Deer kill dogs; police sex scandal; 'soulless killer'
- Updated
Interesting and odd news from around the West.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A San Jose man says his home near a highway offramp is a magnet for cars and that at least 19 vehicles have landed on his property since he moved there in 1960.
Ray Minter says four of those vehicles have smashed into the single-story house, including a pickup truck that on Monday night came flying off the northbound Interstate 680 offramp at Jackson Avenue.
Minter tells the San Jose Mercury News the truck landed in his front yard, hitting his car and pushing it into the garage and front of the home.
He says said the long, straight stretch of roadway offers no incentive for people to slow down.
Minter said he has asked authorities for help slowing down traffic but that his requests have been ignored.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
WHITTIER, Calif. — Authorities on Tuesday arrested 31 reputed members and associates of a Los Angeles-area street gang accused of being involved in drug dealing, credit card fraud, the murder of a rival and an attack on an undercover police officer.
Three arrests were made in Northern California and Arizona and the rest were in the Los Angeles area. About 400 federal, state and local agents took part in the arrests, which were based on a federal grand jury indictment issued last week, prosecutors said.
The arrests capped a three-year investigation of the Canta Ranas gang, Spanish for "Singing Frogs," which has about 140 members based mainly in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The gang is one of many that take orders from a prison gang, the Mexican Mafia, that regulates drug-dealing territories and protects imprisoned street gang members in exchange for receiving a portion of criminal proceeds in the form of "taxes" or "rent," according to the indictment.
Gang members passed on coded orders or described activities through phone calls, prison visits, text messages and via Facebook, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that gang members sold heroin and methamphetamine, committed assaults, robberies and carjackings, and engaged in gun sales, identity theft and credit card fraud.
"The Canta Ranas gang is a root cause of violence and drugs in multiple communities here in Southern California," U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement.
"Prosecutions like this one, which target the top leaders of the gang, help make whole communities safer," she said.
The indictment names 51 people. The alleged Mexican Mafia controller of the Canta Ranas gang, identified in the indictment only as D.G., already is serving a life sentence without chance of parole at Pelican Bay federal prison in Northern California.
Federal prosecutors said he issued orders that were carried out by a Mexican Mafia "shot caller" for the Canta Ranas, who is facing state murder charges.
Jose Loza, 37, of Whittier, is charged with killing another Mexican Mafia member who wanted to challenge the gang leadership. The man was killed on April 19 during a shooting outside a restaurant in Bassett that wounded the victim's bodyguard and a patron.
Loza remains jailed without bail, and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney.
Two others are accused of shooting at a Whittier police detective who was conducting an undercover drug investigation in an unmarked car.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
PHOENIX — Authorities are trying to recover the body of a man found in a steep area of Phoenix's Camelback Mountain.
Phoenix police say the body has obvious signs of injury.
Authorities say the man may have been hiking on Cholla Trail and possibly fell.
The Phoenix Police Air unit was patrolling in the area about 3 p.m. Tuesday when the man's body was spotted.
Police are now working with the Phoenix Fire Department to recover the body.
There's no immediate word on the man's name, age and hometown.
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST The Associated Press
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY — More than half of Utah's lakes and nearly half of its streams don't meet federal water quality standards, according to a new report from the Utah Division of Water Quality.
Metal levels are high on parts of the San Juan River, which was affected by a massive spill that sent 3 million gallons of acid mine waste from the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The report released Monday found that two parts of the river near the Four Corners region are impaired for aquatic life due to the presence of heavy metals like aluminum, copper, lead and zinc, said Walt Baker, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality.
But it's not yet clear whether the metals came directly from the Aug. 5 spill, Baker said. The area has been a center for mining for the past century and the metal levels could be remnants of past mine waste. It's hard to tell because the state wasn't regularly collecting that data before the spill, Baker said.
For now, the state is monitoring the spring runoff that's now coming down off the mountains and prepping to keep a close eye on fish habitats over the long haul.
"The canary in the coal mine is going to be the fish," Baker said.
Also under the microscope in Monday's report was Utah Lake, which didn't meet water quality standards because of harmful algal blooms.
Utah health officials sent out a warning about bright green algae in Utah Lake in 2014 when a dog died after it played in water tinged with the plant.
Algae sometimes produce natural toxins and the dog probably drank some water at Lindon Marina about 45 minutes before it died, health authorities said at the time.
