New Britain, Connecticut, police have identified two more victims of the serial killer who they say buried at least seven bodies behind a shopping center in the city.

Police said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the bodies of Danny Lee Whistnant and Nilsa Arizmendi are among the four most recently discovered. Authorities identified Melanie Camilini as another victim earlier this week, leaving one body unidentified.

"The office of the chief medical examiner and the state forensic lab are working as I speak to ensure the speedy identification of the remains they still have," New Britain State's Attorney Brian Preleski said during the press conference. "This investigation is moving forward and each additional victim identified opens new investigatory avenues to us."

Investigators previously named three other victims – Diane Cusack, 55, Mary Jane Menard, 40, and Joyvaline Martinez, 24 – after a hunter stumbled upon the first set of remains behind the plaza at 593 Hartford Road in 2007.

Multiple sources have told NBC Connecticut the suspected serial killer is 45-year-old William Devin Howell, who is currently serving a 15-year sentence in connection with Arizmendi's death. Howell was initially charged with her murder but pleaded down to manslaughter under the Alford doctrine.

All six of the victims police have identified disappeared in 2003. Whistnant, 44, of New Britain, was last seen June 25, 2003, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The Charley Project reports that Whistnant was known to "dress and live as a woman" and also went by the name Janice Roberts.

Arizmendi, 33, of Wethersfield, vanished exactly one month later, on July 25, 2003, after getting into a 1983 Ford Econoline van registered to Howell's girlfriend, Dorothy Holcomb. Arizmendi's blood was later found in the back cabin, according to court documents.

"Devin, Nilsa and her boyfriend of 20 years had associated with one another in the past. Prior to this night, Nilsa had maintained regular contact with her family, including her children and her mother. Since July of 2003, none of them have heard from Nilsa," Preleski explained.

Preleski said Wethersfield police attempted to interview Howell at Holcomb's New Britain home on Nov. 12, 2003.

"Although those detectives could see Mr. Howell through a window, Ms. Holcomb denied he was there. This was the first time Mr. Howell could have known that police wanted to talk to him concerning the disappearance of Nilsa Arizmendi. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Howell left Connecticut," Preleski said.

Investigators confiscated the Ford Econoline van in North Carolina in April 2004 and took Howell into custody in Virginia in May 2005, according to Preleski. He has been in custody ever since.

Although authorities previously said they believe a single person is responsible for the deaths of all seven victims, they stopped short of calling Howell a suspect on Wednesday.

"He's been convicted of killing Nilsa and that's it as far as any conclusions can be made at this time," Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane said during the press conference Wednesday.

Although they have not publicly named Howell, investigators have said that the suspected serial killer is no longer a threat to the public.

Greg Saska has been sleeping at a motel 6 for the better part of a year now.

His home on Skimmer Court in Carlsbad was the first to burn after the Poinsettia fire jumped El Camino Real one morning last May. 

"It's been challenging, but I've done the best I can," said Saska, standing on the concrete slab where his home of almost 40 years used to be.

The Poinsettia Fire burned about 660 acres in Carlsbad and destroyed 11 single family homes as well as several other structures including an 18 unit apartment building.  

All of those homes have either been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt, except Saska's house.  He didn't have fire insurance.

"I thought it would be okay. Mistake. I won't do that again," he said. 

Saska says the fire destroyed almost everything he owned, including 100 year old paintings, a classic Lincoln and some irreplaceable family belongings. Only the garage survived the flames.

Because there is no insurance policy to cover his losses, Saska has started a website and posted a sign at the end of the driveway asking for help.

He's planning on putting a manufactured home on the property to replace the 60 year old brick and adobe home.

For now, the acre he owns is surrounded by charred eucalyptus trees. But if you think that would darken his mood, think again. 

"You have to take it easy," he said with a smile. "What's the point in getting depressed about all this? I have to be glad that I'm still alive."

Charlene Roberts still can’t believe how close she came to losing her 18-month-old son, Abel, in a bizarre roadside attack by a man police said was high on drugs.

Early Monday morning on a stretch of the 215 Freeway in Menifee, Roberts and her son, along with three other adult family members and friends got a flat tire just south of Newport Road.

"As soon as we got the tire off you see this big guy come over the median swinging a pole and laughing," Roberts said.

Nicolas Lopez Garcia, 44, allegedly started breaking car windows while using a broken highway paddle marker to stab at Abel, who was in a back car seat.

"I was on Abel like this, just trying to protect him," Roberts said.

But she said Garcia kept stabbing.

"I was looking at him face-to-face saying ‘Please stop, he's a baby’ and he's laughing at me the whole time," she said.

The others in the car also tried to fend off the attack, said they were no match for the 6-foot-tall, 200-pound Garcia.

"We all approached this man and realized he was of no sane mind at all," said James St. Claire, Roberts’ brother.

St. Claire, who is still recovering from a previous unrelated injury, along with Abel’s dad and another friend, all tried to subdue their attacker, but they couldn’t so they quickly drove off, riding only on three wheels.

"We bounced off the side of the road and spun out 360 degrees," St. Claire said.

As they made their getaway, CHP officers say Garcia set fire to the victims’ possessions, which were lying on the shoulder. The officers said Garcia did not respond to their advances, and they had to use a stun gun to subdue him.

