, she wouldn’t have a way to drive her two other children to school.

Mack called Southwest Kia in Mesquite, and together, they teamed up to give Liesmann a new van Thursday afternoon.

He said part of the reason was due to the show’s namesake, Kidd Kraddick, who died in 2013.

“Kidd’s not here any longer, but I try to make him proud. So I said Kidd would not just send this woman out and say bye. He would do something. So that’s what we came up with. She needs a new car,” said Mack.

When Mack and employees at Southwest Kia presented the van to Liesmann, she immediately started crying as she first sat in the driver’s seat.

“I was just completely shocked at what happened. I cannot tell you how grateful I am. I really am. And every time I think about it, it makes me want to cry,” Liesmann said.

“I just feel like I was doing what any parent would do. So thank you,” she said.

Liesmann also got an apology Thursday.

In his first TV interview, the driver who police say caused the chase and crash apologized.

“I apologize to them for this whole incident. I apologize and hope JT (referring to Leismann’s 13-year-old son, TJ) be OK and the other people that were injured as well,” said Alexander, from the Dallas County Jail.

“I accept that. God always says you forgive to be forgiven, so I thank you for your apology,” Liesmann said after NBC 5 showed her video of what Alexander said.

Behind the wheel of her brand-new van, Mama Bear couldn’t ask for more.

“We have some great people here absolutely. I’m proud to be a Texan,” she said.

A fire broke out in a Vista home Thursday night, leaving two people without a home.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department said a resident at 1227 Adobe Terrace called 911 after managing to escape the smoke-filled house, which spread to an attic before being contained.

Two people were displaced by the fire. No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

New changes are coming to the way taxicab permits are issued and regulated.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Board voted 12 to 3 to make changes that echo those adopted by the city of San Diego in November, according to a release from the city.

The changes include eliminating the cap to the number of permits allowed, limiting the age of operable taxi cabs to ten years, prohibiting salvage title vehicles from operating as cabs and places mandates on emissions standards to zero or low emissions vehicles, the release said.

"These policies will improve working conditions and opportunities for San Diego's drivers, many of whom have been waiting for decades for the chance to apply for a permit," said Council President pro tem Marti Emerald. "MTS, drivers, permit holders and policy makers can now all move forward and work together as team to rebuild and re-energize our taxicab industry."

Applications for permits will be available in April, but MTS said they will accept letters of intent from qualified drivers hoping to seek a permit in the future.

Once the application becomes available, priority will be given to those who submitted intent letters.

Emory Moe is worried about someone stealing his identity.

The San Diego man may have had his personal information stolen in the Anthem Insurance hack, so he's decided to put a freeze on this credit report.

"A freeze means nobody can open an account or any kind of loan with my social security number," Moe said.

A freeze through each of the three credit reporting bureaus is an effective way to stop ID thieves according to Eva Velasquez, the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

"It is one of the strongest fraud remedies out there," Velasquez said.

But it can also be a problem for some people.

Once you freeze your report, everyone is locked out. That means any third party, even people you might want to check your credit like banks, credit card companies, auto dealers, employers and landlords.

"So when you freeze that, you limit access to all the potential parties that use it," Velasquez said. "And you have to unfreeze it to allow them access."

Unless you are a victim of identity theft, freezing your account costs $10 in California and $5 for people over the age of 65. It is a single charge and the freeze is indefinite.

But if you choose to unfreeze your account there is also a charge, and another charge to freeze it again.

One positive is that freezing your report does not impact your credit score.

Moe says he's unlikely to add another credit card or buy another car, so the idea of blocking his credit report from scam artists sounds great.

"As long as there are people out there who could steal identity, I don't want them to be able to do anything," Moe said.

For more information, click here.

The final two women who authorities believe were killed by suspected serial killer Darren Deon Vann were identified Thursday.

Lake County, Indiana, Coroner Merrilee Frey said DNA testing identified the bodies found in October as Tanya Gatlin, 27, and Sonya Billingsly, 53. Both were last known to have resided in Gary, Indiana.

