Bait Vehicle Detours into Living Room

A pickup truck planted by police to catch car thieves ended up parked in an Arlington man's living room early Monday morning.

Tim Black said he was awakened at about 3 a.m. when the truck plowed into his home.

"I was sound asleep and just heard a big -- you know, it didn't sound like a crash, it sounded like a bang, like something blew up," he said. "I rolled right out of bed and came running into the living room and, of course, that's when I found the truck."

Police had parked the pickup truck a few miles away as part of the Auto Theft Tracking Program. The car thief crashed into Black's home minutes after stealing it, police said.

In the bait car program, police plant vehicles in locations where they have a high probability of being stolen.

Once a thief breaks into the vehicle and begins driving it, police are electronically notified. Officers can then track the location of the vehicle. Once they find it, they can hit a kill switch, disabling the vehicle and locking the thief in the vehicle.

The program has yielded more than 700 arrests in Tarrant County since its inception in 2006.

But the person who stole the truck that hit Black's home fled the scene and is still on the loose.

"By the time I had gotten to the truck, the person that was driving it had already taken off," Black said.

Black said considers himself lucky, despite the damage to his home.

"Of course, it's hard to feel that way with a hole in your house," he said.

Black, a fifth-grade science teacher, said he also will get some use out of the painful situation.

"I can use this as a lesson for my students. We're studying physical science. I can tell them about what happened to my house here while teaching them about the laws of motion," he said with a laugh.

Two Donkeys on Fort Worth Cattle Farm Killed With Arrows

Fort Worth police are investigating a disturbing animal-cruelty case in which an archer shot and killed two donkeys.

Karen Oney found the bodies of two of the donkeys on her family's cattle farm near Saginaw on Monday morning.

"I'm outraged," she said. "This is horrible."

Police told Oney they suspect someone shot the animals from between 10 to 15 feet away.

"This morning, it was ... disturbing to drive in here and see two of them dead with bow and arrow, and the arrows still in them," Oney said.

There are about 15 donkeys on her family's farm. Their role is to protect the young calves from coyotes and other wild animals.

But on Sunday night, the donkeys weren't able to protect themselves.

"I just don't think a seasoned hunter that does this for sport and plays by the rules -- I just can't imagine they would do this," Oney said.

Fort Worth police said the shooters came through a gap in the fence where the barbed wire is separated.

Oney also pointed out a trail of footsteps that leads to the scene of the crime.

The donkeys were sisters, and their mother refused to leave their side.

"She wouldn't leave them -- didn't eat all day, just stood around and looked at them," Oney said. "I just want us to find out who did it."

Fort Worth police took the arrows from the scene as evidence. The department is investigating the case along with the Tarrant County game warden.

Person Falls to Death During Occupy SD

A man is dead after falling from the top of the San Diego Concourse parking structure at the San Diego Civic Center during the Occupy San Diego protest around 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Police have ruled the fall a suicide. After interviewing witnesses, police believe the man acted on his own.

"[Witnesses saw] a male falling from the parking structure and there were no other individuals around him at that time," SDPD Capt. Mark Jones said.

Witness saw flyers around the man, but they are unsure if they belonged to the victim, Jones said.

Police have confirmed the man was not part of the protest.

Investigators believe the person may have jumped from the top floor of the multi-level parking structure, police said. The man landed near a fountain in front of the doors to Golden Hall.

When witnesses called 911, officers already at the concourse for Occupy SD were able to respond within seconds.

The man appears to be in his early 40's, Jones said. The victim's name will not be released until his next of kin is notified.

Deer Crashes Through Window At Va. Elementary School

It was an unexpected start to the day for teachers at a Prince William County, Va., elementary school. A deer crashed through a classroom window.

“This has never happened before, and we hope it never happens again,” Antietam Elementary School Principal Linda Moniusko said.

Surveillance cameras recorded as the buck jumped into a first floor window at the Lake Ridge school, scaring an art teacher, then jumped back out that same window and ran away.

“I have no idea what would prompt an animal to enter a building,” Moniuszko said.

The buck is not the first animal seen near Antietam Elementary. Earlier this year, a mother bear and her cub were spotted near the school.

Still, Moniuszko is baffled by Monday's incident.

“We have them on the premises, behind the school, around the school,” she said. “But they have never tried to enter the school before.”

Panhandling Ordinance Shuts Down Fredericksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad Fundraiser

A volunteer rescue squad needs money for equipment and supplies for its ambulance after a weekend fundraiser was shut down.

Members of the Fredericksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad set up its fundraising signs and collection nets at a half dozen storefronts as part of its annual drive with a goal of $20,000 over the weekend. Before noon Saturday, police went to the squad’s headquarters and informed them they were breaking a city ordinance prohibiting panhandling and dangerous solicitation.

After calling off the collections, they learned they could have continued if they stayed away from the street.

