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Bill Aims to Allow Video Taping of Police Officers

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Police in the line of duty are being recorded on cellphones, and some of the footage has been highly controversial.

While taping police in public is legal in California, critics say some officers use loopholes to keep cameras from rolling.

A bill introduced today is designed to put the issue into focus.

"It's simply observing," said San Diego resident Per Larson. "It's no different than somebody standing on the corner and watching what a police officer is doing, they just happen to be recording it."

Most recently, Los Angeles police were recorded on a cellphone as officers shot and killed a man on Skid Row on Sunday.

Police said he struggled with them for control of one of their guns.

When officers are taped, some react. And some say the current laws don't go far enough to protect citizens.

Thursday, one California lawmaker introduced Senate Bill 411, which aims to reinforce the First Amendment and underscores recording protections for civilians and police.

The bill states that recording public safety officers in the course of their duties does not constitute an obstruction of an officer, Penal Code 148

"There shouldn't be a reason why they couldn't tape," said Ray Regno of San Diego.

San Diego Police Department spokesman Lt. Scott Wahl said officers go through training on recording laws at a crime scene, during an arrest or in other law enforcement situations.

"There is no law that prevents you from filming," Lt. Wahl said Thursday. "But certainly we cant have people standing inside of our crime scenes or getting in the middle of an arrest that we're trying to make. It's not safe for officers, it's not safe for the public, and it's not safe for anybody that's involved in that situation."

When it comes to the law clarifying cellphone taping of officers, the local ACLU is reviewing the bill and said in part in a statement, "Generally, we support efforts to protect freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Where an individual is not interfering with law enforcement activity and is lawfully present on the property photographing or recording police officers is protected speech that should not be punished."

The ACLU adds that they encourage people to video tape interactions to promote transparency.

The San Diego Department emphasized the phones are best used at a safe distance.

The only state NBC 7 found where taping police in public on a cellphone is illegal was Illinios.



Photo Credit: KNBC-TV

Selma Youth Group Pushes to Rename Historic Bridge

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A youth group in Selma, Alabama, is pushing to rename the iconic bridge where white police officers attacked hundreds of black civil rights activists demonstrating for voting rights 50 years ago, saying the bridge's namesake Edmund Pettus was a Ku Klux Klan leader.

Students UNITE, a racially diverse group of high school and college students that provides mentorship and non-violence training to at-risk youth, has launched a petition to change the bridge's name, charging that its current one represents oppression.

“The name of the bridge should be representative of the city,” the group’s executive director John Gainey, 25, told NBC. “We’re very hopeful that it will be renamed. We don’t need a KKK leader’s name on the gateway to the city.”

The name “sends the wrong message," Gainey added.

"The legacy that Edmund Pettus had, including the things he represented — we don't want to honor that," he said.

According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, an online database maintained by the University of Alabama, Auburn University and the Alabama Department of Education, Pettus was grand dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan in 1877.

Pettus' KKK leadership is disputed, however, by Selma historian Alston Fitts, who told the Associated Press this week that he doubts Pettus was involved. "He was a pretty lousy Klan leader, if that's what he was," Fitts said.

As of Friday, the online petition to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge, launched two weeks ago, needed 41,000 more signatures for it to reach its 200,000 goal.

Gainey called that “incredible” response from supporters somewhat surprising. "We didn't really expect it to take off in the way it had,” he said. "I hope this petition will help to create a conversation.”

Any possible renaming depends in large part on support from the governor and other state lawmakers, who have yet to introduce a bill.

The petition is addressed to the Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, Selma Mayor George Patrick Evans and the U.S. National Park Services.

A spokesman for Mayor Evans told NBC that she didn't know whether Student UNITE had spoken with the mayor. The governor's office did not immediately return a call for comment.

The historic Edmund Pettus Bridge was built in 1940 and is named to honor Pettus, a Confederate general and former U.S. senator who lived in Selma, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

On March 7, 1965, hundreds of black civil rights advocates made a first attempt to march 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, to protest the disenfranchisement of blacks in the South.

As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama state troopers beat the peaceful protesters with bullwhips and billy clubs and threw tear gas at them. Dozens were injured, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), who led the march and whose skull was fractured in the attack. 

While the momentum to rename the bridge is high, some residents in Selma oppose that move, like the city’s first black mayor, James Perkins, who was elected to his first term in 2000.

"I understand and appreciate what the movement and the young people are, but changing the name is a bad idea," Perkins said in an interview. "I don't agree with it."

"The name of the bridge helps explain the contradiction that exists in America. Sometimes it's good to keep these images in our face," he said. "If you remove it, you have a tendency to forget where you're trying to go. It's the most valuable asset we have in Selma."



Photo Credit: Students UNITE
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Accused Vigilante Killer Arraigned

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A Westchester man was arraigned on manslaughter and murder charges Friday in what prosecutors are calling a vigilante shooting death of a rape suspect two years ago.

David Carlson, 43, is accused of shooting Norris Acosta-Sanchez in the driveway of his town of Deerpark home in October 2013. 

Prosecutors say the two men knew each other: Carlson encountered Acosta-Sanchez near his home in August of 2013 and they became friendly. Carlson hired Acosta-Sanchez to do odd jobs on his property and paid him with food, and he and his wife even took Acosta-Sanchez shopping. Over time, Acosta-Sanchez gave Spanish lessons to Carlson's children. 