Vann, 43, is being held without bail at the Lake County Jail. He's been charged with murder in the strangulation deaths of Afrika Hardy, 19 and Anith Jones, 35, of Merrillville last fall. Additional charges have been delayed while police waited for Frey to declare additional women as homicide victims. In her latest release, Frey made no mention of the cause or manner of Gatlin's and Billingsly's deaths.

The case against Vann, of Gary, broke when Hammond police found Hardy dead in motel bathtub on Oct. 17 and determined that Vann had been with her at the motel. He was arrested the following day after police traced Hardy’s cellphone to him. Vann admitted killing several women and told police where the bodies could be found.

Gatlin and Billingsly were two of three women found in two adjacent abandoned houses at 43rd Avenue and Delaware Street. The third was Jones, whose sister had reported her missing days before her body was discovered.

The body of Kristine Williams, 36, was in a vacant house at 4330 Massachusetts St., and Tearia Batey, 28, was found in a vacant unit at the Dorie Miller Housing Development.

A body found in a vacant house at 2200 Massachusetts St. was identified last month as 41-year-old Tracy Martin.

Lake County prosecutors in January obtained five search warrants related to Vann’s case. The warrants were sealed and a gag order prohibits investigators from speaking publicly about the case.

A 10-year-old miniature schnauzer named Sissy walked nearly 20 blocks from home to an Iowa hospital where her owner has been recovering from complications of a cancer-related surgery, according to a report.

Nancy Franck told NBC affiliate KWWL this week that she thought her daughter, Sarah Wood, had brought the dog to Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, where she has been recovering for the past two weeks.

"I said, 'Did you sneak this dog in?' Sarah said, 'No, (Sissy) snuck herself in,'" Franck said.

The dog was "on a mission," she added.

Nancy Franck's husband Dale had been taking care of Sissy and the dog's brother, Barney, since she was hospitalized. Dale said he took the dogs out for a walk and thought they both came back in the house. 

Dale said he called the animal shelter and Cedar Rapids police after noticing that only Barney had returned.

About four hours later, he got a call from the hospital.

“They say, 'We have a little dog here,'" he recalled.

A surveillance camera inside the hospital lobby showed the dog entering through the automatic doors. Sissy also appeared to be sniffing.

Sissy had never run away before and had no idea where the hospital was, the family said.

Franck, who was able to spend a few minutes with Sissy, called the surprise visit a "big boost."

Detectives are still searching for anyone with information about a San Diego woman whose body was found in a Washington river last year.

On Jan. 10, 2014, the body of 61-year-old Maria Guadalupe Vega was pulled from the Spokane River, according to Spokane County Sheriff’s officials.

Following a year-long investigation, detectives from Spokane came to San Diego in search of answers.

Vega, who may have also gone by Rosalba Robayo Blanco while living in Fresno, used to rent a room in Oceanside before moving to Encinitas with another Hispanic family from Aug. to Dec. 2013, Detective Justin Elliot said in a press conference Thursday.

Their efforts to find anyone related to the victim were unsuccessful, but Elliot said they were able to gather a lot of new information from friends and acquaintances.

They were unable to locate the former room mate, however.

In Thursday's press conference, Elliot said it is "not uncommon" to find bodies in the Spoken River, but there still seems to be no link between Vega and Washington.

Her cause of death was ruled a drowning, but "foul play is a real possibility," Elliot said.

He did not say why.

Vega's last known communication was Dec. 11, 2013 and her body was pulled from the river a month later. Elliot said she was identified by fingerprints taken by United States Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1988.

There is no indication Vega had any children, but may have nieces and nephews in San Diego, he said. Detectives also believe she may have family in Tijuana.

Detective Elliot said "the history's been very limited," but the investigation is ongoing.

He and his partner left Friday, but may return again if they come up with any leads.

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office and the San Diego County Sheriff will continue to work together to solve the mystery behind Vega and her death.

If you know anything about Vega, call the Crime Stoppers of Washington’s Inland Northwest at 1-800-222-TIPS. You can also submit a tip through their website.

