A National City, California, family has been reunited with their father, a deported business owner, after handing their case over to the U.S. Border Patrol. 

Enrique Cervantes, a father of four who has lived in the South Bay for the past couple decades, was deported by Border Patrol in April.

The following month, his family asked BP for prosecutorial discretion — a type of legal leniency authorized by President Barack Obama that allows the federal agency to make deportation exceptions in certain cases.

On Wednesday, Cervantes was let back into the country after he was granted a case review by ICE. The family said they were eating at a nearby Burger King, unsure when or if he would arrive, when they got the call and ran over. 

"I just hugged him," his daughter said. "No words." 

Enrique's wife Marisol is a U.S. citizen, as are her four children. But Cervantes moved across the border illegally when he was 11 years old and has not become a U.S. citizen.

Hours after he drove through a Border Patrol checkpoint on April 25, Cervantes was put on a bus to Mexico.

"That day, we just lost all the hope,” said Marisol. “We just feel like we didn't have an opportunity to prove who he was.”

The family spent their time gathering a phone book-sized case file, filled with reasons Cervantes should qualify for prosecutorial discretion. The issue is a political hot button, allowing for a gray area in deportations as long as the person isn't a threat to national security.

Opponents of the Obama administration policy say any crime, no matter how minor, should make undocumented immigrants ineligible to return.

In a statement in May, Border Patrol told NBC 7, "[We’re] aware of the case regarding Mr. Cervantes. Mr. Cervantes was considered for prosecutorial discretion. However, his case did not meet Department of Homeland Security guidelines."

At issue is a previous deportation. Cervantes was sent back to Mexico in 1993, when his family admits he had a drug problem leading to several misdemeanors.

His case will now be reviewed. 

A man with a knife invaded a Milford home early Wednesday morning and police are issuing a warning to residents to lock their doors as they search for the intruder.

The home invasion happened at a Calf Pen Lane residence and was reported at 3:26 a.m. after noises woke the resident, who found
a man going through personal belongings, police said.

The intruder pulled a knife when the resident tried to restrain him, then he fled.

Police are looking for a thin man who is around 5- feet-6 inches tall and 20 to 30 years old.

Residents are reminded to keep their doors and windows locked, use home security features and report any suspicious activity to the police department, according to police, who said they will be notifying area residents through Milford Alerts, the mass notification system.

Anyone with information about the home invasion should call Sergeant Youd at (203) 783-4728, email dyoud@ci.milford.ct.us or submit a tip online.
 

A Stamford man called 911 on his cat after she attacked him and prevented the man and his wife from getting into their house for three or four hours.

Dispatchers received the 911 call at 1:36 a.m. on Thursday from a man who reported that his 7.5 pound cat attacked him soon after she gave birth and the couple had not been able to get into their home for hours.

“I cannot go inside in my home,” he said. “The problem is that my cat was getting too aggressive.”

He said the cat attacked his leg and bit him, so he and his wife went outside and had not able to get inside.

“This is, you said a cat?” the dispatcher asked, and inquired what the man wanted police to do.
He said he wanted police to come and remove his cat.

“Was something wrong with the cat?” the dispatcher asked.

“She had a baby last night. And then she was good until 10-11 o’clock today,” he said.

But when the resident tried to get back inside, the cat went on the attack.

“Five minutes ago, I tried to open the door again, and she (was) waiting in the door,” he said. She was in attacking mode.

Eventually, the homeowner managed to muster up enough courage to walk into his house and go to bed, police said.

“They were advised to stay away from each other the rest of the night,” police said in a statement.

A 56-year-old healthcare worker who was mauled by a group of dogs in Plainfield plans to sue the town.

Police said Lynne Denning, of Canterbury, was viciously attacked by two to four dogs at 379 Putnam Road, in the Wauregan Village, of Plainfield while she was caring for an elderly patient in December.

Denning was then rushed to William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich to be treated for wounds to her face, chest, arms and legs, then immediately transferred to Hartford Hospital.

A man and the woman who owns the dog were able to secure the animals so medical personnel could treat Denning, police said.