The family was in the process of moving from San Diego County to San Bernardino County at the time of the attack, so quite a few of their belongings were in the car and destroyed by Garcia.

Abel suffered several lacerations and needed six stitches on his neck. Charlene and the others also suffered stab wounds from the jagged edge of the roadway marker all over their bodies.

In court Wednesday, Garcia pleaded not guilty to several felony counts including attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.

His bail has been set at $2 million dollars.

"I'm just thankful my baby made it through and everyone is OK," Roberts said.

The San Diego Police Department is charging forward with U.S. Department of Justice recommendations to improve service, but at a public SDPD presentation Wednesday evening, some residents made it clear that not everyone is satisfied with current results.

The San Diego City Council’s safety committee moved their meeting to the Jacobs Center in Lincoln Park to accommodate the large crowd who came to hear SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman’s briefing. She addressed steps the department has taken to improve its relationship with the community.

In the 70 minute presentation, Zimmerman and members of her command staff methodically outlined the 40 Justice Department’s Police Executive Research Forum recommendations —garnered through a year-long investigation --and how the SDPD is implementing them. They include changes to the hiring process, the supervision of officers and misconduct detection.

The key to success is what the chief calls procedural justice.

“When we talk about procedural justice, a large component of procedural justice is to explain what we are doing to make sure our public understands,” said Zimmerman.

She extolled rooting out bias culture and getting back to community-orienting policing, where police and the community work collaboratively to keep neighborhoods safe. She said the department’s personal bias training is available to members of the public.

The Student African American Brotherhood sat front and center, becoming the first to respond to Zimmerman.

“Every time Chief Zimmerman is asked is there racial profiling in the SDPD, they gloss over it,” said local SAAB president Mark Jones. “They don't answer the question. That data shows that it's a problem, and our concern is that once again nobody is really paying attention to this.”

Members also called on Mayor Kevin Faulconer to intervene to stop racial profiling in the department.

They want him to admit there is a problem and create a task force fix the issue.

Gloria Cooper, who lives just down the street from the Jacobs Center, said she is impressed with what's said but not what's done.

“There is nothing in the city budget to implement these recommendations,” she told NBC 7. “You have the resources to devote to the most pressing recommendation.”

If the goal is to build police credibility, ACLU Spokesperson Margaret Dooley-Sammuli says the department needs to change its policy on releasing video of crimes – either from body worn or surveillance cameras.

The ACLU is calling for the release of surveillance tape that shows SDPD Officer Neal Browder shooting and killing suspect Fridoon Rawshannehad two weeks ago. The officer did not have his body camera turned on at the time.

“Rather than project the sense of hunkering down and closing off, rather open up and use this terrible tragedy to demonstrate community trust,” said Dooley-Sammuli.

Northwest grocery chain Haggen Inc. has scheduled several more openings as it converts and reopens 25 San Diego County locations that formerly housed Albertsons and Vons.

Officials said these openings are scheduled for the month of May.

• May 14: 955 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad; 12475 Rancho Bernardo Road, San Diego; 3681 Avocado Ave., La Mesa.
• May 16: 10633 Tierrasanta Blvd. and 5950 Balboa Ave., San Diego; 671 Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos.
• May 19: 14340 Penasquitos Drive and 7895 Highland Village Place, San Diego; 870 Third Ave., Chula Vista.
• May 21: 422 W. Washington St. and 10740 Westview Pkwy., San Diego.
• May 23: 150 B Ave., Coronado; 5630 Lake Murray Blvd., La Mesa.

More openings are scheduled during the month of June. In March, Washington-based Haggen opened its first California store at 7660 El Camino Real in Carlsbad, and earlier in May it debuted in Poway, Del Mar, Santee and El Cajon.

Haggen is in the process of converting a total of 146 stores, including 83 in California, that it acquired earlier this year for an undisclosed price. The deal followed a government-mandated divestment that cleared the way for the merger of Albertsons Inc. and Safeway Inc., parent of Vons.
 

There will be a happy ending for a San Diego mother and her six-year-old son after someone stole their wheelchair ramp from their front yard Friday.

Six-year-old Miguel Lopez, whose wheelchair ramp was stolen last week, is getting a new ramp

Wednesday. Lopez was born with mitochondrial myopathy, a muscle disease, and has been in a wheelchair his whole life.

After one man and his wife saw the story on NBC7, he stepped forward.

“I saw him playing on the news and I said, that little guy needs to get up on a ramp, what's he going to do...three steps and a wheelchair, that's no good,” said Jose Arreola.

He came out to the family’s residence early Wednesday to build a four-foot-wide ramp in the front yard, a more permanent solution.

Angelena said she has been grateful for the outpouring of support from friends, family members and strangers, many of whom have called and offered to build or provide ramps for free.

“I've had so many people I haven't seen or heard from in years call me and see if they can come out and build a ramp…strangers saying they've seen it…neighbors coming and checking on us to make sure everything is okay,” Angelena said.

Miguel had to leave for school before the ramp was finished, but will see it once he gets home later Wednesday.

"[Miguel]'s really excited because now he feels super, super special like that everyone thought about him," Angelena said.
 

