Verdict reached in CVPD in-custody death lawsuit

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, May second.

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There’s a verdict in the lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died in Chula Vista police custody. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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Students at U-C San Diego set up a “Gaza solidarity'' encampment yesterday (Wednesday), to protest the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers say they intend to stay as long as necessary.

They want the university to divest from its Israeli financial interests, and grant amnesty to all students staying in the encampment.

The Jewish organization, U-C-S-D Hillel, has called for the safety of Jewish students, saying they should be able to express their Jewish identities and support for Israel without fear.

The university says it fully supports the right to peacefully protest, but is also committed to the safety of its community.

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The Emergency Temporary Lodging Program that’s been helping families displaced by the January storm is being extended to June 21st.

It was previously set to end on May 11th.

The program has provided hotel rooms and food to nearly 900 families displaced by flooding from the storm.

The county Board of Supervisors this week voted unanimously to grant an additional nine-million-dollars to support the extension.

The board also voted to provide 4-point-6-million-dollars to the San Diego Housing Commission and the National City and Oceanside housing authorities to help residents transition out of the program.

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A multi-state food safety alert was issued yesterday (Wednesday) for an E-Coli outbreak possibly linked to organic walnut halves and pieces.

The Gibson Farms walnuts were sold in bulk bins at natural food stores and locally owned grocery stores in Southern California and other places.

Here the walnuts were sold in grocery stores in the city of San Diego, San Marcos, Escondido and Encinitas.

The affected walnuts have expiration dates between May 21st 20-25 and June 7th 20-25.

According to the C-D-C, so far, six people have reported possible E-Coli illness in the state.

Symptoms of the E-Coli bacteria include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting, and start three to four days after consuming the food.

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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

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There’s a verdict in the lawsuit brought by the family of Oral Nunis, who died in the custody of Chula Vista police four years ago.

Reporter Kori Suzuki says the ruling found the officers were justified in using force.

The case was focused on how four officers responded to a mental health call in March of 2020. The call was about Oral Nunis, a Northern California business owner and immigrant from Jamaica who was visiting family in Chula Vista. One night, he began experiencing a mental health crisis. His daughter called 911 for help. When Chula Vista police arrived, they held Nunis using multiple different restraints. Several officers forced him against the ground using their bodyweight. He died in custody later that night. Nunis’ family sued the city of Chula Vista. Accusing the officers of using unlawful deadly force and targeting Nunis because he was Black. Attorneys for Chula Vista said the officers were just following their training. On Tuesday, a federal jury ruled in favor of the city. Finding that the officers were justified in the amount of force they used. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

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For two decades, contractor Leonard Glenn Francis wined, dined and bribed senior Navy officers who helped him make millions defrauding the U-S government.

Now, more than 11 years after his arrest in San Diego, he’s finally set to be sentenced to prison.

Military reporter Andrew Dyer has more on how we got here.

It's march 2024 and leonard glenn francis stands in a federal courtroom in san diego. he wears a drab beige prisoner jumpsuit over his 6-foot-3-inch frame. the former navy contractor once known as “fat leonard” is noticeably slimmer than the figure who’s appeared in news reports over the last decade. he tells the judge he’s having trouble finding a new lawyer. it’s a low key hearing in one of the most extraordinary federal criminal conspiracies ever prosecuted. “there’s never been such a wide-ranging corruption scandal within the u.s. military.” that’s rachel vanlandingham. she’s a law professor at southwestern law school in los angeles. before that, she was a lawyer in the air force. “in modern us history there's never been a case that was this encompassing that cast this wide up in net because we had such far-reaching corruption.” from the 1990s through his arrest in 2013, francis admitted he bribed scores of navy officers and civilians with lavish gifts, parties and cash. in return, they helped steer navy ships to ports francis controlled via his company, glenn defense marine asia. francis overcharged the navy with fake or altered invoices signed-off by navy officials under his sway. he pleaded guilty in 2015 to pocketing at least $35 million dollars in fraudulent charges. dan grazier was an officer in the marine corps. now a senior defense policy fellow at the project on government oversight, grazier says he’s concerned the lessons of the fat leonard scandal haven’t been learned. “i see a broad systemic problem, uh, with this case…. uh, the, the fundamental problem here is the department of defense is over reliance on contractors for basic support.” “there was a lot of people that knew this was going on, even if they weren't participating, uh, they had to have known that it was going on….and they didn’t report it.” not everyone looked the other way. dave schauss was a navy lieutenant who ran the hong kong ship support office in the 2000s. schauss noticed francis billed the navy for supplying more water than one ship could hold, and confronted him. he says francis became angry and got in his face. “he’s big and intimidating.after he figured out, i wasn't gonna um, you know, back down or move out of his face, then he sat down and banged on the table a few times. and said, i don't take orders from the lieutenant.” navy records show schauss reported francis multiple times to the naval criminal investigative service or ncis. he installed flow meters to measure how much liquid was actually being pumped onto and off navy ships. but francis and his allies in the navy intervened. “uh, lieutenant, charles get back in your box. lieutenant shouse, it's not your job to investigate glenn defense. it's not your job to investigate fat leonard. “i was young and idealistic, i didn't. i didn't care. um, but yeah, he did. he did have a lot of uh, influence and and he was able to uh, make my job difficult.  francis’ conspiracy ended with his arrest in san diego in 2013. more than 30 people including an ncis agent would eventually plead guilty to bribery and conspiracy-related charges. but the biggest case fell apart. former 7th fleet officers were found guilty of felony charges of bribery in 2022 but those convictions were reduced to misdemeanors  last year when federal prosecutors admitted to withholding potentially exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys. last month, federal prosecutors filed a brief indicating more convicted defendants could see a reduction in charges. vanlandingham says such conduct raises questions about the justice department. “the … u.s attorney's office here in southern california. should have been using the utmost care, um, in in prosecuting and prosecuting the right way.” the court’s handling of francis raised more questions in 2022. while under house arrest he cut his ankle monitor and fled the country. he was later arrested in venezuela where he remained until he was returned to the u.s. in a prisoner swap. now in custody in downtown san diego, francis waits to be sentenced nine years after pleading guilty. at francis’ march hearing judge janis samaratino gave him another two months to find a new lawyer. she has yet to schedule a sentencing date. andrew dyer, kpbs news.

