Cellphone video catches a San Diego Police officer slamming a teenager to the ground in what his mother and attorney call a blatant example of police brutality.

In the grainy video, Cruz Munster, 18, is seen walking with his skateboard away from a group of officers, who are not pursuing him. Suddenly, as walked between two cruisers, another officer grabs him by the shoulders and hauls him down in City Heights.

Several other officers quickly jump in to help handcuff the teen.

“It’s heartbreaking and very scary” said Carina Munster, the teenager’s mother. “They could’ve killed him — you never know, one blow to the head” said Munster.

She told NBC 7 her son’s head was slammed against the pavement.

The video was taken last October by a local business owner filming a police response at a local liquor store along the 4000 block of Van Dyke Avenue. It was just posted to YouTube on Tuesday.

Munster’s attorney Karolyn Kovtun, who is representing him in a separate legal matter, says she found it as part of her discovery and felt compelled to share with NBC 7.

“The reason I’m bringing it up is because it’s conduct we don’t expect from law enforcement,” said Kovtun.

Carina Munster said her son was questioned by police near the City Heights liquor store and released. But as Cruz started to walk away, officers started making fun of him and called him a “loser,” according to Carina.

She says he talked back, which is what she believes prompted the officer to take physical action.

According to the SDPD field interview report provided to NBC 7 by Kovtun, Munster was observed running from officers and discarding marijuana and a scale.

He was arrested and spent a night in jail, but police released him the following day without any charges.

Kovtun said there was no marijuana impounded and the video clearly shows the teenager walking, not running.

“They didn’t know they were being filmed, so they can say anything, and that’s what is disturbing,” said Kovtun.

SDPD Lt. Kevin Mayer released the following statement in response to NBC 7’s questions:

“We want the public to come forward and report concerns they may have regarding service or the actions of our personnel. Based on the information you have provided, an investigation has been opened to determine the factual circumstance of this case.”

The Munsters say they have filed a complaint with the department but never followed up on it, claiming they were scared about retaliation.

A Hamden man was attacked and robbed at his apartment Wednesday morning during an encounter with an 18-year-old woman he met through an online dating site, according to police.

Police responded to the apartment on Mix Avenue around 1 a.m. The 30-year-old resident told officers he had met a woman on an Internet dating site and arranged for her to stop by his home.

According to police, the woman unlocked the victim's front door so two accomplices could get inside.

While she and the victim were in the bedroom, two other men entered the room and struck the victim over the back with a tire iron, police said.

The woman stole several items, including electronic equipment, and fled with the two men. Police said one of the men jumped off of the victim’s balcony, falling 25 to 30 feet.

Hamden Fire Rescue treated the resident for injuries to his back, finger and nose. Police said he declined to be taken to the hospital.

"From what my husband said, he got his finger broken," said Ruth Copeland, a neighbor who lives on the same floor as the victim. "I guess he was hit quite a few times, and... there was a tire iron on the floor."

According to the victim, the female suspect stands about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and has short hair and braces on her teeth. He described one of her accomplices as a thin man with short dreadlocks standing 6 feet tall.

This is the city's fourth home invasion in recent weeks, one of which also happened on Mix Avenue. Police said a man broke into a woman's apartment and robbed her at gunpoint in late September.

Days later, a burglar climbed through the window of a home on West Helen Street. Police are also investigating after an intruder broke into a home on Kaye Vue Drive and tied up a resident who was sleeping at the time.

Police haven't said whether they believe any of the incidents are connected.

Anyone with information about the home invasion and burglary is asked to call the Hamden Police Department Major Crimes Division at 203-230-4000.

Bristol police have arrested a local man who is accused of stealing health and beauty products from a Price Chopper last night.

Police responded to the supermarket at 121 Farmington Ave. at 10:15 p.m. to investigate what was reported as a shoplifting, but police said it was actually a robbery and the night manager tried to detain the suspect, but the man pushed past him.

When the responding police officer spotted the suspect, Devon Crussana, 28, of Bristol, he shouted “Stop, Police,” but the man kept running, police said.

The officer chased after him, tackled the man behind houses on Burlington Avenue, and found health and beauty products reported stolen from the store, police said.

Crussana was arrested and charged with third-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny, interfering with a police officer and criminal trespass in the first degree.

No one was injured and Crussana was held on a $25,000 bond, pending his arraignment at G.A. 17 the Superior Court in Bristol.

Police said store staff had previously told Crussana that he was no longer allowed on store property.
 

The investigation continues into the cause of a fire in Hartford that killed one firefighter and injured three others on Tuesday night.

A police officer is guarding the home at 598 Blue Hills Avenue and the state fire marshal is at the scene this morning.

Forty-eight-year-old Kevin Lamont Bell, a husband and father,  was on the front lines when fire broke out at that house on Tuesday night and was among the first to enter the burning building, fire officials said. He's also the first Hartford firefighter to die fighting a fire in 40 years, according to state records.

“The Hartford Fire Department family has lost one of its own. Firefighter Kevin Bell represents and embodies the best in all of us,”  Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “He made the ultimate sacrifice without hesitation or reservation."

According to the Hartford Firefighters Association, Bell was critically injured and pulled from the burning building in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead.

Bell, a member of Engine 16, worked for the fire department for more than six years and leaves behind a wife and daughter, according to Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra.

His brother, Shawn Bell, said during the news conference that Kevin Bell's work as a firefighter meant everything to him. 