The engineer at the helm of the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia Tuesday night, killing at least seven people, "has absolutely no recollection of the incident,” his attorney said Wednesday.

In an interview with ABC’s “Nightline,” Brandon Bostian’s attorney, Robert Goggin, said Bostian recalls operating the controls, but doesn’t remember what happened when the speeding train slammed into a curve and jumped off the tracks, injuring more than 200 people.

"The next thing he recalls is being thrown around, coming to, finding his bag, getting his cell phone and dialing 911," Goggin told the news program.

According to his attorney, Bostian suffered a concussion and required 14 staples in his head as well as several stitches in his leg.

Bostian was released from the hospital and interviewed by police Wednesday. 

Investigators told NBC10 that 32-year-old Brandon Bostian of Queens, New York handed over his cellphone to East Detectives and gave a blood sample. Police interviewed him Wednesday and expect to conduct another interview in the future. Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Stanford says no one has been named a suspect in the derailment at this point.

NTSB investigators say the train was traveling at 106 miles per hour along a sharp curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. They also say Bostian slammed on the emergency brake moments before the train hurled off the tracks. 

When Bostian applied the emergency brakes he managed to slow the train to only 102 mph by the time the locomotive's black box stopped recording data, said NTSB's Robert Sumwalt. The speed limit just before the curve is 80 mph, he said.

Sumwalt said the speed estimates were based on preliminary reports, though officials are confident the actual speed of the train at the time was close to the initial report.

Sumwalt said NTSB investigators hope to speak with Bostian but want to give him time to recover from the “traumatic event.”

“This person has gone through a very traumatic event, and we want to give him an opportunity to convalesce for a day or so before we interview him,” Sumwalt said. “But that is certainly a high priority for us, to interview the train crew.”

Bostian lives in the Forest Hills section of Queens, according to social media profiles, public records, friends and neighbors. 

A friend who knows him in New York City told MSNBC that Bostian is a "cheerful guy" and a rail buff. The acquaintance, who did not want to be identified, said he last saw Bostian two weeks ago and talked about trains with him. 

He added that Bostian loves his job, saying, "We didn't meet because of trains, but bonded because we both are fans. The notion that he made it, so to speak, driving trains is of no surprise to me." 

The young engineer got a job with Amtrak right out of college, according to his LinkedIn profile, first working as a conductor and then an engineer for a total of nine years with Amtrak. 

NBC Bay Area reported that Bostian also worked at Bay Area commuter rail line Caltrain several years ago when the agency contracted with Amtrak. It's not clear what job he held there. 

The superintendent of the Forest Hills building where Bostian has lived alone for two and a half years said he's a "really nice person." 

"Nice person, always said, 'Hello, Jose, how are you?'" said Jose Quinones. "Nice, very quiet."

Quinones' wife, Zuma Quinones, said she didn't know Bostian was an engineer and was stunned by the news. She said he was friendly.

She said if he returned home, she would tell Bostian: "Welcome, you're home. Thank God." 

Bostian is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, according to his social media profiles, and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Investigators seeking clues into the disappearance of a couple were zeroing in on surveillance video showing three white cars turning right onto Valley Center Road.

The surveillance video is the first glimmer of hope in the case of the couple, Paul Knutson and Dianna Bedwell, who vanished on Mother’s Day after a trip to Valley View Casino.

Investigators are especially interested in the video because the couple was driving a white 2014 Hyundai Sonata the day they disappeared – and the video was captured at about the same time the couple are believed to have left the casino.

Surveillance at the Valley Center casino showed Knutson and Bedwell leaving there at about 2 p.m.

Family members said they are hopeful the new video will provide new leads in the case.

“It’s only good in the sense that now we know where to turn,” said Robert Acosta, the couple’s son. “So I think there are multiple routes they can go.”

It’s not yet clear the type of cars shown in the video, which was turned over to investigators by the manager at Hidden Valley Pump. Valley Center Road is the main thoroughfare just north of the casino.

Meanwhile, a group called Team Amber has begun searching, along with the couple’s family members. San Diego County sheriff’s deputies said they haven’t launched any ground searches because they don’t have a search zone.

Knutson and Bedwell were reported missing after they failed to show up for a Mother’s Day dinner at Acosta’s home in Riverside County.

Acosta said this was highly unusual, as the couple is always punctual and always checks in with family members.

A 17-year-old teen accused of making criminal threats toward an Oceanside high school will be detained after prosecutors said they found a journal with “very graphic” and articulated threats toward multiple people.

The teen, arrested Friday, now faces one count of making a criminal threat, one count of threatening a school official and one count of being a minor in possession of ammunition. At his detention hearing in juvenile court Wednesday, Judge Aaron Katz denied the defense’s request to release the boy to his parents.

The student -- who has not been identified because he is a minor -- was first brought to administrators for writing a note under a false name that threatened a teacher, investigators said. When they performed a safety check on him Friday, officials said they found an empty handgun holster in his pants.

He was taken into custody once investigators said they found a journal, in which the suspect wrote about killing people in a school shooting. Previously, investigators told NBC 7 the threats were connected to El Camino High School, though prosecutors clarified Wednesday the threats were connected to Ocean Shores High School, where he was a student at the time.