Then on Oct. 5, 2013, Carlson learned Acosta-Sanchez was wanted by police in Rockland County on a second-degree rape warrant involving a 14-year-old girl, according to prosecutors. Carlson contacted police. 

Four days later, state police pulled over Acosta-Sanchez in a traffic stop near Carlson's home, and Acosta-Sanchez ran out of the vehicle and ran into the woods, escaping police.

On the morning of Oct. 11, Acosta-Sanchez knocked on Carlson's front door. Carlson grabbed a loaded pump-action shotgun and confronted Acosta-Sanchez, prosecutors said, and marched him from the driveway in hopes of alerting a neighbor to the situation.

He then alerted a second neighbor.

At some point in their interaction, Carlson shot Acosta-Sanchez in the arm and then shot him a second time in the head, according to prosecutors.

Carlson was arrested on a second-degree murder charge at the time.

His next court date in April 20. He was in jail on $100,000 bail and not available for comment. Attorney information wasn't immediately available. 

Aykroyd to Help Slain Cop's Kids

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Actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd says he'll make a donation to a fund set up for the children of slain Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III.

The "Saturday Night Live" and "Ghostbusters" star made the announcement during an appearance at the Philadelphia Flower Show on Friday. He was at the show promoting his vodka, Crystal Head.

Wilson died Thursday after being gunned down during an attempted robbery at a North Philadelphia GameStop store. The 8-year veteran assigned to the 22nd District was in the store doing a security check and was in the process of buying a game for his 8-year-old son when the gunmen entered.

Police called Wilson a hero who drew away fire from store employees and continued to shoot at both suspects, even after being hit. Two brothers, 30-year-old Carlton Hipps and 26-year-old Ramone Williams, have been charged with the officer's murder.

A trust fund was set up Friday for the 30-year-old officer's two sons, the 8-year-old and a 1-year-old. The fund is being managed by the Police and Fire Federal Credit Union. Donations can be made in person at the following branches:

  • 901 Arch Street
  • 7604 City Avenue
  • 8500 Henry Avenue
  • Leo Mall, Byberry and Bustleton Avenue
  • 7500 Castor Avenue
  • 3300 Grant Avenue

Checks can be mailed and made payable to:

The Robert Wilson III Family Memorial Trust Fund
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
901 Arch Street
Philadelphia PA, 19107



Photo Credit: Crystal Head Vodka

Body Found at Downtown Apartment Complex Pool

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A man’s body was discovered at a downtown apartment complex Friday morning, police said.

Police said the body was reported at 7:08 a.m. after an employee saw it at the Avalon at the Cortez Hill Complex. The building is at the 1300 block of 9th Avenue.

No foul play is suspected, police said, and the drowning appeared to be accidental.

Officials have not yet released the identity of the victim.  



Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Teacher Solicited Child Porn: FBI

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A Bronx High School of Science teacher who has earned national acclaim for his work with the school's debate team has been arrested by the FBI on child porn charges, accused of using apps like KIK and Instagram to solicit nude selfies of boys in exchange for money.

Jon Cruz appeared in federal court Friday on charges of producing, distributing and receiving child pornography. According to his bio on the Bronx High School of Science's website, Cruz teaches an advanced placement government and politics class with economics at the school.

Federal prosecutors allege Cruz used the chat app KIK to contact boys both in New York and out of state beginning last July, asking them at first to send him photos of their face and feet, as well as a "thumbs-up selfies," in exchange for hundreds of dollars in gift cards.

Cruz allegedly posed as a 15-year-old or 16-year-old boy who made money building robotics, and he told one of the victims he was a nerd "who had a thing for jocks."

Eventually, Cruz was able to convince one victim in New Mexico to send nude photographs of himself for a $500 gift card. That boy's parents found the gift receipts on their home computer when the boy accidentally left his email open, and they confronted him, prosecutors said.

The boy said he'd gotten $1,600 in gift cards from Cruz, and his parents contacted police.

Cruz initiated contact with another boy in New Mexico after finding him on Instagram, according to the criminal complaint. 

In a KIK conversation with another victim from upstate New York, Cruz allegedly wrote: "Can I keep asking things and asking for specific pix requests? I just want to make sure, the pics are between us, right?"

The 14-year-old boy sent a photo in response and wrote, "Sure but I still know why u need all these pics?"

Cruz said, "Can I be honest. That shirt sums up why you get to take my money. You know?"

The boy replied, "O yah lol"

Cruz wrote: "Pictures just have a huge impact on me. Seeing your feet and face and muscles and room and awards and stuff reinforce what a big deal you are." 

Cruz allegedly told that boy he went to the Dalton School in Manhattan and that he would be moving to the boy's town because his parents "do venture capital and want to invest in upstate New York." 

In another conversation, according to the criminal complaint, Cruz persuaded the boy to send a photo in exchange for $400 to $500, saying, "Redo the point pic please and let me see your bed more close as stuff in your room that shows you're a preppy, popular jock." 

Prosecutors said Cruz used three different IP addresses to access his two KIK accounts. One of the IP addresses was associated with the New York City school system, and used 154 times to access one of the KIK aaccounts. 

Cruz also allegedly used a photo of a former student who graduated in the spring of 2014 in his KIK profile and even set up a fake Facebook profile using the student's photos. That student was a member of the debate team under Cruz, and the two were friends on Facebook, according to the criminal complaint. 

The FBI executed a warrant at Cruz's home Friday morning and found a computer containing photographs of boys posing nude and two cellphones of boys giving "thumbs-up selfies." 

