A 3.3 earthquake rattled parts of the Inland Empire this morning, but there were no reports of damage of injuries.
The temblor struck around 7:30 a.m. Sunday in San Bernardino, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit about 10 miles underground.
Residents in San Bernardino, RIalto, Fontana and surrounding communities reported feeling the jolt.
Two people were killed when a single-engine plane crashed near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, aviation authorities said today.
The Champion Citabria took off from Corona Municipal Airport after 11 a.m. Wednesday and crashed later, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. Officials did not know what time the plane crashed or under what conditions. The victims’ names have not been released.
The wreckage was discovered at about 6:40 p.m. by a friend of the pilot, who flew over the area searching for the plane, Gregor said. The Associated Press reported that Riverside County firefighters reached the wreckage shortly after 7 p.m. and found two bodies. The plane, tail number N8339V, is registered to Stephen H. Whitson of Perris.
[Updated at 11:45 a.m.: An unidentified man and a woman were killed in the accident, authorities said. County coroner's officials were removing the bodies from the crash site late this morning. The wreckage was found in a hilly area about two miles east of Interstate 15. An FAA safety investigator is at the scene. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation of the crash.]
[Updated at 2:25 p.m.: The northbound lanes were reopened at 1:46 p.m.]
Heavy fog and low visibility may have contributed to a multi-car pileup in the Cajon Pass this morning that left 10 people injured, authorities said.
Two were in critical condition, said Tom Barnes, dispatch supervisor for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. All 10 victims were taken to hospitals shortly before 8 a.m.
The chain-reaction started about 7:30 a.m. just south of Oak Hill Road after a big-rig truck heading north on Interstate 15 collided with another truck when it swerved to avoid hitting a car, officials said.
Heavy fog is being blamed for a multi-car pileup on Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass that could involve as many as 50 vehicles, including two big rigs, authorities said this morning.
The California Highway Patrol shut down all northbound lanes of Interstate 15 just south of Oak Hill Road after 7:30 a.m. when two semi-trucks collided, causing a chain reaction of wrecks. The site is about 11 miles south of Hesperia in San Bernardino County.
There were reports of injuries, but officials did not know how many people were hurt.
[Updated at 11 a.m.: Officials have called a hazmat crew to help with the cleanup effort, and it remains unclear when Interstate 15 will reopen.
TV news footage showed motorists milling about the freeway, waiting for it to reopen.
Motorist Phil Cokkinos told Fox 11 News that there appeared to be several wrecks on the freeway. “There was like three, four big-rigs, a couple cars accordioned in between them. In all, between the three accidents, 50 cars-plus,” he told Fox.]
-- Ruben Vives
Photos: California Highway Patrol officers investigate a pileup on Interstate 15. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
Authorities have arrested a Phelan man on suspicion of sexually molesting his two teenage stepdaughters and having a baby with one of them.
The suspect’s wife also was arrested for allegedly knowing about the abuse but failing to stop it.
Tony Slone, 43, was arrested in Chester, N.Y., Thursday after an investigation by San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies indicated he had repeatedly molested his 13-year-old and 16-year-old stepdaughters.
His wife, Anita Slone, 47, was taken into custody in Victorville.
According to the sheriff’s department, a girl from Silverado High School in Victorville contacted them after seeing sexually explicit messages on her friend’s cellphone from the girl’s stepfather. Deputies interviewed the 16-year-old, who told them Slone had raped and molested her since she was 12 and she now had a 13-month-old child from him.
The girl’s 13-year-old sister alleged she had been molested since she was nine.
Deputies said Slone was a long-haul truck driver who would take the girls on trips and molest them. They also said he was a registered sex offender who served eight years in prison for lewd acts on a child. A $1-million warrant was issued for his arrest. Slone is now awaiting extradition to California.
Anita Slone was arrested on suspicion of felony cruelty to a child and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Investigators believe there may be more victims as far away as New York and ask that anyone with information contact Deputy Mark James or Deputy James Marshall at (760) 241-2911. Callers may remain anonymous.
Raymond Lee Oyler has been sentenced to death for starting the 2006 Esperanza fire in the
foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains. The fire killed five firefighters, destroyed
34 homes and charred more than 41,000 acres.
The jury had recommended the death sentence.
Judge W. Charles Morgan could have sentenced Oyler to death or life in prison without parole.
Oyler, 38, was convicted March 6 of
five counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an
incendiary device. Prosecutors said the Beaumont mechanic had set fires
throughout the San Gorgonio Pass in the summer of 2006 leading up to the
Esperanza fire on Oct. 26.
