Helicopter pilot Paul Barth and his camera operator saw a brightly colored object in the South Florida sky with them just before sunrise.

"I didn’t know what it was when I first saw it," Barth said.

They saw the object while they were airborne to document the Wings for Life World Run charity race in May. Barth told NBC 6 he was worried the flying object would hit them.

“We were on a collision course," Barth said. “It was some kind of a drone, and it was approaching us at a high rate of speed.”

• Prosecutors Have Doubts in Police Shooting, But No Charges
  

Down below were the athletes and support staff participating in the run to raise money for those with spinal cord injuries.

“It came right at us and went right underneath us," Barth said. "If that drone had hit my tail rotor and taken me down, I would have come down on 2,000 people in the street.“

What happened, Barth said, is an example of the growing conflict in the sky between airplanes, helicopters and what many are flying for fun — drones.

Jeffrey Civitano, who was operating the unmanned aircraft, said he was also worried.

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"The full-sized helicopter turned towards me and made a bee line for a direct intercept course for my location," he said.

Civitano also holds a commercial pilot's license from the Federal Aviation Administration and said he did his best to keep his unmanned aircraft out of the helicopter’s flight path, but said Barth followed his drone.

“My objective was to yield the right of way to him as a full-sized aircraft and to get back on the ground as quickly and safely as possible. He made that difficult, I would say,” Civitano told NBC 6.

Down on the ground, runner Madeline Proano was oblivious to the potential for a catastrophe to unfold above her.

"No signs, no clue," she said.

But she said she did remember the helicopter.

"It was hovering over the area," she recalled.

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Barth and Civitano both contacted the FAA, and Sunrise Police investigated too.

Florida is one of the top spots in the U.S. for flying — only Texas and California have more aircraft registered. And therefore, aviation experts say it’s also is the perfect place to see what the FAA is now officially calling an “unmanned aircraft system” take to the sky.

“Regulation as it pertains to drones is like the Wild Wild West in the United States," said Ft. Lauderdale aviation attorney Jonathan Ewing. He said while the FAA tightly regulates drones companies would use for business purposes, a person flying one just for fun has little restriction.

“In essence, you have floating land mines in the way of commercial aircraft,” Ewing said.

Barth said he has found video on YouTube that shows his helicopter, on another day, passing by while a different drone was airborne near Barth's flight headquarters. Barth wants the FAA to act quickly.

"They are trying to get rules in place. However, they are way behind, and there needs to be some kind of stop-gap regulation," he said.

The organization representing model aircraft owners said it's developed rules for its members to avoid close calls with helicopters and airplanes.

The FAA in late June did tell recreational drone pilots to contact airport towers if flying within 5 miles of the airport and to use basic flight rules existing for years to prevent trouble. It also warned that being reckless with an unmanned aircraft could get you arrested.

A complete and comprehensive rule covering these unmanned aircraft might be done before the end of the year.

Hebron could soon be facing a lawsuit over the death of a RHAM Middle School teacher struck and killed in the school parking lot in March.

The town received a notice on behalf of Dawn Mallory-Bushor's estate, explaining that it's planning to sue.

Mallory, 65, was a Groton resident and taught seventh-grade math. She was killed while walking into the school building the morning of March 17.

Police said a parent had just dropped off her kids when she accidentally drove into the bus lane, then backed up and reportedly ran over Mallory.

• RHAM Teacher Dies After Accident in School Lot

“It's a sensitive situation for all people involved,” said Hebron Town Manager Andrew Tierney.

Tierney is one of several people named in the notice but said he couldn't elaborate on the details.

“We have notified the town’s attorney and the insurance company,” Tierney explained.

The notice claims that the crash happened because of a dangerous or defective roadway and blames town officials.

According to the notice, the town had not conducted a proper traffic study, and there were no speed bumps or signs in place to direct traffic during the morning and afternoon rush.

• VIDEO: RHAM Schools Change Traffic Patters After Fatal Crash

The notice alleges that there was no adequate plan for parents dropping off and picking up students.

“We're going to do what we need to make it safe,” Tierney said.

Since then, the town has made some changes by installing speed bumps and new signage. It has also hired a consulting firm to determine what else may need to be done.

The town is asking for input from the public. A hearing is scheduled tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at RHAM High School.

Police are still investigating the crash. The driver has not been charged.

The Connecticut state police trooper accused of stealing jewelry and cash from the body of a motorcyclist who died at the scene of a crash pleaded guilty today to felony charges and will spend more than a year in prison, according to the court.

