A man suspected of being under the influence of drugs was arrested Friday after he broke into a room at a Southern California retirement facility and held an elderly resident and a nurse hostage at knifepoint, officials confirmed.

Brian Phillips, 30, was arrested at Fredericka Manor Retirement Community in San Diego’s Chula Vista area at around 7 p.m.

The Chula Vista Police Department said dispatchers received a phone call from Phillips at around 6:40 p.m. saying he had broken into a room at the facility and was holding hostages at knifepoint.

When police arrived on scene, they confirmed an elderly resident and a nurse were, in fact, being held hostage by Phillips inside an apartment at the retirement facility.

SWAT and crisis negotiation officials were called in for backup. Before SWAT crews arrived, Phillips came out of the apartment and was arrested by police.

Police said the hostages were found shaken up but otherwise unharmed inside a bathroom.

Phillips was booked into San Diego County Jail on seven charges, including robbery, using a person as a shield and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

The Chula Vista Police Department said Phillips was on parole at the time of the break-in and has prior arrests for drug violations. He had no relationship to the hostages or a reason to be at Fredericka Manor, police said.

Phillips was suspected of being under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. He's scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

This is the second time Fredericka Manor has been in the news this week. A recent norovirus outbreak at the retirement facility infected dozens of residents and nearly a dozen staff members.
 

A San Diego company will have to pay more than $425,000 to a Carlsbad resident after she was seriously injured while walking across a crosswalk.

Arizona State University student Haley Shook, now 23, was hit while walking in the middle of a marked crosswalk when she was 19 years old.

The truck belonged to the San Diego-based digital reproduction firm American Reprographics, LLC, whose truck driver admitted fault when he collided with the girl.

“Although the driver hit his brakes, he could not stop in time to avoid hitting our client. She jumped in the air to try to avoid the impact, landing on her right foot, breaking two bones,” said Thomas Penfield, one attorney for Shook. “Following impact, she fell to the street, and shortly thereafter required foot surgery. Although the crash happened in 2011, she has continued to experience chronic pain in her foot.”

Shook was awarded $425,741.67 for her medical expenses, general damages for pain, loss of quality and enjoyment of life by a jury after a three-day trial in Vista Superior Court.

It has been more than six months since 43 students were kidnapped in Mexico and presumed massacred, but their families are still looking for answers as to what happened to their children.

In San Francisco’s Mission District Saturday, a couple of parents tried to rally support around their plight. There has been no definitive proof of their deaths. So, the families of those 43 students are still holding out hope that their loved ones are still alive.

Organizers have put together three caravans in the United States, one back east and another in the Midwest and one moving up the West Coat. It is fitting the one on the West Coast stopped in San Francisco’s Mission District because that is where a good number of residents of Mexican descent live and are interested in this case.

Dozens marched from the 24th Street Bart Station to a community forum at a local middle school. That is where a mother and a father, each with a son among the 43 missing, explained their heartache to a standing room only crowd.

Mexican authorities have said the college students were taken by police and handed over to a drug cartel that killed them all, but little evidence supports that.

“They’re here to ask for support and to continue to keep their plight in the limelight," organizer Anabelle Garay said. "They’re also asking the U.S. to reconsider the aid it provides Mexico for military purposes.”

Organizers of the march and forum hope people will join in to pressure the Mexican government into solving this case.

The caravans plan on converging in New York City at some point, gathering at the United Nations, and ramping up the pressure there too.

A man came home to find a burglary in progress and was injured as the escaping burglar rammed his daughter's vehicle into his own this week, police said.

The burglar's violent getaway from the Los Angeles-area home can be seen on video shared with NBC4. But he was shortly captured by officers from the El Monte Police Department after he crashed the stolen vehicle and ran away on foot, according to a police statement.

The break-in took place on Tuesday, March 31, at about 11 a.m., police said.

Police recovered personal electronics, over $6,000 in cash and other property stolen from the home, in the 4000 block of Shirley Avenue in El Monte, the statement said. Adan Vega was arrested.

Vega allegedly broke into the residence and loaded up the woman's vehicle with stolen property when he was spotted by the man who lived there and was returning home, according to police.