The FBI has identified four victims: two in New Mexico, one of whom sent nude photos; another in upstate New York; and a fourth victim, about 12 or 13 years old, who sent nude photos. 

Cruz has directed the Bronx Science Speech & Debate Team for 10 years, according to the school's website. He has been named the National Speech & Debate Association Coach of the Year, and was awarded the association's Distinguished Service Award four times.

Cruz was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the National Speech & Debate Association and is serving his second term as the president of the New York State Debate Coaches Association.

Cruz is also the faculty adviser to the Bronx Science Gay-Straight Alliance, the school's site says.

Cruz is being held on $1 million bail and has been suspended pending the outcome of the federal investigation.

Cruz's attorney had no comment Friday night. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Girl Scouts Swindled With Fake $100

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When a man was turned away from a grocery store for trying to pay with a fake $100 bill, police say he found more unsuspecting victims: Girl Scouts.

Police are searching for a man who bought three boxes of Girl Scout cookies with the counterfeit bill outside a South Pasadena supermarket on Friday.

He had tried to buy detergent in the Vons in the 1100 block of Fair Oaks Avenue at about 5:30 p.m. but an employee recognized that the money was fake, according to a South Pasadena Police Department press release.

The man, believed to be 18 and wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, then left the store, where scouts had set up a table to sell cookies.

He bought three boxes and received change from the girls. Their Girl Scout leader later discovered the bill wasn't real, police said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the theft to call 626-403-7280.



Photo Credit: Courtesy South Pasadena Police Department

NTSB Probes LaGuardia Plane Skid

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Federal investigators have downloaded the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the plane that skidded off the runway in a snowstorm at LaGuardia Airport.

The recorders from Delta Air Lines flight 1086 were brought to the National Transportation Safety Board's lab in Washington, D.C. after Thursday's accident.

The accident caused only minor injuries to six passengers, but the plane came perilously close to landing in Flushing Bay.

The NTSB says it plans to begin interviewing the flight's crew Saturday. 

Meanwhile, both runways have reopened at the airport after the passenger jet skidded off a runway and hit a berm, forcing evacuations, injuring people and grinding traffic at one of the nation's busiest airports to a halt for hours. 

The second runway at LaGuardia reopened shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, hours after crews used cranes to remove the plane from its final resting place, wedged on an embankment a few feet from the icy waters of Flushing Bay. Crews had to make repairs to the runway and other parts of the airport that had been damaged during the landing before the strip could reopen. 

The plane was removed to a hangar. Photos obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York show heavy damage to one of the plane's wings, and the front of the fuselage appears to be crumpled from the impact.

The plane, Delta flight 1086, was inbound from Atlanta when it slid off the runway at about 11 a.m. Thursday and careened into the fence during a blinding wintry mix. The crash sparked a minor fuel leak in one of the vessel's wings, and 127 passengers -- including Giants tight end Larry Donnell and star of the Bravo reality show "Jersey Belle" Jaime Primak Sullivan -- were pulled off the plane. Five crew members were also on the plane. 

About six reported minor injuries, officials say, and three were taken to the hospital. All are expected to survive.

Delta said all the passengers have gotten full refunds and that crews worked through the night to begin returning belongings to passengers. 

Passengers described feeling turbulence as they landed, like a rocking motion. One said the jet hit the runway and didn't slow down until it smashed into the fence, inches from the water.

After the skid, photos on social media showed the tail of the plane dipping into the snow; the nose was pointed slightly upward and appeared to be damaged. Other photos showed the front of the plane smashed through the fence as passengers climbed out onto a wing and trudged through snow to safety. 

LaGuardia's two runways were shut down for hours after the skid. One later reopened, but nearly 900 flights out of the airport were canceled.

The NTSB and FAA's investigation comes as some raise questions about when airports should close runways due to wintry weather. 

About 3 inches of snow had fallen in New York at the time of the accident, but wind, sleet and snowflakes combined to hamper visibility and make paved surfaces slippery. NBC 4 New York meteorologists say freezing fog was observed near LaGuardia around 11 a.m., which likely coated the already snow-topped runways with an icy glaze and may have contributed to the accident.

There's no rule about how much snow or ice leads to a runway closing. Instead, the Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to measure runways during winter storms to assure planes can safely brake: A specially equipped vehicle races down the runway with a computer checking braking action, and if the runway fails the test it must be closed.

The runway had been plowed minutes before, and two other pilots had reported good braking conditions, said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport. It appeared the pilot did everything he could to slow the aircraft, he said

In October, a Delta MD-88 flight from Atlanta with about 63 people on board struck the concrete pier supporting the same runway involved in Thursday's accident, and had its landing gear ripped off. The 75-ton plane skidded, 2,700 feet on its nose wheel and belly; the fuselage cleared the pier by only 16 inches, according to NTSB data. Three minor injuries were reported. 


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Street Sweeping Stalls, Residents Still Ticketed

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San Diego collects $6.6 million a year issuing tickets to violators of street sweeping signs, but only about a third of the city’s mechanical street sweepers are used to actually clean streets on an average day.

If you don’t move your car out of the way on a street sweeping day, you’re facing a $52.50 parking ticket.

But according to a recent city document, about one-third of the city’s 18 mechanical sweepers are available on any given day to sweep streets. The rest are broken or temporarily out-of-service.

Now Councilman Todd Gloria is saying if your street didn’t get swept, but you got a ticket for not moving your car, call the city and protest the fine.