While the algal blooms at Utah Lake aren't always toxic, too much of the aquatic plant is a problem because when it decomposes it can rob water of the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive, Baker said.
The blooms are fed by nutrients in the lake that can come from several places, including treated wastewater that's pumped into the lake and fertilizer runoff.
"We need to figure out where the smoking gun is, what's causing this problem. This is not normal, this is abnormal," Baker said.
The Division of Water Quality collects the data every two years and reports it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report released Monday is a draft, and the Division of Water Quality will take public comment on it for the next 60 days.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SAN FRANCISCO — A 9-year-old Central California boy braved strong currents and cold water to swim from San Francisco to Alcatraz island and back.
KSEE-TV in Fresno reported Tuesday that James Savage set a record as the youngest swimmer to make the journey to the former prison.
The station reports that by completing the swim, the fourth-grader from Los Banos, California, breaks a record previously held by a 10-year-old boy.
James says that waves in the San Francisco Bay hitting him in the face 30 minutes into his swim made him want to give up.
James' father says he had offered his son $100 as a reward; to encourage his struggling son, his father doubled it to $200.
James pushed forward, making it the three miles round trip to Alcatraz and back in a little more than two hours.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
Gov. Susana Martinez is among the officials seeking the quick extradition of a man suspected of killing five family members in their southern New Mexico home and fleeing the country.
The governor's office said Tuesday that Martinez has been in close contact with the governor of Sonora, Mexico, as federal officials work with Mexican authorities to bring back Juan David Villegas-Hernandez as soon as possible.
Villegas-Hernandez was taken into custody by Sonora state police on Sunday — a day after police in Roswell, New Mexico, said the 34-year-old shot and killed his wife, Cynthia Villegas, and their four daughters — ages 14, 11, 7 and 3.
Martinez, a former prosecutor, was crushed by news of the killings and wants to ensure that the suspect is returned to New Mexico to face the full measure of the law, spokesman Mike Lonergan said Tuesday.
"The governor asks all New Mexicans to pray for the beautiful girls and their mother whose lives were cut short by this monster," Lonergan said.
The bodies of the mother and four girls were discovered Saturday by family members who had stopped by their red-brick home on the north side of Roswell after not hearing from them for several days.
According to court documents, Cynthia Villegas had just asked her husband for a divorce. A criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court provided some details about an unhappy and unemployed husband worried about infidelity and a wife in fear of a man who had allegedly become controlling and threatening.
It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer in New Mexico.
A large group of family members gathered outside the home on Monday. Cynthia Villegas' mother was crying and asking why.
Cynthia's brother, Lorenzo Rosalez of Earth, Texas, told the Roswell Daily Record that he will miss the daily texts from his sister and that his nieces were amazing.
"They were the best, you know. They were so smart and beautiful. I never saw them mad. I never saw them unhappy," he said.
Roswell authorities worked the crime scene late Saturday into Sunday. By that afternoon, Sonora police found the suspect's vehicle outside his family home in Arizpe. After fleeing in his vehicle, he led police on a foot chase into the hills and was eventually captured.
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting Roswell police in the process of completing paperwork to extradite Villegas-Hernandez, who is facing five counts of first-degree murder in state district court.
In addition to working with Sonoran Gov. Claudia Pavlovich and federal officials, Martinez's office said she also has spoken with Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh and planned to meet with him Tuesday during her visit to the city.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A 270-pound grizzly bear was captured and relocated after killing two alpacas on a ranch just north of Simms.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear management specialist Mike Madel says a llama that was in the pen with the alpacas on Saturday escaped by jumping the fence.
The Great Falls Tribune reports the young male grizzly bear was captured Sunday, fitted with a radio collar and moved 82 air miles away to the Puzzle Creek area in the Flathead National Forest.
The grizzly was the fourth relocated by state wildlife officials on the Marias, Teton and Sun Rivers this spring.
A female relocated for killing chickens on a ranch near Choteau has already returned to the area. Madel says an electric fence was installed around the chicken coop and the bear moved on.
___
Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
- The Associated Press
- Updated
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The tiny town of Chugwater could finally get a gas station to replace one that burned down in a strange accident more than three years ago.
A 70-mile stretch of Interstate 25 north of Cheyenne has been without gas ever since a man with shoe polish on his face drove off the highway in a fiery crash in Chugwater. The fire burned down the Horton's Corner convenience store.