The man's minivan was blocking the driveway and the gate was closed, but Vega allegedly drove the stolen vehicle through the gate and into the minivan. The man who lived at the home was injured by a piece of dislodged gate, police said.

A member of the family, who asked not to be named, said the family was grateful for the police's help in catching the burglar.

Authorities were searching for a gunman who shot at a crowded bus in Echo Park on Easter Sunday, grazing the driver in the head.

The bus, carrying about 30 passengers, was passing under a bridge near the corner of Bellevue Avenue and Coronado Street when a bullet came through the front window, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said.

No passengers were hurt.

It was unclear whether the bus had been targeted.

No further information was immediately available.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.

Thousands of people flocked to a super-size Easter Sunday service in the San Fernando Valley that preached a message of hope.

A massive tent was constructed at Porter Ranch's Shepherd Church, which hosted about 20,000 people to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"If I look around our world today, whether it's in politics, entertainment, wherever I look, I don't see a lot of hope," Executive Pastor Tim Winters said.

The services, now in their 17th year, were set to be translated into different languages. In its first year, only about 1,300 people attended the Sunday service.

"It's beautiful. It's the prettiest service I've ever been to," said churchgoer Julie Early.

One thousand volunteers worked to bring the two huge services to life under a massive tent, and Winters said attenting is "is one decision you'll never regret."

Paula Cracium, Shepherd's director of Development and event coordinator, said in a press release that the church loves bringing the community together for celebrations.

"Celebrating Easter is of immense significance to us, a Christian church and the enormous tent allows us to have a community wide celebration," Cracium said.

A man who allegedly caused a woman serious injuries in a domestic violence dispute punched a police dog and injured an officer in a cruiser as police pursued him in Orange County, officials said.

California Highway patrolmen had to use a Taser on the man to subdue him after he bailed from his vehicle on the 605-to-405 freeway transition, a CHP spokesman said. He fought with officers and repeatedly punched a K-9 unit before he was taken into custody.

The chase began in La Palma at around 12:15 a.m. in the 7300 block of Walker Street, about three hours after a domestic violence call, according to a La Palma Police Department spokesman.

Jose Manuel Jara, 40, allegedly sent his girlfriend to a hospital with serious injuries, Sgt. Ron Wilkerson said. As police chased his pickup after failing to get him to stop, Jara allegedly turned his vehicle around and rammed a cruiser, injuring a female officer who had been with the department for 27 years.

The chase eventually reached 100 mph before Jara's vehicle disabled, according to the CHP.

Jara was taken to a hospital with injuries he received while he was being apprehended, the CHP spokesman said.

The injured officer faced non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital, police said.

A police pursuit that reached speeds of 140 mph on Southern California freeways ended when the driver slammed into two other cars, sending two of the vehicles careening out of control.

California Highway Patrol officers first reported pursuing the car on the northbound 57 Freeway in the Yorba Linda area after the driver allegedly refused to pull over for a traffic violation.

The driver — accompanied by one passenger — then made his way into Los Angeles County, maintaining triple-digit speeds and narrowly dodging other cars as he threaded his way through light Saturday night traffic on the 210, 134 and 405 freeways.

On the southbound 405 Freeway in the Marina del Rey area, the driver apparently attempted to slip in between a car and a pickup truck that were traveling side by side, but collided with both. The pickup truck flew into a retaining wall, the other car spun out and the pursued car slowly rolled to a stop as sparks flew from underneath it.

The driver and passenger came out of the pursued car with their hands up and were taken into custody by CHP officers.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the occupants of the other vehicles in the crash.

Two people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Culver City Fire Department officials said. It was not immediately clear which of the vehicles the injured were in.

There were no updates on the chase as of 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

Meet the man who is seeking to break out of LA's "food prison" by growing his own "food forest."

Ron Finley is fed up with the unhealthy food choices in his community. South Los Angeles is home to nearly 1,000 fast food restaurants. One in seven residents has diabetes and one in three children is obese — statistics that are twice the rate of wealthier neighboring communities.

But, in the shadow of the Metro train station, there lies an oasis in the concrete jungle — it's a place where healthy food is grown and given away free on Exposition Boulevard.

This is the world famous Urban Garden planted by Ron Finley, a fashion designer known as the "guerrilla gardener."

