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THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE | THURSDAY JULY 7, 2011

LO CA L R E P O RTS
PU B LIC SAFETY

Interstate 8 rollover crash in storm kills passenger, severely injures driver

EAST COUNTY

A woman died in a rollover crash of a pickup during a Wednesday afternoon downpour on Interstate 8 near Live Oak Springs, and the male driver su ered major injuries, authorities said. Michael Shelton, 65, of Brawley was westbound about 12:45 p.m. when he lost control of his Chevrolet pickup, California Highway Patrol O cer Brian Pennings said. Pennings said Shelton was going too fast for rainy conditions, and his truck tires were bald. The pickup ipped four or ve times o the freeway, down an embankment and across the on-ramp at Crestwood Road, coming to rest on its wheels, Pennings said. He said the driver and his passenger were wearing seat belts, but the woman died instantly of massive injuries. Shelton also suffered major injuries. He was taken by ambulance to an area where a medical helicopter could land, away from the rain, and take him to a hospital.
PAULINE REPARD U-T

Three suspected robbers are seen in security camera images.

Drive in the University City area about 7:25 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said. Other motorists stopped to help. They performed CPR on the driver, who may have su ered a heart attack, said CHP O cer Allen Reyes. Paramedics took over the CPR e orts and transported the driver to a hospital. The status of his condition was not available. Fortunately, the wife was able to get (the SUV) out of freeway lanes as safely as possible, Reyes said.
PAULINE REPARD U-T

A California Highway Patrol o cer investigates the wreckage of a pickup that rolled down an embankment o Interstate 8 near Live Oak Springs on Wednesday afternoon. JOHN GIBBINS U-T
with murder. Joshua James Larson, 37, was charged in San Diego Superior Court with the slaying of Jason Barron Huggins during a June 22 dispute. Larson was arrested on June 24 on suspicion of assaulting Huggins and a second man, Nathan Meza, and possessing marijuana for sale. Meza is recovering, homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney said Wednesday. Police said the assault occurred in a canyon o Washington Street west of state Route 163. Huggins, bleeding from a serious head injury, walked up to the road and agged down a passing motorist. Huggins was hospitalized and died about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Rooney said.
PAULINE REPARD U-T

Passenger steers SUV after driver loses consciousness

SAN DIEGO

Store owner o ers reward for jewelry-stealing team

OCEAN BEACH

Rock-bludgeoned victim dies; suspect charged with murder

HILLCREST

A 31-year-old San Diego man who was bludgeoned with a rock in Hillcrest 15 days ago died Wednesday morning, and a man jailed on suspicion of assault was charged

A passenger in an SUV steered the vehicle into the center divider of northbound Interstate 5 on Wednesday morning to stop it after her 71-year-old husband passed out at the wheel. Another motorist reported that a Toyota 4Runner hit the center divider at a high speed at Gilman

The owner of the Ocean Beach Antique Mall is hoping someone from the public will recognize three men captured on a surveillance camera robbing him at his store last month. Shop owner Ken Freeman is offering a $10,000 reward for infor-

mation leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers, who stole thousands of dollars worth of antique jewelry June 16. The armed thieves went into the shop on Newport Avenue and bound the owner and his daughter with duct tape, police said. The trio wore white gloves and took the security tape before they left. Freeman said he keeps a backup security system that saves the tape in a remote location. Two of the robbers appeared to be Latino. One was about 6 feet 2 inches tall with a medium build, short black hair and a mustache, wearing a plaid shirt, blue pants and a baseball cap. Another was about 5 feet 3 inches, thin, with slicked back brown hair, wearing a black shirt and jeans. The third man was about 5 feet 10 inches, thin, wearing a gray baseball cap and a gray shirt. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or sdcrimestoppers.com.
KRISTINA DAVIS & GUSTAVO SOLIS U-T

