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Woman Sentenced in Mother's Murder

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A woman convicted of killing her mother and dumping her body was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, a judge said Friday as her family, who still want answers, looked on.

A jury found Ghazal Mansury guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her 79-year-old mother in January. The body was found days later near the Barona Indian Reservation.

The Serra Mesa woman had admitted to disposing of her mother Mehria Mansury's body in a remote area, but she pleaded not guilty to killing her.

A dozen family members were inside the courtroom during the emotional sentencing.

"We know it happened, we know who did it, we know all the story," said Mehria's niece Homaira S. Rassoul. "It's just for her to fess up, as they say, will be the last stitch to put in the wound and close it. The scar will always be there."

Rassoul spoke to her cousin Ghazal in court, saying the family just wants answers as to why she killed her mother. She said Mehria's sisters are in serious grieving, some now suffering from depression.

Ghazal, who declined the chance to speak before the court, did get a little emotional as she listened to her cousin, but the judge said she has shown no sign of remorse. For that, he gave her no probation.

Mehria was last seen alive on Sept. 23, 2013 by other family members. Mansury told relatives her mother went on a walk and never returned, which prompted a missing person search throughout the area.

On Oct. 2, 2013, investigators discovered Mehria's dead body under a tree near the Barona Indian Reservation. The next day, Mansury was arrested for her mother's murder.

Prosecutors say on Mansury's computer, they found online search terms like "homicide" and "how to clean blood stains."

Mansury claims she opened a door and knocked her mother over, and when she asked if she was OK, her mother replied, "Yes," according to the defendant. When Mansury returned, she says she found her mother dead, so she put her body in the trunk and dumped her elsewhere.

A witness who testified at trial told the jury Mansury had strangeld her mother with a bicycle inner-tube. Others said Mansury had a long-standing animosity toward Mehria. The tipping point allegedly came when a dog was taken away from her.

"There was a documented history of a relationship that had broken down. We knew that the drugs played a part. We knew that Ms. Mansury's choice of friends played a part," said Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood. "But more than that, Ms. Mansury unfortunately did not like her mother. That was very clear."

Investigators do not have a cause of death because Mehria's body was exposed to the elements and wild animals, prosecutors say.


Iraqi Shot in Dallas to Be Mourned

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An Iraqi newlywed who was shot dead as he took photos of his first snow Wednesday night, less than three weeks after he moved to Dallas, will be mourned and laid to rest Saturday, as police try to find his killer.

Ahmed Adnan Ibrahim Al-Jumaili, 36, was with his wife and brother when he was shot in the chest in an apparently random shooting in the parking lot of the Walnut Bend Apartments late Wednesday night. He died soon after at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

His distraught father-in-law Mohammed Al Taae told NBC 5 he couldn't believe his new son-in-law had escaped ISIS and other dangers in Iraq, only to die in a random and senseless shooting in Dallas.

Al-Jumaili had moved to the United States just 20 days earlier to marry his wife, after working up to the move for more than a year, Al Taae said. In Iraq, he had been a contractor for an Internet company in Baghdad and often worked with the U.S. Army and Air Force.

"He just bought a car," Al Taae said. "[He was] trying to find a decent job to start his life."

Investigators admitted Friday they had few leads in the investigation into Al-Jumaili's killing but hope someone will come forward with information that leads to an arrest. Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information.

Witnesses said they saw as many as four male suspects enter the apartment complex on foot and head toward an area near where Al-Jumaili and his family were enjoying the snow, police said. Moments later, shots were fired from what police believe was a rifle.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' local chapter's executive director Alia Salem said the civil rights group had been involved in the investigation over concerns the shooting may have been racially or religiously motivated, though she added that initial evidence doesn't suggest it was.

The reward offered by Crime Stoppers is for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. Tipsters can remain anonymous and should call 214-373-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can also contact Detective Montenegro with the Dallas Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 214-671-3624, and refer to case number 49093-2015.

NBC 5's Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News

After Selma: Where the Marchers Went

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Fifty years ago Saturday, a 52-mile march planned from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, faltered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The voting rights demonstrators encountered state troopers who attacked them with tear gas, whips and clubs — a violent encounter that became known as Bloody Sunday.

The march was completed two weeks later, this time led by Martin Luther King Jr. and protected by a federal court order. Five months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The bridge itself is named for a Confederate general, and now a Selma student group has launched a petition calling for it to be renamed.