Early that morning, he used a combination of matches and a cigarette to light
a fire in a remote area of Cabazon. Gusty Santa Ana winds drove the flames into
the San Jacinto Mountains, where they reached speeds of 40 mph and temperatures
of 1,500 degrees.
A U.S. Forest Service firefighting crew based in Idyllwild was overrun by
flames while trying to save a house. Those killed were Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20; Pablo Cerda, 23; Mark Loutzenhiser, 43; Jason McKay, 27; and Jess McLean, 27.
Oyler's trial lasted more than a month, during which jurors were shown gruesome
photos of the dead, some of whom suffered burns to more than 90% of their
bodies. But even after seeing and hearing the evidence, and after
convicting Oyler of first-degree murder,
the jury was hesitant to sentence him to death.
Top photo: A U.S. Forest Service firefighter visits the scene where five of his
colleagues were killed on Oct. 26, 2006 by the windblown Esperanza
fire's unpredictable flames. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Bottom photo: Raymond Lee Oyler in March 2007. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Hundreds of farmers, biologists, Native Americans and other ordinary citizens descended on the Riverside County government center today
in an effort to derail a proposed granite quarry just half a mile from
Temecula.
They told the Local Agency Formation Commission that
Liberty Quarry would desecrate tribal land, pollute the air, destroy critical
wildlife habitat and increase truck traffic on area roads.
The commission is expected to decide today whether to
grant Temecula's request to annex the 5,000- acre site and in effect kill
plans for the quarry. Commission staff has recommended that the request be
denied and that the land remain in county hands.
Portions of Southern California were hit by thunderstorms and lightning today, causing at least two deaths and sparking several small brush fires.
In Fontana, authorities said a 35-year-old woman was struck by lightning in front of her home. Earlier in Big Bear Lake, a tree snapped about 11 a.m. and fell on a vehicle traveling on Catalina Road just north of Avalon Road. The vehicle was crushed and at least one person was confirmed dead, according to a news release from the Big Bear Lake Fire Department.
Weather conditions also fueled lightning strikes that sparked at least 15 fires -- the largest of which burned about 150 acres -- in the San Bernardino National Forest. Most of the fires were less than one acre. Another small fire was reported this afternoon in San Dimas.
Details on the Fontana death were unclear. But helicopter footage from KABC showed burns on a tree next to where the woman was apparently struck. The Associated Press confirmed the death with the San Bernardino County coroner, who said the woman's identity has not been released.
--Ari B. Bloomekatz
Photo: Maribel Chavez from Mexico City gazes out over Lake Elsinore while watching the storm. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Harsh weather conditions today in San Bernardino County caused at least one fatality, authorities said.
A tree snapped about 11 a.m. and fell on a vehicle traveling on Catalina Road just north of Avalon Road in Big Bear Lake. The vehicle was crushed and at least one person was confirmed dead, according to a news release from the Big Bear Lake Fire Department.
Weather conditions also fueled lightning strikes today, which sparked at least 15 fires -- the largest of which burned about 150 acres -- in the San Bernardino National Forest. Most of the fires were less than one acre.
[Updated at 1:15 p.m.: There are now at least 15 lightning-related fires, including at least five in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. The McKinley fire has spread to about 150 acres, but officials say it has mostly been contained. State Route 330 has been reopened.]
Lightning strikes sparked several small fires in the San Bernardino National Forest and closed a portion of State Route 330, authorities said.
The lightning was part of a storm system that brought light drizzle to parts of Los Angeles along with cool temperatures.
The largest fire, named the McKinley Fire, spread to about 100 acres, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Norma Bailey.
"We certainly did have a big storm overhead," she said.
Bailey said lightning began to strike the forest about 8:30 a.m. and that there were a total of at least eight strikes that sparked blazes. Most of the fires were just "spot" fires or ones that were held to less than an acre, she said.
One, named the Cactus Fire, was sparked in the San Jacinto Mountains. Another was a quarter-acre fire named the Cucamonga fire.
The bodies of two men believed to have been electrocuted while attempting to steal copper wiring were found Tuesday on an abandoned driving range in Riverside County, authorities said.
San Jacinto police and Riverside County firefighters responded to the 900 block of Idyllwild Drive about 1:20 a.m. after someone reported seeing fireworks at what used to be San Jacinto Golf Center, said Herlinda Valenzuela, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
“They thought it was fireworks, but once we got there, it was actually a fire,” Valenzuela said.
It appeared that the two men had been stealing wires from a transformer and, in the process, accidentally electrocuted themselves, she said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department detectives allege that a Victorville mother allowed her 15-year-old daughter to repeatedly have sex with a prison parolee.
Sheriff's deputies caught the teen and the 25-year-old man having sex in a Travelodge hotel near Mariposa and Bear Valley roads on Sunday evening. Deputies were responding to an anonymous tip. Officials said the teenager's mother was aware that the girl had had sex with the man several times over the last few weeks.
