Victim Alleges Ex-Cop Talked Dirty to Her

One of the alleged victims of a rogue police officer says she was too embarrassed to tell her boyfriend that the officer offered to let her go from a DUI stop if she showed him her body.

The woman, identified in court as Melissa M., was 22 years-old when former San Diego police officer Anthony Arevalos stopped her in the Gaslamp Quarter on January 9, 2010.

She said Arevalos asked if she'd be willing to pull down the top of her dress if he'd let her go.

But new evidence revealed today that "Melissa M's" blood alcohol was only .06, which is under the .08 limit, meaning Arevalos could not have arrested her for DUI.

On the witness stand Monday, Melissa M. testified that Arevalos had talked "dirty" to her.

One of her friends also testified that Melissa M. told her the officer was "talking nasty" to her.

But under cross examination, Melissa M. acknowledged she could have driven away from the scene. She also said she did not return several phone calls from a detective, who helped build the criminal case against Arevalos after he was arrested and fired from the department earlier this year.

Check back for more updates from Monday's court session. 

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NIU Building Evacuated for Bomb Threat

A Northern Illinois University building was evacuated Monday morning after reports of a bomb threat.

Campus police searched Barsema Hall and continue to investigate the threat, a university representative said. All students were safely evacuated from the building.

An alert from the school advises students and staff to stay clear of Barsema Hall while police investigate.

The school posted the following on its Facebook page to students about 11:25 a.m.:

"NIU Department of Police and Public Safety are investigating reports of a bomb threat this morning at Barsema Hall. University public safety personnel are currently at the scene, and the building has been evacuated.

The campus community is advised to stay clear of the Barsema Hall while the investigation continues. This notification will be updated as additional information becomes available."

 

One Killed in Prince George's County Crash

Prince George's County police are investigating a deadly crash that happened in Clinton.

It happened around 10:30 Sunday night near the intersection of Old Alexandria Ferry Road and Malcolm Road.

One person was killed in the crash and another is in critical condition.

Police are still trying to figure out just how the crash happened.

Old Alexandria Ferry Road was closed for a few hours while police investigated the crash.

New Jersey's "After 3" Program, Set to Close, Gets Reprieve

An afterschool program for mostly low-income children that was slated to close Monday has won a reprieve.

Gov. Chris Christie announced that New Jersey After 3 will continue through a public-private partnership. He had cut the final $3 million from program in this year's budget, saying the tough economy forced him to make difficult cuts.

"This is a model for what we should be doing for those programs during difficult times," Christie said Monday during a news conference on the October snowstorm that left hundreds of thousands without power. "There are lots of willing funders out there who want to support good programs for people in New Jersey."

Among them is hedge fund billionaire David Tepper, a Christie ally who formed the nonprofit Better Education for New Jersey Kids this summer. He will provide an undisclosed amount of bridge funding while the state applies for additional federal money.

New Jersey After 3's founding president, Mark Valli, announced last week that the agency couldn't raise enough private money to keep going once the state bowed out. The program provides grants to local nonprofits, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, to provide tutoring and other activities from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

It had already run out of money and stopped funding local programs and was to formally close Monday.

But instead of meeting to dissolve, New Jersey After 3's board announced the agency would partner with the state Education Department to help implement the extended learning component of its No Child Left Behind waiver application. The state is expecting to use money from No Child Left Behind to fund the afterschool programs.

Christie said his administration contacted Tepper and Better Education for Kids in the meantime. The new 501(c)(4), or Super PAC, over the summer bought $1 million worth of airtime to counter the teachers union's ads against Christie.

The group's educational philosophy of ending teacher seniority, changing the tenure law and revising teacher evaluations clashes directly with the teachers' unions' positions. The group is not required to disclose its patrons, who can donate in unlimited amounts.

Democrats in the Legislature tried unsuccessfully to restore funding for the afterschool initiative in June. Several Democrats denounced Christie last week when it was announced the program would end.

Statistics show the afterschool programs help keep children safe and off the streets and provide extended learning time for thousands.

The agency at one time provided funding for 15,000 children to attend afterschool programs.

Agency funds served as many as 5,000 children last year. More than two-thirds of the beneficiaries qualified for low- or reduced-price school lunches, Valli said.

Oklahoma City Girl Died of Stab Wound

Officials say a 10-year-old Oklahoma City girl who police say was apparently abducted while visiting the Dallas area was stabbed to death, the Associated Press reports.

The Dallas County medical examiner's office said Monday that Jasmen Gonzalez died of a stab wound to the chest. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

Carrollton police said two residences and three vehicles were searched in connection with a 10-year-old girl's mysterious death.

Gonzalez was in town with family visiting relatives went she missing late Saturday night.  Her body was found dead Sunday afternoon.

A family friend, Jose Sifuentes, is being detained by ICE investigators and has been named the only person of interest in connection with the girl's death by the Carrollton Police Department.

Sifuentes' residence at 1610 E. Belt Line Road and his Lincoln Navigator were searched by authorities, police said Monday, but they wouldn't say what, if anything, was found. In addition to Sifuentes' Navigator, officers searched a white Ford F-150 pickup truck and a red Chevrolet van.  They also executed a search warrant at the apartment where the girl went missing.

Investigators said Sifuentes, who is believed to have been born in 1988, attended a gathering Saturday held by Gonzalez's family.  Police wouldn't say if Gonzalez and Sifuentes had any interaction at the gathering, but did say they were both there. 

Twelve people, including Sifuentes, have been interviewed by investigators in connection with the girl's death.

While officers have had little to say regarding Sifuentes or the information learned about the girl's death. They did say that they are confident she was abducted from inside the apartment. Officials said there was no forced entry, but they wouldn't disclose where entry was made into the apartment.

OB Man's Drowning Ruled Accidental

A local man whose body was found under the Ingraham Street Bridge was the victim of an accident according to officials.

A family sailing on Mission Bay discovered the body of Steve Marquez  on Aug. 30. The San Diego resident had been missing for several days when his body was discovered according to his brother-in-law, Mark Jimenez. 

The San Diego County medical examiner released autopsy results Friday that show Marquez drowned with alcohol and methylone in his system.

Marquez, 37, worked for more than a year maintaining the cemetery grounds for El Camino Memorial on Imperial Avenue. He didn't show up as scheduled several days before his body was found. 

Marquez lived at the Centre City Hotel on 4th Avenue in San Diego officials said. Friends said Marquez had been living along Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach.  

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Sinkhole Swallows Man, 80, As He Goes for Morning Newspaper

An 80-year-old man who went out to get his morning newspaper fell into an 8-foot sinkhole tha opened up in his Long Island lawn.

Michael Ciron was not seriously injured in his Sunday morning ordeal, and even boasted that he managed to hang onto the papers, according to Newsday. He yelled for his daughter, who woke up and came to his aid by calling police and firefighters to the Oceanside home.

By the time rescuers arrived, Ciron had managed to pull himself up so that his head was above ground, Newsday reported.

The fire department pulled him out with a web harness.

Ciron figures the sinkhole may have been the site of an old well or cesspool that opened up after Saturday's wet, snowy weather.