Fredericksburg’s original solicitation ordinance passed in 2005 carved out an exception for the rescue squad, but the city attorney later determined they had to apply the rule to everyone and in 2008 it was tightened.

The rescue squad made just $3,000 on the first day of fundraising. Volunteers hope to meet with city officials this week to find out how to stage another fundraiser that won't violate the solicitation ordinance.

Fredericksburg police have charged 31 people with panhandling violations this year.

Northern Va. Battlefield Among New Va. Landmarks

The northern Virginia battlefield where President Abraham Lincoln relieved his commanding general for stubbornly refusing his commands is among eight sites added to the state's landmarks registry.

The Unison Battlefield Historic District, encompassing 8,000 acres in Loudoun and Fauquier counties, is where Union and Confederate cavalry detachments fought between Nov. 1-3, 1862. The Union forces were led by Gen. George B. McClellan, who failed to execute a battle plan drawn up by Lincoln that sought to pin down Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Two days after the battle, Lincoln relieved McClellan for his refusal to more aggressively pursue Confederate forces. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.

The Unison Battlefield is among the best preserved Civil War battlefields in the nation, according to the state Department of Historic Resources. >

The other additions to the state's landmarks registry are:

• The Freeman General Store, Fairfax County, built in 1859 and restored in the 1970s to its original likeness, based on Civil War-era photos. Historic Vienna Inc. continues to operate the store.
• Fire Station No. 5 in Roanoke, constructed a century ago, and operated until June 2010. It is now home to a nonprofit charitable organization.
• The Barrett-Chumney House, Amelia County, built in 1823 by Thomas Barrett. The house remains little changed today.
• The Sutherland House, built in the 1860s, is considered one of the most architecturally significant Civil War-era houses in Petersburg. It was built by George Washington Sutherland, a prosperous city grocer, and his wife.
• Cave Hill Farm, in Rockingham County, consisting of 158 acres. The site includes a two-story brick residence built in 1847 and an 1870 barn constructed on the stone remnants of a barn burned down during the Civil War.
• The Forestville Historic District, in Shenandoah County, a well-preserved mill settled by German immigrants at the crossroads of Routes 42, 614 and 767. It rose around a grist mill constructed in 1760 and grew amid the expansion of commercial wheat production.
• The John Miley Maphis House, also in Shenandoah County, a two-story frame house built in 1856 for a prosperous miller and merchant. The house is nearly unchanged and reflects the “hall-and-parlor” houses that were widespread in the Shenandoah Valley in the second half of the 19th century.

First Two Weeks of NBA Season Canceled

The first two weeks of the NBA season have been canceled after owners and players were unable to reach a new labor deal and end the lockout, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced.

Top negotiators for both sides met for more than seven hours Monday, returning to bargaining about 14 hours after ending talks Sunday night.

Stern said both sides are "very far apart on virtually all issues...We just have a gulf that separates us.''

The cancelation is a major economic blow to the country's 29 NBA arenas and its workers are bracing for a huge loss of revenue.

Between 400 and 600 ticket-takers, ushers and custodians, and 700 food service workers would be impacted.

The impact at Staples Center will be felt twice as hard because it's home to 2 NBA teams: the Lakers and the Clippers. While other arenas host 41 home games, Staples Center hosts 82 during a regular season.

"The financial impact is going to be big, because a lot of people work at Staples Center, and all of the people working at the restaurants," said basketball fan Danny Gonzales. "So, as a fan, if there's no basketball, there's nothing to do, there's nothing to watch."

According to several reports, the NBA lockout talks held on Sunday were mostly about system issues and not about the revenue split between players and teams.

Basketball fans point out that all the money they're spending on games is going somewhere else to someone else.

"Its'a big financial support for this city," said Lakers fan Marnee Mecija. "I mean, you're dropping money on tickets, parking, the food. So, it's unfortunate for all the people who are kind of on standby, waiting for their jobs, all of the people that are part of the organization, all of the little guys."

Restaurant workers at L.A. Live are particularly concerned about the possibility of cancelled games.

"Without a season, it takes down everything, all of our business around here," said sous-chef Josiah Simpkin. "This area is event-driven. Basketball season is what drives Staples Center from October to February. So, if we don't have it, that takes away almost all of our business."

Many of the restaurants at L.A. Live, right next to the Staples Center would ordinarily be staffing up right now.

"I have absolutely no jobs for anybody because it's so slow. We're just not hiring anybody," said Simpkin.

Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, owners Peter Holt of San Antonio, Glen Taylor of Minnesota and James Dolan of New York, and senior vice president and deputy general counsel Dan Rube met with union executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher of  the Lakers and vice president Maurice Evans of the Wizards, and attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Ron Klempner.

Owners locked out the players July 1 when they couldn't reach a deal before the expiration of the old collective bargaining  agreement. Opening night was scheduled for Nov. 1.

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