“We can go back and check the GPS records to see whether or not the vehicle came down the street, and if it didn’t, you won’t be held responsible for the ticket,” Gloria said.

The city’s street sweeping program is aimed at preventing pollution from getting into San Diego waterways. Many residents have complained that it’s actually just a revenue program for the city.

“Street sweeping? We call it the PB tax,” said Carole Kerch, a Pacific Beach resident.

“They need to be consistent because if we have four weeks where we haven’t had any street sweeping, then we’re not going to expect them to come around and we’re not going to be as diligent about moving our cars,” Kerch said.

At a recent environment committee meeting, Councilman David Alvarez and Gloria tried to understand what issues are keeping the streets from being swept.

“We’re trying to get to the bottom of this to make sure, first of all, that if we claim that we’re doing something at the city that we actually go out and do it,” Alvarez said. “You never want to be in the position where you ask people to move their vehicles or ticket them when they’re parked there, if we don’t actually go and sweep the street.”

Alvarez and Gloria both said they’ve been hearing from residents who are angry about the program.

“If the sign says they’re going to sweep the street on Tuesday morning, ‘Move your car,’ then you better (sweep the street) and you absolutely need to do it if you give them a ticket,” Gloria said.

The city issues on average 113,000 citations a year for violating street sweeping parking signs. It collects about $6.6 million from those tickets, which is 23.5 percent of the total annual revenue from the parking program, according to Jonathan Carey in the City Treasurer’s office.

Street sweeping isn’t just aimed at making neighborhoods look nicer. Because San Diego doesn’t treat its storm water before it runs into waterways and bays, the city has environmental obligations to the Environmental Protection Agency to help offset that impact.

In a city memo from the Storm Water division that oversees the street sweeping program, Deputy Director Drew Kleis said on days when the mechanical sweepers are down for maintenance, workers manually remove debris from roadways and center islands.

Although some routes have been missed, Kleis wrote, the minimum requirements for environmental concerns are being met, even if residents' expectations aren’t satisfied.

“This is a core service of government, which is why having half the fleet not working is so incredibly frustrating, if not embarrassing,” Gloria said.

A review of available data for the last three months indicated that an average of six to eight mechanical sweepers were available each day out of the division’s 18 machines, Kleis said.
Street sweepers are also high-maintenance vehicles, according to Kleis.

Maintenance on the vehicles is done in an entirely different department: the fleet services department. That department has a $50.8 million budget for fiscal year 2015. It has also incurred an additional $1 million in overtime costs as fleet workers struggle to maintain vehicles.

“Every vehicle is different,” Alvarez said. “They’re not just cars. There’s machinery involved like vacuums and sweepers and all different types of vehicles. So, when you let go of personnel that know how to do the job, we’re starting to see some of the repercussions of that.”

Gloria and Alvarez point to managed competition as a possible reason the process is not working as it should. Managed competition was approved by voters to decrease costs through competitive bidding.

They say key staff was laid off to bring the bid in low and since then, there have been issues with keeping street sweepers and fire engines working, along with problems with excessive overtime.

However, since that competitive bidding process in 2012, the city’s fleet has aged, with more vehicles and older vehicles to maintain.

“Look, I voted for managed competition,” Gloria said. “But you can say when something is not working.”

A spokesman for the mayor responded that the overall budget for fleet services is lower today because of managed competition, but there have also been off-setting increases in the budget over the past three years to address changes to the city’s fleet and workload.

City staff said January 2015 is the first month that managed competition was fully implemented in the department, so the impact its budget isn’t yet fully realized.

“However, the Mayor will continue to pursue recommendations from city staff and outside consultants regarding the use of improved technology, workforce distribution and management of the fleet to ensure processes are streamlined and best practices are followed,” according to an email response from Almis Udrys, Director of Performance & Analytics for the City of San Diego.

Customs and Border Protection Officer Arrested by Feds

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The FBI has confirmed its agents arrested a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Friday.

Officer Armando Gonzalez was taken into custody and booked into jail this morning.

However, because the case is sealed, the FBI is not detailing why Gonzalez was arrested or what charges he faces.

More information is expected to be released Monday. He is scheduled to be in federal court that morning.

Fundraising Frenzy Brought to Bear in Stadium Quest

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Developments in San Diego's stadium scramble are on an increasingly fast and furious track.

While Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s nine-member stadium advisory group is executing a hurry-up game plan, fundraisers are approaching potential donors to "to keep the Chargers football team in San Diego,” NBC 7 has learned.

At least one private corporation has been asked for $10,000.

The investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs is offering the Bolts astronomical sums in the form of front money, expenses for a temporary venue and early operating losses in a privately funded, state-of-the-art stadium they’d share with the Raiders in Carson.

How can the team resist?

"I understand that they have to protect their interests up there,” said advisory group spokesman Tony Manolatos. “But they've said all along that their number one priority is to build a new stadium here in San Diego. And we're taking them at their word for that. We think that Carson is just protecting their business interests."

Manolatos told NBC 7 Friday that the group is receiving no funding from the city or “outside” sources.

The advisers may have gotten more heat than enlightenment from the turnout at Monday's public forum at Qualcomm Stadium.

The deteriorating facility Qualcomm Stadium site has heavy legal and financial baggage -- but plenty of tailgate space and transportation access.

East Village is the Chargers' field of dreams, with its own obstacles and higher price tags.

But the lure of NFL riches and risk protection in Carson is huge.

