Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Electric utility's credit rating gets a boost

• Pedestrian killed on 99 near Jahant Road

• Same-day Dial-A-Ride fares to double June 1

• Galt High shows Warrior pride as they get diplomas

• Galt High valedictorian Ashley Tiapon excited about early start to career in medicine

• Galt High's top graduates

• Rough road for many at Liberty, but the journey has united them

• Liberty High top graduates

• Regional Roundup

• Family has four generations graduate from Galt High

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (170)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Public health care is a Christian option (71)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (51)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (25)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

ADVERTISEMENT

Regional Roundup

19-year-old to serve 5 years for shooting

A 19-year-old Lodi man will spend five years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to assault with a firearm at a gas station.

Luis Antonio De La Luz admitted that he got into an argument and fired shots shortly after midnight Feb. 14 at USA Gas, 35 N. Cherokee Lane.

He and the other man each went to their own vehicles, where De La Luz got a handgun, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Pat Rieta-Garcia said in court.

De La Luz fired several shots at the other vehicle, which was empty, and then fled. Nobody was struck.

Lodi police officers happened to be in the area and soon stopped De La Luz's car, which matched a description broadcast by dispatchers. Inside the vehicle, they found a gun.

De La Luz could have faced at least 13 years in prison but through a plea deal, he will be sentenced June 11 to five years in state prison. The conviction counts as his first strike under California's three-strikes law, meaning that the punishment for a future felony conviction could be doubled.

Judge Bob McNatt, looking at the shackled man who had consulted with his mother before accepting the plea deal, offered some advice.

"Mr. De La Luz, you're a young man. After all this is over, you're still going to be a young man — a lot younger than most of the people you're going to run into in prison," McNatt said.

The judge told De La Luz that, due to his youth, he still has time to turn his life around. Then McNatt wished him good luck.

De La Luz, who had briefly put his head in his hands, said with red eyes, "I appreciate that, your honor."

Sixth-grader to hold garage sale for D.C. trip

Michael Roush, 11 and a sixth-grader at Beckman Elementary School wants to go to Washington D.C. to visit the White House, learn the history behind the nation's capital and possibly meet people like Newt Gingrich, Janet Reno and Jesse Jackson.

He's already done the hard part: Being the only student at his school to be nominated to go to the Junior National Young Leaders' Conference. Now all he has to do is pay to get there.

Together, the six-day conference and the airfare to get him there will cost him and his family $3,000.

Roush will hold a garage sale Saturday starting at 8 a.m. at 1937 Camphor Way near South Mills Avenue to fund his adventurous learning experience.

For more information call 663-9479.

Man arrested by SWAT team pleads not guilty

A Lodi man who was arrested by the SWAT team after allegedly pointing a gun at an auto burglary victim pleaded not guilty to the charges this week.

Sajid Aziz, 23, is charged with one felony count each of assault with a firearm, auto burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty at his Tuesday arraignment, according to San Joaquin County court records.

A judge set bail at $200,000 and appointed a public defender to represent him. He will return to court Monday, where attorneys will likely schedule a preliminary hearing.

Aziz was arrested last Friday, hours after a vehicle burglary victim told police that the suspect had pointed a gun at him before fleeing. Officers tracked part of a license plate to East Oak Street and called in the SWAT team, which ultimately found Aziz in a yard.

Same-sex marriage to be discussed

Christian Community Concerns will discuss the recent California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage at today's breakfast meeting at 6:30 a.m. at Richmaid Restaurant, 100 S. Cherokee Lane, Lodi.

Criminal investigation opened in farm death

County officials are launching a criminal investigation to determine whether a labor contractor's negligence could have caused the death of a young, pregnant farmworker who collapsed in a vineyard two weeks ago.

Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez was pruning grape vines at a Stockton-area vineyard when she fainted on May 14, after working an eight-hour shift in 100-degree heat.

Relatives say supervisors recommended reviving her with rubbing alcohol before she was taken to a Lodi medical clinic, nearly two hours after she fell ill. Doctors later realized she was two months pregnant.

An investigator from the state Attorney General's office is also assisting in the probe, along with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.