Here are some of the key actors in that historic clash, and what they did in the years that followed.

John Lewis

As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which he had helped to form, Lewis led the first march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge and was knocked down and beaten in the head with a billy club.

He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1977 and afterward took a job in the administration of President Jimmy Carter as associate director of ACTION, then the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council, and in 1986 to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Georgia’s 5th District. Now 75, he still holds the seat. 

Hosea Williams

Williams earned his spot at the front of the march in place of King by a coin toss and continued leading civil rights marches after King was assassinated in 1968.

Williams was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1974, serving until 1984, then lost a bid for the U.S. Senate. He went on to serve on the Atlanta City Council and as a DeKalb County commissioner.

But he also was arrested more than 25 times for traffic violations and faced questions about the financing of some of his charitable operations, according to his obituary in The New York Times. He died in 2000 at age 74.

The Rev. Andrew Young

An aide to King, Young served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he helped to draft the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

He was elected to a seat in Congress from Georgia, was named ambassador to the United Nations by President Carter and then served two terms as mayor of Atlanta.

Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and President Bill Clinton appointed him to oversee the Southern Africa Development Fund.

The Rev. Ralph Abernathy

Abernathy had worked with King to establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became its second president after King’s assassination.

He helped to organize the Poor People’s March on Washington and the Atlanta sanitation workers’ strike and the Charleston, South Carolina, hospital workers strike. But he was criticized for writing about King's infidelities in his authobiography, "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down."

Abernathy died in 1990 at age 64. 

The Rev. James Orange

Orange’s arrest in Alabama while trying to register voters helped spark the historic march.

Demonstrators protested his arrest just after it, and one, Jimmie Lee Jackson, was shot by a state trooper while trying to protect his mother and grandfather from being beaten. He later died, and his death became a key catalyst for the Selma march.

Orange went on to become a labor organizer for the AFL-CIO and for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. He died at age 65 in 2008 in Atlanta.

The Rev. Cordy Tindell Vivian

Known as C.T., Vivian became a national figure when he was punched in the face by Sheriff Jim Clark while leading a group trying to register to vote at the Dallas County, Alabama, courthouse in Selma, just weeks before the first Selma march. The punch was caught by television cameras.

Vivian was a member of the executive staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later went on to organize other anti-discrimination groups. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013. He is 90.

Diane Nash

Nash sat-in at Nashville lunch counters and helped to coordinate Freedom Rides of young people on buses that were supposed to have been desegregated.

She kept at it even after U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy tried to persuade the students to turn to voter registration instead.

Nash later turned her efforts to opposing the war in Vietnam.

She was married to James Bevel, but they divorced.

 

James Bevel

A top aide to King, Bevel was a key organizer of the march, inspired by the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama state trooper. He was later forced out of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, however. 

He later became the running mate of perennial fringe presidential candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., who was at the time in prison for mail fraud and income tax evasion.

He was convicted of incest soon before he died in 2008 at 72.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

A rabbi, writer and social activist, Heschel was photographed marching alongside King in Selma.

He had also served as a Jewish liaison with the Vatican during the Second Vatican Council.

Heschel was a civil rights activist who was also opposed the Vietnam War, co-founding Clergy Concerned About Vietnam.

He died in 1972.

 

Frank M. Johnson Jr.

A federal judge, Johnson issued the historic order that allowed King to lead the successful march from Selma to Montgomery.

A law school friend of Gov. George Wallace, he was part of a panel that earlier struck down segregated seating on Montgomery, Alabama, city buses. He went on to outlaw poll taxes, strike down laws barring blacks and women from jury service, expand the right to court-appointed lawyers for poor people, and call for Alabama to reform its mental hospitals.

He retired from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta in 1992 and died in Montgomery in 1999 at the age of 80.

John Doar

As U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Doar led the federal participants in the march and went on to prosecute three Klansmen who killed a white volunteer, Viola Liuzzo, on the march's last night. (Johnson sentenced them to the maximum of 10 years in prison.)

Earlier, Doar had escorted James Meredith when Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi in 1962, and he helped to investigate the murder of the three civil rights workers in Mississippi. He later led the team making the case for impeaching President Richard Nixon.

In 2012, when awarding Doar the Presidential Medal of Honor, President Obama called him the face of the Justice Department in the South. Doar died in November at the age of 92. 

Annie Lee Cooper

Cooper was standing in line in 1965 waiting to register to vote at the Dallas County, Alabama, courthouse when Sheriff James Clark prodded her with his billy club.

