Cash smugglers taken to Vista jail

California border patrol agents recently seized illegal drugs and more than $17,000 in cash in three separate incidents recently.

The cash was found in the vehicle of a U.S. citizen who had been driving with a Mexican citizen on I-15 south of Rainbow, California, according to a Border Patrol release. The border patrol K-9 team conducted a search of the 2009 Ford Econoline vehicle, uncovering $17,863 in cash that had been hidden in packages of baby wipes, shop towels and gloves. The two men, ages 35 and 36, were arrested on smuggling charges and taken to the Vista Jail in …

A video camera captured footage of a San Diego police officer pulling a woman's hair outside her burning home October 19, sparking an internal investigation into the incident, the San Diego Union-Times reported.

A reporter for Imperial Beach Patch was at the scene of the fire and was shooting a video, which shows Officer Dan McLaughlin pulling Torazzi Hayslett from firefighters who were trying to keep her away from the fire, the article stated. McLaughlin carried Hayslett away from the home, as she fought with him, grabbed on to a fire truck and slapped him in the face twice. The …

A San Diego police officer shot and wounded a man October 14 after the man pointed a military-style assault rifle in his direction, The Associated Press reported.

The San Diego Police Department responded to a call stating that the 24-year-old suspect, Esteban Nandin, was wandering around an apartment building. He was wearing a tactical vest, the article stated, and he engaged in a standoff with the officer that lasted an hour. After he pointed the gun at the officer, he was struck in the chest and arm, according to Lt. Jorge Duran. The name of the police officer who shot …

Numerous county jails around California have reportedly felt a need to expand or hire additional guards and correctional officers as a result of the state realignment program that has transferred many non-violent criminals to the local lockups.

While the Las Colinas Detention Center - a women's jail in San Diego - is expanding its space and the San Diego Sheriff's Department plans to hire thousands of people to fill jobs, not many of the new hires will go to the local jail, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Sheriff Lt. Robert Haley said of the additional positions in the department, "very few, …