At the detention hearing, Deputy District Attorney Andrija Lopez detailed the evidence investigators found after they took the boy into custody, including the note that first alerted investigators to him. Lopez said the note, which was left on the desk of a teacher he appeared not to like, had the teacher’s name on it and the word “dead” written next to it.

In the journal, Lopez said, was one note saying that what the teen was planning would be “bigger than Sandy Hook.” That December 2012 mass shooting left 20 children and six adults dead at a Connecticut elementary school. In a later video found by prosecutors, he expressed disappointment that those involved in the Sandy Hook shooting were not able to get away with them.

Lopez said the evidence they found was “very graphic.”

When officials detained the boy Friday, prosecutors said they found an empty gun holster on his belt in addition to a spent ammunition cartridge in his backpack.

In videos found by prosecutors, the teen could be seen firing a rifle. He apparently claimed to belong to a secret militia. He said he had a plan to get rid of his evidence and avoid getting caught for what he planned to do.

When detectives served a search warrant to his house, they went through his bedroom and found body armor, replica guns and handwritten notes threatening violence toward people at school, according to police. Prosecutors later revealed they had also found tactical gear, such as a Kevlar vest, at the hom.

Deputy Public Defender Dorothy Daniels asked the judge to consider letting the teen be released to his mother and father, arguing the teen was having difficulty coming to terms with his suspension from El Camino High School.

The judge did not order a psychological evaluation but indicated it would be appropriate. The defense agreed to have the boy evaluated.

The teen will next appear in court on May 22.

A former employee for San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts is accusing him of misusing public funds, using county money to pursue a personal relationship and retaliating against employees who spoke up against these alleged practices, according to a wrongful termination claim obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

Roberts’ former manager and scheduler Diane Porter made the serious allegations in a claim filed Wednesday against San Diego County by her attorney Christopher Morris.

ALLEGED MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS

The suit details how former Chief of Staff Glynniss Vaughn, whose resignation triggered the NBC 7 investigation into Roberts, had attempted to educate staff about the "appropriate use of public funds."

When the staff began to implement suggested changes, Porter said Roberts pushed back. According to the claim, he subjected staff to "severe mistreatment, including ridicule, angry outbursts and veiled termination threats."

In the claim, Porter said Roberts would use county resources for "purely campaign related activities." Those activities include:

• Telling Porter to send out campaign letters seeking early endorsements, and then instructing her to teach other staff members on how to do the same thing. She gave NBC 7 Investigates examples of those endorsement letters.
• Expecting each staff member to join a Lion's Club chapter — and pay dues with their personal money — to help "aggrandize his standing" within the club. Porter said she was sent to take notes at Lion's Club leadership meetings while on the county's time, and she was told to go on a $700 trip to Hawaii for a club conference, paying for it herself. 
• Using county funds to buy 10,000 "Dave Roberts baseball cards” in March. When they arrived, some of the staff complained this was an inappropriate county expenditure.

According to the claim, the supervisor told Porter to forbid anyone to use the cards and to put the cards in his office in a closed drawer. Shortly after, Porter was asked to take the cards home.

Porter later called Roberts to ask him what to do with them. "He's like, 'Well, I showed them to a couple friends and they feel they look political and they said they hope I didn't spend county money on them, so why don't you just make them disappear?'" said Porter.

She instead kept the cards, which she showed NBC 7 Investigates on Wednesday.

"INAPPROPRIATE" RELATIONSHIP

A "great source of consternation and turmoil" among the staff was a "special relationship between Mr. Roberts and a staffer by the name of Harold Meza,” according to the claim.

The document lays out how the staff viewed their relationship as an "inappropriate personal relationship publicly carried on between a subordinate and supervisor.” Both Vaughn and Porter felt the relationship was done on county time using county resources, according to the claim.

"When you allow your relationship to affect that many people," Porter told NBC 7 Investigates, "and you can’t see that that’s what’s causing all the problems in the office, and you’re allowing one person to just do nothing during the day and take home a paycheck, and then you’re paying him to drive but you’re getting money for your car because you’re supposed to be using your car, it’s just — it’s just not right.”

The claim details that Meza's "only" job was to chauffeur Roberts from event to event in a county car, even though Roberts received a $1,000 a month county car allowance. Often these chauffeured events were campaign-related, the claim said, taking the supervisor to his consultant Tom Shepard’s office, as well as trips to his campaign headquarters.

In describing how Roberts used county funds to pursue a personal relationship, the allegations describe how the staff resented the "preferential treatment" given to Meza, who was a former Starbucks barista-turned-intern, who rose through the ranks in Roberts’ office. When staff would voice their concerns, the supervisor would "vehemently deny there was anything going on between him and Harold,” according to the claim.

Porter said she received a bouquet of flowers on her desk on Valentine’s Day. The card read "You are FABULOUS, Love, Harold and Dave.”

Porter also described a January 24, trip to the Colorado River for a tour of an aqueduct. Meza accompanied Roberts. On the expense report, Porter noted there was one room booked.

After the trip, Porter received a call from Roberts’ spouse, Wally. He asked if the supervisor had shared a room, so she confirmed what she had seen on the expense report: that Meza and Roberts shared a room. Later that week, Porter said Roberts told her, "We don't need to tell Wally everything now do we?”