Aaron Huntsman, who had been with the department for 18 years at the time of the crime, has pleaded guilty to third-degree larceny and tampering with evidence.

• Trooper Accused of Stealing From Fatal Crash Victim

He reportedly stole $3,000 in cash and a gold chain from the body of 49-year-old John Scalesse, of Orange, who died on Route 15 in Fairfield in September 2012.

The investigation was launched after family members raised concerns about the missing items and police learned that no jewelry had been logged as evidence. The chain and money were later found in Huntsman’s cruiser, police said at the time.

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Huntsman will be sentenced to 16 months in prison followed by five years of probation, according to the court. He’s due back for sentencing Oct. 3.

Information for an attorney for Huntsman was not available Wednesday afternoon.

Huntsman's employment status was not immediately known.

Police have arrested the 72-year-old man accused of driving drunk when his car struck and critically injured a jogger on Route 17 in North Haven Wednesday afternoon.

According to police, Theodore Spalding of North Haven was driving southbound on Route 17/Middletown Avenue around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday when his car hit a 21-year-old man jogging on the opposite side of the road.

"I didn't hear a screech or anything. I just heard, 'boom,'" said Christina D'Amico, who witnessed the crash. "It didn't sound like a person got hit because it was so loud."

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was unconscious at the scene when emergency crews arrived. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries and is listed in critical condition, police said.

Police have not yet released his name.

Spalding failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at the scene, according to police. He's charged with driving under the influence and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle.

Route 17 was closed between Cloudland Road and Great Meadow Drive for several hours while authorities responded to the crash. 

Spalding is being held on $100,000 bond and is due in court tomorrow.

Police ask any witnesses to call North Haven police Officer Rienzo at 203-239-5321. 

 

Police arrested a Norwich dad who is accused of dealing drugs while he was watching his 4-year-old child.

Police set up surveillance on Fifth and North Main streets on Wednesday night to investigate drug dealing and found a man, identified as Dennis Reese, 39, selling narcotics in front of 29 Fifth Street, police said.

When police searched his home, they determined that Reese was responsible for watching his is 4-year-old child, who was in the house when he was selling the drugs, according to police.

When police searched Reese’s residence, they found more than half-an-ounce of crack cocaine packaged to sell, several 20 milligram oxycontin pills, a bottle of liquid morphine, around 70 grams of marijuana and $760 in cash, police said.

Reese was arrested and charged with several drug possession charges, operating a drug factory and risk of injury to a minor.

Reese, who police said is a convicted felon, was held in lieu of a $250,000 bond. He is due in court on July 17. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families was contacted.

 

Shock, disbelief and sadness – these three words describe the thoughts going through the minds of those who knew Misty Holt-Singh best.

The 41-year-old Stockton mother was the only hostage to die in Wednesday’s bank heist involving a high-speed chase in Stockton. Police say she was used as a human shield by the suspects, who have gang connections.

• Stockton Bank Robbers Had "Total Disregard for Human Life": Police Chief

Holt-Singh’s relatives told NBC Bay Area that Misty left her 12-year-old daughter Mia in the car when she ran into the Bank of the West building for what she thought would only be a minute or so.

After that, all hell broke loose, resulting in the kind of crime Stockton police say they haven't witnessed in recent history.

• Raw video: Stockton Police News Conference

Holt-Singh’s cousin, Stephanie Miller Rodriguez, said that Misty and Mia were supposed to meet her on Wednesday afternoon at a salon in Stockton to get their hair done. But that never happened. 

“She and Mia were coming to get their hair done, but she didn’t show up,” said Rodriguez, who is a professional hair stylist. “I texted her on her cell phone and her daughter texted me back saying that the bank was being held up and that her mom had been taken hostage. I came home thinking she was OK because Mia had her phone, but found out later that she was killed in the gunfire. I’ve just been in a state of shock since then.”

Rodriguez described Holt-Singh as a “beautiful person.”

“She loved her family and kids so much,” she said. “She came into my life five months ago – we ran into each other and realized we were cousins … It was nice to have a cousin my age. But then we had this relationship cut short so suddenly.”

Friends and family have turned Holt-Singh’s Facebook page into a virtual memorial site, reminiscing about her as a beloved friend or a favorite classmate from Franklin High School.

"She was always funny and kept people laughing," said Christopher Turner, who was friends with Holt-Singh in high school. "She was loved by everybody. I'm really sad that her daughter had to witness this."

