Posted: 23 Mar 2010 05:47 AM PDT

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:43
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TUESDAY MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

A 32-year-old San Francisco man has been arrested on suspicion of killing a resident of a convalescent center in the Outer Mission Monday morning and committing two subsequent carjackings, a police spokesman said.

Patrons of a local gym helped San Francisco police detain Maximo Fajardo Jr. Monday morning after he crashed a stolen car and then tried to carjack another driver, police Officer Boaz Mariles said.

Fajardo was later booked into county jail on suspicion of murder, two counts of carjacking and felony hit-and-run, according to Mariles.

The homicide occurred at the Convalescent Center Mission Street at 5767 Mission St.

Center president Jeremy Grimes said the victim was a resident of the center, and the suspect is a former employee. He declined to discuss the case further.

Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said it is not clear what time the murder happened, but that police were called to the center at 10:24 a.m. on a report of an assault with a deadly weapon.

Fajardo allegedly carjacked a victim near the center and fled before police arrived.

Twelve minutes before police received the call, officers had been dispatched to a two-car crash and attempted carjacking in another part of the city, at 16th and De Haro streets in the Potrero Hill neighborhood.

In that crash, the driver of a Toyota Camry -- who police later identified as Fajardo-- crashed into a Nissan Pathfinder, knocking the Pathfinder onto its side, Esparza said.

Fajardo got out of the Camry and allegedly tried to carjack a silver sport-utility vehicle, reaching through a window and choking the driver.

Robin Talmadge, the owner of World Gym at the corner of 16th and De Haro streets, said some gym clients saw the crash and took off after the suspect.

"Two members of the gym actually tackled the guy, and they held him until police got there," Talmadge said.

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The federal judge presiding over a San Francisco trial on Proposition 8 ordered Monday that two groups supporting same-sex marriage must turn over campaign documents to the other side.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the documents from Equality California and the American Civil Liberties Union could help show the "mix of information available to voters" when they approved Proposition 8.

He ordered the groups to turn over the documents to the official sponsors of Proposition 8 by March 31.

The initiative measure, enacted by California voters in 2008, amended the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Walker is presiding over a non-jury trial in which two same-sex couples claim the measure violates their federal constitutional rights. The sponsors of Proposition 8 are defending it in court.

Testimony in the trial was completed in a two-and-one-half-week proceeding before Walker in January. But the judge kept the trial open until the dispute over the documents was resolved.

A lawyer for the ACLU told Walker at a hearing last week that the group would appeal any order requiring it to surrender campaign documents. Such an appeal could further delay resolution of the case.

Closing arguments before Walker have not yet been scheduled.

Walker is expected to issue a written ruling at some point after hearing the final arguments. The decision can then be appealed to a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The trial is the nation's first on a federal constitutional challenge to a state prohibition on same-sex marriage.

The Proposition 8 sponsors sought the campaign documents from the No on 8 groups after Walker ruled last fall that the sponsors must turn over some of their own documents.

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A group of young adults has been arrested and charged on suspicion of preventing witnesses from testifying in a San Mateo County murder trial that ended late last year with a deadlocked jury.

Six adults -- including Josue Orozco, whose first murder trial ended in a mistrial last December -- are charged with various counts including witness intimidation, conspiracy and attempting to induce false testimony, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

A 17-year-old girl has also been arrested in connection with the case, but the district attorney's office has not released her name.

Alexandro Villar, 19, who is believed to have been "very active in arranging everything,'' was arrested Friday and appeared in court Monday, according to Wagstaffe. He did not enter a plea.

Arturo Becerra, 19, Edgar Cibrian, 20, Cesar Ponce, 20, Bianca Aguillon, 19, and the juvenile were all arrested Wednesday after a months-long investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Inspector Bureau, Wagstaffe said.

An eighth person, 19-year-old Eduardo Lopez, was arrested Wednesday as well but the district attorney's office did not file charges against him due to insufficient evidence, Wagstaffe said.

Orozco allegedly communicated with the group via letters and the jail telephone during his trial for the July 12, 2005, fatal shooting of 21-year-old Francisco Rodriguez.

Wagstaffe said Orozco told the defendants who the prosecution witnesses were and arranged for them to dissuade the witnesses from testifying, or intimidating them by threat into changing their testimony.

Orozco, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, made headlines for being the youngest person to be charged with murder in San Mateo County, and then for escaping a youth services center following his arrest for the murder.

His first trial ended in a mistrial in late December. The district attorney's office announced their plans in January to retry him on murder charges.

The defendants are due to appear in court again on March 30 to enter their pleas.

Four of the six adults face possible life sentences if convicted, according to Wagstaffe.

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Alicia Scott Lee, the 17-year-old Tamiscal High School senior who was found dead in the water off the Muir Beach Overlook Sunday morning, was a top student and a talented photographer, school principal John Carroll said Monday.