Five Rottweilers and a Labrador were in the Putnam Road home at the time of the attack and were quarantined at the Plainfield Animal Shelter. Days later, officials said there were plans to euthanize the dogs.

The Norwich Bulletin reports that Denning plans to sue the town for failing to control the animals.

Officials from the town told NBC Connecticut they received the paperwork last week.

Part of a building at UConn in Storrs was evacuated after formaldehyde spilled in the basement, according to the university.

One liter of formaldehyde spilled in a small portion of the basement in the Bousfield Psychology Building at the Storrs campus.

A limited number of people where in the building at the time of the spill, but they were moved from the building because it's considered a hazmat situation.

Students who has to leave the building have been allowed to return inside to all areas except the part of the basement that was affected.

No injuries are reported and the cleanup is expected to be quick.

Police have arrested a man accused of vandalizing a Torrington church.

Shumel Pollen, 33, of Rockway, New Jersey, is facing multiple charges including desecration of property.

Police said they received the report of vandalism around 1130 a.m. because whoever was responsible also pulled the fire alarm at St. Francis Church, a Roman Catholic church located at 160 Main Street.

Pollen is suspected in acts of extensive vandalism, including statues knocked down and plants smashed, according to police.

Police said the vandalism has been ongoing at St Francis Church, but they could not provide information on the extent of the vandalism.

Pollen was charged with desecration of property, breach of peace and first-degree criminal mischief.

Police ask anyone with any further information to call Torrington police at 860-489-2000.

A 34-year-old man was shot in the arm in Norwalk on Wednesday night and police are investigating.

Dispatcher received 911 calls at 11:11 p.m. reporting gunshots at the Roodner Court Housing Complex, at 261 Ely Avenue, and officers found the victim in front of building 13, police said.

The man had a single gunshot to the arm and was transported to the Norwalk Hospital to be treated for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Norwalk detectives ask anyone with information about the shooting to call 203-854-3011.

There could be a brief disturbance to the Newington police department phone service on Thursday night as the town does some work on the phone system.

The work will be done at 9 p.m. and residents who have trouble reaching the police department’s routine phone number at 860-666-8445 are asked to call two alternate routine phone numbers: 860-666-6446 and 860-666-4717.

The work might cause a brief disturbance in normal phone service to the police department.

Residents with an emergency should call 911, which will not be affected by the work.

A group for survivors of sexual abuse on Thursday called for Congress to remove a portrait of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who faces allegations he paid someone from his past hush money for "prior misconduct."

The indictment didn't specify the alleged misconduct or identify "Individual A," but a federal law enforcement source last week told NBC News the misconduct involved an alleged sexual relationship between Hastert and a former male student at the school.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said it wasn't rushing to judge the former speaker and said the portrait could be returned to the walls of Congress if Hastert is exonerated.

"But history, psychology and common sense — plus the actions of the FBI, a U.S. prosecutor and Hastert himself — all strongly suggest that he exploited his power over a youngster to sexually gratify himself," SNAP's statement said. "He does not deserve a place of honor in our nation's Capital, even a symbolic one."

Hastert, 77, has been silent on the allegations against him. He has, however, resigned from the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying and law firm and from the board of Wheaton College's public policy and government center that until the weekend carried his name.

Current House Speaker John Boehner said there were no immediate plans to remove Hastert's congressional portrait.

"I think it's important for us to have the facts before we make decisions," he said, adding that he was "shocked and dismayed" by the allegations.

A man is dead after a house fire on Castle Hill Drive in Bethel early Thursday morning and authorities are trying to determine what started it.

Officials said a neighbor called for help just after 1 a.m. 

"I just heard a big commotion outside and I went out on my back porch and I saw flames flying high in the sky -- just flying out of the roof." Karen Sherwood, of Bethel, said.

When firefighters arrived, they found the right side of the home completely engulfed in flames. 

Firefighters had to use water tankers to fight the fire because there are no fire hydrants in the area and were able to put  the fire out within 10 minutes.

After searching the heavily damaged home, firefighters discovered a body inside, according to fire officials.

This is not the first fire at this house.  Two months ago, first responders rescued a man trapped inside, according to police.   