Locals ever since then have had to buy gas in Wheatland 25 miles away.
Recently the town of Chugwater bought the Horton's Corner property with a $400,000 federal grant. On Friday, town officials plan to open bids to build a new gas station at the site.
The winning bidder would assume full ownership of the gas station after five years.
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST The Associated Press
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of snowboarders isn't giving up its legal fight against a ban on the sport at a Utah ski resort.
The group called Wasatch Equality has asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a ruling that upheld the rule at Alta Ski Area, according to court records.
Most of the resort's slopes are leased public land, and the snowboarders argue that banning snowboarders from federally owned property is discrimination.
Alta argues that they're a private company, and made a valid business decision to be a skiers-only mountain. The U.S. Forest Service has backed the resort.
A three-judge panel sided with Alta in April, ruling the federal government didn't encourage or enforce the ban by granting the resort a lease.
Snowboarders are asking all 12 judges on the appeals court to reconsider.
In the petition for re-hearing filed June 3, they argue that their arguments have been painted as simply a "constitutional right to snowboard." The snowboarders say dismissing the case could create a chilling effect for other people challenging discrimination on federal land.
Alta attorney Rick Thaler disagreed. He said it was a narrow ruling that won't have a slippery slope effect and there's no need to hear it again.
No deadline was set for the appeals court to decide.
Alta is one of the last resorts in the country to prohibit the sport, standing out from the other 119 ski areas that operate on public land and allow snowboarding.
Snowboarding bans were once the norm at ski resorts, but they fell away as the new sport revitalized the industry starting in the 1980s.
Two other resorts still ban snowboarding: Deer Valley, also in in Utah, and Mad River Glen in Vermont.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
HELENA, Mont. — Deer that were protecting newborn fawns have killed two dogs in Helena, prompting the city and state wildlife officials to remind residents to keep their animals under control and abide by the leash laws.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sgt. Dave Loewen tells the Independent Record that the does are stashing their fawns and if a dog starts barking, the doe sees it as a threat.
The dogs that were killed were smaller breeds. In both cases, Loewen says the owners understood that the does were protecting their young. The deer will not be removed.
Helena's urban mule deer give birth in June, and some have twins and triplets.
Loewen says FWP received a report Tuesday of someone picking up a fawn believing it was abandoned. He reminds residents not to handle fawns.
___
Information from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com
- The Associated Press
- Updated
BOISE, Idaho — Boise police say a suspected drunk driver rammed police vehicles Tuesday morning before being shot and killed by an officer.
Police say an officer made a traffic stop at about 2:15 a.m. after receiving a report of a drunk driver
Police say the male driver assaulted the officer with a sharp tool and sped away, nearly striking another officer.
Police remained in the area and spotted the vehicle again at 2:40 a.m. Police say that when they approached on foot the man began ramming officer's vehicles, including one that was occupied.
Authorities say officer Rob Rainford fired once, hitting the driver. Police rendered first aid but say the man died on the way to the hospital.
Authorities say they're reviewing video from the officer's body camera.
The man's name hasn't been released.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
RICHMOND, Calif. — A second Bay Area police department is holding an internal investigation after being implicated in a sexual misconduct scandal.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Richmond and Oakland police departments are investigating after an 18-year-old Richmond woman said she had sexual relations with two dozen current and former officers in five cities during her stint as a sex worker. She told the East Bay Times that she was underage during encounters with three of the officers.
Richmond assistant police chief Bisa French says the department opened an internal affairs probe last week after receiving information from Oakland police.
French says several ranking officers are being investigated for criminal contact with the woman or policy violations.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah County parents have been charged with child endangerment after their 1-year-old daughter died from ingesting enough heroin to kill an adult.
Court records show 31-year-old Casey Cormani and 32-year-old Cassandra Richards also face misdemeanor drug charges.
Cormani and Richards were arrested last week. They do not yet have listed attorneys to comment on their behalf.
Their daughter Penny died on Dec. 2. Provo Police have not said how the girl ingested heroin but a toxicology report shows the drug was the cause of her death.
Cormani and Richards are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Thursday.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
BOISE, Idaho — A southwest Idaho man who illegally killed a trophy bighorn sheep has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $10,000.
Fifty-three-year-old Paul Cortez of Nampa also received a lifetime hunting ban at his sentencing on June 6 in Idaho County Court.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game in a news release Tuesday says conservation officers on patrol on the Salmon River on Nov. 6 discovered the poaching of the bighorn and confronted Cortez.