"She was multi-talented and good at everything," Carroll said. "She was accepted at Cal Poly's School of Architecture."

Scott was interested in a wide variety of subjects, including fine arts photography, Carroll said. She had not yet decided on the college or university she would attend, he said.

Tamiscal High School, an alternative school in Larkspur, has 117 juniors and seniors who complete the bulk of their work through independent study. It was closed Monday for a staff work day and grief counselors will be on the campus today, Carroll said.

Lee had last been seen around 1 a.m. Saturday when she became separated from a group of friends near a bunker by Tennessee Beach. Her friends looked for her Saturday morning before they reported her missing around 12:30 p.m.

National Park Service rangers and lifeguards found her body around 10:45 a.m. Sunday in a rocky area near the Muir Beach Overlook. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's helicopter retrieved her body.

National Park Service Ranger George Durgerian said there is no indication of foul play in her death. The Marin County coroner's office said the death is still under investigation.

Carroll said Lee also participated in the school's Team program for juniors, a unique educational program that includes wilderness exploration and community service.

Lee also took classes, including advanced calculus, at Redwood High School's advanced placement program.

Lee attended Redwood High School before attending Tamiscal High School, Carroll said.

Carroll said Lee also enjoyed backpacking and mountaineering.

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Three suspects accused in a drug-related fatal shooting in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood in February of last year were held to answer for trial on murder charges Monday in San Francisco Superior Court.

Javon Fee, 30, of Oakland; Rorico Reyna, 32, of Hayward; and Barbara Barnes, 25, of San Francisco, are accused in the shooting death of 33-year-old Leticia Hunter at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets on Feb. 23, 2009.

There had been a crowd of people standing on the sidewalk, and six others were also injured by gunfire, including a male drug dealer who prosecutors say had allegedly stolen crack from the three suspects earlier in the day.

Police and prosecutors say Hunter was not the target.

According to police, the three suspects pulled up to the intersection in a sport utility vehicle and, after an argument, one man -- believed to be Fee -- opened fire.

The SUV then sped off and was chased by police onto the Bay Bridge. The pursuit was called off and the SUV was later found abandoned and on fire in Oakland. The three were arrested weeks later, on March 14.

Judge Charles Haines said Monday at the conclusion of a four-week preliminary hearing that evidence showed the three suspects had been "actively engaged" in dealing drugs, and noted that the intersection where the shooting took place is one of the most active drug dealing areas in the city. He said evidence showed the three were trying to retrieve their drugs when the shootings occurred.

Prosecutors have accused Fee of threatening witnesses from jail, and a note allegedly recovered by sheriff's deputies from Fee last year was admitted into evidence at the hearing, according to the district attorney's office.

Haines Monday held all three to answer on murder charges, and Fee and Barnes on attempted murder charges for the shooting of the alleged drug dealer they believed had stolen from them. Haines said there was not enough evidence to hold Reyna on attempted murder.

All three were also held on five counts each of assault with a firearm. Fee and Barnes are additionally charged with being convicted felons in possession of a firearm.

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A former Berkeley nursing home administrator was arrested Monday morning for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 from elderly patients, including one woman who she allegedly kidnapped and held for nearly a year while cashing her pension and social security checks, state Attorney General Jerry Brown announced.

Concepcion "Connie" Pinco Giron, 51, was arrested at her home in Richmond Monday morning on charges of kidnapping to commit another crime, false imprisonment, elder abuse and six counts of theft from an elder or dependent adult by a caretaker, according to a criminal complaint filed in Alameda County Superior Court.

If convicted of all the charges, Giron could face up to 12 years in prison, according to Brown's office.

The investigation into Giron's alleged criminal activity began in August when an employee from the Elmwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Berkeley filed a complaint with Richmond police.

At the time, Giron was working as an assistant administrator at the facility.

Richmond police forwarded the complaint on to the attorney general's Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, according to a spokesman from Brown's office.

Investigators discovered that Giron had allegedly falsified discharge papers for an 85-year-old women with Alzheimer's dementia saying that the woman was going to be transferred to a different care facility. But instead of taking the woman to a care facility, Giron allegedly took her to her own home, where she kept her for almost a year, from Sept. 10, 2008, to Aug. 31, 2009, according to the complaint.

During that time, Giron allegedly used the woman's monthly pension and social security checks to pay her own bills, according to Brown's office.

The elderly woman, who stayed with Giron until she was taken by a friend to another care facility, was not harmed during the ordeal.

Giron was booked into Alameda County jail Monday morning and is being held on $365,000 bail.

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The Golden State Warriors announced Monday that they have hired a sports advisory and finance firm to conduct a sale of the team, which has the third-worst record in the National Basketball Association this season.

In a brief news release, the team said New York-based Galatioto Sports Partners will act as its exclusive financial adviser and manage all aspects of the sales process.