Skeptical Chargers fans and taxpayers who see the whole gambit as a bluff are now being advised to consider the downside of taking on a virtual cartel finally may be ready to act.

"There obviously has been a green light; the NFL has given a green light,” warns former city attorney Mike Aguirre. “We're having an irrelevant conversation about sites down here in San Diego. We're not realizing that the teams are on their way up north -- unless we can find some kind of countervailing pressure that we can use to our advantage."

During a Friday recording session for Sunday’s edition of NBC 7’s “Politically Speaking,” Aguirre outlined a case for why the city is running a risk of losing the franchise: "What is going on here is there are four billionaires vying for the Los Angeles market. And it's a much bigger market. Their economy is $800 billion, ours is $200 billion -- so it's a much more lucrative opportunity.

“And so we have to understand when you're dealing with a monopoly, they monopolize the supply side,” Aguirre added. “So we need to organize the demand side."

A National University study released Friday concludes that roughly two-thirds of a stadium's cost here would have to come from the public – even given decent sales of personal seat licenses in the range of $100 million.

The stadium advisory group is being lobbied vigorously to recommend rebuilding on the current Qualcomm site.

"If the task force is to choose Mission Valley, then I believe the next step is they need to engage the residents of Mission Valley and to see if they want the land developed,” said Dan McLellan, communications director for the Save Our Bolts organization and former Chargers beat writer for CBS Sports. “Because if they're in favor of it, then let's go forward and try to solve all the problems that are at Mission Valley and get everybody on the same page."

Otherwise, the Bolts bandwagon could face a "Not-in-My-Back-Yard" counter campaign -- risky business, when the NFL and outta-town tycoons are teamed up.

Whether it's for the Mission Valley or the Chargers' preferred East Village site, the county of San Diego could help with a "joint powers authority" approach, and construction "bridge loans" to be repaid later out of proceeds from commerce generated by the stadium project and related investments.

“That's certainly an idea to be explored,” City Councilman Mark Kersey said during the “Politically Speaking” recording session. “But I think the JPA with the county makes a lot of sense. It's how the original stadium was built back in the sixties. And the county -- this is obviously a regional asset, it's not just a city asset -- the team. And I think having the county involved makes a lot of sense and that should be definitely part of the negotiations."

Meantime, according to sources, Faulconer and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are scheduled for a phone conversation next week.

The full “Politically Speaking” discussions with Aguirre, Manolatos, McLellan and Kersey air Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on NBC 7.

Iraqi Shot in Dallas to Be Mourned

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An Iraqi newlywed who was shot dead as he took photos of his first snow Wednesday night, less than three weeks after he moved to Dallas, will be mourned and laid to rest Saturday, as police try to find his killer.

Ahmed Adnan Ibrahim Al-Jumaili, 36, was with his wife and brother when he was shot in the chest in an apparently random shooting in the parking lot of the Walnut Bend Apartments late Wednesday night. He died soon after at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

His distraught father-in-law Mohammed Al Taae told NBC 5 he couldn't believe his new son-in-law had escaped ISIS and other dangers in Iraq, only to die in a random and senseless shooting in Dallas.

Al-Jumaili had moved to the United States just 20 days earlier to marry his wife, after working up to the move for more than a year, Al Taae said. In Iraq, he had been a contractor for an Internet company in Baghdad and often worked with the U.S. Army and Air Force.

"He just bought a car," Al Taae said. "[He was] trying to find a decent job to start his life."

Investigators admitted Friday they had few leads in the investigation into Al-Jumaili's killing but hope someone will come forward with information that leads to an arrest. Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information.

Witnesses said they saw as many as four male suspects enter the apartment complex on foot and head toward an area near where Al-Jumaili and his family were enjoying the snow, police said. Moments later, shots were fired from what police believe was a rifle.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' local chapter's executive director Alia Salem said the civil rights group had been involved in the investigation over concerns the shooting may have been racially or religiously motivated, though she added that initial evidence doesn't suggest it was.

The reward offered by Crime Stoppers is for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. Tipsters can remain anonymous and should call 214-373-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can also contact Detective Montenegro with the Dallas Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 214-671-3624, and refer to case number 49093-2015.

NBC 5's Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News

Ex-Car Dealer Sentenced for Not Reporting Drug Dealer Cash

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The former owner of a high-end exotic car dealership was sentenced to two years in federal prison for failing to report the receipt of more than $700,000 cash from a convicted drug trafficker.

John Mussari sold Ferraris, Maseratis and other exotic cars at his Miramar dealership. His business dealings have been the subject of extensive reporting by NBC 7 Investigates.

Last year, Mussari pleaded guilty to eight felonies in state court, related to consumer fraud and theft. He admitted taking cash from customers, but not delivering the cars they had purchased, or not giving them the ownership certificates for those vehicles. Mussari has repaid some of those victims, but state prosecutors told NBC 7 Investigates that Mussari still owes his victims approximately $100,000.

At Friday’s federal court sentencing, Mussari admitted he received a total of $719,000 cash from the Fallbrook drug dealer and did not report those cash transactions to the IRS.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Sherri W. Hobson said the purchases included a 2002 Ferrari 360 Spyder for $132,000 and a 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet for $147,000.

According to court documents, Mussari and the drug dealer once used an automated money counter to count $205,000 in $20 bills for a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo that the dealer intended to buy from Mussari. It took an hour for the machine to count out the cash.