Cortez in April pleaded guilty to one felony of unlawfully killing a trophy big game animal.
- The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A San Jose man says his home near a highway offramp is a magnet for cars and that at least 19 vehicles have landed on his property since he moved there in 1960.
Ray Minter says four of those vehicles have smashed into the single-story house, including a pickup truck that on Monday night came flying off the northbound Interstate 680 offramp at Jackson Avenue.
Minter tells the San Jose Mercury News the truck landed in his front yard, hitting his car and pushing it into the garage and front of the home.
He says said the long, straight stretch of roadway offers no incentive for people to slow down.
Minter said he has asked authorities for help slowing down traffic but that his requests have been ignored.
- The Associated Press
WHITTIER, Calif. — Authorities on Tuesday arrested 31 reputed members and associates of a Los Angeles-area street gang accused of being involved in drug dealing, credit card fraud, the murder of a rival and an attack on an undercover police officer.
Three arrests were made in Northern California and Arizona and the rest were in the Los Angeles area. About 400 federal, state and local agents took part in the arrests, which were based on a federal grand jury indictment issued last week, prosecutors said.
The arrests capped a three-year investigation of the Canta Ranas gang, Spanish for "Singing Frogs," which has about 140 members based mainly in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The gang is one of many that take orders from a prison gang, the Mexican Mafia, that regulates drug-dealing territories and protects imprisoned street gang members in exchange for receiving a portion of criminal proceeds in the form of "taxes" or "rent," according to the indictment.
Gang members passed on coded orders or described activities through phone calls, prison visits, text messages and via Facebook, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that gang members sold heroin and methamphetamine, committed assaults, robberies and carjackings, and engaged in gun sales, identity theft and credit card fraud.
"The Canta Ranas gang is a root cause of violence and drugs in multiple communities here in Southern California," U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement.
"Prosecutions like this one, which target the top leaders of the gang, help make whole communities safer," she said.
The indictment names 51 people. The alleged Mexican Mafia controller of the Canta Ranas gang, identified in the indictment only as D.G., already is serving a life sentence without chance of parole at Pelican Bay federal prison in Northern California.
Federal prosecutors said he issued orders that were carried out by a Mexican Mafia "shot caller" for the Canta Ranas, who is facing state murder charges.
Jose Loza, 37, of Whittier, is charged with killing another Mexican Mafia member who wanted to challenge the gang leadership. The man was killed on April 19 during a shooting outside a restaurant in Bassett that wounded the victim's bodyguard and a patron.
Loza remains jailed without bail, and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney.
Two others are accused of shooting at a Whittier police detective who was conducting an undercover drug investigation in an unmarked car.
- The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Authorities are trying to recover the body of a man found in a steep area of Phoenix's Camelback Mountain.
Phoenix police say the body has obvious signs of injury.
Authorities say the man may have been hiking on Cholla Trail and possibly fell.
The Phoenix Police Air unit was patrolling in the area about 3 p.m. Tuesday when the man's body was spotted.
Police are now working with the Phoenix Fire Department to recover the body.
There's no immediate word on the man's name, age and hometown.
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — More than half of Utah's lakes and nearly half of its streams don't meet federal water quality standards, according to a new report from the Utah Division of Water Quality.
Metal levels are high on parts of the San Juan River, which was affected by a massive spill that sent 3 million gallons of acid mine waste from the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The report released Monday found that two parts of the river near the Four Corners region are impaired for aquatic life due to the presence of heavy metals like aluminum, copper, lead and zinc, said Walt Baker, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality.
But it's not yet clear whether the metals came directly from the Aug. 5 spill, Baker said. The area has been a center for mining for the past century and the metal levels could be remnants of past mine waste. It's hard to tell because the state wasn't regularly collecting that data before the spill, Baker said.
For now, the state is monitoring the spring runoff that's now coming down off the mountains and prepping to keep a close eye on fish habitats over the long haul.
"The canary in the coal mine is going to be the fish," Baker said.
Also under the microscope in Monday's report was Utah Lake, which didn't meet water quality standards because of harmful algal blooms.
Utah health officials sent out a warning about bright green algae in Utah Lake in 2014 when a dog died after it played in water tinged with the plant.
Algae sometimes produce natural toxins and the dog probably drank some water at Lindon Marina about 45 minutes before it died, health authorities said at the time.