According to the claim, another incident involved Meza and Roberts attending a Lion’s Club event in Brawley. Two hotel rooms were rented, but the suite was used as a hospitality room, while the other was a standard room shared by Roberts and Meza, Porter said. She gave NBC 7 Investigates an email from Roberts confirming the plans. Click here to see it.

Vaughn overheard Porter booking the rooms and confronted Roberts about sharing a room with a member of his staff.

"She texted him, 'This is not right, you cannot do this,'" said Porter. "And so then he would either send it to my personal phone or send it to my personal email, and I told him that he put me in a position that makes me uncomfortable, and he found it funny."

Roberts would also tell Porter to pick up his laundry, drive his kids to school or baby-sit his children, she said in the claim.

CONFRONTING ROBERTS

On March 6, both Vaughn and Porter began discussing the poor performance of Meza. "And Dave heard us and he's like, 'What are you saying about my favorite?’" Porter said. "And Glynnis at that point said, 'You know what? If you want to hear what we have to say, we’re ready to tell you.'"

They took the conversation behind closed doors into the supervisor’s office and told him about their concerns regarding Meza. Roberts called Meza into the office to defend himself.

“It just turned into Dave telling us how wonderful Harold was and he’s amazing and he’s perfect. ‘He’s the best staffer I’ve ever had. Nobody else compares.’ And we’re like, ‘He doesn’t do anything. He drives you,'" said Porter.

Both Porter and Vaughn left the meeting, distraught and upset. In an interview with NBC 7 Investigates, former employee Brittany Shaw described how she witnessed the two women leaving the office crying.

Click here to see the interview with Shaw.

According to the wrongful termination claim, when Vaughn and Porter complained to HR, they were told a short time later that Roberts knew they had visited the county’s human resources department. Porter said Roberts called her later that night and repeated, nearly verbatim, what she and Vaughn had said to HR.

"He (Roberts) coached her to go back to HR to withdraw her complaints, and to change her story completely," Christoper Morris, Porter's attorney, told NBC 7 Investigates. "When she refused, that’s when he got really ugly with her and mean-spirited."

Porter said HR first told her she would be transferred elsewhere in the county. But then, she was told she had to return to work in Roberts’ office.

On April 1, another Roberts' staffer called Porter with a warning. She said Roberts was planning on firing Porter because he blamed her for the problems in the office. The staffer told Porter she was offered the official deputy chief of staff position with a pay raise, and in exchange, she would have to go to HR and tell them Porter's reports were a lie.

Instead Porter resigned on April 14, following Vaughn's resignation.

"At one time when everyone was jumping ship, they tried to pin it on her as the problem child," Morris said. "I feel for her, what she went through. She was a dedicated employee, a 20-year-veteran of the Navy and had visions of doing the same for the county, and those dreams were shattered."

According to Morris, Porter has suffered both mentally and physically. The stress caused her eyes to swell shut and a strange rash to break out across her face. The anxiety from working in Roberts' office sent her to the emergency room twice, Morris said.

Her claim is now requesting a lump-sum payment of $250,000 to settle the case with the county.

When asked why she decided to file the claim, Porter told NBC 7 Investigates, "The most honest reason is my kids looked up to him, and when I went home and they [said] ‘Dave Roberts this and Dave Roberts that,’ that’s not who I want my kids looking up to -- somebody who would lie and try to get people to lie about me and try to get me to lie.”

The board of supervisors reassured taxpayers on Monday that any legal settlement made with Roberts’ former employees will be paid by Roberts’ personal funds, not public dollars.

Click here to see the complete statement by the board.

NBC 7 Investigates has reached out the Roberts about the allegations made the claim. We have not yet heard back. When we do, we will update this post.

The board of supervisors has said an internal investigation into Roberts’ office has been conducted, and all five members were told of the findings. They said they could not comment on the allegations because of litigation threats.

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories subscribe to our newsletter.

Read Porter's full claim below:

A jet fuel driver is facing a DUI charge after he was arrested at the San Diego International Airport while trying to fuel a plane, Harbor Police said. 

James Stewart, 56, was arrested in April with a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit to drive a vehicle. 

“He was there to fuel an aircraft, and that’s when he had gotten out of the vehicle, and he was walking around, and that’s when the ground service workers thought there was something wrong with him,” Harbor Police Lt. John Forsythe said.

A port spokeswoman, who declined to do an on-camera interview, said Stewart is a contractor for the Airport Authority.

ASIG, the company he works for, did not return multiple requests for comment. Messages left on Stewart’s phone were also not returned.

Forsythe said it was fellow ground service crews who noticed Stewart’s odd behavior around 10 p.m. on April 16.

“And they called the supervisor for the fuel truck drivers who responded immediately and talked to their employee and determined that they were probably under the influence of alcohol they immediately called the Harbor Police Department that responded,” Forsythe said.

A Harbor Police official said the danger of operating the highly-flammable jet fuel tankers while intoxicated is obvious.

Forsythe said all 7,000 airport employees are trained in safety measures.

