L.A. County supes back court-ordered mental health treatment bills

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week threw its weight behind Laura’s Law –- which allows counties to create court-ordered outpatient mental health treatment for the severely ill who have cycled through hospitals or jails and refused voluntary care -- saying in a resolution that such programs have been shown to “significantly reduce” homelessness, hospitalization and arrest.

The resolution, authored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, directs the county’s chief executive and legislative advocates to  get behind five new state bills that would make it easier for counties to create such programs and secure “mental health treatment for those who refuse to get help on their own.”

The back story: It’s been a whole decade since state lawmakers passed Laura’s Law, which was patterned after New York State’s Kendra’s Law but didn’t come with any funding. It also required approval by each county board of supervisors.  In all that time, only Nevada County, where the law’s namesake, Laura Wilcox, was shot to death by a mental health client who had begun refusing treatment, has implemented one.

4.6-magnitude earthquake shakes Northern California awake

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake rattled Northern California overnight Thursday, shaking residents from San Francisco to north of Sacramento.

The temblor struck at 2:09 a.m. and was centered in Geyserville, about 20 miles north of Santa Rosa, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS measurements indicated at least 20 smaller earthquakes followed throughout the morning.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported the quake began only one mile below ground level, which is why it was felt across the region. There were no immediate reports of damage, the newspaper said.

But it woke people up. More than 60 people reported to USGS's "Did you feel it?" site, with reports ranging from San Francisco and Oakland to Lake and Yuba counties.

Others reported the shaking on Twitter. Some of those messages are included below.

4.6 earthquake shakes Northern California

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday morning,

The temblor struck about 26 miles north of Santa Rosa in the Geysers area. There were no reports of damage or injuries, but there were some apparent aftershocks.

It was felt over a wide area of the region, including in Santa Rosa, Marin County and Vallejo, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The "Do You Feel It?" survey by the USGS showed people as far south a San Francisco felt shaking.

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Image: USGS

Parents of girl, 2 others ordered to stand trial in pimp's killing

The parents of a teenage girl were ordered Wednesday to stand trial for murder in the shooting death of a Compton gang member they believe lured their daughter away from home and became her pimp.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan also ordered Lupe Felice Mercado, 38, and Barry L. Gilton, 39, to be tried on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and the discharge of a firearm from an occupied motor vehicle in the June 4 death of Calvin Sneed, 22.

Prosecutors charged that Mercado and Gilton -- who have been dating since middle school and also have three young sons -- conspired to have Sneed shot to death in May in North Hollywood, but that attempt failed.

Their daughter had left home a year earlier. But when the 17-year-old returned to San Francisco in early June with Sneed, prosecutors said, the San Francisco couple tried again, this time with the help of two convicted felons.

On Wednesday, Chan also ordered that Antonio Gilton, a 27-year-old relative of Barry Gilton, and Alfonso Williams, 36, stand trial on the same charges as the couple. In addition, the men will stand trial on a charge of possessing a firearm as a felon.

FBI video, shot during an unrelated investigation, apparently showed that Barry Gilton, Antonio Gilton and Williams met less than an hour before the slaying, authorities said last year. Williams took a .40-caliber handgun from a Chevrolet Tucson at 1:18 a.m., according to authorities, and the men drove off together.

In addition, cellphone records apparently placed the men together near the scene of the killing when the shooting occurred.

The four suspects, who have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, are being held on $2-million bail each. They are scheduled to be arraigned March 27.

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San Francisco Symphony musicians go out on strike

Lugging picket signs and instrument cases in front of the concert hall where they perform, musicians from San Francisco's acclaimed symphony orchestra went on strike Wednesday, causing the cancellation of at least one performance and throwing an East Coast tour into question.

"Our membership has instructed us with great unanimity and authority that they do not wish to go on tour without a contract," violist David Gaudry said during a news conference at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. "We never have, and it's their wish that we continue not to do that."

Members of Local 6 of the American Federation of Musicians are scheduled to sit down Thursday with San Francisco Symphony administrators to resume negotiations over a three-year contract.

The 103-member orchestra is supposed to leave Tuesday for two concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall, one in Newark, N.J.,  and one at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

"It is our heartfelt hope that the tour happens, and we are going to work diligently in order to try and make that so," Brent Assink, symphony executive director, said Wednesday immediately following the musicians' announcement.

"We have indicated to them in writing as recently as yesterday that we were preparing a new proposal that we would have ready for them tomorrow," Assink said. "And they knew that and unfortunately decided to take this action instead."