A 34-year-old man and his two sons were killed when their San Bernardino County home caught fire early this morning, authorities said. The man's wife, 33, managed to break open a window and escape the flames with their daughter, who is in critical condition.
Firefighters responded to the 16200 block of El Cajon Drive in Hesperia about 1 a.m. after a neighbor called 911, said county fire spokeswoman Tracey Martinez.
“The home was fully engulfed,” she said of the single-story residence. “It’s a complete loss.”
The father and the couple’s 9-year-old son were pronounced dead at the scene. His 4-year-old son was taken to Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, where he later died.
The mother suffered minor injuries and the couple’s 10-year-old daughter was taken to the burn unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Martinez said.
Firefighters found no smoke detectors inside the home.
A house fire in Rialto left two boys dead and two others injured early today.
Firefighters found the boys inside a back room, said Matt Payne, a spokesman for the Rialto Fire Department. They were taken by paramedics to Arrowhead Medical Center, where they died of their injuries, he said.
Firefighters were dispatched around midnight to the house in the 1400 block of Lilac Avenue on a report of a house fire, Payne said. But "that changed en route to the home to possible victims trapped," he said.
[Updated at 10:30 a.m.: Family members identified the two boys as David and Mario Cisneros, brothers ages 4 and 5. They said once the fire broke out, the two ran into a bathroom in the middle of the house with their dog.
All were overcome by smoke inhalation, they said.
At least two others were injured in the fire, including a 1-year-old girl who suffered smoke inhalation and a 54-year-old man who suffered second-degree burns, Payne said.
Both were taken to Arrowhead Medical Center, where they are being treated for their injuries. A woman was able to escape from the fire.
The woman and the 54-year-old man were the grandparents of the two boys and 1-year-old girl, Payne said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
[Updated 6:09 p.m.: A fund to assist family members with funeral costs has been set up in the boys’ names through Chase Bank, account number 4952237018, care of Irma Delgado.]
-- Ruben Vives and Mark Boster
Caption: Viviana Delgado mourns for her two sons, David, 4, and Mario Cisneros, 5, who died in an overnight fire. Rosana Delgado holds a photo of her nephews David, left, and Mario Cisneros in front of the Rialto home. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times. Below: Photo from KTLA
The San Bernardino County district attorney's office today announced the arrest of Rancho Cucamonga Councilman Rex Gutierrez on charges of grand theft and misappropriation of public funds.
Authorities said the arrest stems from an earlier investigation into former Assessor Bill Postmus, who was arrested this year on drug charges.
Gutierrez, 49, was taken into custody about 9 a.m. today during a traffic stop a few blocks from his home in Rancho Cucamonga. He was charged with one count of misappropriation of public funds and one count of grand theft, the district attorney's office said in a statement released Wednesday.
Authorities identified Gutierrez as among six former assessor's office employees who were paid for time they did not work and who used county resources to conduct other political operations.
A 20-year resident of Rancho Cucamonga, Gutierrez served on the City Council while working as an intergovernmental relations officer for the county's assessor's office. Authorities allege that he was paid by the county but spent most of his work time dealing with city business.
During his time at the assessor's office, Gutierrez's annual salary jumped from $59,883 to $71,448. He could not be reached for comment.
In southwest Riverside County, reaction to the Supreme Court's Proposition 8 ruling was swift, with supporters of the proposition saying they were glad the court didn’t overturn “the will of the people.”
“We voted for it and it passed, and I want the court system to uphold that,” said Maegan Whitley, 40, of Lake Elsinore. “Once the people speak, that’s what should happen. I am very pro-life and obviously that is not the law of the land, so sadly I have to accept it.”
Similar sentiments were voiced by others, who often referred to the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994, which denied certain social services to illegal immigrants but was later overturned by the court.
“I hope in the future they will continue this and stop overturning our votes, because our votes mean something,” said Carrie Tomseth of Temecula, who worked for the passage of Proposition 8. "I didn’t know how this would go, but I think the majority wants it this way, and this is the majority.
"I feel for the other side and I know they have valid points, but this is not a hate thing," she continued. "As human beings, I want them respected and I want them to have rights. The marriage I disagree with.”
Riverside County sheriff's deputies are investigating the death of an individual found engulfed in flames in a field Saturday morning.
Passersby called police about 3:45 a.m. after they spotted a small blaze in the 14000 block of Temescal Canyon Road, a rural stretch next to Interstate 15. The major road connects Corona to Lake Elsinore.
Investigator Javier Rodriguez said the injuries suffered were so severe that authorities were not able to determine the person's gender.