“Our employees at the airport are really vigilant,” Forsythe said. “And trained to let us know; call the Harbor Police if there’s anything unusual or suspicious or anything out of the ordinary that may present a danger to the traveling public or the contractors or employees. They called us right away and we were able to make the arrest and this gentleman will have his day in court.”

The Airport Authority sent the following statement about the incident:

“Ensuring a safe and secure environment for airport passengers, employees and contractors is always our top priority. Vigilance by everyone who works at the airport is one of the reasons this incident was spotted, reported and dealt with expeditiously. This was an isolated incident and there were no safety impacts to the traveling public or airport operations. More than 7,000 employees and contractors are badged to work at the airport. All badged employees and contractors must undergo and pass a rigorous background check in order to work at the airport. We don’t take this type of incident lightly. All employees and contractors are bound by the Airport Authority’s safety, security and personal conduct codes, as well as all federal, state and local laws.”

The City Attorney’s office is prosecuting the DUI charge.

Stewart is scheduled to be arraigned on May 29.

A Normal Heights father of three is being treated for life-threatening injuries after a hit-and-run accident last Monday.

Friends and family of 29-year-old Gabriel Arredondo spoke exclusively with NBC 7 Wednesday hoping to get the word out about the case.

“He changed lanes and remembers being struck from behind, and he says he flew off the bike and then got run over by the vehicle,” said Jose Magdaleno who is one of the victim’s friends.

The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. on westbound State Route 94 near College Avenue

According to the CHP, the suspect vehicle is a black Dodge Charger between the years of 2011 and 2014. It should have damage to its front bumper, possibly the left side. The license plate number is unknown at this time.

Magdaleno says Arredondo is stable and talking, although the extent of his injuries are still unclear. He suffered a broken pelvis, a fractured back and half his body is covered in road rash.

Other friends of Arredondo say this accident it taking a heavy toll on the family. The victim is the main breadwinner for his family. They say he has a big heart and spends his free time volunteering at orphanages in Tijuana.

“If [the driver] is watching, if he could please, or if someone knows him, please come forward. It’s tough on us and the family, especially his family,” said Magdaleno.

Arredondo’s father didn’t want to say much, but had this message, “Thanks to all my son’s friends and family. All I want to say also is , all the people who driver motorcycles – be careful.”

Are you a fan of "Game of Thrones"? Ever wanted to live in Winterfell, snowy land to the north?

Well, if you can't live in the real Winterfell, snowy Massachusetts might be the next best thing.

A subdivision in Seekonk, Massachusetts, is getting a lot of attention after deciding to name itself after the fictional land from the hit HBO show.

Don't get too excited, though, it's only a name. The 11-lot subdivision will not have a medieval theme.

"Unfortunately, no, it's 2015," Jodi Hedrick, broker of Keystone Property Group, told WJAR-TV. "There's going to be nice colonial, indoor plumbing, central air - all the amenities."

Apparently, the engineers who helped design the subdivision are big "Game of Thrones" fans.

Already, one lot has sold. The lots start at $145,000, and home packages are $425,000 and up. Homes are expected to be ready in about six months.

The kidnapping of a San Diego teenager taken by a longtime family friend also accused of murdering the girl’s mother and little brother is the subject of a new made-for-TV movie.

“Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story” airs May 23 on Lifetime. The film recounts the true, dramatic story of Hannah Anderson, the 16-year-old Lakeside, Calif., resident kidnapped by family friend James DiMaggio, 40, two years ago.

Anderson’s abduction on Aug. 4, 2013, sparked an Amber Alert that spanned across six states as DiMaggio fled with the teenager to the rugged Idaho backcountry.

On Aug. 7, 2013, a group of horseback riders spotted DiMaggio and Anderson near Cascade and Morehead Lake. The horseback riders said their interaction with Anderson and DiMaggio was a bit odd and left them with a strange feeling.

The group wasn’t aware of the Amber Alert when they crossed paths with the pair, but learned about it immediately after their ride in the backcountry that fateful day. The riders immediately reported their sighting to authorities, leading more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials to the rural community in Idaho in search of the abducted teen and DiMaggio.

DiMaggio and Anderson were ultimately found by FBI agents at a campsite in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness on Aug. 10, 2013. DiMaggio was shot and killed by agents. Anderson was rescued, unharmed.

According to prosecutors, DiMaggio killed Anderson's mother and younger brother, Christina and Ethan Anderson, and set fire to his own home in Boulevard, Calif., before fleeing to Idaho with the teen.

The charred bodies of Christina and Ethan Anderson were discovered by sheriff’s deputies and fire officials on Aug. 4, 2013, at DiMaggio's burned-out property in the community of Boulevard, near San Diego.

According to search warrants, investigators believe DiMaggio “tortured and killed” Christina and Ethan on Aug. 4 before kidnapping Hannah Anderson.

In September 2013, reports released by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office revealed chilling new details about the murders, saying Christina was bludgeoned to death, bound and gagged, while Ethan's remains were so badly charred, they were practically beyond recognition.

After the kidnapping Anderson returned home to San Diego. She took to social media, answering questions about the ordeal.

In October 2013, she appeared on “The Today Show,” sharing details about her abduction, including how she was drugged and restrained by her captor. She also said DiMaggio admitted to having a “crush” on her before the murders and kidnapping.