“April 8th, we responded to a fire here as well. The occupant at that time was removed from the home and sent to the hospital with minor injuries. That fire is still under investigation,” Det. Sgt. Mike Libertini, of the Bethel Police Department, said. “We’re looking at whether it was an accidental fire or a purposely set fire and we don’t know that.”

The name of the victim has not been released.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A Stamford, Connecticut, man called 911 on his cat after the female feline attacked him and prevented the man and his wife from getting into their house for three or four hours.

Dispatchers received the 911 call at 1:36 a.m. on Thursday from a man who reported that his 7.5 pound cat attacked him soon after she gave birth and the couple had not been able to get into their home for hours.

“I cannot go inside in my home,” he said. “The problem is that my cat was getting too aggressive.”

He said the cat attacked his leg and bit him, so he and his wife went outside and had not able to get inside.

“This is, you said a cat?” the dispatcher asked, and inquired what the man wanted police to do.
He said he wanted police to come and remove his cat.

“Was something wrong with the cat?” the dispatcher asked.

“She had a baby last night. And then she was good until 10-11 o’clock today,” he said.

But when the resident tried to get back inside, the cat went on the attack.

“Five minutes ago, I tried to open the door again, and she (was) waiting in the door,” he said. She was in attacking mode.

Eventually, the homeowner managed to muster up enough courage to walk into his house and go to bed, police said.

“They were advised to stay away from each other the rest of the night,” police said in a statement.

South Main Street is closed in West Hartford after a car struck a utility pole near Rockledge Golf Course, sending one person to the hospital.

The rollover crash knocked down a utility pole and wires, affecting the power in the area. An ambulance transported one person to the hospital.

Police and firefighters are waiting for Eversource to get on scene and said they are concerned about possible live wires.

The road is closed between Boswell Road and Rockledge.

There is no word on injuries.

Several Brooklyn women say they realized they were groped on the street by the same man when they began sharing their stories and connecting with each other on social media.

Lesley Melincoff said her friend was groped last Friday in Williamsburg, and she decided to go online and alert their neighbors. She shared a message on an email group for parents in the neighorhood, and the response was immediate.

"I know I've spoken to nine women who have had either direct contact with this guy or have experiences," she said. "One woman's babysitter relayed a similar experience." 

One woman told NBC 4 New York she was jogging near the intersection of Skillman and Manhattan avenues in Williamsburg on May 22 when a stranger slapped her on the behind. 

"I know crazy things happen in this city but I've never had anyone touch me that way, and it was just super creepy and inappropriate, and I was definitely angry," the woman, who asked not to be identified out of concern for her safety, told NBC 4 New York. 

Another alleged victim said, "As soon as I reported it, the police said they had other instances of this happening in the neighborhood." 

Melincoff said eight or nine similar stories emerged within 12 hours. 

"It was a really incredible testament to the power of sharing this information on social media and sharing with your neighbors," she said. 

The NYPD said it only received two formal reports regarding the alleged groper, but made a break in the case Thursday morning: detectives took a man into custody after getting a call from someone who didn't initially file a report. 

Circumstances of his arrest and charges weren't immediately clear. Police have not yet identified the suspect. 

A motorized rowboat capsized on Indian Lake in Sharon, throwing two men and a woman aboard into the water and causing non-life-threatening injuries.

Sharon and Lakeville firefighters and a dive team from Goshen responded to the boating accident at about 6:30 p.m. State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) police responded about 15 minutes later.

A man from New York state and Canaan man and women fell in the water when the motorized rowboat they were in tipped over while making a turn. The New York man, who had been operating the 12-foot aluminum rowboat that has an outboard motor, swam to shore on the Connecticut side of the lake, but his two passengers landed on the New York side of the lake and were helped to shore by someone DEEP is calling a "good Samaritan."

The three boaters were transported to MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Waterford police are looking for a man and a woman suspected of using stolen credit cards at Waterford stores including Walmart.

The credit cards were stolen from a Waterford beach on Saturday.

Police released surveillance photos of the people they are looking for and ask anyone with information to contact Officer Bunce at the Waterford Police Department.

