Author: Tony Perry

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the San Diego bank robber so nonchalant in his approach and nondescript in his appearance that the FBI has dubbed him the "Ho-Hum Bandit."

The bandit has hit at least five banks, including one Thursday in La Jolla. He is described as a white male in his mid- to late 20s, approximately 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, cleanshaven, with thick glasses.

In two of the robberies he wore a Dale Earnhardt Jr. cap with a red 88 on the front, the FBI said. In each robbery he told tellers he had a gun.

Information can be given to San Diego County Crime Stoppers (888) 580-8477.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: A March 25 bank surveillance photo of the robber the FBI has dubbed the "Ho-Hum Bandit." Credit: FBI

A prominent veterinarian and horse-farm owner from Santa Barbara County died when the experimental airplane he was piloting crashed near Borrego Springs, the San Diego County medical examiner announced Friday.

Vandell Ellis Snow, 58, was practicing for this weekend’s Borrego Hammerhead Roundup air show when his plane crashed Thursday afternoon. He radioed a friend on the ground that the stick had broken, sending the plane into a nosedive, according to the medical examiner.

Snow, who was killed instantly, was one of the owners of the Santa Ynez Farm, a horse-breeding facility. He was alone in the plane.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Earthquake aftershocks have led officials in the Imperial Valley border town of Calexico to expand the area of the downtown business district that has been closed since Sunday’s magnitude 7.2 quake.

After a 5.5 temblor Thursday, a roof collapsed on one building and more businesses suffered broken windows and cracked walls. City officials had hoped to reopen many of the businesses this weekend but that plan is now on indefinite hold.

More buildings have been "red-tagged" until structural engineers can do inspections to see if they can be repaired or must be razed. Also, homes in the older part of the city have also been ruled off-limits.

"Things have gotten worse," said Hildy Carrillo, executive director of the Calexico Chamber of Commerce. "Roofs and walls that were hanging by a thread after Sunday are coming down."

Also, a broken sewer line is dumping sewage into the already smelly New River, which flows from Mexico into the Salton Sea. A crew is working to repair the line, estimated to cost $1.5 million. Health officials have said the spillage poses no health threat if people stay away from the river.

The city’s 30,000-plus residents have also been asked to reduce their water usage while repairs are being made to the city’s purification system.

An elementary school has been declared unsafe for staff and children. The historic De Anza Hotel, which has been converted in recent years to provide housing for low-income senior citizens, also remains closed while engineers inspect the damage.

Federal Emergency Management Administration officials are due in Calexico next week.

A parade of elected officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have come to Calexico to survey the damage and promise help. The governor signed an executive order to speed the delivery of financial support for people whose homes or businesses were damaged.

Calexico has been the hardest hit section of Imperial Valley by the earthquakes whose epicenters are south of Mexicali, the sprawling Mexican city directly across the international border from Calexico.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Merchandise is scattered throughout a Calexico shoe store after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked the area. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

A gun battle Thursday between a robbery suspect and a San Diego motorcycle officer ended when the suspect stopped his car, ran through a business complex and committed suicide, police said.

The incident began when a gunman robbed a Radio Shack in the Pacific Beach area and fled in a car with Colorado license plates, police said. A motorcycle officer began a high-speed pursuit and the gunman fired several shots out the window of his car as it sped along streets crowded with early afternoon shoppers.

The motorcycle officer fired at the gunman as the two raced across a bridge over Mission Bay, police said.

The gunman stopped at a business complex in the Midway district and ran inside, with the motorcycle officer following him on foot. The officer lost sight of the suspect, then heard a gunshot and found the man lying on his back, gun still in his hand, police said.

The dead man’s name has not been released. The officer was described as a 19-year veteran of the Police Department. He was not injured. His motorcycle had been struck twice by bullets, police said.

A woman passenger in the suspect’s car, Chantel Lister, 23, was arrested on robbery charges.

The case is under investigation by the department’s homicide squad.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Smoking will be banned on all U.S. Navy submarines, no later than Dec. 31, Navy officials in San Diego announced Thursday.

At the discretion of individual commanders, smoking had been allowed in the engineering space near the ventilation system. But a yearlong Navy study of nine submarines found that nonsmokers were still being subjected to secondhand smoke throughout the crafts.

