The Mexican government on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed undocumented immigrant last week by a Grapevine, Texas, police officer, calling the killing a "disproportionate use of lethal force."

Rubén García Villalpando, a native of Mexico’s Durango state, died early Saturday after Officer Robert Clark shot him twice in the chest.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deeply condemns the death of 31-year-old Mexican national Rubén García Villalpando," the Mexican government stated in an official letter to the police departments of Grapevine, Euless and the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.

The statement called the shooting a "disproportionate use of lethal force that results in the unnecessary loss of life and erodes the trust that should exist between the authorities and the communities in which they operate."

The shooting happened at about 7 p.m. on Friday night, Feb. 20, immediately following a high-speed chase on Texas State Highway 121 that began in Grapevine, but ended in Euless.

Police said Clark, a member of the Grapevine Police Department since May 2014, responded to an alarm at a building in the 3500 block of William D. Tate Avenue.

After investigating the alarm, and communicating over the police radio that he believed it to be a false alarm, Clark drove through the parking lot and noticed García Villalpando's car stopped in the entrance on the lot's west side, police said.

Clark activated his red and blue emergency lights, according to Grapevine police, but García Villalpando drove out of the parking lot and entered the southbound service road of Highway 121.

Clark then activated his siren and communicated by radio he was in pursuit, police said, as García Villalpando's car entered Highway 121 at a high rate of speed.

Dash camera video shows García Villalpando "weaving through and around the heavy traffic and driving on the shoulder of the highway attempting to evade Officer Clark," according to the official timeline of events released by the Grapevine Police Department.

Once García Villalpando eventually stopped on the shoulder of the Cheek Sparger Road exit, Clark "gives verbal commands to Mr. Villalpando to keep his hands out of his car," police noted.

García Villalpando approached Clark and ignored repeated instructions to stop, according to police. The dash-cam video shows Villalpando raise his hands and put them on his head, while continuing to walk towards the officer, police said. 

Villalpando was shot twice and was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he later died.

Clark has been placed on routine administrative leave. Police are investigating the shooting.

Police has shown the dash camera video to several members of García Villalpando's family and their attorneys.

"Much, much worse than Ferguson," said Attorney Domingo Garcia, referring to the officer-involved shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri last summer. "This is an absolute cold-blooded murder by a man wearing a badge and a uniform."

Both Attorney Garcia, who has viewed the video, along with activist Carlos Quintanilla acknowledged that Garcia Villalpando was wrong to run from the officer, and to approach the officer despite his commands to stop.

"But at the same time, you do not shoot an unarmed man with his hands on his head," Garcia told NBCDFW.

"He didn't lunge at the officer. He wasn't aggressive at the officer, he had no arms toward the officer, he had no weapons and yet the officer shot him twice," Quintanilla said.

Family members have stated they want to know why Clark did not approach Garcia Villalpando and cuff him if he was a suspect in a crime, or why the officer did not use a TASER instead of a pistol.

In a statement to NBC DFW, a Grapevine police spokesperson said that their officers are not issued TASERs.

Garcia Villalpando leaves behind a wife, Martha, and four young children.

"As his wife, I'm suffering," Martha Garcia said, in Spanish, outside of her husband's funeral Wednesday. "But my kids aren't going to have their father. I want justice for my children," Garcia said, wiping away tears.

Wednesday night, Euless police - the department handling the investigation of the shooting - acknowledged receipt of the letter from the Mexican consulate.

"We have received a letter from the consulate. We have a meeting scheduled with them in the morning," Lt. Eric Starnes said. "As for the video, we are still taking statements from witnesses and have more scheduled through this weekend. Release of the video has a strong potential to affect witness testimony and for that reason I do not have an answer as to when it will be released."

The fatal police shooting comes 10 days after police in Pasco, Washington, fatally shot another Mexican immigrant, Antonio Zambrano Montes, sparking street protests.

The following is taken directly from the Grapevine police timeline of the shooting: 

Mr. Villalpando gets out of the car with his hands up and stands outside his car, while Officer Clark commands him to stop. Officer Clark gives him further commands to not move.