Musicians' current base pay is $141,700 each year, and they receive 10 weeks of paid vacation. Symphony administration has proposed a three-year contract with no pay raise during the first year and increases of 1% in each of the following years. Base pay would rise to $144,560.

"That kind of an offer is going to put us in a position where we will not be able to hold on to our most talented players,  and we certainly won't be able to recruit the most talented available players in the pool that are out there in the United States," Gaudry said.

Rapist held in mental hospital must be tried or freed, court says

A California prisoner who has waited nearly nine years for a trial must be given his day in court or released, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.

Bobby Joe Knight, a convicted rapist, served a 20-year sentence and was supposed to be released in 2004, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said. But before his release date, California prosecutors filed a legal petition to incarcerate him in a state mental hospital on the grounds he was likely to reoffend because of a mental disorder.

Instead of proceeding to a civil trial on the state’s petition,  Knight’s lawyer repeatedly sought to postpone the legal proceedings, the 9th Circuit said.

"For its part, the government either acquiesced or agreed to the continuances," the panel said. "No effort was made to push the case to trial."

Knight tried from behind bars to get a new lawyer and then challenged his confinement himself.

In ruling for Knight, the 9th Circuit said California prosecutors must try him within 90 days or let him go. The panel stressed that no further delays should be granted except for "compelling and extraordinary" reasons.

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Craigslist buyer leaves with car before paying for it

Police in Sacramento are looking for a prospective car buyer met through Craigslist who drove off in a woman's car without paying for it.

The woman met with the prospective buyer of her 2004 Kia Rio on Tuesday night at a McDonald’s, Fox40 in Sacramento reported.

He and a girl the woman believed was his 15-year-old daughter took the car for a test drive, and when they got back, he asked to go around some more, police told the TV station. The owner stepped out momentarily, and the man and the teen took off before she could get back inside.

The owner was unharmed.

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Man crushed by BART elevator in San Francisco

Authorities continued Monday to investigate the death of a man who appeared to have been crushed by an elevator at a BART station in San Francisco.

The victim, described as an adult male, was found Sunday at the Montgomery Street Station after authorities responded to a passenger stuck in a stalled elevator about 9:35 p.m., said Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for Bay Area Rapid Transit.

His body was between the elevator and the shaft wall, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger reported that the elevator became stuck just after he heard a male voice cry out in pain.

It was possible, Trost said, that the man had been homeless. He had no identification on him, and personal belongings, including what looked like bedding, were found in the shaft.

Transit police are trying to determine how the man gained access to the shaft.

“There’s two points of entry into the area,” Trost said. “There’s the ventilation system, but we checked all points of entry and they’re secure. Really the only way to get in is through the elevator emergency hatch, which you would need a boost to get in there.”

Trost said that although BART stations attract the homeless, no one is allowed to spend the night and police do a sweep every night to ensure there are no trespassers. She said that BART employees have no recollection of a similar incident ever occurring.

“It’s highly unusual and upsetting,” she said.

State Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials have inspected the elevator and will return before it is put back in service, which is expected to be next week.

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Photo: A BART train against the San Francisco skyline. Credit: Eric Risberg / Associated Press.

Magistrate recommends release of inmate in triple murder arson case

A federal magistrate has recommended the release of a prison inmate serving life without parole for a triple murder arson, ruling the man received a “fundamentally unfair” trial because of his lawyer’s “unprofessional” conduct and failure to mount an adequate defense.

The magistrate’s 93-page decision followed a ruling last year that the inmate, George Souliotes, 72, had proved “actual innocence” and that no reasonable juror would have convicted him given the state of the evidence today.

The scientific testimony used to convict Souliotes in the deadly 1997 house fire has since been discredited, and prosecutors have conceded they cannot prove whether the blaze was deliberate or accidental.

Souliotes, a Greek immigrant who walks with a cane and suffers from poor health, has been behind bars for 16 years for killing Michelle Jones, 31, and her children, Daniel Jones Jr., 8, and Amanda, 3, in a fire at a Modesto house Souliotes rented to them.

In ruling for Souliotes, U.S. Magistrate Michael J. Seng said the performance of Souliotes’ lawyer severely undermined the court’s confidence in the verdict. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Souliotes during two trials.

Small fire damages Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley

A fire broke out early Friday morning at the famed Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, but a sprinkler system may have saved the entire building from going up in flames, Bay Area TV stations reported.

Only a small dining area in the front of the restaurant was damaged, according to KGO-TV in San Francisco.

A Berkeley Fire Department official told a TV station that most of the restaurant could reopen as soon as the health department gives clearance.

Founded in 1971 by a group that included chef Alice Waters, Chez Panisse was a pioneer in the organic, locally grown food movement.

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