She turned around, hit him and sent him flying.

In retaliation, the sheriff’s deputies held her down while Clark struck her repeatedly with his club.

Cooper died in 2010 at the age of 100.

 

 

Sheriff Jim Clark

Clark became sheriff of Dallas County, Alabama, in 1955, and while he was in office, protesters were regularly beaten and tear gassed.

Clark himself led the troopers who chased back the original marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He remained convinced decades later that he had done the right thing.

“Basically, I’d do the same thing today if I had to do it all over again,” he told The Montgomery Advertiser in 2006, a year before his death. “I did what I thought was right to uphold the law.”

But the year after Selma, Clark was defeated in a re-elected bid, and afterward he sold mobile homes, according to his obituary in The New York Times.

In 1978, he was convicted on conspiring to smuggle marijuana and was imprisoned. He died in 2007.



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Parents Worried After Student Brings Weapon to School

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A student was removed from a Tarzana elementary school this week after he was caught trying to hide a weapon in a gutter, school district officials said.

Parents said the weapon was a loaded gun, although the district stopped short of identifying the type of weapon in its statement.

Another parent took to Facebook and also said the weapon was a loaded gun.

"A student brought a weapon to Nestle Elementary earlier this week," the statement said, referring to Nestle Avenue Elementary School. "A school employee witnessed the student attempting to hide it in a gutter, and detained the student until law enforcement arrived."

"No weapon was ever pointed at a child or adult. No one was injured. The school routine was not interrupted," it said.

The student, said by parents to be a fourth grader, has been removed from school and is being considered for expulsion.

LAUSD declined further comment, citing an ongoing police investigation.

Parents were sent a voice message from the school’s principal, Cheryl Gray-Sortino, on Wednesday after the incident.

"A weapon was found on campus today and school police are currently conducting an investigation," she said. "The safety of our students is always our top priority. No one was injured. Students and staff are safe on campus. There was no impact on regular routines at school. I want to assure that your child is safe and that we remain vigilant in providing a secure learning environment."



Photo Credit: KNBC

Brenda Sierra's Family Hopes for Justice

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More than a decade ago, Imelda Sierra buried her 15-year-old daughter Brenda, the youngest of her three daughters.

Brenda was kidnapped while on her way to school in Montebello on Oct. 18, 2002. Her body was found bludgeoned in the San Bernardino Mountains the next day.

The case has remained unresolved for more than a decade. Now a 27-year-old woman faces kidnap and murder charges in the case. Rosemary Chavira, who was the same age as Brenda at the time of the killing, coordinated the kidnapping, prosecutors said. Chavira pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on March 3.

Deputies said they expect to announce three more arrests in the case within the month.

In 2012, the year deputies released composite sketches of two men sought in the case and identified a third man as a person-of-interest, Brenda's family spoke with NBC4 sister station Telemundo52 about the pain of losing the youngest of three daughters.

Fabiola Saavedra, the eldest, treated Brenda as her baby.

"Not one day passes that I don’t think of her," Saavedra said. "Not one day passes that I don’t promise that I will continue fighting."

Added her mother, Imelda Sierra: "She was an angel."

When deputies announced in 2012 that they had developed new information from the community about the case, the family's hopes soared.

One of the men identified in the case was believed to be in Mexico and had an arrest warrant in Los Angeles for narcotics charges. Two other young men were believed to be gang members.

Sketches of those men were shown with the plea that if anyone were to recognize them, to let authorities know.

"That day I will feel glorified, that my daughter got justice," Brenda's mother said.

Erick Mendoza and Sofia Pop contributed to this report.


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Family of Boy Shot to Death Seek Answers on Streets

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The family of a murdered teenager took to the streets to look for answers more than half a year after his death.

Police officers and relatives spoke to people in South Los Angeles during rush hour Friday to try and gather information about the August 22 shooting death of 17-year-old Bert Crump Jr.

He fled after being challenged to a fight, but despite jumping into a passing vehicle, he was pursued by his killer and gunned down on the 1200 block of West Gage Avenue in Vermont-Slauson.

"I love my son. I will not stop until this person who killed my son is found," his mother Tawana Lee said "Who is this person on this bike who chased my baby down? He did not deserve that, He was a good boy. He was a caring child. He did not deserve to be chased like an animal."

Police believe he was killed by a gang member offended by the fact he was wearing a red shirt.