Mr. Villalpando, contrary to clear instructions, walks toward Officer Clark while Clark is repeatedly telling him to stop. The video shows Mr. Villalpando raising his hands and/or placing them on his head, while continuing to walk towards Officer Clark. This continues as Mr. Villalpando walks to the front bumper of Officer Clark's patrol vehicle, off camera view.

Officer Clark continues to tell Mr. Villalpando to get to the back of the car. Two shots are then heard. Officer Clark notifies dispatch that "shots were fired" and he requests paramedics.

Garcia Villalpando was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he later died.

A North Texas volunteer firefighter is under criminal investigation after authorities say he posted a picture of two dead dogs on Facebook along with a message to his neighbors that he had warned them to keep the animals away from his house.

The photo on Hunt County volunteer firefighter Tim Conatser's Facebook account showed the two dogs, apparently shot to death, along with the warning: "Somebody didn't put any truth my warning. Keep your damn dogs on your property."

Conatser could not be reached for comment.

The Union Valley Volunteer Fire Department's chief Edward Ragsdale said he suspended Conatser after he learned of the Facebook post.

"This is an individual that's a volunteer with our department,” Ragsdale said. "We can't be responsible for his actions when he's off duty."

Still, the chief said, the tiny department was getting bombarded on social media with angry messages -- even death threats -- from around the world.

"We've had I don't know how many hits," he said. "We've had (them) from as far away as England, Portugal, Canada, every state in the union."

Hunt County Constable Terry Jones said his office has launched a criminal investigation based on the Facebook post.

He said he did not know who owned the dogs and added that nobody had filed a complaint.

News of the Facebook post spread quickly in Hunt County, where many people were critical.

"I don't think you should have put that on social media, and the way he made it sound is horrible," said Brittany Clark, who works at a Royse City insurance office.

The driver whose truck was struck by a commuter train after he left it at a Southern California rail crossing, resulting in a crash that injured nearly 30 people, will not face charges at this time, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's office.

The announcement came Thursday when Jose Alejandro Sanchez Ramirez, 54, of Yuma, Arizona, was scheduled to be arraigned. He was taken into custody after the crash, which critically injured four people, Tuesday before dawn on the Ventura County Line tracks between Camarillo and Oxnard, about 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Prosecutors released a statement indicating that they are waiting for results of the crash investigation before making a decision.

"The ongoing investigation of this matter is complex and involves numerous local and federal agencies including the District Attorney’s Office, Oxnard Police Department, and the National Traffic Safety Board," the DA's office said in a statement. "The District Attorney must await the completion of this investigation before making a formal filing decision.  While charges will not be filed at this time, the arrest of Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez by the Oxnard Police Department was clearly appropriate and lawful."

Sanchez Ramirez was released from custody Thursday, according to his attorney. He had been in custody since his arrest Tuesday about 45 minutes after the crash on suspicion of hit-and-run after he was found about a mile away from the derailment that left his burned truck mangled and three train cars on their sides.

His attorney said Wednesday that Sanchez Ramirez accidentally drove onto the tracks and made the situation worse by continuing forward in an attempt to gathered enough momentum to get the wide pickup over the rails. He also used his high-beam headlights in an effort to warn the oncoming Metrolink commuter train, which was bound for Los Angeles.

The heavy duty Ford F-450 truck, towing a trailer, straddled the tracks and Sanchez Ramirez could not back up because he was towing a trailer, attorney Ron Bamieh said. When his efforts to move the truck failed, he ran for help, Bamieh said.

But federal investigators who arrived in Oxnard Wednesday said the truck was not stuck on the tracks in the sense that it had bottomed out at the crossing. Investigators have not ruled out that the truck was somehow stranded and will attempt to determine why it traveled 80 feet down the tracks and remained there with its parking brake engaged.

"I don't think anybody would put a car or truck on... railroad tracks and not try to get it off if there's an approaching train," Sumwalt said.

Police claim Sanchez Ramirez did not call 911 and made no immediate effort to call for assistance. Authorities would not discuss drug and alcohol test results, but Bamieh said he was told there was no sign Ramirez was impaired.

"When someone goes through a huge trauma like that and not only thinking they almost died, but they think other people are dead and you don't know what to do and you're confused... what is a normal reaction to such an event?" Bamieh said.