A man is in custody Thursday after Border Patrol agents found more than 31 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle.

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents at the Indio Station checkpoint sent the man, who was driving a 1999 Jeep Cherokee, to secondary inspection where a drug sniffing dog alerted the agents, according to Customs and Border Protection officials.

More than $404,000 in narcotics was found in 12 aluminum foil-wrapped packages in the rear bench seat of the Jeep. CBP said testing of the substance confirmed it was cocaine.

The Drug Enforcement Administration seized the drugs and the Jeep, and the suspect, a Mexican citizen, was also turned over to the DEA for investigation.

CBP said they seized more than 148 pounds of cocaine in just the last fiscal year.

A law enforcement officer shot a prison inmate in a men's restroom inside Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Friday evening, authorities say.

The officer was accompanying the prisoner when the two got into an altercation in a men's restroom in Terminal C, airport spokesman David Magana told NBC 5.

The officer shot the prisoner once in the hand.

***WARNING SOME MAY FIND THIS IMAGE GRAPHIC - Click Here for Witness Photo of Prisoner Shot at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport***

Both the prisoner and officer were transported from the airport by ambulance, and no other injuries were reported.

Magana said air traffic operations have not been affected, but the area near the C10 security checkpoint has been closed as part of the investigation.

Part of Terminal C sealed off at DFW Airport. Man confirmed shot. Witness says "blood everywhere." @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/KAriUU2Fwt

— ScottGordonNBC5 (@ScottGordonNBC5) February 13, 2015

American Airlines, the only carrier with flights operating in Terminal C, is moving some flights from the impacted gate area, and airport buses are transporting passengers to their new gates.

.@AmericanAir: only a handful of 10-15 minute delays earlier @dfwairport but no cancellations @NBCDFW

— Ray Villeda (@RayVilleda) February 14, 2015

NBC 5 has crews at the scene  and we'll update this story with more information as soon as it's available.  As this story is developing, elements may change.

For all the money the city of San Diego needs to take care of "pothole issues", it has millions of dollars to spend on “capital improvement” projects.

Problem is it's taking forever to be spent.

That’s because the money comes from fees that developers pay to cover the financial impact of the "infrastructure" and public services their projects will require.

Right now, upwards of $80 million is going unspent.

Some $25 million is earmarked for downtown projects such as the Bayside Fire Station on Pacific Highway in Little Italy.

As originally envisioned eight years ago, it had a price tag of $24 million – which would virtually exhausting downtown’s entire current allocation.

The Rob Wellington Quigley-designed firehouse since has been scaled back to a $16.3 million budget, because of the recession and loss of redevelopment funding.

That would leave enough to build a new park in East Village, as well as other projects.

But no project can go forward until all the money for it is in hand, and delays often stem from economic slowdowns that keep developers from starting and finishing their construction work.

“That's just the way it works,” says Liam Dillon, who’s been covering the issue for Voice of San Diego since 2011. “ But if there's a secure funding stream – which there hasn't been in ten, twenty, thirty, forty years in this city – then these sorts of problems of fits and starts and not being able to spend money when you have it are just going to continue."

City officials say they've expedited contracts awards and permit processing systems, and that more money will start flowing – but it's lost some purchasing power

"You know, the time to do these projects would've been during the recession when people needed jobs and construction costs were at their lowest,” Councilman Todd Gloria told NBC 7. “Now that we're in a resurging economy, our dollars are not going to go quite as far, and that's a missed opportunity that, again, is very frustrating."

Gloria – with a sidelong dig at Mayor Kevin Faulconer – says there's still room for more reforms by the city’s executive branch.

"I think really, it goes to the top,” Gloria said. “And you have to have a culture at city hall that's really results-focused and really demands that things get done."

The mayor's team points out that 85 percent of the unspent developer fees are fully allocated to waiting projects, and that funding from other sources will be tapped.