SA N DIEGO CITY

N O RT H COU N T Y

BORDER

Minor violators clean beaches as a payback

SAN DIEGO

City Council votes 3-2 against anti-landll bill

OCEANSIDE

Search in Baja waters for 7 from U.S. goes on

Search-and-rescue operations were scheduled to continue today for seven U.S. citizens missing since their fishing boat sank off the coast of Baja California on Sunday. We are going to keep searching in hopes of results, Capt. Benjamin Pineda of the Mexican navy said during a phone interview Wednesday in San Felipe. Pineda said four Mexican navy boats, three helicopters and a Hercules C-130 fixed-wing aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard were persisting in the search. The Mexican navys protocol in these kinds of incidents calls for a minimum 96-hour search period, which would end early today, but Pineda said the mission was being extended. The 115-foot charter shing vessel Erik was carrying 43 people when it capsized and sank in stormy weather about 2:30 a.m. Sunday roughly 60 miles south of San Felipe in the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. Nearby vessels, the Mexican navy and others rescued 35 of the passengers and crew members, some of whom had oated in the water for 16 hours. Mexican o cials have conrmed that one person drowned passenger Leslie K. Yee, a retiree from near Modesto. The seven missing passengers have been identied by the Mexican navy as Don Lee, Russel Bautista, Mark Dorland, Brian Wong, Al Mein, Gene J. Leon and Shawn Chaddock. Most of the passengers drove to Mexico from the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas for a six-day shing trip aboard the Erik. The boat was chartered by Baja Sportshing Inc., which lists an o ce in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego. The Mexican government has said it will complete search operations before delving into what caused the Erik to capsize, safety measures on the vessel and other related issues.
SANDRA DIBBLE U-T

Instant Justice was served Tuesday morning to 56 revelers who got a little out of hand over the Fourth of July weekend. The trial program o ered alternative sentencing of a beach cleanup for people who committed minor, non-trafc violations such as having open containers of alcohol or smoking in areas where it is not permitted. The 56 were among 124 who received citations that qualied for the program, which o ered the option of participating Tuesday or going through the standard process of appearing in court, ghting the ticket and possibly receiving a ne. Through Instant Justice, those who wished to admit guilt could pay a $40 processing fee, clean up beach areas for ve hours and leave without a charge being led against them. San Diego police Capt. Al Guaderrama said he thinks the program went well and hopes to see it employed on Labor Day weekend or during Spring Break. I think its a great program for the mere fact that these individuals are giving back to the community and hearing from citizens the impact their actions have on that community, Guaderrama said. During the rest of the year, individuals who commit similar crimes are given the option to go to the Beach Area Community Court. The monthly sessions require participants to attend an evening class on how their crimes a ect the community. The following week, they have to complete four hours of community service.
JEN LEBRON KUHNEY U-T

Power outage forces Globe to cancel shows

BALBOA PARK

The Old Globe canceled its shows for Wednesday evening after a power outage outside the San Diego Zoo affected much of Balboa Park earlier in the day. Power went out at 8:48 a.m. from F Street to Florida Drive, and along Pershing Drive and Park Boulevard, police and San Diego Gas & Electric o cials said. Although power was restored for some customers by midday, the Old Globe, as of 4:30 p.m., still had no electricity. Patrons will be contacted by the Globe box o ce to be rescheduled for an alternate performance of their scheduled play, said Je rey Weiser, public relations director for the Old Globe. As of 4:45 p.m., power was still out at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego Hall of Champions and the San Diego Air & Space Museum, according to a park employee.
MICHAEL JAMES ROCHA U-T

The Oceanside City Council did not reverse its decades-long opposition to the proposed Gregory Canyon landll Wednesday night. Although one council member suggested the move, the council never voted whether the city o cially still thinks it would be a bad idea to build a landll near the San Luis Rey River, which supplies the city with a portion of its drinking water. However, the council passed a resolution, after almost three hours of debate, to oppose a legislative bill that would stop the construction of the landll. The resolution says Senate Bill 833 would wrongly nullify two countywide public votes, in 1994 and 2004, that supported the landll construction. The bill seeks to ban the construction of landlls near a water source or near sacred Indian sites. Since as far back as 1990, the city has opposed plans to build the landll three miles east of Interstate 15 and just south of state Route 76 a few miles from Pala and a few hundred feet from the river. The city was even a co-plainti in a 2005 lawsuit challenging the completeness of an environmental report for the landll. The lawsuit delayed the dumps permitting process by several years. Councilman Gary Felien placed the proposed reversal on the councils agenda, along with the motion to oppose the legislative bill. In less than two weeks a state agency will decide whether to issue a key solid-waste permit to the landlls developers. Felien he said he wanted Oceansides position to be known before that decision was made. Gregory Canyon Ltd., the developers of the dump, have invested more than $60 million in the project. The nal vote was 3-2 with the council majority of Jerry Kern, Felien and Jack Feller supporting the resolution to oppose the legislative bill. Mayor Jim Wood and Esther Sanchez voted against the resolution.
J. HARRY JONES U-T

