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• Gated communities in Lodi

• In remembrance of Kyle Coumas

• Area schools have no plans of closing due to H1N1 virus

• Lodi a reflection of Halloween's retail emergence

• City of Lodi settles case of mistaken identity

• Lodi-area Halloween events

• Regional Roundup

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 (172)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Public health care is a Christian option (86)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (52)
• The haves should help the have-nots (31)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (27)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (17)

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City of Lodi settles case of mistaken identity

A Lodi man whose face was incorrectly featured in an ad for an attempted murder suspect has settled with the city for $5,000.

Rosendo Alfaro Perez's lawsuit is still awaiting a judge's dismissal but attorneys for both sides said this week that they agreed to the settlement in late September.

Perez's photo was published Feb. 13, 2008, in a Crime Stoppers ad placed in the Lodi News-Sentinel. However, police were searching for a man with a different middle name of Ruelas, not Alfaro.

Perez was terrified that he would be arrested and jailed, said his attorney, Gil Somera. Friends and acquaintances don't always know one another's middle names, so Perez also faced ridicule and a damaged reputation.

Perez went to an attorney, who contacted the city and approved a correction that subsequently ran in the newspaper.

Then Perez filed a claim against the city in August 2008, seeking damages in excess of $10,000. City employees rejected the claim, and Perez then filed suit in March, seeking $600,000.

Perez never wanted that much money, Somera said Friday, adding that the dollar amount was a typo in the initial lawsuit.

"This was more of a matter of, 'Hey, something went wrong; let's sit down and talk about it and make sure it doesn't happen again,'" Somera said.

He and Deputy City Attorney Janice Magdich discussed the case more than once, and Somera said he and his client are satisfied that nobody else will be incorrectly labeled as a suspect.

The settlement of $5,000 includes Perez's legal fees.

Police are still searching for the attempted murder suspect, who is accused of shooting his ex-wife's boyfriend in the back on Dec. 2, 2007. Lodi police believe that suspect has fled the area.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.