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In other Military-related news… the Navy now says the U-S-S Boxer won’t resume its long delayed deployment until at least this summer, because of damage on one of the ship’s rudders.

Yesterday (Wednesday), the Navy said it will attempt to repair the ship in the water at Naval Base San Diego, in an effort to avoid sending the ship into a dry dock.

This is the latest in a series of mechanical problems that have plagued the San Diego-based ship since it originally went into dry dock in 20-20 for an extensive overhaul and upgrade.

The ship left San Diego for deployment early last month, only to turn around 10 days later.

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Nurses at Tri-City Medical Center used International Workers’ Day yesterday (Wednesday) to highlight what they say is a critical staffing shortage.

North County reporter Alexander Nguyen has the details.

Nurses in the acute care units at Tri-City want the hospital to address the staffing shortage. They say it’s a safety concern.Doris Turner is a relief charge nurse in the emergency department “I know the Tri-city has been fiscally challenged and we are aware of that, but we can't let that interfere with safe patient care and safety for our nurses.” According to the latest financial audit report … Tri-City's long-term debt was more than 70 million dollars as of June 2023. She says she has seen about a 35 percent decrease in staffing in the E-R. Doris Turner Tri-City Nurse “They've also decreased the numbers just across the board. So now our nurses don't get breaks, our techs don't get breaks. You work twelve and a half hours without getting a break, and that's not safe for patient care. That increases risk of error.” Tri-City has yet to respond to multiple requests for comments. AN/KPBS.

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In other efforts to get voices heard on Workers’ Day yesterday (Wednesday), hotel and hospitality workers rallied at San Diego's Bayfront park.

As Katie Anastas reports, they’re calling for higher wages.

Service workers are asking the San Diego City Council to pass an ordinance raising their minimum wage to $25 – more than $8 higher than the citywide minimum wage. Olivia Guzman has been a housekeeper for 20 years. Through a translator, she says workers like her play a major role in keeping the tourism industry going. Cubrimos muchas cosas…SHE’S SAYING Our employers have been cutting corners a lot, and one of the primary ways that they do this is increasing our workload and short staffing us. And this isn’t fair to us because we’re the reason that clients and people keep coming to San Diego as a tourist city. GUZMAN …quieren regresar. Hotel workers' unions across the country are calling for wage increases ahead of upcoming contract negotiations. The proposed ordinance would cover hotel workers, janitorial staff and event center workers. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

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The World Design Festival is underway in Tijuana, which ties together with San Diego.

Reporter Jacob Aere says the festival is one part of a larger program recognizing the binational region, with tons of events planned now through November.

The San Diego-Tijuana region was designated as the World Design Capital for 2024 … due to the two cities commitment to human-centered design and cross-border collaboration. Now, the World Design Festival is taking over Tijuana – one of seven signature events this year tied into the designation. Monterrey Institute of Technology Professor Jose De La O will be showing his work. “Its using objects, like regular objects and seeing how can they tell the stories about migrants. Not only at the border, but all across Mexico.” The five-day festival runs from May 1st through 5th … The sister event, World Design Experience in San Diego, will take place in September. Dozens of other World Design Capital events will run through November on both sides of the border. Jacob Aere, KPBS News.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.