Prosecutors say the evidence clearly showed the Mussari knew his customer was a drug trafficker and that he told federal agents, “Yes, I believe he was laundering money through me, but I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”

Mussari pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade reporting requirements received in business.

During his sentencing hearing, Mussari apologized for his illegal activities and said he broke the law because he needed cash to keep his business going.

His attorney Anthony Colombo argued for probation for Mussari. Outside court, Colombo told NBC 7 Investigates that his client deserved the lighter sentence in part “for humbling himself before the court and to the people of the community and trying to come to terms with the decisions that he made in the past and really demonstrating that the past is in the past."

But the prosecutor said Mussari continued to break the law after he was first questioned by federal agents in the money laundering investigation in 2008. Those crimes included the fraud-related felonies to which Mussari pleaded guilty in state court.

The government asked U. S District Judge Gonzalo Curiel to impose a 30-month sentence. Judge Curiel, who said he remains concerned that Mussari might break the law again, decided on the 24-month sentence, followed by three years’ probation.

Suspect Holds Up Man Walking From Mall

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A man was robbed while walking to a car at the Fashion Valley Mall Friday evening.

At 8:30 p.m., the victim was in the parking lot when the suspect pointed what appeared to be a gun at him, San Diego police say.

The suspect grabbed the man's cellphone and took off in a car.

It's unclear if the robber had a real gun or a fake one. No injuries were reported.

After Selma: Where the Marchers Went

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Fifty years ago Saturday, a 52-mile march planned from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, faltered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The voting rights demonstrators encountered state troopers who attacked them with tear gas, whips and clubs — a violent encounter that became known as Bloody Sunday.

The march was completed two weeks later, this time led by Martin Luther King Jr. and protected by a federal court order. Five months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The bridge itself is named for a Confederate general, and now a Selma student group has launched a petition calling for it to be renamed.

Here are some of the key actors in that historic clash, and what they did in the years that followed.

John Lewis

As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which he had helped to form, Lewis led the first march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge and was knocked down and beaten in the head with a billy club.

He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1977 and afterward took a job in the administration of President Jimmy Carter as associate director of ACTION, then the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council, and in 1986 to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Georgia’s 5th District. Now 75, he still holds the seat. 

Hosea Williams

Williams earned his spot at the front of the march in place of King by a coin toss and continued leading civil rights marches after King was assassinated in 1968.

Williams was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1974, serving until 1984, then lost a bid for the U.S. Senate. He went on to serve on the Atlanta City Council and as a DeKalb County commissioner.

But he also was arrested more than 25 times for traffic violations and faced questions about the financing of some of his charitable operations, according to his obituary in The New York Times. He died in 2000 at age 74.

The Rev. Andrew Young

An aide to King, Young served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he helped to draft the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

He was elected to a seat in Congress from Georgia, was named ambassador to the United Nations by President Carter and then served two terms as mayor of Atlanta.

Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and President Bill Clinton appointed him to oversee the Southern Africa Development Fund.

The Rev. Ralph Abernathy

Abernathy had worked with King to establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became its second president after King’s assassination.

He helped to organize the Poor People’s March on Washington and the Atlanta sanitation workers’ strike and the Charleston, South Carolina, hospital workers strike. But he was criticized for writing about King's infidelities in his authobiography, "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down."

Abernathy died in 1990 at age 64. 

The Rev. James Orange

Orange’s arrest in Alabama while trying to register voters helped spark the historic march.

Demonstrators protested his arrest just after it, and one, Jimmie Lee Jackson, was shot by a state trooper while trying to protect his mother and grandfather from being beaten. He later died, and his death became a key catalyst for the Selma march.

Orange went on to become a labor organizer for the AFL-CIO and for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. He died at age 65 in 2008 in Atlanta.

The Rev. Cordy Tindell Vivian

Known as C.T., Vivian became a national figure when he was punched in the face by Sheriff Jim Clark while leading a group trying to register to vote at the Dallas County, Alabama, courthouse in Selma, just weeks before the first Selma march. The punch was caught by television cameras.

Vivian was a member of the executive staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later went on to organize other anti-discrimination groups. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013. He is 90.

Diane Nash

Nash sat-in at Nashville lunch counters and helped to coordinate Freedom Rides of young people on buses that were supposed to have been desegregated.

She kept at it even after U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy tried to persuade the students to turn to voter registration instead.

Nash later turned her efforts to opposing the war in Vietnam.

She was married to James Bevel, but they divorced.

 

James Bevel

A top aide to King, Bevel was a key organizer of the march, inspired by the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama state trooper. He was later forced out of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, however. 

He later became the running mate of perennial fringe presidential candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., who was at the time in prison for mail fraud and income tax evasion.

He was convicted of incest soon before he died in 2008 at 72.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

A rabbi, writer and social activist, Heschel was photographed marching alongside King in Selma.

He had also served as a Jewish liaison with the Vatican during the Second Vatican Council.

Heschel was a civil rights activist who was also opposed the Vietnam War, co-founding Clergy Concerned About Vietnam.

He died in 1972.

 

Frank M. Johnson Jr.

A federal judge, Johnson issued the historic order that allowed King to lead the successful march from Selma to Montgomery.

A law school friend of Gov. George Wallace, he was part of a panel that earlier struck down segregated seating on Montgomery, Alabama, city buses. He went on to outlaw poll taxes, strike down laws barring blacks and women from jury service, expand the right to court-appointed lawyers for poor people, and call for Alabama to reform its mental hospitals.