The teenager has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since then. In March 2014 Anderson’s grandmother said the teen was still in therapy, and would likely continue to receive treatment for a while.

In May 2014, federal and state prosecutors said FBI agents acted reasonably when they shot and killed kidnapping and murder suspect DiMaggio in the Idaho wilderness and the agents who killed him would not face charges.

The Lifetime movie airing this month casts all of the central players in the abduction story.

Actress Jessica Amlee, best known for her role in “Heartland,” plays Hannah Anderson. Former “Gilmore Girls” actor Scott Patterson plays James DiMaggio and “Army Wives” actor Brian McNamara plays the role of Hannah’s father, Brett Anderson. “Port Charles” and “General Hospital” alum Jay Pickett plays Agent Frank McKinnon.

Take a look at this gallery of photos from the film, as well as some comparisons of the actors and real-life players in the Hannah Anderson story.

Leaders in Santee are considering changes to a stretch of road where a high school student died in a traffic collision two weeks ago.

West Hills High School student Ryan Willweber, 17, died on May 1 when his car was T-boned as he tried to turn left out of the campus and onto Mast Boulevard.

At a council meeting Wednesday night, dozens of people who live in Santee voiced concern for what they described as a dangerous intersection.

The other driver in the collision that killed Willweber asked the council to do something to make the road safer.

"I believe a traffic light should be installed there because it would slow down the traffic and it would save lives even more,” he said.

West Hills Principal Robin Ballarin

supports a change

, as long as it makes sense for the school.

City officials are looking into like new striping, flashing beacons, rumble strips, new signage barring left turns or installing traffic lights.

Santee Mayor Randy Voepel has said he wants to hear from the public on this issue. No word on when a decision might be made.

For parents, like Shannon Modica, who has two students at the school, the time is now to make a change.

"I drive that a minimum of 4 times every day of the week and I don't feel safe on there,” she said.

West Hills Freshman Kaylyn Rambo has started a petition.

"I have almost 200 hundred signatures, it's been going for about a week now,” Rambo said.

She told the council a traffic light is needed now more than ever.

“How many kids have to lose their life or get seriously injured before a change is made,” she said.

The New England Patriots fired back at the National Football League on Thursday, releasing a lengthy response saying the conclusions of the Wells Report are "at best, incomplete, incorrect and lack context."

[CLICK HERE to read the full Patriots response to the Wells Report.]

"The Wells Report in Context," written Patriots lawyer Daniel L. Goldberg, who represented the team and was present at all interviews of Patriots personnel conducted at Gillette Stadium, attempts to provide detailed context of the Wells Report, which led the NFL to suspend quarterback Tom Brady for four games, levy a $1 million fine and strip the team of two draft picks.

"The conclusions of the Wells Report are, at best, incomplete, incorrect and lack context," the document states. "The Report dismisses the scientific explanation for the natural loss of psi of the Patriots footballs by inexplicably rejecting the Referee's recollection of what gauge he used in his pregame inspection. Texts acknowledged to be attempts at humor and exaggeration are nevertheless interpreted as a plot to improperly deflate footballs, even though none of them refer to any such plot.

"There is no evidence that Tom Brady preferred footballs that were lower than 12.5 psi and no evidence anyone even thought that he did. All the extensive evidence which contradicts how the texts are interpreted by the investigators is simply dismissed as 'not plausible.' Inconsistencies in logic and evidence are ignored."

The goal of the document, the team says, is to "provide additional context for balance and consideration."

In addition to taking issue with the reported psi levels of the footballs, the team says the NFL "had already prejudged" the issues before Ted Wells was hired to look into the matter. "The Wells investigators, then, were hired by the League to investigate an issue that the League had already prejudged."

The team says increased communications between Brady and Patriots equipment assistant John Jastremski after the AFC Championship Game "do not make it more likely than not that there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing. They are totally consistent with complete innocence. It is only speculation to conclude otherwise."

Also defended is Brady's refusal to turn over his cell phone, as the team says the league already had all of Jastremski's texts with Brady, along with phone records from Patriots locker room attendant James McNally.

"Given the fact that Mr. Jastremski and Mr. McNally had both turned over their phone records, no adverse inferences should be drawn from the fact that Mr. Brady did not make his phone or its contents available."

A U.S. Navy officer, paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle crash, paid off on his promise to the ICU nurse who cared for him by walking more than a year after his injury.

“Remember me?” Chief Petty Officer Jesus Fernando Ruiz asked as he rounded a corner in the hall of Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego Wednesday.

Ruiz slowly but deliberately walked straight up to Intensive Care Unit surgical nurse Alison Harmon who was shocked to see her former patient on his feet.

“I promised her that I was going to come back and show her that I could, you know, I could walk when I got better,” Ruiz said.

Not an easy task when doctors told Ruiz he had six fractured vertebrae, two fractured ribs, a damaged spinal cord and was suffering from paralysis from the chest down.

His injuries stemmed from a New Year's Eve motorcycle crash on a mountainous road in eastern San Diego. He left the hospital in January 2014 and has been recovering from his injuries since.

The path has been demanding, the naval officer said.

However, he credited Harmon for keeping him focused.  She urged Ruiz that he could bounce back from his injuries.