"Neither the Warriors nor GSP anticipate making any further public comments regarding the sales process until and unless a definitive agreement or a transaction is reached," the release stated.

The Warriors have been owned by Christopher Cohan since 1995. The team has made the playoffs only once under his ownership.

In their news release, the Warriors said that despite their poor record they are "a premier NBA franchise" and have the fifth-largest market in the NBA.

GSP was established in early 2005 by Salvator Galatioto, former managing director and head of the sports advisory group for Lehman Brothers.

The firm's vice chairman is Russ Granik, who was previously the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer.

Galatioto declined to comment on the sale process Monday except to confirm that his firm is participating.

GSP was involved in the recent sale of the Charlotte Bobcats to former basketball superstar Michael Jordan.

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One person was arrested and police are seeking another in connection with a shooting Monday afternoon that injured a 17-year-old boy across the street from a school campus in Oakland, a police spokeswoman said.

The shooting happened at about 12:10 p.m. near 66th Avenue and International Boulevard. Oakland police Officer Holly Joshi said the victim was shot multiple times but is expected to survive.

Joshi said witnesses helped officers identify a male suspect who was arrested and was being questioned by investigators Monday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether he was the shooter.

Police are also seeking a second suspect in the case.

The shooting happened near a campus shared by two middle schools, Roots International Academy and Coliseum Prep Academy, and two elementary schools, Futures Elementary and Communities United Elementary.

School district spokesman Troy Flint said the shooting prompted an hour-long campus lockdown for all the schools.

He said the victim of the shooting was not enrolled in the Oakland Unified School District.

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The driver of a Ford truck that was involved in a three-vehicle accident in East Oakland Monday was arrested after fighting with a police officer and tackling an elderly woman, according to Oakland police spokeswoman Holly Joshi.

Joshi said the incident began at 11:08 a.m. when the Ford truck collided with a car in the 8300 block of Edes Avenue, near the Hegenberger Road ramp to Interstate Highway 880, and both vehicles wound up temporarily trapped underneath a large semi-truck.

She said the driver of the Ford truck appeared to be under the influence of narcotics and fought with a police officer who responded to the accident.

Joshi said the officer used a Taser stun gun on the driver but the driver was still able to escape.

The driver then tackled an elderly woman who was walking her dog on a nearby sidewalk, according to Joshi.

Joshi said it took nine police officers to finally take the driver into custody about half a block away from the accident scene. The driver faces possible charges of being under the influence of drugs, resisting arrest and assault.

Joshi said the elderly woman was treated for minor injuries and then released.

She said one police officer sustained a laceration in his neck during the confrontation with the driver but he also was treated and released.

The other people who were involved in the accident only sustained minor injuries, Joshi said.

The car and the Ford truck eventually were both pulled out from underneath the semi-truck, she said.

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Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz said Monday that his city faces a $14.6 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1. He attributed the budget gap to the economy, declining property and sales tax revenues and other factors.

At a briefing with reporters, Kamlarz said he's seen many economic ups and downs in his 35 years of working for the city but the recent slowdown is the most serious he's seen.

"Most of the time we come back quickly, but not this time," Kamlarz said.

Kamlarz said Berkeley collected $16 million in transfer tax revenue in fiscal 2008 from the sale of properties, but that amount declined to $8 million last year and will stay at about $8 million this year.

He said another problem in the city's proposed $350 million budget is a $4 million deficit in its refuse collection budget.

Berkeley raised its recollection rates by 20 percent last year but Kamlarz said the city is considering increasing them again to help reduce the deficit.

The city also is considering having only one person on each refuse collection truck as a way of saving money, he said. Currently there are two people on each truck.

He's proposing to cut 67 city positions to help balance the budget, at least half of which are currently vacant. He said he wants to minimize the number of city employees who might be laid off.

Kamlarz and the Berkeley City Council will hold a workshop at 5:30 p.m. today to discuss ways to balance the refuse collection budget.

He presented the City Council with a budget overview on March 9 and will give a more detailed budget report on May 4. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget on June 22.

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The San Francisco Bay Area is expected to be mostly sunny today. High temperatures in the mid 60s to mid 70s and variable winds of 5 to 15 mph are anticipated.

Tonight the Bay Area is expected to be clear. Low temperatures in the 40s to lower 50s and variable winds of 5 to 20 mph are anticipated.

Wednesday the Bay Area is expected to be partly cloudy. High temperatures in the lower 60s to lower 70s and variable winds of 5 to 10 mph are anticipated.

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Marin Student Found Dead On Beach Remembered - KPIX-TV5

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 10:16 PM PDT

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Marin Student Found Dead On Beach Remembered

MARIN COUNTY (CBS 5 / BCN) ―

Click to enlarge: Alicia Scott Lee.
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