"We have spent a lot of time at the city of San Diego playing by the book, and we learning that the book needs to be amended a little bit,” city spokesman Bill Harris said in an interview Thursday. “This mayor is doing that. He's telling us that we need to fix our system and get the money spent. And that's what we're going to do in this budget ahead."

Officials also note that the pace of developer fees has been picking up lately.

A new fee schedule calls for a 78 percent increase as of July 1 to nearly $7,800 per dwelling unit.

A man was arrested Friday after leading police on a short chase in the South Bay.

San Diego Police tried to stop a car heading southbound on Interstate 5 near H Street just after 2 a.m.

The driver failed to stop and led officers onto the State Route 905 and through Otay Mesa.

The pursuit ended in a quiet neighborhood at Coronado Avenue and Camino Aleta.

Officers said the driver was arrested and faces charges of driving under the influence.
 

A convicted Mexican mafia hitman could be free from his California jail cell in weeks after local law enforcement agencies endorsed him for parole.

Former mobster Rene "Boxer" Enriquez earned high praise for his work as a snitch from the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, and the district attorney's offices in LA, Orange and Ventura counties at a recent hearing.

It is now up to California Gov. Jerry Brown to decide whether he should be set free, despite the fact he is serving two life sentences for murder. A decision has to be made by Feb. 22.

This comes on the heels of a controversial appearance made by Enriquez at an event hosted by the LAPD in downtown Los Angeles,  where he gave a crowd of about 125 people a firsthand insight about the inner-workings of the criminal enterprise. He was given a SWAT escort to the meeting.

Former Orange County Deputy District Attorney Rudy Lowenstein is not convinced allowing him to go free would be the correct decision.

"Boxer Enriquez is the most deviant, manipulative killer that I have ever encountered in 36 years as a DA first and then as a criminal defense lawyer," Lowenstein said.

A 150 page transcript of the hearing obtained by NBC4, which came with considerable redactions, quoted him as saying he works as an informant for law enforcement on a daily basis, a role he plans to continue in if he is freed.

"I know I have really good career lined up with law enforcement, he told the parole board," Enriquez said.

Enriquez was also candid when describing his own past offenses, admitting he was a "horrific individual who had little or no concern for human life." Enriquez is the subject of the book "The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of 'Boxer' Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer." He worked his way up from enforcer to shot caller for the organization known as La Eme before his arrest.

In 1989, he pleaded guilty in the slayings of a woman, whose body was found in a vacant lot, and a man, leading to the prison sentence. He suspected that the woman, 28, was stealing drugs from him and ordered her execution, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing court records. He then targeted a member of the Mexican Mafia, giving him an overdose of heroin and shooting him in the head, the Times reported, citing parole records.

As well as being praised by law enforcement for his work, one letter from someone in the LA County Sheriff's Department suggested he was a suitable candidate for parole. The California Parole Board states Enriquez does not pose a threat to public safety and is suitable for parole. If he is freed he will have to register as a sex offender.

Brown's office has refused to be drawn on how the decision may turn out.

"We do not comment on pending parole reviews. The governor has until February 22nd to act," a spokesman said.

If anybody's getting rich in public service, San Diego's mayor and council members hardly seem to fit that profile.

Next year, city voters may get the chance to set -- and raise -- their salaries.

The mayor's job here pays $100,000 -- less than half of what it does in Los Angeles, and less than in seven smaller California cities including Chula Vista.

A hundred grand for a chief executive who runs a $3 billion operation is pretty much unheard of.

"This is the 'C Suite' of San Diego politics,” said political strategist Laura Fink. “They're making decisions that affect a lot of San Diegans, and we need to make sure that they are paid appropriately. Now they're not going to get rich either -- but we need to make sure the salaries are commensurate with the experience of the folks that we want to attract."

And in the view of the 2014-15 San Diego County grand jury, that’s not happening

"If this continues as it's going, and not really working as it's intended,” said grand jury foreman J. Robert O’Connor, “you're going to have people running for office that are independently wealthy or have no experience whatsoever.”