“She helped me see that I still had a life ahead of me and that I could accomplish many things that at the time I didn’t think I could,” Ruiz said.

Right now, Ruiz can walk 50 steps with a walker. He says his long-term goal is to run a marathon with his new wife, Jessica.

Ruiz told his former nurse that the next time they met, it would be for a bicycle ride.
 

Blue Bell Creameries has reached an agreement with Texas and Oklahoma health officials on steps it must take before it can resume production start selling ice cream again, after a listeria outbreak forced it to recall all its products and shuttered its plants.

The steps include “rigorous facility cleaning and sanitizing, revised testing protocols, revised production policies and procedures designed to prevent future contamination,” the company said in its announcement Thursday.

The statement did not specify exactly when production might resume.

Blue Bell shut down production and recalled all of its ice cream after listeria was found in several flavors and three deaths in Kansas were linked to the bacteria.

“We are committed to meeting the high standards and expectations of our customers and our regulatory agencies,” said Blue Bell CEO and President Paul Kruse. “State and federal regulatory agencies play an important role in food safety, and we hope that it will be reassuring to our customers that we are working cooperatively.”

The agreement also requires Blue Bell to report any future positive tests for listeria to the health department within 24 hours. State health inspectors will be at the plant “regularly to evaluate test results and monitor the trial runs,” according to a separate statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The creamery also signed an agreement with health officials in Oklahoma, where it operates a plant near Tulsa, and is working on a deal with the state of Alabama, where it operates a third facility, the company said.

From the street it looks like every other house in the neighborhood but 90 feet beneath a home in Kensington stretches a maze of tunnels and caves.

The tunnels are seldom accessed by the current homeowner, but pictures from local history books show how they once were filled with people playing ping pong and sipping soda cooled by a refrigerator.

“A couple parents in the neighborhood were a little afraid for their kids, but it was quite safe,” said Ray Havens, who helped dig the tunnels with his father and brothers.

Dr. Glenn Havens, a physicist who purchased the home in 1943 started digging into his backyard hillside in 1949 when he discovered the soft sand near a barbecue pit.

“I don’t know if it was a mid-life crisis trying to keep his weight off, but he’d work down here in the caves and dig,” said Havens, who remembers being paid 10 cents for every wagon-load of dirt carried out of the cave to the surface.

It took 10 years for the tunnels and caves to be fully dug out and wired with electricity. While his friends had a playhouse or tree fort, Havens and his siblings had nearly 2,000-square-feet of usable cave space deep in the ground.

Havens recently returned to his elaborate childhood playground for the first time in 30 years.

A few areas closer to the surface had signs of collapsed dirt but most of the space, including the larger, deeper rooms, showed very little sign of natural erosion.

In certain areas you have to crawl on your hands and knees, or slide down two-story drops, but in some of the larger rooms of “Havens Cave” you could fit dozens of people comfortably.

In fact, in 1960 Havens’ sister’s wedding reception was held inside the cave. The cave has also served several other purposes through the years. It was the family’s bomb shelter, which helped them deal with fears of Cold War tension.

“If there was nuclear war or whatever, this was the use of it,” said Havens.

More recently, the cave has been a time capsule for fossils.

Explorers have discovered shark teeth, whale bones, and the tusk of an extinct walrus which now sits in San Diego’s Natural History Museum.

The cave is a valued piece of Kensington History, even though most people have never seen it in person.

It’s the inspiration behind the “Haven Pizzeria” restaurant located at the neighborhood’s entrance. It’s the place where 62-year-old Ray Havens feels like an 8-year-old again.

You could say Havens is still a kid beneath the surface.
 

A warrant has been issued for an Oceanside man accused of vehicular manslaughter in the death of a woman jogging along a main route in Carlsbad five months ago.

Early in the morning on December 28, a Ford Expedition drove up on the sidewalk along Carlsbad Boulevard just north of Tamarack Avenue.

Nicole Lynch, 51, of Carlsbad was jogging with her daughter along the sidewalk when she was struck by the SUV. Lynch died from her injuries.

While investigators did not reveal any possible reasons for the collision, police did say the driver may have been distracted by his 3-year-old daughter in the backseat.

Despite an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court and driving on a suspended license, Knight was not arrested.

Now, Carlsbad Police report that an arrest warrant has been issued for the driver of the Expedition, 52-year-old Joseph Knight.

Knight was thought to be living somewhere in the Oceanside area, but his exact whereabouts are unknown.

"We attempted to locate Mr. Knight on our own through various investigative means," said Carlsbad police Lt. Mickey Williams. "We believe he is still in the Oceanside and Carlsbad area, but we have not been able to arrest on warrant and that's why we are asking for the public's help."

Frustration that Knight hasn't yet been arrested was mounting among family members, even back in February.

"He's free to keep driving around on a suspended license, killing other people and nobody cares," said Pat Lynch, the victim's husband.

In response, Williams said it was a matter of police being thorough with their investigation.

"It's a tragic event period. It's a horrible accident that occurred, but we have a responsibility to make sure before we arrest someone for a crime like manslaughter we do a thorough investigation and make sure the arrest is warranted and justified," Williams said. "That's what we did."

Anyone with information can contact investigators at (760) 931-2197.