Ramirez had a drunken driving conviction in Arizona in 1998 and a pair of traffic citations. Bamieh said the citations were minor and the DUI was too old to be relevant to the current circumstances.

A commuter train's on-board camera captured the fiery crash and might help investigators with effort to piece together the events that led to the derailment. The video, taken from the outward-facing camera on the front car of the Metrolink train, was sent back to the Washington home of the National Transportation Safety Board for analysis, board member Robert Sumwalt said.
 

California voters overwhelmingly see the state's ongoing water shortage as a serious problem, according to a Field Poll released Thursday.

Nearly 95 percent consider the shortage serious, and of those 68 percent find it extremely serious, according to the poll. Nearly three-quarters of people in San Francisco perceive the shortage as extremely serious, compared to just under two-thirds in Los Angeles County, according to the poll.

California is entering its fourth year of drought with lower than normal rain and snow falling on the state that leads the nation in agriculture production. Below-average snowfall in the Sierra Nevada range has been a consistent problem, leaving the state's major reservoirs at critically low levels.

Springtime water runoff from the mountains' melting snow provides an estimated 25 million Californians with water.

At the University of California-Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Laboratory site near Donner Summit, there is only about 1 foot of snow on the ground. That's lower for late February than all of the dry winters in the last 70 years, according to this week's U.S. Drought Monitor report.

Snow depth at the Donner Summit site, where the usual maximum snow depth is around 12 feet, has not exceeded 3 feet this winter.

As for what to do about the problem, the poll said more than half of those asked believe government restrictions on building new water storage should be relaxed; 38 percent disagree. In January 2014 Gov. Jerry Brown called on Californians to reduce water use by 20 percent. It's a goal the state has had trouble meeting on a consistent monthly basis.

The poll also said that in 1977 amid another long-term drought about half of Californian voters felt the situation was extremely serious.

Scattered showers were reported in California earlier this week, but the state needs a series of significant storms packing large amounts of snow to gain a drought relief foothold. Exceptional drought conditions improved in Kern and adjacent Tulare counties , according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday.

"But otherwise the Golden State remained locked in a yearslong drought," according to the Drought Monitor statement.

More than 41 percent of California remains under exceptional drought, the most severe category listed by the Drought Monitor. More than 93 percent of California is under severe drought this week.
 

A flea-ridden, year-old dog was allegedly so neglected in an Orange County backyard that he had to chew off part of one leg to free himself from being entangled, said prosecutors who are accusing the dog's owner of animal abuse.

Samer Samir Ibrahim, 23, was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, accused of ignoring his dog, Rocky, in his Westminster backyard for six days in November, while Rocky's back right foot became entangled, prosecutors said Wednesday.

With blood flow cut off to the dog's leg, the 11-month-old German Shepherd chewed off about five inches of the entangled leg to free himself, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

Animal shelter staff reported Ibrahim to police when he brought the dog in for treatment — Ibrahim allegedly first tried to clean Rocky's leg with antiseptic wipes and covered the wound with a sock, prosecutors said.

"We removed the bandage and it was definitely a hard thing to see — he had essentially just chewed off most of his foot," said Dr. Maria Bromme, of Alicia Pet Care Center in Mission Viejo, where Rocky eventually underwent surgery.

The leg wound isn't the only complaint prosecutors had over how Ibrahim cared for Rocky. They allege that Rocky was kept in the backyard, where he caught fleas and weighed significantly less than other German shepherds.

Ibrahim faces a maximum charge of one year in jail if he's convicted of the misdemeanor counts he's facing of animal abuse and keeping an animal without proper care, according to the DA's office. He is in court Thursday to enter his plea in the case.

Rocky had the rest of his right leg amputated and has been adopted by a new family.

A New York City Department of Social Services worker who had been charged with assault as a hate crime after law enforcement sources said she allegedly grabbed a woman by the hair at a Manhattan subway station, threw her into a pole and made racial remarks has been cleared of wrongdoing, and police say her arrest stemmed from a witness misidentifying her at the scene. 

