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CHP: Truck Driver in Buellton Crash was High on Drugs

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:45:15 +0000

BUELLTON, Calif. (KTLA) --         overpass.
The CHP nows says that the         Her 10-week-old girl was
big-rig driver who struck and      "conscious and alert" at the
forced a BMW, with a San Juan      scene and sustained minor
Capistrano family inside,          injuries. Groves and her 10-
into a bridge railing on the       year-old daughter suffered
101 freeway was high on drugs.     major injuries.
Charles A. Allison, Jr., 48,       The santamariatimes.com
was under the influence of         described the collision as a
methamphetamine and                violent one that blew out
amphetamine when he rear-          chunks of concrete guardrail
ended the BMW on the               on both sides of the bridge.
northbound 101 at the Nojoqui      The crash shut down both
Creek Bridge near Buellton on      directions of the 101 freeway.
January 12, according to a         The truck spilled
toxicology report released by      approximately 50 gallons of
the California Highway Patrol.     diesel fuel in the creek
Allison was killed when the        bottom, the fire department
big-rig went through the           said.
bridge railing and into the        The rescue effort was aided
creek bed below and burst          by a group of Navy Seabees
into flames.                       who were stuck in southbound
Kelli L. Groves, 36, and her       traffic near the crash. They
two daughters had to be            used a forklift they were
rescued from the BMW, which        transporting to stop the BMW
was dangling over the freeway      from sliding off the bridge.

Teacher Accused in Cockroach, Bondage Case Reported Decades Ago

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:01:23 +0000

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KTLA) --        Wednesday.
Two former students of an          He is being held on $23
elementary school teacher          million bail, $1 million for
accused of gagging and             each of the 23 felony counts
blindfolding students,             of lewd acts on a child
putting cockroaches on their       against him.
faces and feeding them semen,      If convicted, Berndt faces
say they reported his bizarre      life in prison.
behavior two decades ago.          He's due back in court Feb.
Authorities have said no           21 when he is expected to
complain were lodged against       enter a plea.
teacher Mark Berndt prior to       Meantime, five more alleged
2010, but two women say            victims have contacted
school officials investigated      sheriff's investigators since
rumors about the third grade       they announced Berndt's
teacher's behavior back in         arrest on Tuesday.
1990.                              The allegations must be
In an interview with the L.A.      verified to determine whether
Times, Marlene Trujillo said       any additional charges can be
that she was a fourth-grader       filed against Berdnt,
in his class at the time, and      authorities said.
that she wasnt sure what to       Berndt was arrested at his
make of her teachers odd          home in Torrance on Monday
behavior.                          after a year-long
She said Berndt often moved        investigation.
his hands under his desk,          Police say the crimes
near his lap, at the front of      occurred between 2008 and
the classroom.                     2010, and involved boys and
She and other students had         girls between 6 and 10 years
seen a jar of Vaseline in one      old.
of his desk compartments, she      Berndt allegedly told the
told the Times.                    children they would be
Trujillo, a 30-year-old            playing "a game."
paralegal, said she was            The investigation began in
called before a school             October 2010 when Berndt
counselor with two other           turned in a roll of 35-mm
girls after one of them            film to be processed at a CVS
complained about Berndts          in Redondo Beach, authorities
alleged behavior.                  said.
She said the counselor             Employees at the store found
chalked it up to the girl's        more than 40 photographs of
vivid imaginations and the         kids in a school classroom,
subject was dropped.               with their eyes blindfolded
Berndt, a former third grade       and mouths covered with tape.
teacher at Miramonte               They notified police as
Elementary School, made his        required by California law.
first court appearance