He retired from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta in 1992 and died in Montgomery in 1999 at the age of 80.

John Doar

As U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Doar led the federal participants in the march and went on to prosecute three Klansmen who killed a white volunteer, Viola Liuzzo, on the march's last night. (Johnson sentenced them to the maximum of 10 years in prison.)

Earlier, Doar had escorted James Meredith when Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi in 1962, and he helped to investigate the murder of the three civil rights workers in Mississippi. He later led the team making the case for impeaching President Richard Nixon.

In 2012, when awarding Doar the Presidential Medal of Honor, President Obama called him the face of the Justice Department in the South. Doar died in November at the age of 92. 

Annie Lee Cooper

Cooper was standing in line in 1965 waiting to register to vote at the Dallas County, Alabama, courthouse when Sheriff James Clark prodded her with his billy club.

She turned around, hit him and sent him flying.

In retaliation, the sheriff’s deputies held her down while Clark struck her repeatedly with his club.

Cooper died in 2010 at the age of 100.

 

 

Sheriff Jim Clark

Clark became sheriff of Dallas County, Alabama, in 1955, and while he was in office, protesters were regularly beaten and tear gassed.

Clark himself led the troopers who chased back the original marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He remained convinced decades later that he had done the right thing.

“Basically, I’d do the same thing today if I had to do it all over again,” he told The Montgomery Advertiser in 2006, a year before his death. “I did what I thought was right to uphold the law.”

But the year after Selma, Clark was defeated in a re-elected bid, and afterward he sold mobile homes, according to his obituary in The New York Times.

In 1978, he was convicted on conspiring to smuggle marijuana and was imprisoned. He died in 2007.



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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NBC 7 Investigates Inspires Bill to Fix Security Industry

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State Assemblyman Jim Cooper is working on a bill to clean up California’s security industry after seeing NBC 7’s February investigation that exposed the local underground industry of untrained, unlicensed security officers.

The story came after two local deaths involving bouncers – one where the bouncer was arrested and charged for involuntary manslaughter and the other where the death was ruled a homicide. The San Diego Police Department forwarded that investigation to the San Diego County District Attorney’s office for review.

“I think your story brought some things to light. [It] was part of the impetus for this bill,” said Cooper who represents District 9. “It’s a problem we’ve seen in San Diego and across the state and nation where security officers have ended up injuring and even killing people. Training is important.”

In NBC 7’s original investigation, we brought up two issues within the security industry. 1) If a security officer/guard isn’t wearing a uniform, he or she does not have to be licensed in the state of California. 2) Many of them are getting state-issued security guard registration cards (also known as guard cards) and getting jobs. The problem is some are completing only a fraction of the curriculum.

“My bill wants to make sure they’re properly trained. That’s the most important thing,” said Cooper, who introduced the measure on Feb. 26, two weeks after the NBC 7 piece aired.

AB 1042 is in its early stages. The current language indicates it’s addressing the uniform issue by expanding the definition of “proprietary private security officer.” That way, regardless of what’s worn, a security officer will need to be licensed if he or she simply interacts with the public.

As for ensuring security employees complete training and don’t cut corners, Cooper said, “We’re working on that right now and that’s why we’re working with the industry. Obviously, it’s going to cost them money and we are aware of that.”

NBC 7 Investigates spoke with Roy Rahn, the executive director of the California Association of Licensed Security Agencies, Guards and Associates (CALSAGA). The association represents the state’s security industry. He provided us with this statement: "Even though it may cost more money, it’s additional regulation that’s sorely needed – obvious by tragic incidents we’ve recently had."

Oceanside police investigated one of the recent deaths involving a bouncer, so NBC 7 Investigates wanted to know what it thought of the new bill.

“It’s a step in the right direction. It can go a little further,” said Lt. Leonard Cosby. “I think it leaves some vagueness. For instance, ‘interact with the public,’ what does that mean? What kind of interaction are we talking about? Someone who lays hands on somebody?”

Cosby said he’ll keep an eye on AB 1042. Either way, he is glad efforts are underway to find solutions to problems he has known about for years.

“I think you brought to light something that state lawmakers should know, that the public should know,” he said.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, the agency that regulates the security industry, told NBC 7 Investigates it cannot comment on pending legislation.

Cooper said the next steps with AB 1042 involve talking to industry leaders, going to a hearing in March or April and then, if approved, landing before the governor for his signature later this year.


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Charges in Hero Officer's Death

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One of two brothers accused of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III was arraigned overnight Friday, the other remains in the hospital, restrained with the fallen hero's handcuffs.

Officer Wilson, 30, died Thursday from injuries sustained during an attempted robbery in the GameStop store at Hope Plaza Shopping Center at 2101 W. Lehigh Ave.

"He was making a security check and he was also picking up a gift for his 8-year-old son who had done exceptionally well at school, said Philadelphia Police Homicide Capt. Darrell Clark.

The father of two was in full uniform when brothers Carlton Hipps, 30, and Ramone Williams, 26, entered the store and announced a robbery, said investigators. The officer and the brothers engaged in a gunbattle which resulted in Wilson's death, Clark said.

"They were both firing at him," said Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. "He was actually being hit during the exchange of gunfire but he continued to fight, continued to shoot until the fatal wound was fired and it brought him down."

Hipps was injured in a shootout with Wilson's partner outside the store following the attempted robbery. He's being restrained with Wilson's handcuffs in Einstein Hospital, according to police.