"As he was waiting for the bus he was approached by a male who challenged him to a fight. He ran for his life," Det. Eric Crosson, of the LAPD Criminal Gang Homicide unit said, "Our crime happened on  (a) Friday night… people going to and from work, mostly from. We're just trying to reach the same people that were here that night."

Crump was caught on tape running and managed to jumping into the passing car off-camera, however the gunman chased him down on a bicycle, rolled up to the car and fired, wounding the 73-year-old driver and killing the boy.

Investigators said passing out flyers had helped solve open cases before, and they are hoping Friday's efforts will do it again.

Meanwhile faith leaders have called for an end to the violence in the area.

"Black lives matter no matter who's killing us. All killing must stop," Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad said.

1,300 Without Power After Suspected DUI Crash in OC

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More than a thousand customers were left without power after a DUI suspect crashed into a power pole in Orange County Saturday.

The man's Ford Mustang smashed into a beam at the intersection of Katella Avenue and Magnolia Avneue in Stanton At around 2:30 a.m, Orange County Sheriff's Department said.

Southern California Edison responded to scene as the crash knocked down power lines in the area.

More than 1,300 customers were without power. As of 6 a.m, only 28 custoimers were without power, and SoCal Edison said their electricity would be restored by 3 p.m.

The male driver was arrested and his passenger was released.

DUI Suspect Arrested After Crashing Into LASD Cruiser

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A female DUI suspect was arrested after crashing into a police cruiser in Compton Saturday.

The incident happened at the intersection of West Rosecrans Avenue and South Main Street at around 3 a.m, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

A sedan carrying four people hit the marked patrol unit. The occupants had to be helped out by firefighters and were hospitalized with minor injuries.

The cruiser sustained major front end damage, and the deputy was transported to a hospital, treated and released.

The woman driving the sedan has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.



Photo Credit: Loudlabs

Charges in Hero Officer's Death

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One of two brothers accused of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III was arraigned overnight Friday, the other remains in the hospital, restrained with the fallen hero's handcuffs.

Officer Wilson, 30, died Thursday from injuries sustained during an attempted robbery in the GameStop store at Hope Plaza Shopping Center at 2101 W. Lehigh Ave.

"He was making a security check and he was also picking up a gift for his 8-year-old son who had done exceptionally well at school, said Philadelphia Police Homicide Capt. Darrell Clark.

The father of two was in full uniform when brothers Carlton Hipps, 30, and Ramone Williams, 26, entered the store and announced a robbery, said investigators. The officer and the brothers engaged in a gunbattle which resulted in Wilson's death, Clark said.

"They were both firing at him," said Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. "He was actually being hit during the exchange of gunfire but he continued to fight, continued to shoot until the fatal wound was fired and it brought him down."

Hipps was injured in a shootout with Wilson's partner outside the store following the attempted robbery. He's being restrained with Wilson's handcuffs in Einstein Hospital, according to police.

Williams tried to blend into a nearby crowd to avoid arrest after the deadly shooting. Witnesses pointed him out to authorities and he was taken into custody.

He was arraigned overnight Friday.

Both men face murder and attempted robbery charges.

Wilson was hailed a hero following his death and that title was cemented earlier Friday when surveillance video of the gunbattle inside the store was released.

The video shows Officer Wilson act immediately, moving away from store patrons before firing his weapon.

"Not only in doing his job did he protect the store, he protected the employees," said Capt. Clark. "Like I said before, he was a hero."

Officer Wilson is an 8-year veteran of the 22nd District Police. He leaves behind two sons, 8 and 1.

A trust fund was set up for the boys Friday. It's being managed by the Police and Fire Federal Credit Unions. Actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd has promised a donation to Wilson's children. He made the announcement during an appearance at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Donations can be made at various branches around the city.

A mass to honor the fallen officer is scheduled for Sunday morning at St. Martin De Porres Church in North Philadelpia on Lehigh Ave. in North Philadelphia at 10 a.m. 



Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police Dept.

Search For Pot Dispensary Burglars in Los Angeles

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A search was underway Saturday morning for burglars who robbed a Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary.

Police helicopters were trying to locate the suspects from just after 4:30 a.m. in the Wilshire district, Los Angeles Police Department said.

One person was detained following the incident at the intersection of Pico Avenue and Spalding Avenue.

Officers are interviewing the business owner to find out if anything was taken from the business.