The Navy has 57 submarines, including six based in San Diego. The submarine force has 13,000 sailors.

To help smoking sailors, the Navy will offer stop-smoking classes at shore stations and will provide nicotine patches and nicotine gum, officials said.

"What we want to discourage is smokers turning to alternative methods of tobacco use such as chewing tobacco," said Capt. Mike Michaud, submarine force Atlantic surgeon.

–Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo; Seawolf-class attack submarine Jimmy Carter. Credit. U.S. Navy

A federal judge Wednesday threw out the criminal case against five former members of the San Diego city pension board who were charged with conspiring to boost their own pensions with a risky financial plan.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez noted that the law governing pension boards at the time exempted public employees serving on such boards from conflict-of-interest allegations. The federal indictment said the five violated a federal statute meant to ensure that public employees provide "honest services."

Benitez said the indictment, which had been sought by the U.S. attorney, stretched the law — now being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in other cases — to the breaking point.

"Fortunately, due process forbids turning citizens into criminals through the application of novel, untested applications of a criminal statute," he wrote.

The ruling marked the second time that a criminal case stemming from the city’s pension deficit controversy had been tossed out.

In January, the state Supreme Court dismissed similar charges filed by the district attorney against six people who were on the board when it boosted pensions and allowed the City Council to decrease its payments into the pension fund.

— Tony Perry in San Diego 

Three major figures in the Arellano-Felix narcotics cartel that used violence and bribery in its cocaine and marijuana empire have been given lengthy prison sentences in San Diego federal court, officials said.

On Monday, Jesus Labra-Aviles was sentenced to 40 years and Armando Martinez-Duarte to 18 years and four months. Last week, Jorge Aureliano Felix was sentenced to 30 years in prison. All had pleaded guilty to a variety of conspiracy and drug charges.

A fourth defendant in the case is set to be sentenced next month. The reputed gangsters were extradited to the U.S. in December 2008.

The cartel operates from the Tijuana-Mexicali region to smuggle drugs into the U.S., bribing Mexican officials and murdering rivals, according to court documents.

— Tony Perry in Calexico, Calif.

Just as nerves were beginning to settle down, an earthquake initially measuring magnitude 4.9 hit the Calexico-Mexicali region at 9:12 p.m. Monday.

The temblor came at the end of a day of aftershocks, beginning with a magnitude 3.0 at 12:02 a.m.

In Calexico, merchants in the aging downtown spent the day sweeping up broken glass and restocking shelves. The Calexico Fire Department inspected numerous homes after residents reported smelling gas.

About 80% of the businesses downtown have been red-tagged and cannot be reopened to the public until structural inspections are made.

In Mexicali, where the million-plus residents were plunged into darkness Sunday in the wake of the magnitude 7.2 quake, officials were able to restore lights to large portions of the city throughout the day.

Mexicali residents continue to stream into Calexico to stay with family members or rent temporary housing. The northbound lane at the Calexico port of entry remained closed to vehicles, although pedestrian traffic was allowed.

The Calexico west entry point, however, was open to northbound vehicles. Long lines were reported in the evening.

Further south, in the hard-hit farming villages in the Mexicali Valley, hundreds of residents spent the night sleeping outside for fear of entering their damaged and flooded homes. Many had waited in line to get water, food and blankets from the Baja government.

In San Diego County, Caltrans workers were set to work through the night to inspect and repair portions of Interstate 8 in the El Cajon area.

 — Tony Perry in Calexico

Issa Salomi, 60, the U.S. Army linguist held captive for two months by a Shiite militia group in Baghdad, is set to return to his family this weekend in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.

Salomi was released from captivity a week ago and has been at an Army medical facility at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. His ex-wife and four of his six children live in the San Diego area.

His family, besieged by reporters, issued a statement asking for privacy: "We are preparing to reunite after what has been a very trying and emotional experience. Many of us have spoken to Issa on the phone since he has been going through reintegration procedures in San Antonio over the last few days, and he has expressed so many feelings — great joy, gratitude and, also, fatigue."

The statement says that Salomi, a naturalized American citizen who immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq in 1991, needs rest after his ordeal:  "He has been traveling for many days and we all request peace and a chance to clear our minds in solitude. Please help us to help Issa’s reintegration be as painless and smooth as possible, and refrain from contacting us directly."