Ten years ago Finley grew tired of driving to other neighborhoods to buy healthy food. He decided to grow his own on the strip of land between the curb and the sidewalk in front of his house. The city of Los Angeles said it was an illegal use of public space and issued an arrest warrant.

Finley said he couldn’t believe the uproar his garden caused.

"I planted a carrot and all hell broke loose," Finley said.

"It was almost, OK, we got a black man with a carrot in the ground in South Central. We need back up. Are you serious? It’s a carrot, dude," he added,

But, this did little to dissuade Finley's green thumb. He fought to change the law. He won his battle against the city of LA. Now, he helps plant urban gardens all over South LA.

"I don’t want to live in a food prison. I want to live in a food forest," Finley said.

"People walk down the street out of their way to get to the train to see what’s happening in the garden. There’s nothing like that around here," he said.

Finley encourages neighbors to come and plant their own food, and he shares what he’s grown.

Neighbor Jelani Thomas stops by on his way to the train for a healthy snack. He said the garden provides him with greens which help to energize him before exercising.

"I start off with some chard and kale and work my way down the line and pick as I see it," Thomas said as he munched on some freshly picked greens.

Finley’s garden has become a living classroom for children in nearby neighborhoods. They enjoy digging in the dirt, chasing butterflies and being dazzled by hummingbirds.

Erica Elizondo says the garden exposes her 3-year old daughter Kamila to the natural world.

“It really teaches her the interdependence of different species and we’re not isolated. It’s very important for me,” Elizondo said.

Finley’s dream of a healthier food culture is catching on. His February 2013 TED talk has garnered more than 2 million views on the Internet, inspiring people around the globe to plant their own urban gardens. He is sparking a revolution one seed at a time.

"It makes me feel great because you realize one person can change the paradigm," he said.

Finley hopes to expand his non-profit gardening program. If you’d like to help or donate go to www.ronfinley.com.

A University of Iowa student from a Chicago suburb died after seriously injuring himself in a fall in January while studying abroad in Rome, Italy.

Andrew Mogni, 20, of west suburb Glen Ellyn, suffered “serious injuries” in the early morning fall on Jan. 14, the university said.

Mogni, of Glen Ellyn, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Sunday at 11:25 a.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

University officials said earlier the fall “is thought to be an accident, but police are investigating.”

He was transported to Northwestern Hospital from Rome via air ambulance on March 20, according to the university.

Mogni was a third-year finance major and had arrived in Rome for a semester at John Cabot University in Trastevere.

The Los Angeles Clippers routed the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night at Staples Center. With the loss, the Lakers collected their 56th loss, meaning the 2014/15 Lakers now sit alone as the worst team since the franchise moved to Los Angeles. Previously, the 2013/14 LA Lakers finished with a record of 27-55.

On Sunday, the Lakers and Clippers both started slow, but predictably, the visiting team picked up the pace. After one quarter, Blake Griffin had 10 points, and the Clippers held a 23-16 lead due largely to the purple and gold failing to get production from their starting back court. Jordan Clarkson and Jeremy Lin finished the first quarter combining for zero points and zero assists in 16 minutes and 24 seconds. The duo also accounted for three of the Lakers' five turnovers to that point.

In the second quarter, the Lakers would struggle to score, and Chris Paul would continue to set the table for the Clippers' offense. By halftime, Paul had nine assists, and the Clippers led by 13 points. Incidentally, the entire Lakers' team had nine assists at the intermission, and that score failed to tell the story of Clipper domination.

In the second half, the Clippers' point guard proved his pedigree. Along with dribbling through Carlos Boozer's legs, Paul added another six assists in the third quarter to arrive at 15 assists for the game. At that point, he had more assists than the entire Lakers' team, 14 assists.

RT @LAClippers: In case you missed it. �� https://t.co/BQi4A9jblw

• Preview: Lakers Versus Clippers

— Triple Threat (@LA_TripleThreat) April 6, 2015

Effectively, the game was over after three quarters. The Clippers led by 29 points at that stage, and none of their starters would return to the court for the final 12 minutes.

For the Lakers, Sunday night did not offer much in the way of development or practice. The score would get out of hand, and the Lakers would trail by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter. The final score would read: "Clippers 106, Lakers 78." 