Attorney Robert Ottilie, chairman of the city’s independent Salary Setting Commission, added: "Not to say that somebody with a lot of money or little experience wouldn't necessarily be a good council member, but our job is to create the largest pool of potential candidates so that the voters can decide who's best. But right now we've cut out about 95 percent of the pool. That's not good."

O’Connor and Ottilie fear there’s too little incentive for people who could command much higher wages to run for office — or stay in it.

San Diego council members get $75,000 a year.

Tony Young more than doubled his salary when he left his council presidency for the Red Cross two years ago.

The salary setting panel — appointed by the city’s Civil Service Commission -- has spent 12 years recommending raises, only to have them rejected by council members who see approving them as political suicide.

The commission has suggested linking elected officials' salaries to a percentage of what judges or lawmakers get, or the cost of living index.

The grand jury has just weighed in this month with its first report, urging a charter review aimed at going to the voters with a citywide ballot measure in 2016.

A big question is whether the electorate will endorse the idea of higher compensation, as well as taking the final say away from the council.

"I think it's all in how you package it, how you put it to voters and how do you place it?” Fink said during Friday’s recording session for Sunday’s edition of NBC 7’s “Politically Speaking” program. “Are we putting it on the June ballot? More likely, the November ballot. How do we package and sell it voters as one of the pieces of reform that we need to move forward in this larger charter review?"

Said Mark Leslie, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association: "We'll be removing something that continues to be a sword that each other can be stabbed by, depending on who's running for what office. Or what the public wants to say about someone running for office. I think it needs to be removed and that this compensation needs to be set aside and no longer be political."

The city has until early May to respond to the grand jury's report and explain any disagreements or refusals to take recommended actions.

A man is in jail Friday after trying to steal a purse from a woman at a La Mesa trolley stop.

La Mesa police said an adult woman had just gotten off the trolley when she was approached from behind by man who grabbed the strap of her purse in an attempt to steal it from her.

She struggled with the suspect, 25-year-old Robert Mixon, but the purse strap broke in the fight, police said.

The woman then broke away from the suspect and ran to a nearby business and called police.

The suspect took off on foot back to the trolley station, where police were able to locate him by the victim's description, they said.

Police did a line-up on the curb and the victim identified the suspect, who was then taken into custody for felony attempted robbery.

La Mesa Police Department is investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to contact San Diego County Crime stoppers at 888-580-8477 or by clicking here.

A police dog was quarantined Thursday after attacking the 4-year-old son of his police officer handler in the Southern California high desert, leaving the boy with injuries were so severe that doctors had to amputate his left leg.

A neighbor who heard the horrifying screams coming from the young boy as he was mauled by Jango, a highly trained K-9, broke down the house’s fence and tried to intervene. 

"I run up to the dog and kick him, and I kicked him in the back hind quarters and he still didn't release the boy," Jeff Houlemarde said. "So I jumped on top of the dog and had to pry his mouth open." 

Another neighbor pulled the boy away from the dog. Rialto police say at that point, the boy's father, veteran Rialto police officer Mike Mastaler, rushed outside and put Jango back in his kennel. The boy, who was taken to Loma Linda hospital after the attack at his family’s Hesperia home on Sunday, remains hospitalized.

DeAnda said prior to the attack, Mastaler had released Jango from his kennel into the fenced in backyard to let him stretch his legs. The officer then went upstairs to change his clothes. His son was downstairs and went looking for his mom.

"This all happened within a two-minute time frame," Capt. Randy DeAnda said.

It's not clear what prompted Jango, who has been with the boy’s father for two years, to attack the boy. Since the dog was left unsupervised, Mastaler could be disciplined by Rialto police.  The officer’s image is not being released because he works undercover.

DeAnda, who called Mastaler one of the department's finest officers, said the whole incident is a double tragedy. In addition to losing his son's leg, Mastaler may also lose Jango.

"Ultimately there has to be a decision made as to whether or not the dog has to be put down," DeAnda said.

According to police. Jango has never showed any signs of aggression toward people he knows.