The circumstances behind Salomi’s kidnapping and release remain unclear. He appeared in a hostage video in which he appeared to denounce the United States. The video was released by the Iranian-backed group the League of the Righteous.

–Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Issa Salomi in a still image from a videotape released by a Shiite militia group.

Credit: Associated Press

A top general at Camp Pendleton who is departing to become the top Marine in Afghanistan said this week he expects more violence by Taliban fighters in Helmand province.

 Maj. Gen. Richard Mills said the Taliban is desperate to regain momentum after being driven from its Helmand province stronghold in Marja a month ago by a Marine-led assault.

"I think the Taliban commander is back on his heels,” Mills said.  "He’s losing Helmand province."

Unwilling to fight the Marines head-on, the Taliban will increasingly resort to suicide bombings and roadside bombs, even if the victims are Afghan civilians, Mills said.

"He’s resorting to tactics of terrorism and intimidation," Mills said. "…An IED (improvised explosive device) doesn’t differentiate between killing Marines and killing children on their way to school."

On Wednesday, 13 Afghans were killed and four dozen more, including children, were injured by a bomber who pedaled up on a bicycle during a wheat seed distribution in the Najr-e-Sarraj district of Helmand.

The U.S. is sponsoring the program to encourage Helmand farmers to stop growing the opium poppy crop that is turned into heroin and provides massive profits for the Taliban insurgency.

Under a surge authorized by President Obama, the Marines are nearly doubling their strength in Helmand province, long considered one of the strongholds of the Taliban.

Mills, who will succeed Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, will have 19,000 Marines under his command, including about 7,000 from Camp Pendleton. Marines will continue to confront armed Taliban fighters, and search for weapons’ caches and bomb-making facilities.

Among the Marines’ other missions are training the Afghan security forces. Mills said that after-action reports from the fight in Marja indicate that while some Afghan units performed well, others need substantially more training.

"The raw material is there," he said. "These guys like to fight — they come from a warrior culture."

Mills will also inherit the task of training an Afghan police force for the province. Corruption and incompetence have long plagued the police, alienating the Afghan public. Along with U.S.-based contractors hired to train the force, Marines will continue to mentor the fledgling officers, Mills said.

"We have some work cut out for us — to stand up a competent, honest police force," he said.

Some Marines who fought in Marja complained that the rules of engagement meant to avoid civilian casualties were too restrictive, especially when Taliban fighters were surrounding themselves with civilians. Mills said he sees no reason to change the rules, even in cases where they provide an advantage to the enemy.

"He’s uncivilized," Mills said of Taliban fighters. "But you don’t sink to his level."

Mills, who is currently commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, is set to be in Afghanistan for 12 months. Like other Marines who served in Iraq, he takes lessons learned from Anbar province, where the Marine mission was similar to that in Afghanistan: Earn the support of local civilians, develop local security forces.

"We learned  that you can only take the locals so far, and that finally they have to stand up on their own two feet," he said.

— Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Maj. Gen. Richard Mills visits Marine paratroopers at Camp Pendleton on March 29, 2010. Mills deploys this week to take over as the top Marine in Afghanistan. Credit: Don Bartletti  / Los Angeles Times

The FBI sought the public’s help Tuesday in identifying a bank robber who wore a crash helmet during a heist at an Alpine bank and then escaped on a bicycle.

The robber, described as 17 to 25 years old, entered the California Bank and Trust in eastern San Diego County on Monday and yelled, "Give me your money!" the FBI said.

He lifted his shirt as if to show a gun, but no weapon was seen.

When the teller did not move fast enough, he slammed his fist on the counter and grabbed money from the drawer. He fled on a red BMX-type bicycle and was last seen westbound on Arnold Way in Alpine.

He wore a full-face crash helmet and a bandanna or goggles to cover his face. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (858) 565-1255.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Surveillance camera catches bank robber in the act. Credit: FBI

A military judge at Camp Pendleton on Friday rejected a defense request to throw out charges against the last Marine charged in the death of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.



Lt. Col. David Jones, the judge, had ruled Tuesday that there was a possibility that what the military calls undue command influence was present when two generals decided to bring charges against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.



