Features

Fake bomb prompted morning evacuation in Burlingame 

BURLINGAME – Police are investigating whether a fake bomb that caused an evacuation of an apartment building Tuesday is connected to another fake bomb found at the same building in July. 

A San Mateo County bomb squad responded to the 100 block of Lorton Avenue at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday after a resident of the apartment building flagged down a Burlingame police officer and reported finding a suspicious object in a common hallway, Officer Don Shepley said. 

Police subsequently evacuated half of the block while the bomb squad tested the device and ultimately determined that it posed no danger. 

“It was designed to look like a bomb, but it was ineffective,” Shepley said. 

Residents were allowed to return to their homes by around 9:50 a.m., he said. 

Detectives are investigating whether there is a connection between Tuesday's hoax and another bomb scare at the apartment building on July 11.  

Woman who suffocated daughter changes plea to insanity 

SAN RAFAEL — The Novato woman accused of suffocating her young daughter in a hotel room has changed her plea from innocent to innocent by reason of insanity. 

Marisa Mariposa Garcia appeared Monday before Marin County Superior Court Judge Terrence Boren for a preliminary hearing to decide if the evidence warrants a trial. 

The court ordered Garcia, 27, to be evaluated by two court-appointed psychiatrists, who were expected to complete reports about her mental condition before a hearing next month. 

Garcia was arrested April 8 and later was charged with murder and assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death. 

Garcia was taken into custody at a San Francisco hospital after telling staffers she had killed her 3-year-old daughter, Kaya Isabella Hamilton, at the posh Acqua Hotel. 

Assistant District Attorney Ed Berberian said insanity pleas are uncommon, especially coming so early in the court process. 

“She’s stable and is holding up well,” said Donnie Doerschler, one of Garcia’s nine sisters. Garcia remains at Marin County Jail, where officials said she has been taken off suicide watch. 

Eight arrested in  

Colma Target store theft ring 

It looks like the Target in Colma may be hiring. 

Colma police announced Tuesday the arrest of eight employees suspected of participating in a two-year-long theft ring that has cost the store an estimated minimum of $250,000 to $1 million. 

Police say Target corporate investigators contacted Colma detectives about an alleged theft ring at the Target Greatland store in the Serra Center last week. 

Target's detectives told police that they had conducted a surveillance of the store and had allegedly observed several employees taking large amounts of merchandise that they transported to a house in San Francisco. 

Police say that much of the alleged thieving was recorded by the store's security cameras, making it easy for them to identify the suspects involved.