Anyone with information is asked to call (951) 776-1099
Residents of a San Bernardino neighborhood lined up to snap pictures of what appeared to be a well-fed house cat Thursday, only to find it was actually a 100-pound mountain lion.
“It was an issue of scale,” said Kevin Brennan, a wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game. “It was sitting in a big tree.”
A boy matching the description of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez, kidnapped from his San Bernardino home recently, has been found alive in Mexico, authorities said this morning.
But so far there has been no confirmation on his identity.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigators received a call Friday from Mexican officials in Mexicali saying the child was in their custody. The detectives immediately went to Mexico and have spent hours in talks with authorities there.
The boy’s mother, who is waiting in Calexico, has not yet been able to see the child and positively identify him.
“Our detectives have spent hours communicating with these Mexican officials and their process is entirely different from that in the U.S.,” said sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. “They took a break late last night and said they would resume this morning.”
A 42-year-old Riverside man has been arrested on suspicion of setting up fake booby traps outside his foreclosed home, authorities said today.
To read full story, click here.
A 42-year-old Riverside man has been arrested on suspicion of setting up fake booby traps outside his foreclosed home, authorities said today.
A U.S. Bank representative was checking the house Tuesday in the 1400 block of Orange Street when he discovered several explosives outside the structure. Officers from the Riverside Police Department arrived about 2:45 p.m. and confirmed the explosives were made to look like pipe bombs, officials said in a statement.
At least nine homes in the neighborhood were evacuated, police said.
Former homeowner Daniel Gherman was booked on suspicion of attempting to assemble a device designed to cause great bodily injury and on four counts of assembling or possessing a facsimile explosive, officials said.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday heard appeals against a massive port expansion project that the city of Riverside fears will increase freight train trips 15-fold in the already smoggy, congested Inland Empire community.
“Riverside has to protect its citizens just as you have to protect yours,” Riverside Deputy City Atty. Anthony Beaumont told the council. But with the city of 300,000 people already struggling to cope with 25 rail crossings, he added, “we’re worried about train traffic jams.”
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners in April unanimously approved the 10-year, $750-million Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, which will merge two aging terminals and significantly reduce existing air pollution levels and create 14,000 jobs.
The Long Beach City Council is scheduled to hear appeals this afternoon and evening to the approval of a massive port expansion project that Riverside fears will increase freight train trips 15-fold in the smoggy, congested Inland Empire city crisscrossed by rail lines.
But the commission “abused its discretion” by approving an environmental impact report on the project that “contains critical factual errors” and is “fatally flawed,” according to the appeal filed by Riverside City Atty. Gregory P. Priamos.
State wildlife officials said today that a dog involved in a
battle with a mountain lion in the Cleveland National Forest was likely the
aggressor and there was no evidence that the cougar had targeted the canine’s
owners.
“The report we got was that the dog went up to a mountain lion and
the mountain lion ran away and the dog chased it and was mauled,” said Harry Morse,
spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game. “We went out there and
didn’t find any evidence of a mountain lion. They didn’t find any tracks or
hair. That’s not to say it wasn’t there.”
Morse said the mountain lion is not being viewed as a threat to
public safety and is not being sought by wardens. In cases where an animal is
deemed a threat, it is hunted down and killed.
The information is at odds with previous reports that Hoagie, a
black shepherd mix, had intercepted a charging mountain lion in a bid to
protect its owner.
Federal and local law enforcement authorities are continuing their search today for a 3-year-old San Bernardino boy who reportedly was snatched from his family by two gunmen during a home invasion.
The two men, both armed with handguns, stormed into the home in the 8000 block of Pedley Road on Sunday afternoon and tied up Maria Rosalina Millan and her five children, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.
"They ransack the home for like 15, 20 minutes, leaving behind large flat-screen TVs and other equipment, and just took an undisclosed amount of money and a few property items," Jodi Miller, a sheriff's department spokeswoman, told KTLA News.
The two men then fled in a vehicle, taking Millan's son, Briant Rodriguez, with them after warning her not to call police, authorities said.
Police were notified around 2:30 p.m. Sunday about the home-invasion kidnapping, and the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for the boy, who is described as curly-haired, brown-eyed, about 3 feet tall and weighing 40 pounds. Authorities on the U.S.-Mexico border also have been alerted in case the kidnappers try to flee the country.
I *still* see people gabbing away on cellphones in their cars a year after the hands-free law went into effect. Why not go after them to generate revenue instead of this elaborate ruse?
- Christine Beatty, on a controversial school bus traffic sting in South Pasadena
The KTLA Traffic Blog provides regular updates of the Southern California traffic situation during the morning drive. This feed is live from 4 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday.
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