Murder Charges Filed in Mother, Daughter Stabbings

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:49:43 +0000

TORRANCE, Calif. (KTLA) -- A       custody, and was led out of
31-year-old man accused of         the apartment complex naked
fatally stabbing his               and in handcuffs.
girlfriend and her mother to       Once inside the back room,
death, and wounding a third        deputies found a second woman
man, was charged Tuesday with      with multiple stab wounds.
capital murder.                    Paramedics pronounced both
Virgil Tyrone Tate is              women dead at the scene.
expected to be arraigned           KTLA spoke exclusively with a
tomorrow on two counts of          relative of the two female
murder and one count of            victims, who said Tate was
attempted murder.                  her sister's live-in
The charges include a special      boyfriend, and that the male
circumstance allegation of         victim was renting a bedroom.
multiple murders.                  "I got a call from my mom's
The victim were identified         husband around 11:30 and he
Tuesday as Tracie Ann Brooks,      was in a panic and told me
32, and her mother Carol           something happened," she said.
Susan Brooks, 58.                  She also said she has no idea
L.A. County sheriff's              what might have happened.
deputies received a call           "I'm not sure," she said,
about an assault with a            when asked what police had
deadly weapon around 8:15 p.m.     told her. "I haven't heard
Sunday at the Torrance Villa       anything. I have no idea."
Apartments, located in the         Tate is being held on $1
21800 block of South Vermont       million bail.
Avenue.                            Anyone with information is
When deputies arrived at the       asked to call the Los Angeles
scene, they found a man            County Sheriff's Department's
outside who had been stabbed       Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-
several times.                     5500.
He was taken to Harbor-UCLA        If you prefer to provide
Medical Center with non life-      information anonymously, you
threatening injuries.              can call "Crime Stoppers" by
The deputies made their way        dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477),
inside the apartment and           or texting the letters TIPLA
found a woman lying on the         plus your tip to CRIMES
floor in a front room.             (274637), or by using the
Tate was found hiding in a         website
back room.                         http://lacrimestoppers.
He was eventually taken into

Husband Gives Wife $1 Million Lottery Ticket for Early Valentine’s Day

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:53:39 +0000

BURBANK (KTLA) - Tina D. of        called his wife, whom he
Burbank is California's            wisely referred to as "the
newest millionaire, thanks to      boss."
her husband and his                The couple plans to buy a
California Lottery's $10           home and a car with their
Scratchers® ticket.                winnings.
Tina was given her big             The lucky ticket was
winning ticket by her husband,     purchased at Vista Liquor at
a long-time Lottery player.        2415 North San Fernando
He bought the ticket,              Boulevard in Burbank. The
scratched it, and when he saw      retailer will receive a $5,
he was holding a million           000 bonus for selling the top
dollar winner, he promptly         prize-winning ticket.

O.C. Puppy Thieves Off the Hook After Cash, Apology Note

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:02:12 +0000

STANTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- The      store.
two thieves who stole a chow       The shopper walked into the
puppy last week from a             store and called the
Stanton pet store are off the      Sheriff's Department,
hook after sending $600 in         Amormino said. Detectives
cash to the business along         arrived and confiscated the
with a written apology,            money.
officials said Saturday.           A woman distracted store
The two shoplifted the puppy       employees Thursday while a
from Pet City at 7041 Katella      man took the puppy from a
Ave., said Orange County           locked cage.
sheriff's spokesman Jim            The stolen puppy is still
Amormino. A shopper was            missing, but the pet store
approached by a woman Friday       has decided to accept the
evening offering $20 if the        apology and not press charges,
shopper would take the $600        Amormino said.
and the apology note into the

Man Injured After Tree Branch Snaps on Sunset Boulevard

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:03:50 +0000

BRENTWOOD (KTLA) -- A man was      driving about 25 miles per
injured Saturday after a           hour, was driving eastbound
large branch broke off a tree      on Sunset when the tree came
and landed in the middle of        down.
moving traffic.                    "The branch just came down in
The eucalyptus tree branch         front of me and struck me
snapped along the 12900 block      like a concrete wall,"
of Sunset Boulevard around         Martinez said.
3:20 p.m. Saturday, striking       The car was totaled from the
two cars and blocking traffic.     damage.
According to Los Angeles fire      "Whats most important is that
spokesman Erik Scott, one man      I'm okay," Martinez said.
suffered minor injuries but        Both sides of the road were
did not require hospital           closed as crews worked to
transport.                         clean up the branch.
Milo Martinez, who was