While the algal blooms at Utah Lake aren't always toxic, too much of the aquatic plant is a problem because when it decomposes it can rob water of the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive, Baker said.
The blooms are fed by nutrients in the lake that can come from several places, including treated wastewater that's pumped into the lake and fertilizer runoff.
"We need to figure out where the smoking gun is, what's causing this problem. This is not normal, this is abnormal," Baker said.
The Division of Water Quality collects the data every two years and reports it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report released Monday is a draft, and the Division of Water Quality will take public comment on it for the next 60 days.
- The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — A 9-year-old Central California boy braved strong currents and cold water to swim from San Francisco to Alcatraz island and back.
KSEE-TV in Fresno reported Tuesday that James Savage set a record as the youngest swimmer to make the journey to the former prison.
The station reports that by completing the swim, the fourth-grader from Los Banos, California, breaks a record previously held by a 10-year-old boy.
James says that waves in the San Francisco Bay hitting him in the face 30 minutes into his swim made him want to give up.
James' father says he had offered his son $100 as a reward; to encourage his struggling son, his father doubled it to $200.
James pushed forward, making it the three miles round trip to Alcatraz and back in a little more than two hours.
- The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez is among the officials seeking the quick extradition of a man suspected of killing five family members in their southern New Mexico home and fleeing the country.
The governor's office said Tuesday that Martinez has been in close contact with the governor of Sonora, Mexico, as federal officials work with Mexican authorities to bring back Juan David Villegas-Hernandez as soon as possible.
Villegas-Hernandez was taken into custody by Sonora state police on Sunday — a day after police in Roswell, New Mexico, said the 34-year-old shot and killed his wife, Cynthia Villegas, and their four daughters — ages 14, 11, 7 and 3.
Martinez, a former prosecutor, was crushed by news of the killings and wants to ensure that the suspect is returned to New Mexico to face the full measure of the law, spokesman Mike Lonergan said Tuesday.
"The governor asks all New Mexicans to pray for the beautiful girls and their mother whose lives were cut short by this monster," Lonergan said.
The bodies of the mother and four girls were discovered Saturday by family members who had stopped by their red-brick home on the north side of Roswell after not hearing from them for several days.
According to court documents, Cynthia Villegas had just asked her husband for a divorce. A criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court provided some details about an unhappy and unemployed husband worried about infidelity and a wife in fear of a man who had allegedly become controlling and threatening.
It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer in New Mexico.
A large group of family members gathered outside the home on Monday. Cynthia Villegas' mother was crying and asking why.
Cynthia's brother, Lorenzo Rosalez of Earth, Texas, told the Roswell Daily Record that he will miss the daily texts from his sister and that his nieces were amazing.
"They were the best, you know. They were so smart and beautiful. I never saw them mad. I never saw them unhappy," he said.
Roswell authorities worked the crime scene late Saturday into Sunday. By that afternoon, Sonora police found the suspect's vehicle outside his family home in Arizpe. After fleeing in his vehicle, he led police on a foot chase into the hills and was eventually captured.
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting Roswell police in the process of completing paperwork to extradite Villegas-Hernandez, who is facing five counts of first-degree murder in state district court.
In addition to working with Sonoran Gov. Claudia Pavlovich and federal officials, Martinez's office said she also has spoken with Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh and planned to meet with him Tuesday during her visit to the city.
- The Associated Press
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A 270-pound grizzly bear was captured and relocated after killing two alpacas on a ranch just north of Simms.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear management specialist Mike Madel says a llama that was in the pen with the alpacas on Saturday escaped by jumping the fence.
The Great Falls Tribune reports the young male grizzly bear was captured Sunday, fitted with a radio collar and moved 82 air miles away to the Puzzle Creek area in the Flathead National Forest.
The grizzly was the fourth relocated by state wildlife officials on the Marias, Teton and Sun Rivers this spring.
A female relocated for killing chickens on a ranch near Choteau has already returned to the area. Madel says an electric fence was installed around the chicken coop and the bear moved on.
___
Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
- The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The tiny town of Chugwater could finally get a gas station to replace one that burned down in a strange accident more than three years ago.
A 70-mile stretch of Interstate 25 north of Cheyenne has been without gas ever since a man with shoe polish on his face drove off the highway in a fiery crash in Chugwater. The fire burned down the Horton's Corner convenience store.
Locals ever since then have had to buy gas in Wheatland 25 miles away.