With the loss, the Lakers have lost six straight to the Clippers. Both teams play again on Tuesday, but the Clippers will act as the home team in the next meeting.

The FBI is offering up to a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of one of FBI San Diego’s Most Wanted Drug Fugitives.

Rene Arzate-Garcia, or “La Rana,” is known as a high-ranking member of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel. He is wanted for allegedly conspiring with others to bring large quantities of Marijuana into the U.S.

Arzate-Garcia has been has been identified as the Tijuana Plaza boss for the Sinaloa Cartel and is believed to be responsible for their operations in Northern Baja California, Mexico, including coordinating and enforcing violent operations on behalf of the cartels. Those operations include multiple murders and kidnappings, according to the FBI.

One of the indictments unsealed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California charged Arzate-Garcia in his role for conspiring to bring large amounts of marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico. 

He is described as a Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes approximately 6 feet tall and 220 pounds in his 30s. He also goes by La Rana, General and Apa.

A man is recovering after a sea lion bit his hand and pulled him off a boat and underwater, San Diego officials said.

The man was holding a fish on a docked boat in the Hyatt Mission Bay Marina Sunday afternoon when the sea lion, apparently attempting to get the fish, bit the man's arm and pulled him into the water by his hand, said Lee Swanson, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

He was pulled under for about 20 seconds, though he did not take in any water. 

By the time rescue officials arrived, he was back in the boat. 

He was taken to Scripps La Jolla with cuts to his hand and arm. 

If you find a stranded sea lion, don’t approach the pup or try to feed it. Instead, call SeaWorld’s rescue line at 800-541-7325.

SeaWorld says it has been flooded with calls about the stranded pups. At this time, they will wait to come and rescue the pups because sometimes the animals will go back into the water on their own.

A driver slammed into the side of a tour bus in a Bloomington intersection on Easter Sunday, killing himself and injuring five bus passengers, officials said.

The collision took place about 7 p.m. in the intersection of Valley Boulevard and Linden Avenue, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Five people riding on the bus were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. San Bernardino County fire officials initially said nine people had been hurt.

"It's pretty catastrophic," said Officer Brian Alvarez of the California Highway Patrol.

Cristina Garcia said she heard a "boom," then rushed to try to help the driver trapped in the mangled Dodge.

"I saw the white car underneath the bus," she said. "He wasn't talking. He was breathing, he wasn't moving his hands. I couldn't even feel his pulse."

Firefighters used the Jaws of Life, a hydraulic rescue tool, to free the driver from the wreckage.

He was taken to Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fontana. CHP officials said the driver had died.

The bus company, Executive Lines, has a Satisfactory Safety Record, according to records with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the NBC4 I-Team found.

Executive Lines operates 12 buses and employs 34 drivers. It had no crashes in the last two years, which is how far back online records are available.

Inspectors have found no "serious violations" on recent inspections.

Executive Lines scored better than the majority of bus companies in most safety categories, according to the NBC4 I-Team's data search.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going into the 2015 season with a $273M payroll and high hopes for their first World Series appearance since 1988. They have the lineup and the starting rotation to keep hold of the top post in the National League West, but one issue that remains unsettled heading into Monday’s Opening Day is the bullpen. 

In a tradition that stretches back to 1878, the White House has opened its lawn to more than 35,000 people as part of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday.

The event was briefly interrupted by a flying, buzzing harbinger of spring.

Squeals and shrieks from a clump of agitated children interrupted President Obama's reading of his childhood favorite, Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are," at the storytime stage, one of several outdoor stations at an event that has grown into far more than colored eggs.

Obama looked up to see what the trouble was.

"Oh no, it's a bee!" he said, laughing, then quickly tried to reassure the kids. "That's OK guys, bees are good. They won't land on you. They won't sting you."

In fact, helping honeybees and other beleaguered pollinators survive is a goal of Obama's administration. Elsewhere at the event, children were given donated Burpee garden seeds to encourage them to plant bee-friendly habitats.

But the kids ducking and dodging in their hay-bale seats had no interest in being part of this bee's habitat. "Scary!" one of them shouted.

Obama — who had just led the children through imitations of the roaring, teeth-gnashing and eye-rolling of the storybook's monsters, finally got them settled down after a reminder that, "You're not supposed to be scared of bees when you're Wild Things."