But Friday, Jones ruled that he saw no indication of actual influence on Gen. James Mattis or retired Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland. Both, he said, conducted an "unbiased assessment" of the case before sending charges. Mattis sent charges to a preliminary hearing, and Helland sent charges to a court martial after that hearing.



In making his Tuesday ruling, Jones said the prosecution had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no undue influence existed. In his Friday ruling turning down the defense request, the judge ruled that prosecutors had "overwhelmingly" met that burden.



Wuterich’s court martial is set for September on a variety of charges, including manslaughter, aggravated assault, dereliction of duty, reckless endangerment and obstruction of justice. He remains on active duty.

The 30-year-old from Connecticut is the only Marine still facing charges.

Six other Marines have had charges dropped; one was acquitted. The enlisted Marines were accused in the killings, and the officers were charged with failing to launch a war-crimes investigation.

Faced with similar issues of alleged undue influence, another judge ruled differently, leading to the dropping of dereliction of duty charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the battalion commander.

Wuterich was the squad leader when Marines killed five Iraqis in the street and 19 others in three homes while searching for insurgents who may have been involved in detonating a roadside bomb that killed one Marine and injured two others.

The accusations of undue command influence arose because a Marine lawyer who was part of an initial investigation into the killings later sat in on meetings in which the case was discussed.

But there was no evidence the lawyer who was at the meeting to discuss other legal cases ever discussed the Haditha case at such meetings, Jones ruled.

"There was no chilling effect," Jones said. "The court must deal with facts, not conjecture."

Jones ruled prosecutors did a better job in rebutting the undue influence charges in the Wuterich case than with Chessani.

— Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Midge Costanza, a White House aide to President Jimmy Carter and longtime leader in issues involving women and the elderly, has died of cancer, San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis announced Tuesday. She was 77.

Costanza had joined Dumanis’ staff in 2005, specializing in campaigns against elder abuse. She was also active at San Diego State University in preparing candidates to run for office.

Costanza was a member of the Rochester (N.Y.) City Council in the 1970s and later an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. During that race, she met Carter and the two became fast friends. In 1977 he named her as a public liaison to youth, the elderly, minorities, women and gays and lesbians.

She moved to San Diego in 1990 and was active in liberal candidacies and issues.

She is survived by a brother and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service is being planned in San Diego.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Midge Costanza. Credit: San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

The defense for the last Marine facing criminal charges in the fatal shooting of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 won a key ruling Tuesday that could lead to the case being dropped.

Lt. Col. David Jones, the military judge, ruled that attorneys for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich had successfully shown that there was the possibility of what the military calls undue command influence in the decision by a general to send Wuterich to a court martial.

Jones’ ruling requires that prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no such influence existed or that, while it may have existed, it did not influence the general’s decision.

Faced with a similar ruling in the case of another Marine charged in the Haditha killings, prosecutors could not meet the burden of proof to the judge’s satisfaction. After losing an appeal, the Marine Corps dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani.

Jones set a hearing for Wednesday to hear any evidence prosecutors want to present. Maj. Nicholas Gannon, one of the prosecutors, said he was "99.9% sure" that he has no further evidence.

During the two-day hearing at Camp Pendleton, Gen. James Mattis and retired Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland testified that their decisions to charge Wuterich were not improperly influenced. Jones promised to issue his ruling Friday afternoon.

If he rules against the prosecution, he could dismiss the charges against Wuterich, which include manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.

He could also order the Marine Corps to hold a new preliminary hearing for Wuterich or assign the case to a general not "tainted" by the alleged undue influence. In that event, the Marine Corps could decide to drop the case, as it did with Chessani.

Jones said he was troubled by the fact that a lawyer who had been part of an early investigation into the Haditha killings later sat in on staff meetings where the Wuterich case was discussed. He also noted the fact that another lawyer advising the generals did not recuse himself from all aspects of the Haditha case after a run-in with the preliminary hearing judge for one of the defendants.

Wuterich, 30, showed no emotion when Jones issued his ruling.

Neal Puckett, one of Wuterich’s attorneys, said his client "is in good spirits. He hasn’t complained at all. He loves the Marine Corps and wants to make it a career."

Another of his attorneys, Haytham Faraj, said it was to the Marine Corps’ credit that Mattis was ordered to undergo cross-examination about the case.