Police have arrested a 73-year-old man whose SUV smashed into a fast-food restaurant in the Bronx Thursday evening, killing a 7-year-old boy and injuring a 5-year-old girl and a 34-year-old man.

Kwasi Oduro has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury, according to police. It wasn't immediately known if Oduro had an attorney.

Police said Oduro's Mercedes Benz SUV reversed into the Kennedy Fried Chicken restaurant on Westchester Avenue in Pelham Bay, underneath the elevated 6 train line. 

The restaurant owner, Shah Mohammed, said a man and two children were sitting at a booth right next to the window when the car reverse-slammed into the eatery, shearing off the front bumper of a car parked outside along the way. 

"I just saw the car into the store, It was a massive explosion. I got scared," said witness Giovanni Martinez. 

The driver sat inside the SUV for about 30 seconds as people banged on his window and yelled that there were children underneath the car, the restaurant owner and other witnesses told NBC 4 New York. The driver never got out of the car, and then he drove off westbound on Westchester Avenue.

Meanwhile, bystanders rushed to help the children. One man, Noel Lopez, said some of them had to lift a table to get the girl out. He said he feared the worst and "thought her legs were gone."

"I was almost bawling myself," he said. "I have a kid myself, It was crazy to see." 

"It was a horrible moment," said Mohammed. "I'll remember it forever." 

Witness Shawkie Elgedawe and another man chased after the driver, writing down the license plate number on his hand in case the driver got away. They were able to catch up briefly before the driver got away a second time. 

That's when they flagged down traffic enforcement agents stopped at a red light, and the officers caught up with the driver at Continental Avenue, police and the witnesses said. 

The man and two children were taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where the boy, identified as Ethan Villavicencio, was pronounced dead, police said. The man and the girl are in stable condition. 

"I feel bad for the family, they gotta go through that now," said Martinez. "My prayers are with the family." 

A small jet was forced to land without nose gear at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday evening.

The private corporate plane, a Hawker 4000 owned by Carlsbad, New Mexico-based D & TC, LLC., made the hard landing around 7:30 p.m. along the airport's western side.

After skidding about 1,000 feet to a stop, emergency crews quickly surrounded the plane and sprayed flame-resistant foam around it as a precaution.

Fire officials said five passengers and crew onboard the jet were able to walk off on their own.

While the jet wound up in Philadelphia, that wasn't the intended destination.

The plane took off from Monmouth Executive Airport bound for New Mexico when the pilot realized there was a gear problem, according to airport spokeswoman Mary Flannery.

He radioed Philadelphia's tower to request a flyby and once the tower confirmed the gear didn't come down, the pilot circled around to make the emergency landing.

It's not clear what led to the nose gear issue.

The emergency landing led to delays averaging 60 minutes at the airport, officials said. A ground stop is also in effect until 9:30 p.m. meaning flights heading to Philadelphia are being held at their originating city until that time.

Sure, the Golden State Warriors have Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

But they also have a 10-year-old singing sensation from San Jose who the team is calling its "good luck charm." The Golden State Warriors have won every playoff game at which Nayah Damasen has belted out the national anthem.

And the young powerhouse with the rocking vibrato is singing again on Thursday at Oracle Arena to kick off Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I feel so honored and blessed to be here,” Nayah said Thursday afternoon, hours before the sold-out game. “I wouldn’t say that I’m a charm. But music can touch people’s hearts.”

Nayah, who is home-schooled through Connections Academy online charter school so that she can pursue acting and singing lessons near Los Angeles, has been touching people’s hearts since she began singing Disney songs at home when she was a toddler.

“I was like, 'Whoa, she’s good,'” said her mother, Mardi Damasen.

But Nayah's first foray singing for the Warriors was when the team asked her to perform before a game in 2013 when she was 8. Someone who saw her sing at a charity event had recommended her to the team.

Since then, she’s pounded out the “Star-Spangled Banner” about a dozen times for the Warriors, Damasen said. And each time she’s sang, the team has won, "except for once" against the San Antonio Spurs. But that was before playoffs, her family noted.