Recently the town of Chugwater bought the Horton's Corner property with a $400,000 federal grant. On Friday, town officials plan to open bids to build a new gas station at the site.
The winning bidder would assume full ownership of the gas station after five years.
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of snowboarders isn't giving up its legal fight against a ban on the sport at a Utah ski resort.
The group called Wasatch Equality has asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a ruling that upheld the rule at Alta Ski Area, according to court records.
Most of the resort's slopes are leased public land, and the snowboarders argue that banning snowboarders from federally owned property is discrimination.
Alta argues that they're a private company, and made a valid business decision to be a skiers-only mountain. The U.S. Forest Service has backed the resort.
A three-judge panel sided with Alta in April, ruling the federal government didn't encourage or enforce the ban by granting the resort a lease.
Snowboarders are asking all 12 judges on the appeals court to reconsider.
In the petition for re-hearing filed June 3, they argue that their arguments have been painted as simply a "constitutional right to snowboard." The snowboarders say dismissing the case could create a chilling effect for other people challenging discrimination on federal land.
Alta attorney Rick Thaler disagreed. He said it was a narrow ruling that won't have a slippery slope effect and there's no need to hear it again.
No deadline was set for the appeals court to decide.
Alta is one of the last resorts in the country to prohibit the sport, standing out from the other 119 ski areas that operate on public land and allow snowboarding.
Snowboarding bans were once the norm at ski resorts, but they fell away as the new sport revitalized the industry starting in the 1980s.
Two other resorts still ban snowboarding: Deer Valley, also in in Utah, and Mad River Glen in Vermont.
- The Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — Deer that were protecting newborn fawns have killed two dogs in Helena, prompting the city and state wildlife officials to remind residents to keep their animals under control and abide by the leash laws.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sgt. Dave Loewen tells the Independent Record that the does are stashing their fawns and if a dog starts barking, the doe sees it as a threat.
The dogs that were killed were smaller breeds. In both cases, Loewen says the owners understood that the does were protecting their young. The deer will not be removed.
Helena's urban mule deer give birth in June, and some have twins and triplets.
Loewen says FWP received a report Tuesday of someone picking up a fawn believing it was abandoned. He reminds residents not to handle fawns.
___
Information from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com
- The Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Boise police say a suspected drunk driver rammed police vehicles Tuesday morning before being shot and killed by an officer.
Police say an officer made a traffic stop at about 2:15 a.m. after receiving a report of a drunk driver
Police say the male driver assaulted the officer with a sharp tool and sped away, nearly striking another officer.
Police remained in the area and spotted the vehicle again at 2:40 a.m. Police say that when they approached on foot the man began ramming officer's vehicles, including one that was occupied.
Authorities say officer Rob Rainford fired once, hitting the driver. Police rendered first aid but say the man died on the way to the hospital.
Authorities say they're reviewing video from the officer's body camera.
The man's name hasn't been released.
- The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Calif. — A second Bay Area police department is holding an internal investigation after being implicated in a sexual misconduct scandal.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Richmond and Oakland police departments are investigating after an 18-year-old Richmond woman said she had sexual relations with two dozen current and former officers in five cities during her stint as a sex worker. She told the East Bay Times that she was underage during encounters with three of the officers.
Richmond assistant police chief Bisa French says the department opened an internal affairs probe last week after receiving information from Oakland police.
French says several ranking officers are being investigated for criminal contact with the woman or policy violations.
- The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah County parents have been charged with child endangerment after their 1-year-old daughter died from ingesting enough heroin to kill an adult.
Court records show 31-year-old Casey Cormani and 32-year-old Cassandra Richards also face misdemeanor drug charges.
Cormani and Richards were arrested last week. They do not yet have listed attorneys to comment on their behalf.
Their daughter Penny died on Dec. 2. Provo Police have not said how the girl ingested heroin but a toxicology report shows the drug was the cause of her death.
Cormani and Richards are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Thursday.
- The Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — A southwest Idaho man who illegally killed a trophy bighorn sheep has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $10,000.
Fifty-three-year-old Paul Cortez of Nampa also received a lifetime hunting ban at his sentencing on June 6 in Idaho County Court.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game in a news release Tuesday says conservation officers on patrol on the Salmon River on Nov. 6 discovered the poaching of the bighorn and confronted Cortez.
Cortez in April pleaded guilty to one felony of unlawfully killing a trophy big game animal.
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