Of eight Marines charged in late 2006 in connection with the killings, six had their cases dismissed and one was found not guilty. Wuterich was the squad leader when Marines began searching nearby buildings after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and injured two.

Five Iraqis were killed by the Marines near the blast, and 19 others were killed in three houses. None was ever shown to have insurgent ties or to have been involved in the bomb blast.

— Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. Credit: Los Angeles Times

A husband and wife from San Diego County who confessed on the "Dr. Phil" television show that they had been running a shoplifting ring for several years were sentenced Monday to federal prison.

Matthew Eaton  was sentenced to 27 months in custody and his wife, Laura Eaton to 12 months. Both had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic across state lines in stolen goods.

On the television show, the couple, living in San Marcos in northern San Diego County, said they had earned up to $100,000 a year by selling stolen goods on the Internet. They traveled to several states, often with their children as decoys, to shoplift at toy stores and other business, according to court documents.

When investigators raided the couple’s home, 500 boxes of stolen goods were seized.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Matthew Eaton, 34, and his wife, Laura, 27, appear on "Dr. Phil." Credit: DrPhil.com

The final Marine facing criminal charges in the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005 returns to a courtroom Monday at Camp Pendleton – in hopes of having the charges dropped.

Lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will ask a military judge to drop the charges for the same reason that charges were dropped against the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani–the appearance of "undue command influence."

Chessani’s lawyers argued that it was improper for a lawyer who was part of the investigation into the Nov. 19, 2005, killings to later sit in on meetings with the general who brought charges against eight Marines. An appeals court upheld a trial court ruling favoring Chessani.

Of the eight, only Wuterich, who was the squad leader, still faces charges. Six Marines had charges dropped, a seventh was found not guilty.

Wuterich is charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.  After a roadside bomb killed a Marine, Marines killed five Iraqi men in a car and 19 in three houses. The 19 included three women and seven children.

Among those listed as witnesses for the hearing are Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway and Gen. James Mattis. Mattis, who was commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at the time, brought the charges against the eight.

The appeals court ruled in Chessani’s case that although there was no evidence that the presence of Col. John Ewers at staff meetings with Mattis influenced the latter’s decision to bring charges, the very appearance of conflict of interest was sufficient to have charges dropped.

Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. Credit: Los Angeles Times

The wife of a Marine captain pleaded guilty Thursday in Riverside federal court to income tax evasion in a scheme in which the couple allegedly skimmed $1.75 million from contracts meant to supply equipment and other goods to troops in Iraq.

Janet Schmidt, 39, is set to be sentenced June 7. Her husband, Capt.  Eric Schmidt, also 39, is set to appear in court April 2.

Federal court records suggest Eric Schmidt also is prepared to plead guilty, although prosecutors successfully asked the judge to seal the agreement until his court appearance.

The two, who live in Murrieta, were charged with income tax evasion and wire fraud in a scheme in which Eric Schmidt, while a logistics officer in Iraq in 2008, issued contracts to an Iraqi firm. In turn, Janet Schmidt would buy less than the required amount of equipment and goods. She allegedly deposited the profits in an account controlled by the couple.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Colleges and universities are warning their students about violence in Mexico as thousands prepare to head south of the border for spring break.

San Diego State University plans to send individual e-mails to its 30,000-plus students informing them of the State Department warning about violence in numerous cities in Mexico, including Tijuana. Other universities are adding warnings to their websites.

The State Department warning tells people traveling to Mexico to stay in familiar places and avoid areas where drug sales and prostitution flourish.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

The mastermind of a nationwide ring that cheated casinos out of $7 million has been sentenced in San Diego federal court to 70 months in prison, officials said Monday.

Phuong Quoc Truong was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Houston, who also ordered Truong to forfeit $2.7 million and pay $5.7 million in restitution to the casinos. He was also ordered to forfeit property in San Diego and Vietnam, including real estate and a late-model Porsche.

Truong’s organization, centered in San Diego, cheated 27 casinos nationwide — including in San Diego and Riverside counties — through a variety of methods, including bribing dealers to provide a "fast shuffle" during blackjack and mini-baccarat games.

Thirty-seven defendants have now pleaded guilty.

— Tony Perry in San Diego