Williams tried to blend into a nearby crowd to avoid arrest after the deadly shooting. Witnesses pointed him out to authorities and he was taken into custody.

He was arraigned overnight Friday.

Both men face murder and attempted robbery charges.

Wilson was hailed a hero following his death and that title was cemented earlier Friday when surveillance video of the gunbattle inside the store was released.

The video shows Officer Wilson act immediately, moving away from store patrons before firing his weapon.

"Not only in doing his job did he protect the store, he protected the employees," said Capt. Clark. "Like I said before, he was a hero."

Officer Wilson is an 8-year veteran of the 22nd District Police. He leaves behind two sons, 8 and 1.

A trust fund was set up for the boys Friday. It's being managed by the Police and Fire Federal Credit Unions. Actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd has promised a donation to Wilson's children. He made the announcement during an appearance at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Donations can be made at various branches around the city.

A mass to honor the fallen officer is scheduled for Sunday morning at St. Martin De Porres Church in North Philadelpia on Lehigh Ave. in North Philadelphia at 10 a.m. 



Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police Dept.

4-Year-Old Killed in Hit-and-Run

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A 4-year-old California girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver when she ran into a street while playing with her parents Friday.

Violeta Khachaturyan died after the 5:30 p.m. incident at East Wilson Avenue and Olive Street in Glendale, police said.

Violeta ran into the street, was struck by a white or cream colored car car and was thrown at least four car lengths into the back of another vehicle. The impact was so severe she smashed the window of the parked car.

"She was a very fun energetic child... this is a child that had hopes and dreams that one day she could be something and now she's no longer with us, family friend Arshak Bareghmayan said, "She ran across the street... and next thing we know we just heard a loud bang and the child just flew across the street and that's it."

The girl's parents Anna and Robert were too devestated to speak about the incident.

An eyewitness named Sabrina said they had tried to stop her from running onto the road.

"The family was calling something and then I guess she didn't listen and the car just hit her. All I saw is that she flew from the car," Sabrina said.

Police do not know if the driver was a male or a female, and the family have appealed for information.

"We do encourage everyone, the driver, to please come forward... if anybody knows any information, if anybody has seen anything, this is the time to do the right thing," Bareghmayan added.

Jason Kandel and Rosa Ordaz contributed to this article

Tranquilized Mountain Lion Dies

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A mountain lion that wandered near a shopping center in Southern California Friday morning died shortly after it was tranquilized by officials from California's Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The 2-year-old male cat was seen prowling near a Macy's at the Promenade Mall in Temecula at about 6 a.m., according to a witness who recorded video of the animal being taken away by officials.

"They tried to do the right thing, they have the training and equipment to do the right thing... and it doesn't always work out," said Capt. Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

Video of the incident showed the mountain lion breathing in the back of a pickup truck after officers picked it up off the ground.

"It was a big enough cat that you would certainly see it coming from a long ways away," said Joe Fanaselle, a witness who saw the cat before it died.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating if the mountain lion had pre-existing health conditions, said spokesman Kyle Orr, who noted mountain lions very rarely die after being darted.

When they do, it's because the dart damaged a sensitive area of the animal, like the spine, or if the lion has an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer used in the dart, he said.

A special forensic unit was examining the mountain lion in San Bernardino to learn more about its death, he added.

Wardens believe the lion may have found its way to the mall by using a nearby wash off Margarita Road.



Photo Credit: Joseph Fanaselle
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Ford Included in SD Air and Space Museum Hall of Fame

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As news of actor Harrison Ford's plane crash spread Thursday, one local man watched the reports with great interest. 

Air and Space Museum President Jim Kidrick watched the news reports of this crash landing. He's not only a pilot but close friends with Harrison Ford.

Ford has even been inducted into San Diego's Air and Space Museum Hall of Fame. 

Sources close to the incident tell NBC7 Ford suffered a nasty gash to the head as well as possible broken bones. The actor and pilot slammed his head into the plane's console during impact.

This is Ford's third crash landing since 1999. He is an experienced pilot , and was even inducted into San Diego's Air and Space Museum Hall of Fame.

“He was out flying I would assume, as we all do, just to go flying and stay proficient,” Kidrick said.
Harrison crashed in his P22 Recruit .The vintage prop plane is one of a little over a thousand made to train air corps aviators in in 1941 and 42.

It's a plane built right here in San Diego by Ryan Aeronautical. There is another one on exhibit at the Museum.

“There is a lot of DNA in the airplane he was flying today and the one you see in the camera,” Kidrick said.

LA Fire Captain Patrick Butler , said after stabilizing his spine and administering first aid the pilot was taken to UCLA Medical Center.

Ford's son Ben posted this tweet, " At the hospital. Dad is ok. Battered but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is a very strong man.

“I will not answer any questions that have to do with causation at this point,” NTSB Investigator Patrick Jones said.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating. The short radio transmission between Ford and the tower just after takeoff was recorded. The pilot said he was having engine trouble and was directed to return to the airport.

Ford did not make it back. Instead he had to steer away from the airport.

“It appears that he clipped a top of a tree and came to rest on the golf course,” Jones said

Witnesses reportedly rushed to help.

Federal investigators say the plane won't be moved till morning while they continue to document the scene.

They are looking for a cause, considering the weather, man and machine.

“Harrison is a very good aviator . My belief is this was certainly not pilot error at all,” Kidrick said. 

The Museum president said Ford owns that plane and five others and at least one helicopter. All of which he flies regularly.

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