The arrest of the 43-year-old woman in connection with the attack inside the 145th Street A-C-B-D station around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday has been voided, the NYPD said Thursday afternoon.

The reversal came about 12 hours after the NYPD announced her arrest on hate crime charges. 

It's not clear how police realized her arrest was based on misinformation, nor is it known if they have another suspect in the case. 

In the office, knowledge is power.

A new survey suggests that many company employees' jobs could be on the line, all because members of the support staff have overheard some incriminating conversations.

The Chicago-based career services site CareerBuilder conducted a national online survey through Harris Poll and asked 500 support staff employees about the conversations they have overheard. Those in the survey identified themselves as custodians, janitors, mailroom attendants, security guards, receptionists, facilities maintenance workers, housekeepers, administrative assistants and maintenance workers.

The results showed a staggering 11 percent of support staff workers have stumbled upon information that could cause someone to be fired, and 53 percent have overheard confidential conversations at work. The information leakage also comes from pieces of evidence left out in the open or in the trash can.

The people included in the survey also offered anecdotes about the things they have found or overheard. More than half of them -- 62 percent -- have heard other employees complaining about the boss or their co-workers. Others have picked up on conversations with more personal themes, like romantic relationships between co-workers (20 percent) or setting up another co-worker for failure (11 percent).

Among the snippets of personal information and incriminating evidence found in the trash -- or even in full view on a desk -- were a list of employee salaries, a photo of a partially dressed co-worker, an old love letter from one co-worker to another, a predetermination request for a breast augmentation procedure, a pregnancy test, a letter from the boss's mistress and a full set of keys for the entire facility.

Pitcher Brady Aiken, first overall in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, will not be playing for the Houston Astros as anticipated.

Instead, the Cathedral Catholic High School alum will be pitching for IMG Academy, according to an announcement made Thursday.

Sports Illustrated reported the news saying the Astros and Aikens failed to reach a deal after a ligament tear was discovered by doctors in July 2014.

The sports magazine reports Aiken will be eligible for the 2015 draft. 

The recent approval of a dense development project in Carmel Valley is getting the attention in San Diego's Bay Park neighborhood.

Real estate agent James Lamattery is going door to door in the community he's lived in for about 25 years,  handing out fliers and asking for input.

Lamattery is talking about this, the most recent plan for the future of the far western portion of Clairemont and Linda Vista.

The 256 page report presented to a community planning group earlier this week includes plans for more growth and new trolley stops along Morena Blvd.

What this draft does not include is a very controversial idea to double the height limits from 30 to 60 feet.

After strong opposition from the community, San Diego City Councilmember Lorie Zapf wrote a letter asking the height changes be removed from the plan. And they were.

The fear is basically what happened this past week, when the city council voted to allow the huge One Paseo project despite previous zoning, and a lot of opposition.
 

It started with a phone call from his wife: We’re out of dog food.

So Frank Lucido of Discovery Bay went to the store and bought a bag of Purina’s Beneful kibble style dog foods around Christmas. His dogs loved it.

But three weeks after eating it, his eight-year-old English bulldog Dozer is dead. And his 11-year-old Labrador named Remo and 4-year-old German Shepherd named Nella are still recovering from kidney failure, lethargy and diarrhea.

“I feel very strongly there’s a definite situation with this dog food,” Lucido said Thursday in an interview. “The doctor said the dog had been poisoned. The dogs are part of the family. It’s been real rough.”

Lucido sued Nestle Purina PetCare Company Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California alleging the dog food contains propylene glycol, which it says is an animal toxin used in automobile antifreeze, and mycotoxins, a group of toxins produced by fungus that occurs in grains. The suit asks for unspecified damages and to make sure Purina's products are "safe for dogs."

Lucido alleges that in the past four years there have been more than 3,000 complaints online about dogs becoming ill or dying after eating Beneful, having shown “consistent symptoms,” including stomach and related internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures and kidney failure. The complaints about Beneful report symptoms that are consistent with mycotoxin poisoning, according to the suit.

Since he filed the suit, which has gotten national media coverage, one of Lucido’s attorneys, Michael Ram of San Francisco, said at least 1,000 have come forward complaining about similar situations. The suit is seeking class-action status.