• Timeline: Fatal Stockton Bank Heist

Mia’s pictures are all over Holt-Singh’s Facebook page, along with pictures of her 19-year-old son in a graduation cap and gown. Her profile picture shows her happily smiling next to her husband, Paul Singh.

Holt-Singh’s latest posts talk about taking her kids to Raging Waters, and the newest members of the Holt-Singh family: a puppy and a DeMarini CF7 fastpitch softball bat.

She recently shared pictures of Mia at baseball practice and her sixth-grade promotion and many others of family vacations and celebrations.

The bottomline: Family was really important to Misty.

• Photos: Bank Robbers' SUV Riddled with Bullets

"Today, a mother, wife, daughter and sister was taken from our family in a senseless tragedy," Holt-Singh’s sister-in-law Kumal Sidhu Singh posted on her own Facebook wall. "If there is a bigger plan, I really don't understand. Our hearts are shattered...and our family will never again be the same."

Holt-Singh's sister, Dawn Holt, has set up a memorial fund for her. 

"My heart is broken for (your) beautiful family," friend Jammie Lynn Mayo wrote on Holt-Singh's Facebook page. "I don't understand. One thing I do know. Heaven got a little spunkier when you showed up."

At a news conference on Thursday, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said at this stage of the investigation, he doesn't know when Holt-Singh died, or who killed her during the spray of bullets - the suspects or officers engaged in battle.

• 3 Dead After Stockton Bank Robbery, Gunbattle

What he did say, however, was that it appears clear that the men who robbed a Bank of the West on Wednesday afternoon appeared set on killing people from the start, looking at the "havoc" they created.

During the roughly hour-long incident, which police described as "reckless and chaotic," three armed men robbed a bank, took hostages, killing one, and attempted to kill numerous police officers in broad daylight, putting the entire city at risk.

“In my over two decades of law enforcement I've never seen or experienced this type of total disregard for human life," Jones said.

Lucero Benitez contributed to this story.

There is an active police investigation at the corner of Putnam and Park streets in Hartford on Thursday morning.

Police have not released much information, but said they are looking for a suspect.

More information will be posted once it becomes available.
 

Bristol police have charged a 38-year-old woman who is accused of leaving children alone in a car as she went into a local Walgreens on Wednesday night.

Police responded to the pharmacy at 25 Main Street around 8:20 p.m. after someone contacted them about children being left alone in a parked car, according to a news release from police, and found a 9- and a 7-year-old child in the car.

Police arrested Regina Curtis, 38, of Bristol, and charged her with two counts of leaving a child unattended in a public place or motor vehicle.

She was released on a $2,500.00 non-surety bond and is due in court on July 28.

Police said two witnesses helped police in the investigation, but did not elaborate on how. 

The children were not hurt.

It is not clear if she has an attorney.

After a federal judge declared that the death penalty was "unconstitutional" in the state of California Wednesday, family members of victims whose killers were on death row are in disbelief.

The ruling overturns the death sentence of Ernest Jones, who was convicted in 1995 of killing his girlfriend’s mother in Orange County. Of the 748 inmates on death row, more than 40 percent, like Jones, have been there for longer than 19 years. Tiquan Cox is one of those inmates.

• Read: Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional in California

Cox was sentenced to death for killing four members of ex-NFL player Kermit Alexander’s family in 1984. Two other members of the Crips gang were also involved and sentenced to life in prison for the death of Alexander’s 59-year-old mother, 24-year-old sister and two young nephews.

"I’m saddened by this, deeply saddened, because I thought we had reached a point in society that we could be held accountable," Alexander said of the ruling.

The Crips gang members targeted the wrong home and killed Alexander’s family in a hail of gun fire. Alexander said he was supposed to be having coffee with his mom that day, but overslept.

He misses his mother every day and keeps a portrait of her in his home, one that he says "hello and goodbye" to everyday.

"I don't want to sacrifice my life because I'm angry," Alexander said. "I have kids to raise, I have a wife to love, so I need to move on with my life no matter what happens in society."

• Read: California's Death Penalty Ruling "Historic": Former DA

Rodney Alcala was sentenced to death for killing one girl and four women in the 1970’s – one of those women being Jill Parenteau, a 21-year-old torture victim killed in 1979.

"She was a gentle, gentle young woman," her sister Dee Dee Parenteau said. "She had just moved out of the house six months prior to (her murder)."