Officials said more than 35,000 people took part in the 137th egg roll, an event that began when President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling in 1878.

Toddler boys in straw fedoras and little girls in spring dresses with bright sashes romped on the lawn. One girl, in pants, turned cartwheels while waiting her turn to roll a wooden egg.

Eleven-year-old Madison Knight, decked out in sequined rabbit ears, said she'd never heard of egg rolling before — only egg hunting — but was game to try the White House tradition.

Madison and her 9-year-old friend Kyla Newkirk, both from Durham, North Carolina, agreed that wasn't the most exciting part of the day, however. Their anticipated highlight? "Seeing the president!" Madison said, as she waited for Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and a giant Easter Bunny to emerge on the South Portico to officially start the day.

The egg roll tradition involves children lining up to use wooden spoons to push the brightly painted eggs a short distance across the grass, in a loosely defined race to the finish line. It's harder than it sounds — especially for toddlers — and strategies range from nudging, poking and sideswiping the eggs to a scooping motion that sometimes sends them flying in unexpected directions.

The Obamas stopped by to give encouragement. Michelle Obama leaned over to gently help one youngster get his egg moving again in mid-race. Obama offered high-fives, handshakes and hugs to kids and their parents. "Good job, guys," he said.

The Obamas used the event to tout the fifth anniversary of the first lady's campaign to get kids to eat well and exercise. The girl group Fifth Harmony appeared with a not-so-healthy-looking cake to sing "Happy Birthday" to the "Let's Move!" effort.

This year, the #GimmeFive theme was added, encouraging children to come up with five ways live healthier lives and to share them on social media.

Making his rounds, Obama joined kids shooting baskets with Washington Wizards players and other athletes, missing his first shot but sinking the second.

Then he took on tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in a doubles game with kids on a mini-court. Obama whooped when he scored against the Danish pro.

"Got to work on those volleys," he teased, adding, "I'm a competitor."

Then she served, and the president missed the return.

A shooting has left a musician dead just minutes after performing at an Oakland club, and there is a $20,000 reward to find the gunman.

Police said two men got into an argument near Golden Bull Bar when one man returned with a gun. He started shooting just as the musician was leaving the club. The 26-year-old man died at the scene.

It happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning on 14th Street near City Hall. The gunman and the intended target took off.

One other man was hurt in the crossfire but will survive.
 

Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday defended his order requiring Californians statewide to cut back on their water use in a historic mandate that spares those who consume the most — farmers.

As California endures a fourth year of drought, Brown's order this week requires towns and cities statewide to draw down water use by 25 percent compared with 2013 levels. While past reductions were voluntary, Brown said he is using his emergency powers to make the cuts mandatory.

Martha Raddatz, host of ABC's "This Week'' public affairs program, asked Brown why the order doesn't extend to California farmers, who consume 80 percent of the state's water supply but make up less than 2 percent of the state's economy. Brown said farmers aren't using water frivolously on their lawns or taking long showers.

"They're providing most of the fruits and vegetables of America to a significant part of the world,'' he said.

Brown said that before the cutbacks, some California farmers had already been denied irrigation water from federal surface supplies, forcing them to leave hundreds of thousands of acres unplanted. Many vulnerable farm laborers are without work, he said. Farmers who don't have access to surface water have increased the amount of water pumped from limited groundwater supplies.

Brown announced the mandate on April 1 standing in the Sierra Nevada, where the snowpack measures at 5 percent of historical average, the lowest in 65 years of record-keeping.

Addressing agriculture, Brown said on the broadcast that farmers asserting century-old water rights deeply rooted in state law that allows them access to more water than others "are probably going to be examined.''

After declaring a drought emergency in January 2014, Brown urged Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 20 percent from the previous year. That resulted in great variations among communities and an overall reduction of about 10 percent statewide. Brown did the same as governor in 1977, during another severe drought, asking for a voluntary reduction of 25 percent.

The mandatory order will also require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes to curb their water use.

"It is a wakeup call,'' Brown said. "It's requiring action and changes in behavior from the Oregon border all the way to the Mexican border. It affects lawns. It affects people's — how long they stay in the shower, how businesses use water.''