California
Report: California officers shot in ambush were not verbally warned that suspect had gun, was on PCP – WTOP News
EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) — A California police dispatcher failed to tell two officers before they were fatally shot by…
EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) — A California police dispatcher failed to tell two officers before they were fatally shot by a convicted gang member that the suspect reportedly had a gun and was under the influence of PCP and methamphetamine, according to a 911 recording.
El Monte Police Department Officer Joseph Santana, 31, and Cpl. Michael Paredes, 42, were ambushed and killed on June 14, 2022, while responding to a report of a stabbing at a motel near Los Angeles. Another officer was wounded. The gunman, Justin Flores, then shot and killed himself.
The 911 call was made by Maria Zepeda, who reported that her daughter had been stabbed by Flores, her 35-year-old husband, at the Siesta Inn, the Southern California News Group reported Saturday.
During the 7-minute call, Zepeda repeatedly told the dispatcher that Flores had a recent history of violence against her daughter, was under the influence of PCP and meth and was armed and dangerous.
“He’s on PCP. He has a gun!” Zepeda said during the call.
That information, however, was not communicated over the radio by the dispatcher who deployed the three officers to the motel according to the news group.
Investigators said Flores ambushed the officers when they confronted him.
Detective Amber Montenegro, a lead investigator for the case, confirmed the dispatcher did not inform officers over the radio that Flores possibly had a gun and was on drugs. But the information was typed into the computer-aided dispatch system and visible to the responding officers on the computer terminals in their patrol vehicles, Montenegro said.
“They definitely had all the information in their boxes before they arrived, so they were able to look at the call and review it,” Montenegro said during a Dec. 2023 briefing with Santana’s family.
Montenegro said the dispatcher shouldn’t be blamed. “You can’t put any of this all on one person,” she said.
Santana’s sister, Jessica Santana, said she believes the dispatcher should have relayed the information over the radio.
“It’s just I feel if they would have voiced it, it would have been different,” Santana said. “That’s just what gets me, because my brother would still be here.”
Flores was on probation for a gun charge at the time of the shooting, which occurred a day after his probation officer requested that he return to court later in the month, according to court records.
El Monte Police Chief Jake Fisher said he stands by the actions of his dispatchers and officers. Fisher told the news group his department is actively working with the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office in completing the final steps in the investigation.
“We fully anticipate this finding to hold and that our DA will officially clear all involved officers and close the investigation,” Fisher said.
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The IPOs of SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic could deliver billions of dollars to California’s coffers.
We’ve seen this movie before.
In 2022, California recorded a nearly $100 billion surplus, saved just $10 billion in its rainy day fund and then spent the rest. Two years later, a $56 billion deficit loomed.
Now, with the state facing ongoing operating deficits of more than $10 billion, we’re back in familiar territory.
The coming IPO windfall is a rare second chance. But we’ll only benefit from it if we first fix the structural flaw that’s caused us to squander every previous boom — a budget reserve that isn’t built to hold what we put in it.
The stakes this time are higher than ever. The war in Iran raised recession risk, and the federal government is systematically dismantling the funding streams California has depended on for decades.
When Washington retreats, Sacramento has to choose: cut services, raise taxes or have enough saved to bridge the gap. Right now, we don’t have enough saved.
We’re not outside observers wringing our hands. We helped shape the fiscal architecture the state is now straining against, and we’re here to say: It needs to be rebuilt.
As California state controller, one of us campaigned alongside Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pass Proposition 58 in 2004 — creating California’s first Budget Stabilization Account. The other authored the Assembly Constitutional Amendment that became Proposition 2 in 2014 — the stronger, harder-to-raid replacement that voters approved with 69% support.
California’s tax system is the envy of progressive states and the nightmare of budget directors. We tax the wealthy at high rates, capture enormous capital gains revenue in boom years and then discover — every single time — that the peak doesn’t last.
If California treats the IPO windfall from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI as permanent revenue, our state would repeat exactly the mistake we made four years ago.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assemblymember Avelino Valencia have each proposed important reforms to strengthen the fund. First, they call for requiring the state to make deposits until the fund reaches 20% of the general fund total, rather than the current 10%. Second, they propose changing an arcane accounting rule that treats saving for future downturns as spending.
We see one additional opportunity to make the rainy day fund even stronger.
If we want a larger budget reserve, we have to do more than merely allow it — we need to require it. Proposition 58 taught us everything we need to know on this front: Between 2004 and 2014, with that proposition fund in place, only two deposits were made. If we want consistent deposits during the boom times, they can’t be optional.
These reforms should be a win-win for the California Legislature. A larger reserve is the most durable protection that public sector workers, social service recipients and education advocates have against the kind of emergency cuts that have repeatedly gutted programs during downturns.
It’s also the strongest argument against tax increases in a recession because you don’t need to raise taxes if you actually save during the booms.
Building a stronger rainy day fund isn’t the cautious choice. It’s the visionary one — the closest thing we have to investing in the next generation of Californians.
We built the last rainy day fund because we’d lived through the consequences of not having one. We’re making the same argument again, for the same reason except now the stakes are higher. This time, the federal backstop is weaker, and the next storm is closer than it looks.
Fix the fund this year. The next generation of Californians will thank us for it.
Mike Gatto served in the state Assembly between 2010 and 2016, and he authored the measure that created California’s current rainy day fund. Steve Westly served as state controller between 2003 and 2007, and he co-championed Proposition 58, California’s original rainy day fund. Westly chairs the 21st Century Alliance, a nonpartisan organization focused on solutions to the state’s most pressing challenges.
CHICO, Calif. — A shooting at a library in Northern California on Monday left two people dead and a suspect is in custody, according to police.
Police responded to a 911 call soon after 5 p.m. in which the sounds of gun shots and people screaming could be heard coming from inside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, Billy Aldridge, the city’s chief of police, said during a news conference.
Once officers were inside the library, the suspect fled out of the back, he said. Additional law enforcement behind the library took the suspect into custody, according to Aldridge.
“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” he said.
The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.
A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.
Aldridge said there is no serious threat to the public and law enforcement are investigating the shooting.
The police didn’t release the suspect’s name nor details on what prompted the shooting. Law enforcement said they believe the shooter acted alone.
Law enforcement are also not releasing the names of the people killed until next of kin have been notified.
The county urged the public to avoid the area and said all Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday.
The county in a post on Facebook offered “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — A 12-year-old boy is dead and another child was hospitalized after two unleashed dogs attacked a group of children at Central Park in California City on Friday, June 18.
California City Mayor Edwin Hawkins said police responded to the scene after reports that four children had been mauled.
Fernando Torres Moreno, 12, jumped into a nearby lake to escape the charging dogs. Officers pulled Fernando from the water, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died the next day.
A second child suffered serious, though non-life-threatening, dog bite wounds and has since been released from the hospital. Two additional children were shaken but did not require medical treatment.
Authorities say the dogs, both mixed breed, were off-leash but in the presence of their owner when the attack unfolded.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. No arrests have been made.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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