"I have never had a flood of calls and emails who said, 'The same thing happened to me.' The phone is literally ringing off the hook," Ram said.

Purina said in a statement regarding Lucido’s suit that “there are no quality issues with Beneful,” and said dog owners could continue feeding it to their dogs without any concern.

“Like other pet foods, Beneful is occasionally the subject of social media-driven misinformation,” the company said in its statement. “On-line postings often contain false, unsupported and misleading allegations that cause undue concern and confusion for our Beneful customers.”

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of propylene glycol as an additive in human food and animal feed, and Purina screens its grain to prevent mycotoxins from getting into its products, spokesman Keith Schopp said.

The FDA has not issued any warnings about Beneful kibble-style dog food. In a statement, the FDA said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Jennifer Dooren, a spokeswoman, declined to comment to the Associated Press on whether the FDA were investigating the food.

The results of toxicology testing on Lucido’s English Bulldog, Dozer, who died, are pending, according to the lawsuit.

The suit asks the court to expand the case to include other dog owners whose dogs were sickened or died. It asks for unspecified damages and restitution, although it says the claims exceed $5 million.

In recent years, Beneful has faced two lawsuits that were dismissed by the courts, according to Purina’s statement.

However, in a lawsuit settled in May, Purina and Waggin’ Train LLC agreed to create a $6.5 million fund to compensate pet owners who claimed their pets were sickened after eating China-made jerky treats.

At the time, FDA officials said the pet treats were linked to more than 1,000 deaths in dogs and more than 4,800 complaints of animal illness. Three humans were sickened after eating the treats.

For now, Lucido just wants to stop this from happening to anyone else.

“I’ve been trusting Purina for a long time,” he said. “ Purina Puppy Chow is what you fed your dog. But this is a situation people should not have to go through.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The family of a man killed in Chula Vista 13 years ago is hoping a new billboard and $10,000 reward will unearth new leads in the case.

Salvador Mercado would be in his late 30s today, raising a teenaged daughter. Instead, his life was cut short at 25, leaving his daughter with no memory of the man who should’ve raised her.

His unknown killer remains on the loose and his family is determined to do everything to change that.

They believe so much in finding a resolution to his case that they put up $9,000 for a reward. CrimeStoppers added the $1,000, bringing the total to $10,000.

“There has to be someone who saw something, there has to be, it can’t have just gone unnoticed,” said Angelina Najera, Mercado’s sister who was 15 at the time of his death.

Mercado was stabbed outside a home along the 800 block of Harris Avenue on Nov. 16, 2003. He was attending a Quinceanera party when uninvited guests showed up, crashing the party.

A fight broke out inside the home and guests dispersed. In the chaos that ensued outside the home, Mercado was stabbed in the street. He later died at the hospital.

The case remains unsolved and detectives continue to look for eyewitnesses or news tips.

While a CrimeStoppers spokesperson said investigates have seen a San Diego homicide get solved as a result of a billboard, the family is hopeful.

It was the family who organized and funded putting up the billboard, as well.

“People that were there had the opportunity to grow up, maybe to find a little stronger morals and conscience and maybe build their own families and have learned what it is to love a child” said Maria Najera, Mercado’s mom. “We’re not going to heal, we’re not going to stop thinking about it, it’s always gonna hurt, but finding his killer will be a start.”

Get those boots and sweaters ready, San Diego. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch from Saturday through Monday.

A cold low-pressure system moving south through California could bring snow to the 4000-foot level of mountains in San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

Travel to locations like Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead may be difficult if not impossible according to the NWS alert.

In our local mountains, we could see more than six inches of snow above the 5000-foot level and over one foot above 6000 feet.

Download the free NBC 7 app to watch the forecast and get updates on weather conditions.
 

If you plan to go the Kearny Mesa for a traffic court appearance, you’ll soon need to make an appointment first.

Hoping to make the process more efficient, San Diego Superior Court’s Kearny Mesa Traffic Court will require all those who must appear in the courtroom to schedule it in advance, effective March 1.

A reduction in staff and a high volume of cases forced the change, officials say.

