On two successive mornings in July, Joseph Gould woke up at 3 a.m. with an overwhelming need to pray for his son, a Navy corpsman deployed in Afghanistan. "I awoke and I felt like Peter was in trouble," he said.

On the third morning, also at 3 a.m., Joseph and Malissa Gould got a telephone call from their son, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter A. Gould. The Marine Corps squad to which he was assigned had been ambushed by the Taliban in the Garmsir district of Helmand province.

Gould, 24, downplayed his injuries. "He said he only had a few cuts and scratches," his father remembers. He made no mention of his actions during the morning-long firefight in which the Marines were attacked from three directions by 35 to 40 Taliban fighters armed with machine guns, improvised explosive devices and other weapons.

The Marines from Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment who were with Gould during the fight later praised his heroism to the brass. On Friday, at a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Gould  was awarded a Silver Star for bravery as the squad medic on that brutal morning.

Los Angeles County prosecutors Friday took the first step toward appealing a judge’s decision to throw out the bulk of a jury's verdict against two people charged with funneling drugs to the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith.

The district attorney's office filed the notice of appeal with Los Angeles County Superior Court. A spokeswoman said the appeal would be filed at a later date and declined to comment further.

In January, Judge Robert Perry threw out two conspiracy convictions each against psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich and Howard K. Stern, Smith’s boyfriend and lawyer, saying prosecutors hadn’t shown the two intended to break the law when they used fake names to acquire powerful sedatives and painkillers for Smith.

Former Raiders football defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith and two alleged associates have been charged with murdering a 31-year-old man in Lancaster more than two years ago, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Friday.

Prosecutors allege that Smith, 43, of Fontana; Charles Eric Honest, 41, of Los Angeles; and Dewann Wesley White, 32, of Bloomington, murdered Maurilio Ponce on Oct. 7, 2008. Charges of one count each of murder were filed against the defendants last month, and they were arrested earlier this week, prosecutors said.

According to the district attorney's office, Smith, who played with the Raiders between 1991 and 1998, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday along with White; Honest’s arraignment has been postponed to March 17.

Study in contrasts: "After raining all night in Palm Springs, the sun came out to reveal snow on the surrounding mountains ... mixed with the wind turbines and palm trees," writes "DancingDolphin53" of this photo taken Feb. 26.

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

There will be no courtroom showdown between imprisoned music producer Phil Spector and Robert Shapiro, the noted criminal lawyer he first tapped to defend him from murder charges.

Spector settled a lawsuit demanding that Shapiro return a $1-million retainer fee Thursday, just three days before the matter was to go to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Lawyers said they could reveal nothing about the terms of the agreement, which came during a last-ditch settlement conference with Judge Peter Lichtman. 

"I can only tell you that the settlement as is confidential as they come," said Michael Dempsey, a lawyer for Spector.

Actor David Arquette was involved in a head-on collision Friday afternoon in Beverly Hills, authorities said.

The Beverly Hills Police Department responded to an injury traffic collision involving two vehicles at 2:09 p.m. at Elevado Avenue and Doheny Drive, said Sgt. Shan Davis.

The drivers of the vehicles were the only occupants. Both were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with minor or moderate injuries, Davis said. No other injuries were reported.

One of the drivers identified himself as David Arquette, police said.

The accident is being investigated by detectives.

RELATED:

Phil Spector, attorney Robert Shapiro settle dispute

Music editor sentenced to one year for drunk-driving accident that killed 72-year-old

Michael Jackson case: Dr. Conrad Murray's legal team grows

-- Nate Jackson

Photo: David Arquette

Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

A former Compton elementary school teacher was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges that he sexually molested three female students, officials said.

Ronald Sture Hoppe, 45, of Diamond Bar has been charged with three felony counts of lewd acts on a child under age 14, prosecutors said. He was arrested Thursday, and was being held on $300,000 bail.

The incidents allegedly occurred while Hoppe worked at Foster Elementary School, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Nearly two dozen maimed seagulls recovered over the last month on or near Huntington Beach appear to have been wounded intentionally, animal rescue workers said Friday.

The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach has received 22 seagulls since Feb. 5, all suffering from similar suspicious wing breaks. They were harmed so badly, they had to be put down, said center technician Kelly Beavers.

The fractures occurred in the same place, on the birds' right wings. Most were found in Huntington Beach, except for two in Laguna Beach, Beavers said.

"These are healthy birds, and the bones look like they’ve just been grabbed and snapped," Beavers said.

A Superior Court judge cleared Dr. Conrad Murray’s defense Friday to add a third member to his legal team.

Judge Michael Pastor said in a written decision that he had found “no real or potential conflict of interest” in allowing a Glendale attorney who had once worked for a lawyer representing Michael Jackson to defend the physician now accused in the pop singer’s death.

The attorney, Nareg Gourjian, was a junior associate in the firm of Geragos & Geragos seven years ago when lawyer Mark Geragos was Jackson’s criminal defense counsel.

Pastor’s ruling came a day after the judge held closed-door meetings with Geragos, Gourjian and Howard Weitzman, an attorney for Jackson’s estate.

“I’m pleased with the court’s finding,” Gourjian said.

Jury selection for Murray’s manslaughter trial gets underway later this month. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Jackson died of a drug overdose in June 2009.

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Judge postpones start of Conrad Murray's trial for 1 month

Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers face $1,500-a-day fines

Michael Jackson case: Prosecutor says defense isn't sharing information, asks for delay of doctor's trial

-- Harriet Ryan

Photo: Nareg Gourjian. Credit: Arleen Ng / AP