A 47-year-old parolee landed in jail Wednesday morning, accused of attacking an elderly female acquaintance in her Vista home, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.

The 71-year-old victim called deputies about noon on Tuesday to report that Carey Lynn Barton —- whom the victim knew —- had come into her home, Sheriff's Sgt. Art Wager said in a news release.

The victim said Barton held a knife to her throat, punched her in the face, tried to strangle her with a belt, and demanded property, the sergeant said…

La Mesa police are asking for the public's help in finding a parolee accused of cutting a woman's hand with a knife while stealing her handbag in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

The woman was walking to her vehicle in the 5500 block of Grossmont Center Drive around 10:45 p.m. on Jan. 21 when a green, older model Chevy or Ford pickup truck pulled in front of her, according to the La Mesa police.

A passenger in the truck got out and tried to cut the woman's purse strap with a knife, police said, adding that during the struggle, the woman suffered a deep cut to her hand from the purse snatcher's knife…

Police arrested nine people at a Saturday night driver's license and sobriety checkpoint, an Escondido police lieutenant said.

The checkpoint at East El Norte Parkway and Ash Street ran from 6 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday, Lt. Chris Wynn said.

Wynn said 2,132 vehicles entered the checkpoint and police screened 1,057.

Police arrested six suspected drunken drivers and one parolee driving a stolen car, Wynn said. One person was arrested for public drunkenness, and another was arrested for possession of false documents, he said…

A state appellate court decision allowing violent felons to possess body armor has touched off a firestorm in law enforcement, legal and legislative circles.

The ruling could set up a showdown before the state Supreme Court and puts once-overlooked legislation sponsored by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office in the spotlight.

Authorities and lawmakers argue that the armor gives convicts unnecessary protection during gun battles with police…

A man testified yesterday that he thought it odd, but not particularly significant, when a friend who was landscaping the man's backyard last year started building an egg-shaped structure with cement and chicken wire.

When the egg was broken apart later, it was found to contain the decaying remains of 80-year-old Edward Clayton Andrews, whom the landscaper is accused of murdering.

Ben Mason, who leased a home on Alabama Street in North Park at the time, said the friend he knew as "Josh" would often work in the yard when Mason and his roommates were not there. One afternoon in September 2008, he came home to find Josh sloppily constructing the egg, which he said would be the centerpiece of a rock garden…

Sexually violent predator Matthew Hedge, who has been living since April in a trailer near Donovan state prison in Otay Mesa, was taken into custody Thursday night for violating terms and conditions of his release, the District Attorney's Office said.

Hedge, 46, was arrested without incident at the trailer about 7:30 p.m. by officers from the local Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force. He was being held Friday in county jail,

Hedge is not accused of new crimes, but details on why he was arrested were not immediately released…

El Centro Police arrested a 20-year old man who is on parole after recently being recently released from prison.

El Centro Police Officer Magana was on patrol at about 5:00 a.m. this morning when he noticed a Plymouth van with two men in it being driven eastbound in the 1200 block of Pico Avenue.

The officer observed that the van had no taillights and then saw the van turn southbound on 8th Street. When Officer Magana caught up to the van he noticed that it was moving very slowly and headed toward the curb…

A parolee accused of striking his girlfriend with a 2-pound hammer, then sexually assaulting her at her Pacific Beach home, was convicted Tuesday of felony charges that could send him to prison for life.

Walter Cordell, 53, was found guilty of six counts, including premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, making a criminal threat and forcible rape.

The jury was unable to reach unanimous decisions on seven other counts, including rape by foreign object and sodomy…

A private company's plans to build a mega-prison that could house immigrant detainees has received the go-ahead from the county.

Last month, after a temporary holdup over access to sewer lines, the county planning commission approved plans for Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp. of America to build a "secure detention facility" on a 40-acre parcel in east Otay Mesa.

The parcel is close to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and also to the private prison company's San Diego Correctional Facility, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement houses immigrant detainees who are awaiting deportation or a decision in an immigration case…

A state law designed to protect children from molesters is running into hurdles, slowing officials from enacting some of its components and leading to some unintended consequences.

Tough housing restrictions, skyrocketing costs of evaluating the risks that sex offenders could be repeat predators, and the potential for less monitoring time for parolees in the community have some officials concerned.

"This particular law has a lot of unintended consequences, and those may have such a weight that the intended consequences will suffer," said Heather Dauler of the San Diego Sex Offender Management Council…