One of the last times Nayah sang for the Warriors was in April, when the Dubs beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

As she sang, rockets went off, red lights flashed and the crowd roared with delight.

“The crowd just went crazy,” her mother said. “I’m so proud of her. I don’t know how to explain it.”

While Nayah loves basketball, especially playing it, she’s sang at plenty of other sporting events, too.

Her first audition was in San Francisco, when she was 6, to sing for the 49ers. She’s also sang at Oakland Raiders’ games. And her face was plastered on the Jumbotron at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in August 2014 when the 49ers played the San Diego Chargers. (In case you’re keeping score on her charms, the 49ers won that game, too 21-7)

Of her siblings, 13-year-old brother Noah and 8-year-old Nikaela, Nayah is the one with a voice like her grandmother, who was asked in the 1940s to sing for community events growing up in the Philippines, her mother said.

Damasen and her husband, Erwin Damasen, an IT consultant, knew that singing just had to become part of their daughter’s future, which is why they make the trek to Southern California regularly so that she can pursue her acting and singing dreams.

They also support her weekly Skype singing lessons with vocal coach, Eric Arceneaux, who lives in Washington, D.C., and said that Nayah’s “level of focus, discipline and extraordinary maturity” matches her “vocal ability.”

For now, Nayah is all too thrilled to be caught up in this national moment. And she hopes her part in inspiring the fans and team will help the Warriors capture a title they haven’t earned since 1975.

“I’m super excited and pretty nervous,” she said. “But I just feel so blessed that they chose me.”

Issues at Ansonia firehouses sparked the mayor to literally take things into his own hands and call for needed inspections.

Eagle Hose in Ansonia has an eagle above the fire truck bays, but it also has bricks on the ground outside one of the bays. A fire truck caught the wall on its way in. But what happened Monday night at Webster Hose is why Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti (R) is ordering the firehouses inspected. The concrete floor cracked and broke apart beneath the wheels of a fire truck, above a conference room.

"What I did is I went downstairs and I took the ceiling down and I saw where the I beams were," he said, "and I had a sewer contractor friend of mine bring in some steel plates to reinforce the floor a little bit more over them I beams."

That's just a temporary fix, he said. Funds for permanent repairs at Webster Hose probably can't come out of the city's budget.

"We're going to probably have to go out to bond or something and get money because this project I anticipate to be anywhere from 80 to 190 thousand dollars to repair the floor there with a proper drainage system," Cassetti said.

Meanwhile he wants floors checked across the Naugatuck at Charter Hose and at Fountain Hose. He also wants Ansonia to consider using land on Olson Drive where public housing used to stand for the fire department as well as a new police department.

Volunteers staff the Ansonia Fire Department. Ed Adamowski, the assistant chief at Eagle Hose is also a Democratic alderman.

Adamowski said Ansonia could never afford paid firefighters. So the city has to be careful about consolidating fire companies, with their traditions and appeal to members, something the mayor says he has no intention of doing.

Allowing more noise at the Oakdale Theatre is on the agenda for Wallingford town council's ordinance committee Thursday night.

But the head of that committee, Craig Fishbein, said the law department is advising that the town can't let the Oakdale make more noise than it's already supposed to be making. The reason: Wallingford's noise limit is also the state's noise limit.

So if the state government noise ordinance limits how much noise the town government can allow, what can the Oakdale do?

"They say they're gonna insulate the dome," said Bob McKenzie, who's lived on Mark Drive since 1987, since before the Oakdale expanded. He remembers making the theater get a special permit, the special permit it now wants Wallingford's planning and Zoning commission to modify next Monday.

"I used to sit on my front porch and hear all the singers down below in the old Oakdale. That was fine, alright? I can hear the booming coming out of the theater but I can't make out what's down there," he said.

He said the people on Beryl Lane have it worse because they're so much closer to the Oakdale. But at least some of them hope they can continue to live with the theater.

Debbie Hruska said what she's hoping for is "just that the bass goes down on the certain concerts that they have. I mean to shut 'em down would be crazy."

Wallingford's zoning official still has a cease and desist order in place against the Oakdale.