CALIFORNIA BRIEFS
Authorities in Southern California say a supporter of Donald Trump was arrested after spraying bear repellent on a small crowd protesting the president at the Santa Monica Pier.
Santa Monica police say pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators were shouting at each other Saturday when a scuffle broke out.
A video posted online shows a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat circling the crowd and then unleashing a torrent of spray from a canister. Officials say nobody was seriously hurt by the repellent, which is similar to pepper sprays used by police.
The Los Angeles Times reports authorities arrested a man who could face charges including violating the terms of his parole from a previous weapons violation. His name was not released.
Investigators are trying to determine whether a second man also sprayed the crowd.
VISALIA
Authorities say a young woman and young man were arrested on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy in central California.
Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies responding to a call Friday night near Earlimart found the teen with at least one gunshot wound.
Detectives identified 18-year-old Jesus Fernandez and 18-year-old Vanessa Macias as the suspects. The Fresno Bee reports both were arrested Saturday morning during a traffic stop.
It wasn’t immediately known if
Investigators haven’t identified a possible
LOS ANGELES
Fire danger remains high as dry, warm winds blow through Southern California.
The National Weather Service says gusts on Sunday could top 60 mph (97 kph) in some parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions are in place in mountain, forest and valley areas until 10 p.m.
Fire officials have deployed additional resources to be able to respond quickly in case blazes break out.
The warning comes a little more than a week after a destructive fire broke out on the edge of Los Angeles, destroying at least 17 structures and damaging dozens more.
Southern California Edison says it’s monitoring conditions to determine whether preventive power shut-offs will be needed.
SAN DIEGO they have attorneys. motive.
The embattled Inspire charter school network says its founder and CEO has resigned.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the resignation last week of Herbert Nichols comes after seven California county schools superintendents requested the state audit the Inspire network for potential fraud.
No reason was given for the resignation and the newspaper could not reach Nichols for comment.
The superintendents said they have reason to believe Inspire engaged in fiscal malfeasance, conflicts of interest, manipulation of enrollment and revenue and other improper activity. In a statement earlier this month Inspire said it would cooperate with any state audit.
Since the first Inspire school opened in 2014, the charter network has grown rapidly to include an estimated 35,000-plus students across the state.
SANTA ANA
Southern California authorities say 18 pounds (8 kilograms) of fentanyl have been seized in Orange County — enough of the synthetic opioid to create four million lethal doses.
The Orange County Register reports the seizure last week yielded almost half the amount of fentanyl seized by authorities in the county during all of 2018 — a sign the drug is quickly growing into a substantial public threat.
Sheriff’s officials say investigators served a search warrant and arrested 60-year-old Rudolph Garcia on multiple drug charges. It wasn’t known if Garcia has an attorney.
Investigators also seized a semi-automatic handgun, heroin, methamphetamine, and $71,000 in cash.
According to the California Department of Public Health, deaths in Orange County attributed to fentanyl have risen from 14 five years ago to 93 in 2018.
— The Associated Press