Dee Dee Parenteau was unhappy to learn that the man guilty for her sister’s death may have gotten a reprieve.

"I think that they should know fear," Dee Dee Parenteau said.  "I really believe, unfortunately, that most of them will die of old age, Alcala being one of them."

Only 13 inmates have been executed since 1992.

"I actually think that Alcala will never be executed just because there's so many on death row and it takes so long," Dee Dee Parenteau said.

US District Judge Cormac Carney called the death penalty process in California "dysfunctional" and said it amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”

• Read: SoCal Death Row Inmates

"He points out that the two points of the death penalty are to deter people and for retribution," Loyola Law School professor Lara Bazelon said. "How can someone be deterred if they know that the chances of them getting executed are so low? And retribution 25 years later isn't really the same thing."

The ruling could be overturned by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court. If it is upheld, it would overturn the decision by California residents who voted in favor of the death penalty in 2012.

Michelle Valles and Beverly White contributed to this report.

Stony Creek Brewery plans to open a new state-of-the-art facility on the Branford River this winter that will include a huge tasting room, outdoor spaces and Bocce Ball courts. 

The company, which distributes its beer in Connecticut and Rhode Island, has broken ground on the new waterfront site at 5 Indian Neck Avenue.

When construction is done, the 30,000-square foot Stony Creek Brewery will have a 2,500 square-foot tasting room, a “celebration room” that can be rented out and two outdoor decks.

“One of our goals has been to have the brewery built by as many Branford businesses as possible. From the architectural work, to engineering, structural, legal and contracting, we have supported our hometown,” Edward M. Crowley, one of the owners of Stony Creek Brewery, said in a statement.

The company has hired Branford architect Joe Sepot.

Stony Creek brews include (203), (860) and (401) India Pale Ales, along with its (203) Stony Creek
Lager and the brewery plans to expand the beer lineup to include seasonal brews and limited releases.

Food will not be served by the brewery, but Stony Creek will be working with area restaurants for food delivery.

Guests will also be able to bring food for a picnic.

Tours will be available once the new location opens.

A gas line was struck during construction at Derby High School on Thursday morning and the gas was shut off, according to the Derby Fire Department.

Yankee Gas was called to respond to the school, which is located at 8 Nutmeg Avenue.

The fire department vented the affected areas.

The scene was cleared quickly and students were about back in the building for summer classes.
 

A Massachusetts mother was "extremely" drunk and had her 2-year-old daughter in the car with her when she went through the drive-thru of a McDonald’s in Clinton, Connecticut, police said.

Employees of the fast-food restaurant on Boston Post Road called police around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday to raise concerns about the driver.

"She's clearly intoxicated," a McDonald's employee told dispatch in the 911 call. He said the woman had run out of gas and that a co-worker smelled alcohol on her breath while pushing her car into a parking space.

• Listen to the 911 call

Police identified the woman as Michelle Dion, 28, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and said she was “extremely intoxicated.”

She told officers she'd had two glasses of wine earlier in the day and had driven from Hammonasset State Park with her daughter to get food, according to the police report.

Dion failed several field sobriety tests, refused a Breathalyzer test and was slurring her words, according to police. When  asked to recite the alphabet, she stopped at "v."

She was charged with driving under the influence and risk of injury to a minor.

Her child was taken into protective custody, brought to the Clinton police station and the state Department of Children and Families was notified.

DCF is conducting an independent investigation, according to police, and the child was eventually turned over to a family member.

Dion was being held at the Clinton Police Department on a $1,000 bond and appeared in Middlesex Superior Court today. She's due back in court next Wednesday.

Information on an attorney for Dion was not immediately available.

A 36-year-old nurse at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is on administrative leave after allegations surfaced that she tried to hide the alleged abuse of a young boy in her home, according to a spokesperson for the hospital.

Sirializ Ortero was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to a person. Police said she tried to conceal the boy’s injuries.

Manchester police have also arrested Doel Reyes, 37, in connection with the case.

He was charged with second degree assault with a firearm, intentional cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a child and third-degree assault with injury.

His case was continued to August 14.

An 86-year-old Bristol man has been charged with manslaughter in the crash that killed a 27-year-old pregnant woman, her unborn baby and an 86-year-old woman on Route 6 in Farmington last October.

Police said a minivan driven by Melinda Hart, 27, of Bristol, and a Buick sedan, driven by Robert Carroll, 86, of Bristol, collided around 12:30 p.m. near the intersection of Route 6 and Hyde Road.