“This will make a traffic court appearance operate more smoothly for the public,” said Mike Roddy, executive officer of the Superior Court, in a statement.

Last fiscal year, that traffic court processed more than 170,000 cases.

You can make an appointment three ways: on the court’s website, calling the court at (858) 634-1800 or in person at the public counters.

The Kearny Mesa facility is also rolling out new express payment windows outside so visitors don’t have to wait in line for security.

Walk-in services without an appointment will still be available at the court’s North County, East County and South County branches.

The change to appointments first is similar to policies in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino superior courts.
 

A measure passed by voters last November that reduced crimes from felonies to misdemeanors also resulted in the elimination of DNA collection.

Proposition 47 apparently ended up reducing the number of DNA samples collected from suspects, which law enforcement and government agencies use to find suspects in violent crimes such as rape and murder.

Because the proposition lowered many non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, these now lower-rung criminals are not being required to submit the same samples they would have before.

With less DNA in the system, investigators say it makes it harder to solve older crimes and just because a criminal was caught for petty theft, doesn't necessarily mean they haven't or wont commit a violent crime.

The proposed solution is corrective legislation allowing DNA collection from everyone convicted of crimes lowered to misdemeanors by Prop 47.

But criminal defense attorney Marc Carlos said it's not as simple as just amending the previous law.

"The problem is that the voters voted on this initiative and this initiative only, the way it was written, so it's going to be difficult...without having a full vote once again," Carlos said.

Pam Lewis who owns Allen's Flowers thinks the DNA testing is a good idea and allows law enforcement to keep track of violent criminals.

"I do believe that even if it's a misdemeanor or petty theft that, you know, it's safer to be tracked," Lewis said.

But down the block, Jeremy Price feels differently.

"There's already enough infringement on our privacy and our personalities in general," Price said. "I don't think that we need to invite more."

Carlos said the jails are dangerous for those inside those who commit petty thefts, beer runs and low-grade drug offenses are better off outside the jail walls.

"I think, though, what the public needs to be aware of is that they're not talking about violent people who now are being tested for DNA," Carlos said. "This are essentially non-violent offenders."

The other question pending in the courts is whether the 225,000 samples already in the state database can be used to solve past crimes.

Last year, the San Ysidro School District was on the brink of fiscal insolvency, at risk of being taken over by the state, in a bitter labor dispute with its teacher’s union and answering to county officials about its $4 million budget hole.

On Thursday, the new interim superintendent is projecting a positive certification from the San Diego County Office of Education after submitting a draft budget that projects $1.4 million reserves for the current and next two fiscal years.

“All I can tell you is this: I don’t know what happened before and I don’t know when it happened,” said Interim Superintendent Edward Velasquez. “Based on what I know, now looking at the budget, looking at the Governor’s January proposed budget, we will do fine.”

The small South Bay elementary school district, which has an annual spending plan of $36.4 million, accepted help in April 2013 from a financial adviser with the county in an attempt to stave off a state intervention.

Assistant Superintendent Lora Duzyk with the County Office of Education said she hasn’t yet reviewed the draft budget submitted by the San Ysidro School District, which is the only district in the county with a negative rating.

She said the school district continues to deficit spend.

“Deficit spending is a problem because that means they’re spending more than they receive, which is what got them into trouble in the first place,” Duzyk said.

Dena Whittington, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services, said the district was able to project the required 3 percent reserves for the next three budget years because of increases to projected LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) funding, locally controlled money.

The district is also negotiating a deal with a contractor who won a $12 million settlement against the district. The settlement agreement would include reinstating the contract and would help save the district legal fees in appealing the case.

Board President Antonio Martinez said he was pleased.

“I think it’s great news,” Martinez said. “I’ve been there two years and it’s the best news I’ve had in those two years.”

But he recognized the work is far from over.

“The way we got to this point is not something that happened overnight,” he said “It's been years in the making.”

Last fall, San Ysidro teachers went on a three-day strike following a year and a half of tough bargaining. The contentious labor dispute ended with a slight pay bump for teachers.

The union repeatedly pointed to forensic accounting by the California Teacher’s Association that said the district had money in restricted funds that could be used.

