Regional Roundup

Tokay High graffiti suspects sought

Police and Tokay High School officials are looking for suspects who spray-painted gang graffiti all over the school.

The vandalism was discovered around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning when a janitor arrived at the 1111 W. Century Blvd. campus. The large, crude, spray-painted letters and gang symbols covered most buildings.

Painters don't start work until 7 a.m., which meant the damage was still visible when school started at 7:20, Vice Principal Martha Dent said. It took about an hour for painters to cover the vandalism.

Nobody was arrested, but police said they are following leads.

Those responsible will have to pay the cleanup costs, Dent said, just as culprits pay in other incidents. A 2006 senior prank, in which classroom door locks were filled with silicon, cost $10,000 in repairs and the culprit is still paying for the damage, Dent said.

She didn't yet have a damage estimate for Wednesday's vandalism.

Woman arrested, man escapes in burglary

A woman was arrested and a man escaped during an extensive search Wednesday after they allegedly broke into a Lodi home and stole $12,000 worth of property.

Around 1:15 p.m. a man went to the home in the 7900 block of East Highway 12, where he is taking care of the residence. When he arrived, he saw a man flee out of the house through a broken window, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.

The caretaker called deputies and blocked the driveway, then punctured a tire of the suspect's vehicle to disable it.

Deputies arrived and searched the house, arresting a woman identified as Rochell Lynn Mastro, 44. They searched the nearby vineyard, near Alpine Road east of Highway 99, with deputies, a canine unit and a helicopter but did not find the other suspect.

The man was described as white, about 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, with dark hair. He wore a white tank top and blue jeans, according to a Sheriff's report.

Deputies recovered $12,225 worth of property the suspects were apparently stealing.

Police looking for credit card fraud suspect

Lodi police are looking for a man who was captured on video using a credit card shortly after it was stolen from a car.

Around 7:15 p.m. Sunday, the suspect drove a green car, apparently an Oldsmobile Alero, into the Chevron station at Ham Lane and Lockeford Street, Detective Nick Rafiq said.

The man filled his car with $50 worth of gas, then went into the store to pay for the gas and get a pack of Camel filtered cigarettes. He told the clerk that the Discover card belonged to a roommate who gave him permission, and the clerk accepted the explanation.

But the card had actually just been stolen from inside a car parked at Rick's Pizza across the street, Rafiq said. The victim canceled the card as soon as she realized her car had been burglarized, but not before it had been used.

The card was found the next day, tossed on the ground near Hutchins and Oak streets, where a citizen found it and called police.

The suspect was described as a white man with red hair, a goatee and a mustache. He is in his early 20s, 5-feet-11-inches to 6-feet-2-inches tall and between 170 and 190 pounds.

At the time of the crime, he wore a gray shirt with the word "Rusty" on the back, red patterned knee-length shorts, sandals, sunglasses and a black lanyard around his neck.

Anyone with information may contact Rafiq at 333-6747, or police at 333-6727.

Library closed today

The Lodi Public Library will be closed all day today while library staff participate in a one-day "in service."

The library will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Lodi Police survey available online

If you want to let Lodi police know how they're doing, an online survey is now available.

The anonymous 27-question survey will be available until Sept. 18, Lodi Police Capt. J.P. Badel said Thursday. It will be used by police management during a September workshop, when they will develop a two-year plan and decide the department's priorities.

The survey was created by city staff and may be accessed at www.lodi.gov/CitySurveys/PublicSurvey0808.asp. Links are provided on the city's main Web page, as well as the police department's site.

City hires Bartlam as interim development chief

Rad Bartlam will serve as Lodi's interim community development director following a 4-to-1 vote by the City Council Wednesday night.

Bartlam is now paid $150 per hour for his one-day-per week work on Lodi's General Plan update. He'll be paid $80 per hour under a separate contract as interim director. He'll work a minimum of 24 hours per week on that job, according to his contract.

Bartlam will start the director's job Aug. 25.

He will not receive city benefits for his work as interim director.

Bartlam previously served as Lodi's development chief from 1996 to 2005.

The position has been vacant since Randy Hatch parted ways with the city in late May.

Mayor JoAnne Mounce voted against Bartlam's new contract. She explained Thursday she'd rather see Bartlam given one contract, as a way to encourage him to join the city on a permanent basis.

"I really, really think we should encourage him to apply (for the permanent director position)," Mounce said. "He was a very, very good community development director."

Sieglock to kicks off campaign on Saturday

10th Assembly District candidate Jack Sieglock will officially kick off his campaign for State Assembly this weekend with a rally and precinct walk Saturday morning in Lodi.

Volunteers will gather at 9:30 a.m., at the campaign headquarters located at 1812 W. Kettleman Lane, Suite 1 for a rally and then disperse throughout the city of Lodi, going door to door.

Sieglock is launching his campaign in the same place his public service career began 16 years ago, when he was first elected to the Lodi City Council. Sieglock served as mayor twice and also served two terms on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors.

For more information on Sieglock, visit www.sieglockforassembly.com.

Internet harassment bill goes to governor

Assemblyman Guy Houston's legislation aimed at preventing online harassment passed the Assembly floor Wednesday and has been sent to the governor for his signature.

Assembly Bill 919, the Internet Stalking Bill, is designed to protect citizens from stalking, harassment and other abuse over the Internet, according to Houston's office.

The measure came about after a 17-year-old Danville girl was harassed when her picture and cell phone number was taken from her MySpace page and posted on Craigslist with a lewd advertisement. The dozens of phone calls she received were obscene and threatening, yet police were unable to prosecute because it was not against the law, according to a Houston news release.

AB 919 would make it a misdemeanor to use the Internet to intentionally incite a third person to frighten, harass or harm an individual.

Houston, R-San Ramon, represents Galt, Thornton and portions of Stockton, the Delta and East Bay.