Regional Roundup

TB patient being moved to Redwood City center

A man who was arrested in Lodi last summer for refusing to cooperate with treatment for tuberculosis will now be transferred from the San Joaquin County Jail to a Redwood City treatment center.

Kenneth Vanderford, a transient who had insisted that his name was Bobby Presley, has been jailed since Aug. 23, when he was arrested at Lodi Memorial Hospital, handcuffed and placed in a patrol car with a hospital mask over his face.

Hospital workers had spent 13 days trying to keep him quarantined to prevent the spread of the highly communicable lung disease. But he refused to take his medication and left his hospital room more than once, according to the $250,000 arrest warrant.

Vanderford, 48, was held in a medical cell at the county jail and on Oct. 4 was found mentally incompetent to stand trial. On Thursday, a judge reviewed reports about possible placement and then ordered that Vanderford be sent to the secure Redwood City center, meaning that he will be confined there, Deputy District Attorney Steve Taylor said.

Vanderford will spend a month there and then return to San Joaquin County a few days before his Feb. 14 court appearance, when he will have finished TB treatment. Since he has been found incompetent to stand trial — because he has a form of dementia, Taylor said — Vanderford will be placed in the care of the county's Mental Health Department.

Taylor sees about two such cases a year, though this had been the first in Lodi that officials could remember. Most involve drug addicts but Vanderford's matter was a bit different because of the mental health matters.

Once Vanderford returns to San Joaquin County TB-free, he will live in transitional housing. Because he has four public intoxication cases pending in Lodi, a judge ordered him to abstain from all alcohol, Taylor said.

Several arrested in sweep

A 17-year-old Lodi girl was among several people arrested Wednesday night when a team of four officers and a sergeant turned their attention to homes that had been subject of complaints or problems.

In the sweep, police arrested several people, found a loaded gun and seized cash, including a forged $100 bill, Lt. Steve Price said.

The girl, a Lodi High School student, was arrested after the officers went to her home and her parents allowed them to search her room, police said. They allegedly found several grams of marijuana and "evidence of drug sales," including $1,200 in cash, Price said.

During surveillance at an unrelated home in the 300 block of West Century Boulevard, police stopped a car and arrested Daniel Collier, 38, who was wanted on a no-bail warrant, Sgt. Mike Oden said. Officers found a loaded 9 mm pistol under his seat, Oden said.

Dispatchers had received complaints of heavy traffic, possibly relating to drugs, on Avena Avenue near Lodi Avenue, and officers also did surveillance there Wednesday night.

They stopped a car leaving the home and arrested a woman after finding a counterfeit $100 bill that had been made by bleaching a real $5 bill, Price said.

Officers also arrested a wanted parolee on South Garfield Street, police said.

'Dumpster diving' will be a crime in Modesto

MODESTO — Dumpster diving will soon be illegal in Modesto.

Beginning in March, police will be authorized to arrest or issue $500 fines to people caught digging through garbage cans under a new ordinance approved this week.

Supporters of the measure say it will prevent identity theft and reduce blight, but opponents say making dumpster diving a crime is excessive.

The Modesto City Council approved the ordinance by a 5-2 vote Tuesday night.