President of the San Ysidro teacher’s union Carol Wallace said she wasn’t surprised by Thursday’s news.

“I’m glad we have someone now as superintendent who cares about the parents, students, teachers, classified employees and all stakeholders in the district, and not just their own personal agenda,” said Wallace. “The money was always there. And there was no reason for us to go on strike.”

A passenger on an American Airlines flight died after she had trouble breathing and was forced to give up her oxygen, according to a lawsuit.

The suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Dallas, by the woman’s husband, Joost Tallieu of British Columbia, Canada.

The airline declined comment.

Sharon Tallieu was on a flight from DFW International Airport to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in March 2013, when she experienced respiratory distress, according to the lawsuit.

She was given oxygen, which helped, but her husband told flight attendants she had a pre-existing lung condition and needed immediate medical care, the suit said.

He asked for an ambulance to be waiting when they landed, but instead she was greeted by workers with a wheelchair, the lawsuit claims.

“While disembarking the aircraft and over Joost Tallieu’s objection, a member of the flight crew demanded that (she) give up the oxygen supplied earlier by the flight crew that had been keeping her alive,” the lawsuit said.

She died about 30 minutes later, according to the suit.

A New York City couple allegedly kidnapped and tortured their housekeeper inside their home when they thought she was stealing from them, then drove to her home and ransacked the place while holding her at knifepoint, police sources say.

Devanand Lachman, 32, and Ambar Lachman, 31, have been arrested on felony assault, felony kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment charges, police said.

Sources said the couple, who live in Bayside, Queens, believed their maid, 54-year-old Daisy Machuea, stole money and jewelry from them. When she went to clean their home the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 13, Devanand Lachman and another man allegedly burned her with a plumber's torch and repeatedly hit her on the body with an object, according to police and the victim. 

Machuea told NBC 4 New York through her friend and housemate, Oscar Ramirez, who translated from Spanish for her, "They kept punching, one guy this side, the other guy the other side." 

Ambar Lachman then came into the house, and the three suspects put Machuea into a car and drove to Machuea's home on Long Island, Machuea said.

Ramirez said he was watching TV when the suspects knocked on the door. He opened it to find the couple and their accomplice holding a knife to Machuea's throat and demanding their valuables, he told NBC 4 New York. 

"The guy told me, 'If you move, the other guy will kill her," said Ramirez. 

Ramirez said they stole their cellphones and ransacked the home. 

The suspects eventually left and that's when the victims called police. Both went to the hospital, and Machuea was treated at a local hospital for burns to her face and legs, in addition to bruising to her body, according to police. 

Attorney information for the Lachmans wasn't immediately available. Devanand Lachman remains behind bars while his pregnant wife has posted bail. 

Police are searching for the accomplice in the kidnapping and assault, described as about 30 to 35 years old, and about six feet tall with a medium build.

Anyone who recognizes the man depicted in the police sketch is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. 

A newly obtained court document may shed light on why a woman has not been charged after her son was found dead in a freezer and her boyfriend shot to death.

The awful event unfolded on Jan. 16 when security was called out to a home on the Barona Indian Reservation.

According to a Jan.21 search warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 7 Thursday, the first Barona security officer to arrive saw a man -- 32-year-old Julio Ricardo Monggiotti -- outside with “an ax in his hand and was using it on the ground.” The officer asked if the woman inside the house was OK, and Monggiotti said yes.

Monggiotti went back inside, and a few seconds later, the officer heard one gunshot. Monggiotti appeared for a moment, holding his stomach and saying he had been shot. He then turned back inside, and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Elaina Welch, emerged from the home with a shotgun, the affidavit says.

Welch told the security officer, “He’s in the house. I shot him. I’m so scared,” according to the document. She asked to be taken somewhere else and believed she shot Monggiotti in the hand.

Saying she was 3-months pregnant with Monggiotti’s baby, Welch told the officer “she had recently been beaten by Julio and he had been forcing her to stay against her will.” However, Monggiotti’s mother told investigators Welch had used a bat to hit her boyfriend.

According to the document, Welch told investigators Monggiotti had been acting weird lately and was taking medicine for psychological issues, saying things that did not make sense.