E AST COU N T Y

M I L I TA RY

Alpine steeps itself in royal welcome event

ALPINE

Hunter seeks rebids on Navy combat ships

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a letter last week that it might be wise to rebid contracts for the Navys Littoral Combat Ship program following reports that one of the rst ships, the Independence, has serious design and technical problems. The Navy is funding two versions of the LCS, which is meant to improve its ability to rapidly perform a variety of missions in comparatively shallow water. The Freedom-class is being led by Lockheed Martin-Marinette Marine, and the Independence-class is being led by General Dynamics and Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. Dozens of LCS vessels are scheduled to be built to replace the Navys aging Perry-class frigates. Independence is scheduled to operate out of San Diego, which The littoral combat is already home to Freedom. Hunters July 1 letter cited ship Independence. aggressive galvanic corrosion pitting within all four of the water jet tunnels and water jet cone assemblies discovered by inspections of the Independence in June. This follows a March 18, 2011, report that LCS1, the USS Freedom, had developed a crack in its hull during sea trials, it said. Hunter blamed the Navy for a faulty design. In addition to rushing through design planning and testing, the cost of the vessel has doubled from $220 million per copy to $480 million. And now, in the Presidents FY12 Budget, we see an estimated end cost of $537 million for LCS-1 and $653 million for LCS-2. If these are the costs after a few years of design and testing, the history of the Department of Defense procurement program tells us we can expect these costs to continue to climb.
GARY ROBBINS U-T

FLAG Stolen banner put up for July Fourth 12 years in row

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tion detector illuminated. The enormous ag, the size of a two-car garage, was snatched before she could get outside, she said. It had been hanging on the front of the house. When she ran outside, Curran said she yelled stop, which caused the thief to hesitate. At that point, she ran toward the car and opened the passenger-side door just before the driver hit the gas and sped o . Curran was immediately thrown to the pavement. Curran added that she didnt call for her husband, a 23-year sheri s veteran, because she thought she didnt have time, and her instincts took over. I thought this was my opportunity to stop him, she said. The rest of the stu , I just wasnt thinking. ... I thought, This guy didnt drive o . Maybe hes not a bad guy. But obviously that wasnt the case. The ag is especially important to the family because it was a gift from a friend who had served in the Navy. The ag, she said, was own on a Navy vessel. It has been displayed on the Currans home on Independence Day for 12 straight years, she said. We think the Fourth of July is a historic day for us to remember, Curran said. Were very patriotic in this house. This ag has signicance, but all ags should be respected. For someone to just take it is wrong.
nathan.max@uniontrib.com (619) 718-5252 Twitter @natemax

Prince William and Kate Middleton may be missing out on Americas Finest City, but that isnt stopping the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau from hosting an event in their honor. The royal couple will begin their three-day trip to California by flying into Los Angeles Friday. To commemorate their visit, 20 travel and tourism centers in California will be hosting Royal Tea events to welcome the newlyweds. Royal Tea The San Diego event will be held Friday at the California Where: California Welcome Center in Alpine, beWelcome Center, tween the Nike Store and the Alpine, 5005 Dress Barn in the Viejas Outlet Willows Road, Shopping Center from 10 a.m. Suite H110 to 4 p.m. When: Friday, We feel like, because theyre coming to our state, we should 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. celebrate this historic event, Jeanette Perez, the director of the welcome center, said. They cant come to us, but we feel like we can showcase some of the wonderful things theyre missing in San Diego. The tea is part of the California Travel & Tourism Commissions Royal Summer campaign to promote tourism in California. The San Diego Convention & Visitor Bureau estimates tourism to San Diego generates $7.1 billion annually. Participants can have a cup of tea or other refreshments and raise a glass to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges visit. The welcome center will be giving out goody bags filled with tea shirts, tiaras and faux diamond jewelry while supplies last. Perez said she expects 100 to 150 people to attend.
JEN LEBRON KUHNEY U-T

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