Regional Roundup

Two cars stolen, 13 burglarized at tow yard

Two vehicles were stolen and 13 were ransacked at Geweke Body and Tow sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning, Lodi police said.

The crime was discovered at 7:15 a.m. at the 102 Hansen Drive business, when an employee arrived at work and saw that a lock had been cut to a parking lot. Police arrived and employees began taking inventory.

All but one of the vehicles belonged to customers who were either having body work done or whose cars had been towed for a driving violation, Officer Dale Eubanks said. In most of the vehicles, keys had been left inside or the doors were unlocked, he said.

Nobody had been arrested by Tuesday evening, and the business did not have video surveillance, Eubanks said.

Police are looking for a customer's 2003 Ford F-350 dually truck that was missing a rear fender because it was being repaired, Eubanks said. Also stolen was Geweke's Ford shuttle van, which had no business markings because it had just been repainted.

In the vehicles that weren't stolen, most were missing stereos, and one lost its tires, rims and TV screens set in the car's head rests. A motor home, which had been taken to the shop for body work, was completely ransacked, Eubanks said.

Of the cars damaged, one had been towed after a car wreck, the stolen truck and motor home were at the shop for body work, and the rest had been towed, Eubanks said. Most of them had 30-day impound tags on them, and most were towed because the drivers didn't have current licenses, Eubanks said.

Eubanks hadn't gotten full damage estimates yet, but he said the burglaries easily caused thousands of dollars in repairs.

Employees told Eubanks that the cars were left unlocked because it's actually cheaper to replace a stereo than a broken window.

The phone at Geweke Body and Tow rang with no answer several times Tuesday afternoon, so it was not known if security will be increased at the business.

Dozen arrested in drunken driving sting

Twelve people were arrested during a weekend drunken driving sting in Lodi, police said Tuesday.

Half of those arrested were stopped during a checkpoint on Cherokee Lane south of Lodi Avenue. The other six were arrested by extra patrol officers looking for drunken drivers, police said.

A total of 1,157 drivers passed through the checkpoint that was held from 7:30 p.m. Saturday through 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Officers screened the vehicles, and those suspected of driving under the influence were pulled over into the Big Kmart shopping center. One 22-year-old suspect allegedly had an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, and a number of those arrested did not have current drivers' licenses.

At least three had prior drunken driving arrests, and most of those arrested are now jailed without bail on suspicion of entering the country illegally.

The checkpoint was funded with a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. It is part of a two-week national campaign called "Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest."

City to honor its volunteers

A reception honoring the city of Lodi's many citizen volunteers will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday night at Crete Hall inside Hutchins Street Square.

The annual event will be hosted by Mayor JoAnne Mounce.

Scores of volunteers make up Lodi's many boards, commissions, committees and task force groups.

Aside from two dormant city panels, every volunteer position is currently filled.

"We are fortunate to have such an unbelievable amount of people who are dedicated and passionate about the city of Lodi," Mounce said Tuesday. "Lodians like to give back."

Investigation into train accident ongoing

Police are waiting for toxicology results on Chad Ehrhart, the 20-year-old man killed Sunday night when he was struck by a train at East Locust Street along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

Authorities still have no witnesses to the accident aside from the Union Pacific Railroad train conductor, said Lodi Police Officer Dale Eubanks.

Police smelled alcohol on Ehrhart at the scene. Finding out how Ehrhart obtained alcohol will be part of the investigation should toxicology results show he had alcohol in his system, Eubanks said.

There is no evidence pointing to suicide, the officer added.

Information regarding who Ehrhart was is still thin.

His family was making funeral arrangements Tuesday and declined to speak.

According to Eubanks, Ehrhart had a Davis Road mailing address and a South Hutchins Street personal address.

He noted the young man had been in the Lodi area since at least 2005 and was homeschooled. Ehrhart was unemployed at the time of the accident, Eubanks said.

Ehrhart was seen "staggering around the tracks" before the accident, according to a report from the train conductor, said Zoe Richmond, spokeswoman for Union Pacific.

The tracks where Ehrhart was killed are often used as a shortcut for people walking from Locust Street north to a Lockeford Street liquor store, noted Nick Alexander, owner of Psycho Rhino, an off-road accessories store on North Sacramento Street.

An 82-year-old Lodi woman was rescued from the same railroad intersection in May after her wheelchair got stuck in the tracks. Twenty-year-old Sam Huffman of Lodi whisked Marguerite Jones to safety seconds before the train arrived.

LUSD's Richard Jones endorses McNerney

Richard Jones, vice president of the Lodi Unified School District board of trustees, has endorsed Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton.

Jones is one of 115 educators who endorsed McNerney as he makes his bid for a second term in Congress. McNerney is being challenged by Republican challenger Dean Andal in the 11th Congressional District race.

"Quality education should never be a partisan issue," McNerney said in a statement announcing the endorsement. "Having an educated workforce is fundamental to ensuring our nation's continued economic leadership in the world."

Other local educators who endorsed McNerney include Jenneffer Maple, Vicki Marien, Lana Gentry David Johnson and Dr. Fredick Wentworth, superintendent of the San Joaquin County office of education.