“Elaina said Julio made her beat her own child,” the affidavit says. She said Monggiotti killed her 3-year-old son Roland, taped him up, put him in the freezer and zip-tied the freezer.

On Jan. 16, Welch claimed she unplugged the house phone so Monggiotti could not hear 911 dispatchers try to call her back after she reported Roland’s death. 

After Monggiotti was found dead in the house, Welch was taken into custody. When deputies obtained a search warrant for the property, they found Roland's body buried under frozen food in the freezer. 

However, Welch was released from jail days later with no explanation from the district attorney’s office. A spokesperson just said the case is still under investigation. There is no word on if Welch is cleared or if she will face charges in the future.

San Diego is moving ahead with plans to ban plastic bags, although a referendum to appeal a statewide ban is headed to the November 2016 ballot.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer confirmed Thursday that he has directed city staff to resume with the environmental review of San Diego’s proposed plastic bag ban.

“San Diegans treasure our natural resources, which is why I’ve made protecting our environment a top priority by releasing a forward-thinking Climate Action Plan and advancing the innovative Pure Water program,” said Faulconer in a statement.

He said the local ban would be for consideration by the public and San Diego City Council.

The Surfrider Foundation says San Diego would join 138 other California communities, including Encinitas and Solana Beach, if it approves the plastic bag ban. The group met with Faulconer on Wednesday to request San Diego’s measure be put back on track.

Last year, California lawmakers passed a law prohibiting stores from handing out single-use plastic bags for free, which would have gone into effect in July. However, a trade group turned in enough signatures Tuesday to suspect the implementation and put it on the ballot.

The American Progressive Bag Alliance told the Associated Press the ban would amount to a cash giveaway to grocers that would cost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Ban supporters say the move is a way to cut down litter and protect marine life.
 

The search begins for hundreds, if not thousands, of non-U.S. citizens who may have been forced into signing a voluntary return form.

A judge gave final approval Thursday to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Custom Enforcement, claiming its officers were using deceptive tactics to get people to sign the forms--which basically denies their right to due process.

Isidora Lopez-Venegas is just one of the people who signed the voluntary return that sent her back to Mexico.

“When I found out I had been lied to, I felt cheated," Lopez-Venegas said in Spanish. She was the lead plaintiff in the federal ACLU lawsuit.

"They didn't tell me what the consequences were. They were telling me that I could be detained for a period of time, and I have a son that I needed to take care of, and they told me they were going to send him to foster care,” she explained.

"Voluntary return is sort of like an informal deportation procedure in which someone waives their right to see an immigration judge instead accepts immediate repatriation to Mexico,” said Gabriela Rivera with the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties.

Lopez-Venegas was told she could fix her paperwork once she got to Mexico. For three years, she wasn't allowed back into the United States to see her family.

“When they got to Mexico they realized there was actually a ten year bar returning to the United States, even if they had US citizen spouses or children,” said Rivera.

The lawsuit settlement means those like Lopez-Venegas, who were tricked or forced into signing the form, could be authorized to return to the U.S. and go before an immigration judge.

"I'm really excited and hopeful that people will be able to be reunited with their families like I was,” said Lopez-Venegas.

To qualify as a class member under the Lopez-Venegas “voluntary return” settlement, an individual must:

• Have signed a “voluntary return” form between June 1, 2009 and August 28, 2014 and been expelled to Mexico.
• Have had certain reasonable claims to reside in the U.S. lawfully at the time the “voluntary return” form was signed.
• Have been processed by Border Patrol officers from the San Diego Sector or by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the San Diego or Los Angeles field offices.
• And be physically present in Mexico at the time of submission of application for class membership.

Potential class members should be wary of notario fraud. Only the ACLU and ACLU-approved service providers will be able to submit applications for approval to the government for relief under this settlement. The application for relief under this settlement is free, as are consultations related to determining class eligibility. Potential class members and their families should write to avd@aclusandiego.org or call 619-398-4189 within the United States, or from Mexico, use toll-free number 01-800-681-6917 to schedule an initial consultation.

Local representatives have reached out to Border Patrol officials in Washington D.C. and are awaiting guidance from their command until they can respond to the ruling made Thursday.