Couple Sentenced in Budding Filmmaker's Death

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A Southern California couple was sentenced Friday in the death of an aspiring filmmaker who was struck by a car while walking home from a party in the Pacific Palisades.

Marguerite Dao Vuong, who was accused of driving the car that hit 23-year-old David Pregerson, received three years in prison while her husband, Michael Vuong, received one year in county jail and three years probation for being an accessory to the fatal hit-and-run.

"How can someone leave a mortally wounded child on a dark road in the middle of the night?" Dean Pregerson asked during the sentencing, David Pregerson's father and a judge in the U.S. Central District.

The couple, both in their 60s and from the Palms area, pleaded no contest to the 2013 collision on Feb. 6 without an agreed sentence.

Dean Pregerson described the daily pain his son's death causes him and recounted the night of the crash remembering the last hug he would ever have with him.

"You never get over the loss of a child," he said.

He compared the way his son was left to die to "roadkill."

Prosecutors said Marguerite Vuong was driving the car that hit David Pregerson and that her husband tried to help his wife avoid prosecution by taking the blame.

On Dec. 27, 2013 David Pregerson was walking home from a bar when he was struck around 3 a.m. near the intersection of Chautauqua Boulevard and Borgos Place. Four days later, the recent UCLA graduate and budding film student died from his injuries on New Year's Eve.

Southern California Images in the News

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Southern California images in the news during 2015.

Photo Credit: Joseph Fanaselle

OC University Students Vote to Ban American Flag

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Students voted to ban the American flag from part of an Orange County university campus because it is a symbol of "colonialism and imperialism."

The Associated Students - University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) Legislative Council voted six to four, with two abstentions, to pass the resolution to remove all flags from their office's lobby Tuesday.

It means the Stars and Stripes will soon no longer be allowed, to create a "more inclusive" environment.

The resolution, which was written by student Matthew Guevara, also said "the American flag is commonly flown in government public service locations, military related entities, at homes, in foreign lands where the US government has a presence," and its "symbolism has negative and positive aspects that are interpreted differently by individuals." 

In addition, the measure claimed that "freedom of speech, in a space that aims to be as inclusive as possible can be interpreted as hate speech."

Despite the measure passing, ASUCI President Reza Zomorrodian is against the move.

"I stand firmly against this piece of legislation," Zomorrodian said, "As chair of the Executive Cabinet, we will be having a conversation about this piece of legislation and deciding what course of action the cabinet will take collectively."

UC Irvine has yet to respond to a request for a comment on the matter.



Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thieves Steal $200,000 of Firefighters' Rescue Gear

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Thieves have stolen $200,000 worth of rescue equipment from a closed fire station in San Bernardino..

They broke into a secured conex box where it was being stored outside of the shutdown building at Mill Street and Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino Fire Department said.

The gear pinched was frontline technical rescue equipment. The station used to be a tech rescue station but closed due to budget cuts. 

Officials said the lock was tamper proof and someone would have to know what they were doing to get it open.

It is unknown when the equipment was actually stolen, however it was noticed today when crews were going to get the equipment to use during a training class Friday.

White House Lockdown after Nearby Vendor Explosion

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The White House was put on lockdown Saturday morning after a nearby food vendor location suffered a small explosion, causing a security sweep of the area, according to a White House pool report.

Photos from Will Sweet show heavy smoke from one of the food locations in the 400 block of 15th Street, Northwest on Saturday morning. D.C. fire officials said the fire was extinguished and one person was evaluated on the scene, but not transported to a hospital.

The White House press pool was out on the South Lawn for the departure of President Barack Obama and his family to Selma, Alabama, when the explosion occurred. Secret Service moved the press back into the White House and initiated a lockdown of the building.

During a sweep of the area, a K-9 unit hit on a vehicle in the 1600 block of Constitution Avenue. The White House remains on lockdown while authorities check out the vehicle.



Photo Credit: Will Sweet @will_sweet1

4-Year-Old Killed in Hit-and-Run While Playing

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A 4-year-old California girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver when she ran into a street while playing with her parents Friday.

Violeta Khachaturyan died after the 5:30 p.m. incident at East Wilson Avenue and Olive Street in Glendale, police said.

Violeta ran into the street, was struck by a white or cream colored car car and was thrown at least four car lengths into the back of another vehicle. The impact was so severe she smashed the window of the parked car.

