California Briefs
Authorities say two police officers and a gunman were wounded in a shootout during a foot chase in Northern California.
Officials say shots were fired after officers responded to reports of a possibly armed man breaking into a trailer late Saturday in the city of Elk Grove, near Sacramento.
Police said Sunday that both officers have been released from a hospital following treatment for gunshot wounds to their legs.
The gunman, who has not been identified, remains hospitalized in unknown condition. Police say he was in possession of a loaded gun.
SANTA CRUZ
Authorities say a state park official and a bystander pulled a man from the ocean after he fell about 30 feet (9 meters) from a cliff in Northern California.
KSBW-TV reports Santa Cruz Fire Department rescuers were called to the rugged coastline near Natural Bridges State Park on Friday evening, finding bystanders treating the man.
The department says the man suffered major injuries. Authorities didn’t identify him.
Fire department crews and other agencies used an aerial ladder and ropes to hoist the man up the cliff.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
Authorities say a woman was killed in a five-vehicle crash at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area on California’s central coast.
The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports the crash happened Friday as a group of offroad vehicles were following each other at speeds up to 60 mph (97 kph).
The woman was a passenger in the lead vehicle, which tumbled end-over-end after flying off a dune and losing control. She later died at a hospital. The newspaper says the driver and a juvenile in the same vehicle were hospitalized in unknown condition.
Occupants of three other vehicles had minor injuries.
State parks officials are investigating the crash. CAMARILLO
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline surged 13 cents a gallon (3.8 liters) over the past two weeks, to $2.91.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says one of the reasons for the spike is an increase in crude oil costs.
Lundberg says Sunday that prices at the pump have jumped 25 cents over the past month and 60 cents over the past 14 weeks.
The highest average price in the nation is $4.04 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The lowest average is $2.45 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The average price of diesel rose 4 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.14.
LOS ANGELES
Authorities say a man arrested on a parole violation after being wounded in the Los Angeles shooting that killed Nipsey Hussle has been released from jail.
Kerry Lathan had been in custody since being shot March 31 along with the rapper. KABC-TV reports Lathan walked out of LA’s Men’s Central Jail on Saturday.
The state department of corrections arrested Lathan for associating with a known gang member — Hussle.
But supporters assert Hussle was a former gang member who’d transformed himself into a pillar of the community. Besides, Lathan’s lawyer says, her client just happened to be in the area when Hussle was gunned down.
Corrections officials announced last week that they’d drop the new allegations.
Lathan served 25 years for a 1994 killing and was released seven months ago. LOS ANGELES
Authorities say a Los Angeles police officer is in stable condition after being shot during an exchange of gunfire following a traffic stop.
Officer Norma Eisenman says the driver was also shot as he ran from the car late Saturday in South Los Angeles. Officials say a gun was recovered.
Police initially thought a second man had sprinted from the car. But Eisenman says after an extensive search and investigation, it was determined that the gunman was the only person in the car.
The man, who has not been identified, is hospitalized in stable condition.
Police Chief Michel Moore says the wounded officer is a department veteran recently transferred to the gang unit. SANTA ANA
California police say a teenage victim of sexual assault was lured through a dating app.
KABC-TV reports that Santa Ana police arrested 59-year-old Michael Komoto April 18 on a charge of engaging in sex acts with a minor.
Police say Komoto told a 15-year-old boy he was 39 years old during communication on the Grindr app and promised a shopping spree in exchange for “making out.”
Police say Komoto picked up the boy April 14 and sexually assaulted him at a storefront that doubles as Komoto’s business and home in the city about 33 miles (53 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.
Authorities say the pair then went to a shopping center, where the boy became scared and called a friend to pick him up before going to police. RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA,
Authorities say a man who may have robbed several Southern California banks has been found dead in a car after a chase.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department says deputies responding to a robbery at the Pacific Western Bank in Dana Point began chasing a nearby pickup truck Friday afternoon but lost it.
It was spotted again about a half-hour later in Mission Viejo. Authorities say a brief chase ended with the truck smashing into a parked car in nearby Rancho Santa Margarita.
A SWAT team was called and found the driver dead. There’s no word on how he died.
Authorities say they’re trying to determine whether the man is the so-called “Leatherface Bandit,” a masked gunman who had robbed three other Orange County banks since March.
—The Associated Press