Hart, who was eight months pregnant, and Ruth Carroll, a 86-year-old Bristol woman who was in the Buick, were critically injured in the crash, transported to the UConn Health Center in Farmington and did not survive, police said.

Hart's unborn child also did not survive, police said.

According to police, Hart and her three children, ages 4, 6 and 8, were in the minivan.

Robert Carroll was seriously injured and was taken to Saint Francis Hospital.

He was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, second- and third- degree assault, first degree reckless endangerment, failure to obey a control signal and failure to wear a safety belt.

Bond was set at $10,000 and he has been released.

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When employees at Trio Animal Foundation in Chicago rescued a dog named Ellen, they said they couldn’t tell which end was front or back.

“We had to get a treat to see which end lifted up to sniff,” founder of the rescue group, Sue Naiden, wrote on Facebook.

Naiden said Ellen was found walking as a stray on the South Side of Chicago and was taken to Chicago Animal Care and Control.

After a weeklong stay at CACC, Ellen was transferred into the Trio Animal Foundation's medical and adoption program.

When Naiden picked Ellen up from the South Side facility, she was a “clump of pungent urine-soaked matted fur” and employees couldn’t tell if she was a male or a female.

“Flies and gnats swarmed around the pup and what appeared to be the dog’s back legs dragged on the floor and left a watery trail… just like a snail,” she wrote.

A day later, the 2-year-old, 8.5-pound pup was taken to a veteran groomer at Mutt Hutt who came to work early to see what she could do to help.

The grooming process took an hour and a half and at least 2 pounds of fur was shaved away.

“The amount of grooming tools that [the groomer] had to use to break through the hard shell of fur was unbelievable,” Naiden wrote. “The first time that she could feel the touch of my hand on her newly shaven back… She looked me in the eyes and it was as if she was saying thank you… Her past abuse was literally being shaved away.”

After her shave, Ellen was given a bath, another trim and was taken to the vet where should went through some tests and received vaccinations.

She is currently in a foster home awaiting a clean bill of health and will soon be available for adoption.

Those interested in adopting Ellen can fill out an adoption application here.

Police are searching for the man who robbed a Norwalk bank Thursday morning and said the suspect has often been spotted riding a red bicycle in the area.

The suspect has not been identified by name. Police are looking for him in connection with the robbery of the First County Bank at 469 Westport Avenue.

Police said a man carrying a transparent bag passed a note to a bank teller and ran off with cash around 10 a.m. Thursday.

He's 5-foot-6 and weighs around 170 pounds, police said. The suspect was wearing baggy pants, a black hat, a white windbreaker and work gloves at the time of the robbery.

He did not show any weapons and no one was injured.

Police dogs searched the area but couldn't find the robber.

Anyone with information about the bank robbery should call Detective Imparato at 203-854-3190 or the Detective Bureau at 203-854-3011.
 

Gulf Beach is closed in Milford after weekly water testing revealed high levels of bacteria, according to the Milford Health Department.

The beach is closed to swimmers Thursday. Health department officials will reassess water conditions following new tests Friday morning, the health department said.

Milford's Fort Trumbull Beach was closed last week due to high bacteria levels.

You can check the status of the beaches by calling hte Milford Health Department at 203-783-3285.

Police have arrested a 31-year-old man accused of manufacturing steroids in his Watertown apartment.

Reid Behrle, of 306 Woodbury Road in Watertown, is facing a string of drug charges, including possession of narcotics within 1500 feet of a school, possession with intent to sell and operating a drug factory.

Police said no one had heard from Behrle for days prior to his arrest, and officers responded to his apartment July 15 to check on him.

They arrived to find the apartment door open and Behrle asleep on the couch, surrounded by pills, bottles and bags of powder, along with labeled anabolic steroids, according to police.

Officers searched his apartment and found a registered DEA encapsulation machine, empty pill capsules, powder and liquid steroids, Xanax pills and drug manufacturing products, police said.

Behrle was arrested and held on $50,000 bond. He was arraigned July 16.

Firefighters responded to a home on Collins Road in Stonington when flames broke out Thursday afternoon.

The fire department received an emergency call around 3 p.m. Thursday reporting heavy smoke and flames at 15 Collins Road.

Mutual aid was called in from surrounding towns and the first selectman urged residents to avoid the area.

No injuries were reported. Neighbors said the homeowners had just purchased the house that went up in flames.

A video shot by Amanda Burns shows flames coming from a large home.