"She was a very fun energetic child... this is a child that had hopes and dreams that one day she could be something and now she's no longer with us, family friend Arshak Bareghmayan said, "She ran across the street... and next thing we know we just heard a loud bang and the child just flew across the street and that's it."

The girl's parents Anna and Robert were too devestated to speak about the incident.

An eyewitness named Sabrina said they had tried to stop her from running onto the road.

"The family was calling something and then I guess she didn't listen and the car just hit her. All I saw is that she flew from the car," Sabrina said.

Police do not know if the driver was a male or a female, and the family have appealed for information.

"We do encourage everyone, the driver, to please come forward... if anybody knows any information, if anybody has seen anything, this is the time to do the right thing," Bareghmayan added.

Jason Kandel and Rosa Ordaz contributed to this article

Roof Collapse at Party Near Cal Poly SLO, 8 Injured

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Eight people were injured when a garage roof collapsed at a college party in San Luis Obispo Saturday, authorities said.

No one died in the collapse, which was declared a "mass casualty incident," according to tweets from the San Luis Obispo Fire Department. Over 1000 students were at the party, said fire officials.

The damaged garage is located in the 300 block of Hathaway Street, according to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department, several blocks from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Four people were taken to local hospitals, and seven of the eight total injured were students, fire officials said.

The garage collapsed shortly after 6 a.m., according to a San Luis Obispo Police Department spokesman.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.



Photo Credit: Courtesy San Luis Obispo City Fire

Mother, Children Killed in Accident

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A mother and her two children – a 4-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl – were killed by a semi-truck as they were walking to a bus stop on the Chicago's South Side Friday.

Fire officials said the semi struck the three pedestrians just after 5 p.m. at 43rd and Ashland Avenue.

An employee at the Cricket phone store across the street from the incident said the mother and her two children came into the store prior to the accident to inquire about buying a phone for the daughter. The mother told the employee she had been going through a rough time lately because her car had been stolen.

The mother and her children were walking to the bus stop at 43rd Street and Ashland after leaving the phone store when they were struck by the semi.

The children were rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital and the mother to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital, but all three victims succumbed to their injuries.

Police confirmed the mother was the first to be pronounced dead at 5:27 p.m., and the two children followed shortly.

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the mother as 30-year-old Elizabeth Peralta-Luna and the children as 4-year-old Dylan Peralta and 9-year-old Elizabeth Peralta. They lived in the 5400 block of Sawyer Avenue in the Gage Park neighborhood.

Zachary Barngrover, a 23-year-old Iowa man who was driving the semi, was cited with failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk and making an improper left turn on a two-way road, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Barngrover said he did not seen the mother and her children as they crossed the street.

Woman Allegedly Sex Trafficked Daughters: Deputies

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A mother was accused of renting her two daughters out for sex -- one of them 14 years old, the other an adult -- and remained jailed Saturday.

Antwana Muhammad, 39, along with her live-in boyfriend, Charles Smith, 32, are suspected of exploiting her 14-year-old biological daughter to perform commercial sex acts throughout Murrieta, the San Fernando Valley and other locations across Southern California, according to the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force.

During the investigation, it was revealed that an adult daughter was also being pimped by both Muhammad and Smith.

It is believed that Smith posted online advertisements soliciting the daughters for prostitution and that Muhammad took them to perform the activities, Sgt. John Sawyer wrote. Muhammad and Smith kept all of the earnings from these activities.

Both Muhammad and Smith were arrested on Thursday afternoon.

Officers spotted Muhammad driving in the area of Ramona Expressway and Interstate 215 before arresting her. They also got a residential search warrant in the 1400 block of Medallion Court in Perris, where they found Smith and took him into custody.

The two are held in the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on charges of human trafficking of a minor, pandering a minor and pimping. Charges of child endangerment will also be sought, deputies said.

Bail was set at $250,000.

Muhammad's daughters were taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services.



Photo Credit: Courtesy Riverside County Sheriff's Department

K-9 OK After Rollover Crash in San Bernardino

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A sheriff's deputy and a K-9 were pulled from a cruiser when the SUV rolled over after a collision Friday night in San Bernardino County, authorities said.

The car collided with a sedan at around 11 p.m. between Baseline Road and Valencia Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

The deputy and the K-9, named Deja, were traveling west when their vehicle collided with a sedan making a left turn at Valencia Avenue, deputies said.

Everyone involved in the collision is expected to be okay, deputies said. The deputy and the driver were taken to the hospital.
 



Photo Credit: LoudLabs
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