Porterville Recorder

QUICK HITS: STATE

-

BANNING One killed in police shooting

Riverside County homicide detectives are investigat­ing a fatal shooting by a Banning police officer during disturbanc­e call at a home.

The Sheriff's Department says several Banning officers responded to the disturbanc­e late Thursday night and were attempting to detain a male suspect when he was struck by gunfire from one officer.

The suspect died at a hospital. His name was not immediatel­y released.

The officers were not injured.

MODESTO Teen arrested in rape, killing of care home resident

Police in central California have arrested teenager in the 2017 murder and rape of a woman who lived at a mental health facility and was attacked while taking a walk.

The Modesto Bee reports detectives Thursday arrested 18-year-old Seth Becknel in the killing of 41-year-old Jenny Wu.

Police say Wu had been reported missing the evening before her killing from nearby Modesto Residentia­l Living Center, a mental health facility. Investigat­ors believe she was out for a walk when she was attacked.

Her body was found the next morning in an alley. She had been asphyxiate­d.

Detectives collected DNA as part of their investigat­ion and recently got a match from the Department of Justice Crime that, along with other evidence, led to the Becknel's arrest.

It was not immediatel­y clear if Becknel has retained an attorney.

SEAL BEACH Storm runoff coats beaches with trash

The storms that have been blanketing California's mountains with muchneeded snow and filling reservoirs have also been flushing all sorts of urban trash down rivers and drains, making a mess of beaches.

Bottles, diapers, syringes and more have washed ashore along Southern California, giving some sandy stretches the appearance of trash dumps.

Near the mouth of the San Gabriel River, Seal Beach was particular­ly hard-hit after the last round of stormy weather.

Save Our Beach board member Greg Fellers tells the Los Angeles Times it was “disgusting” and “looked like a landfill.”

Volunteers made a dent in the mess by gathering debris into mounds for removal by front-end loaders.

Gloves and bags will be handed out to those who show up for a beach-cleaning event on Saturday.

BAKERSFIEL­D Man fatally shot by CHP on Interstate 5 in Kern County

A man was fatally shot in a pre-dawn confrontat­ion with California Highway Patrol officers on a rural stretch of Interstate 5 in the San Joaquin Valley.

Kern County sheriff's spokeswoma­n Angela Monroe tells reporters two CHP officers responded to a report of a crash shortly before 5 a.m. Friday and found a vehicle that had knocked over a light pole west of Bakersfiel­d.

Monroe says the officerinv­olved shooting occurred when a man claiming to have a gun approached the officers, did not comply with orders and had one hand concealed.

Medical aid was rendered but the man died. Monroe says he has not been identified yet.

It's not clear whether both officers fired and whether the man actually had a weapon.

Monroe says it's early in the investigat­ion.

SAN FRANCISCO Falling concrete on Bay Area bridge blamed on failed joint

Authoritie­s say chunks of concrete that fell from a San Francisco Bay Area bridge came from a failed expansion joint.

But Tony Tavares of the California Department of Transporta­tion insists Friday that the Richmond-san Rafael Bridge is safe.

The bridge was shut for hours Thursday after concrete fell from the upper deck onto the lower deck. A car was struck. There were no injuries but traffic was jammed all over the area.

Tavares says engineers believe heavy truck traffic and simple wear-andtear caused the steel joint to fail.

Tavares says crews expect to begin replacing the joint and pouring new concrete on Monday, at a cost of around $300,000.

He says the 63-year-old bridge passed an inspection last August. However, all expansion joints on the 5.5-mile span will be reinspecte­d.

WATSONVILL­E Woman accused of vandalizin­g church during spree

A woman has been arrested after surveillan­ce video caught her toppling a crucifix statue and destroying other religious artwork in a Northern California church.

Watsonvill­e Police said 23-year-old Jackeline Chavira caused at least $15,000 in damages at St. Patrick's Church.

Police said Chavira went on a rampage Wednesday in which she went into two downtown stores, grabbed a religious statue and broke it. Video showed her walking into the church and pushing the 15-foot crucifix to the floor.

Police said Chavira then ran next door to a prayer room where she threw another religious statue on the ground and ripped down two large pieces of art.

A witness later spotted her on the street. She was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of vandalizin­g a place of worship.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States