California Approves New Clean Air Rules

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:36:37 +0000

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) --      consumers thousands of
The Golden State continues to      dollars at the pump," said
lead the nation for stringent      ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols.
vehicle emissions rules by         "The Board's action today
passing a new set of               will create thousands of new
regulations requiring cars to      jobs, transforming California
be even cleaner.                   into the advanced car capital
The California Air Resources       of the world. California is
Board, today, unanimously          now in pole position in the
approved a package of new          race to provide next-
emissions rules for cars and       generation ultra-clean cars
light trucks through 2025.         to the global car market."
Topics                Hybrid       Proponents say the Advanced
Vehicles                           Clean Cars program will clean
Fuel-efficient Vehicles            up gasoline and diesel-
Passenger Cars                     powered cars, and deliver
See more topics »X                 increasing numbers of zero-
Automotive Equipment               emission technologies, such
Manufacturing and Engineering      as full battery electric cars,
The new regulations mean that      newly emerging plug-in hybrid
automakers must offer an           electric vehicles and
increased number of zero or        hydrogen fuel cell cars.
very low emission cars             California is a huge market
starting with model year 2018.     for automakers, who have been
One in seven cars sold in the      resistant to the changes.
state needs to be pollution-       The new rules are expected to
free by 2025.                      add nearly $2,000.00 to the
"The California Advanced           price of a new car.  But
Clean Car rules will clean         officials say that cost be
our air, fight climate change      mitigated by the savings on
and provide cars that save         fuel.

2 Shot in The Head at La Habra Home

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:36:06 +0000

LA HABRA, Calif. (KTLA) -- An      victims to a nearby hospital.
unknown gunman shot two            It happened about 8 p.m. in
people in the head Thursday        the 500 block of Clifton
evening at a home in La Habra.     Street. La Habra police and
Police have released few           Los Angeles County
details about the shooting.        firefighters responded to the
According to reports, the          scene.
victims were males. Their          Check back at www.ktla.com
medical conditions are not         for more on this developing
yet known but police said          story.
paramedics rushed the two

Police: Violent Rapist May Have Many Victims

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:01:31 +0000

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KTLA) --        when he made the mistake that
Police have arrested a man         led to his arrest.
they call a violent rapist         "His mistake was when he did
and they believe he may have       that, there was a piece of
many victims scattered across      key evidence that was bound
Orange County.                     up inside of her clothes,
Jose Luis Capacete, 39,            which was what led us to
allegedly snatched a woman         identify him as the suspect
off South Harbor Boulevard in      in this case," Bertagna said.
Santa Ana on Christmas Eve.        Police did not disclose what
He threatened her, tied her        that evidence was.
up and raped her, said Santa       Capacete -- who works as a
Ana police Cpl. Anthony            security guard for an armored
Bertagna.                          truck company -- had
Related                            aspirations of becoming a law

Jose Luis Capacete, 39             enforcement officer and even

VIDEO: Suspected OC Serial         trained at Orange County
Rapist Arrested - Chip Yost        academy, police officials
reports                            said. He was also applying

Suspect Sought in Attempted        for jobs with local police
Rape in InglewoodTopics            departments at the time of
Witnesses                          his arrest.
Prosecution                        Police arrested Capacete on
Police Arrests                     suspicion of rape and
"He comes up from behind her,      kidnapping with intent to
he grabs her, pulls her into       rape. He was booked at the
the van and displays a gun         Santa Ana Jail. His bail was
and a Taser and threatens her      set at $1,000,000.
with (them)," Bertagna said.       Investigators believe
"He then drives her to a           Capacete has committed
business on North Harbor           similar violent acts for at
(Boulevard), where he binds        least a year and hope
her and sexually assaults her.     additional victims or
"                                  witnesses will come forward
Capacete then drove the woman      with more information.
away from the business and         Anyone with information is
threw her naked from the           urged to contact Santa Ana
green mini-van police say he       Police Department detectives
drove. He then threw her           M. Judson at 714-245-8378 or
clothes out of the van,            R. Perez 714-245-8379.
Bertagna said, and that's

Double Shooting in Torrance Leaves 1 Dead

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:55:39 +0000

TORRANCE, Calif. (KTLA) --         released about the shooting,
Homicide investigators are on      but footage shot by KTLA's
the scene of a shooting that       Sky 5 helicopter clearly
left one man dead and sent         showed the dead body of a man
one other person to the            in the driveway.
hospital.                          Police officials said one
The shooting broke out about       other person was wounded in
3:30 p.m. in the driveway of       the shooting and is expected
a home near the intersection       to survive.
of W. 206th Street and S.          No information about the
Harvard Boulevard in Torrance.     victims or a possible suspect
Few details have been              has been released.