SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Three people arrested on suspicion of stealing from several elderly women appeared in court on Monday. The trio is accused of visiting shopping centers and stealing purses before taking off in a getaway vehicle.

From the start of the year to April, 15 separate victims were stolen from or even robbed in several locations, spanning across Mira Mesa shopping centers and National City; most victims were Filipino/Asian women between the ages of 64 to 89. The majority of the incidents took place at Asian markets.

“Just to think that you would take advantage of somebody—what if it was your mom, what if it was your grandmother?” said one National City resident. “And just hearing stuff like that—it’s heartbreaking.”

Now, the county is working on prosecuting the person in question, defendant Shawntece Davis. Monday afternoon, she pleaded not guilty to several counts of theft from an elder, robbery, burglary, conspiracy to commit elder theft and more.

Davis didn’t work alone. Her two co-defendants were also arraigned last week with not-guilty pleas.

“This case represents the worst—these defendants targeted the most vulnerable in our community,” said Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello.

The defendants could face up to eight to 17 years in state prison if convicted of all charges.

Here’s how the trio would operate: As elderly women left a store, walked to their car, and began to unload groceries, the suspects would act, stealing unattended purses while the victims were distracted. However, not all who work around the area are aware.

“We’re not experiencing something like that—I hear that somewhere, but here at Target? No,” said a local Mira Mesa Target employee.

Eddie Jimenez with SD Landhousing Security Service was also a former grocery store owner and operator in National City, he says there are preventable steps victims can take.

“Grocery outlets should be able to offer them assistance,” Jimenez said. “Especially if they’re senior citizens, they can ask a manager if one of their box boys can take them out to the car.”

Prosecutors warn this is happening across the entire county. They advise to never bring a large purse to the store or leave a bag unattended.

For podcasts like Happy Half Hour, events like the fair are basically our Christmas. Yeah, we love the rides, the activations, the camaraderie, the merriment. But to be totally honest, we’re here for the food. 

Dip us in corn batter and fry us. Dust some powdered sugar on our heads. Load us up with fatty, drippy, sloppy, sweet and salty goods. This episode, food critic Troy Johnson and the crew hit up the San Diego County Fair, and they brought along Z90.3’s Rick Morton to yuk it up while they test the Fairtastic Food Competition finalists. We also asked Lori Sutherland, who owns fair favorite Tasti Chips, to weigh in.

But first, here are some basic facts about San Diego’s biggest annual party: It’s the county’s longest running event, established in 1880 in National City, though it has been held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds since 1936. It has nearly 100 food booths, 80 rides, and it re-debuts with a new theme each year. 

This year’s theme is “Let’s Go Retro!” which focuses on all things nostalgia. In that vein, guests can also use their tickets to access the Toyota Summer Concert Series for anyone with a same-day pass as an upcoming show—highlighted acts this year include Little Big Town, Ludacris, and, for a blast back into the present, Yung Gravy.

But back to the food. For fair foodies, every year conjures up the same question: What’s your plan, what are you going to eat? Troy’s plan requires strategically hitting certain food groups at certain points in your eating journey to optimize digestion, so you can then eat more food. 

We brought in some friends to judge, like we do every year, and whittled it down to 18 finalists after trying each submission.

The winner? Only one vendor can come out on top every year, and even though the competition is really to highlight the variety of mom-and-pop makers, we have to crown someone the best. The 2024 Fairtastic Food Competition winner is the Disco Pop Shake from TJ’s Ice Cream, which was entered in the “sweet” category.

Here are the other five winners by category:

• THEME — Savory: Spam Fries by Boba King
• NEW — Sweet: Cap’n Crunch Berry Chicken Sandwich by Biggy’s
• NEW – Savory: Hot Honey Funnel Cake Chicken Sandwich by Funnel Cakes by Chicken Charlie’s
• WOW – Sweet: Surfing USA Party Shake by Fruit Caboose
• WOW – Savory: Spicy Korean Corn Dog by West Coast Weenies.

And the People’s Choice, selected by our Taster’s Panel was the Candied Bacon-Wrapped Pork Belly Bites by Bacon A Fair. We’ll see you at the fair and next week on HHH.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The bond between a father and daughter can be like no other, and there’s a lot of special moments that can only be shared between a dad and his daughter — a father daughter dance, a walk down the aisle.

But for San Diegans Bob Platt and his daughter, Erika, there’s a bond that is deeper than just a title. 

“The love I have for this man is like no other,” Erika said about her 78-year-old father. “My first love since the day I was born.” She said he is her superhero, and her mentor.

Bob and Erika have a bond not many fathers and daughters share.

“I knew in my mind there was no stopping me, it was a no brainer,” she said.

She’s talking about a kidney.

Her dad was just placed on dialysis, and she wanted to step in to donate her kidney to him, but being the protective and caring father that he is, he tried to stop her.

Spoiler Alert: It didn’t work.

“As parents, we didn’t want our child to go through that process, we didn’t want her to donate a kidney. Subsequent to that, she was so adamant,” Platt laughed.

“There actually wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was not going to donate if I was able to,” Erika said.

When Erika found out she was a match, the two underwent surgery at the same time at UC San Diego Health.

A Heartfelt and emotional video taken shortly after their surgery shows the two of them seeing each other for the first time, but with a laugh from Erika.

“Did you hear, you got my brain, not my kidney, sorry about your luck,” she joked with her dad.

“It’s a miracle,” Bob said during an interview with FOX 5/KUSI on Father’s Day.

“I know the sacrifices that he has given me throughout the years, and it’s a lot. The fact that he is still here throughout the years and loves me more than anything, I knew that my kids needed to have their grandfather in their lives,” she said.

“I couldn’t spend as much time with him because he was in dialysis,” Lucas, Bob’s grandson said. He’s looking forward to having his “Boppie” back at his sporting events cheering. 

“Everyday to me is Father’s Day now,” Platt said.

“They were both motived and enthusiastic, which made the process of getting them to transplant very smooth. Post-op, they were still both so excited and grateful.  She was focused on him doing well, and he was focused on her,” said Dr. Jennifer Berumen with UC San Diego Health.

Some patients wait up to 15 years for a kidney donation, and there’s more than 100,000 people on a waiting list for a kidney donation. 

Erika hopes more people will become living donors. Visit UC San Diego Health’s website to learn how to donate.