“Everything he put his hands toward, he wanted to make sure he did it the right way,” Shawn Bell said, describing his brother as a talented deejay, dedicated athlete and community-oriented resident who was active in his daughter's life.

While joining the fire department was a long-term goal of his, Kevin Bell's childhood dream was to become an NFL running back, his brother said. 

"He was very athletic. He was fast. He ran track. He played football, so sports was always his first love," Shawn Bell said. "But when you become an adult and it's time to start taking care of your family, you've got to pursue a career that will help you raise your family in comfortable way and that's what he did."

Segarra said Kevin Bell's death is a tragic blow not only to the firefighter's family but to the city of Hartford as a whole.

"He is one of our own and will not be forgotten," Segarra said. "Our first responders, our men and women of the Hartford Fire Department, put themselves at risk each and every day to protect the residents of the city. It takes an enormous amount of courage to do this. ... For that alone, they are heroes."

The massive blaze that took Bell's life and injured three of his colleagues broke out in a two-story home in the city's North End around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Firefighter Jason Martinez, 29, of Manchester, a member of Tactical Unit 1, Tour A, suffered burns to more than 10 percent of his body. He was transferred to the burn center of Bridgeport Hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition, Segarra said.

Martinez has been with the department since 2007.

"The family is holding together as best as they can," Segarra said.

Two other firefighters, 34-year-old Colin McWeeny, of Engine 14, and 51-year-old Kevin Burke, of Engine 5, were treated and released from Saint Francis Hospital. Segarra said both live in Hartford.

Grief counseling will be available to affected firefighters and family members, according to Huertas.

Blue Hills Avenue has reopened to traffic Wednesday but will close again Thursday for further investigation, according to Hartford police.

Flags across Connecticut are flying at half-staff in honor of the Hartford husband and father who was killed battling a house fire at 598 Blue Hills Avenue on Tuesday night. 

Forty-eight-year-old Kevin Lamont Bell was on the front lines Tuesday night and was among the first to enter the burning building, fire officials said. He's also the first Hartford firefighter to die fighting a fire in 40 years, according to state records.

“The Hartford Fire Department family has lost one of its own. Firefighter Kevin Bell represents and embodies the best in all of us,”  Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “He made the ultimate sacrifice without hesitation or reservation."

According to the Hartford Firefighters Association, Bell was critically injured and pulled from the burning building in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead.

Bell, a member of Engine 16, worked for the fire department for more than six years and leaves behind a wife and daughter, according to Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra.

His brother, Shawn Bell, said during the news conference that Kevin Bell's work as a firefighter meant everything to him. 

“Everything he put his hands toward, he wanted to make sure he did it the right way,” Shawn Bell said, describing his brother as a talented deejay, dedicated athlete and community-oriented resident who was active in his daughter's life.

While joining the fire department was a long-term goal of his, Kevin Bell's childhood dream was to become an NFL running back, his brother said. 

"He was very athletic. He was fast. He ran track. He played football, so sports was always his first love," Shawn Bell said. "But when you become an adult and it's time to start taking care of your family, you've got to pursue a career that will help you raise your family in comfortable way and that's what he did."

Segarra said Kevin Bell's death is a tragic blow not only to the firefighter's family but to the city of Hartford as a whole.

"He is one of our own and will not be forgotten," Segarra said. "Our first responders, our men and women of the Hartford Fire Department, put themselves at risk each and every day to protect the residents of the city. It takes an enormous amount of courage to do this. ... For that alone, they are heroes."

On Wednesday morning, Gov. Dannel Malloy ordered state flags lowered to half-staff until a memorial service is held in Bell's honor.

Firefighters draped black bunting at the Blue Hills Fire Station commemorating their fallen brother and saluted on Farmington Avenue as a hearse brought Bell's body to the funeral home.

The massive blaze that took Bell's life and injured three of his colleagues broke out in a two-story home in the city's North End around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Firefighter Jason Martinez, 29, of Manchester, a member of Tactical Unit 1, Tour A, suffered burns to more than 10 percent of his body. He was transferred to the burn center of Bridgeport Hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition, Segarra said.

Martinez has been with the department since 2007.

Segarra and the fire chief visited the burn center Tuesday night and spent several hours with Martinez's loved ones.

"The family is holding together as best as they can," Segarra said.

Two other firefighters, 34-year-old Colin McWeeny, of Engine 14, and 51-year-old Kevin Burke, of Engine 5, were treated and released from Saint Francis Hospital. Segarra said both live in Hartford.

"We're bringing a brother home" Firefighters lining the streets in Hartford to salute Kevin Bell. @NBCConnecticut pic.twitter.com/bx4b1DK08I

— Tara Joyce (@tarajoycenbc) October 8, 2014

Grief counseling will be available to affected firefighters and family members, according to Huertas.

“Last night’s tragic events are another reminder of the incredible sacrifice that our state’s first responders make on a daily basis,” Gov. Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said in a joint statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the hero we lost and those who were injured in the line of duty in our capital city.”

The fire forced two families, including four adults and three children, from their homes Tuesday night. Displaced residents are receiving food, clothing and housing help from the Red Cross.

Federal authorities are investigating the fire alongside the state fire marshal. Police said it take several weeks to figure out what sparked the blaze.

Blue Hills Avenue has reopened to traffic Wednesday but will close again Thursday for further investigation, according to Hartford police.

A person was struck and killed on Interstate 84 East in Waterbury early this morning.

The person had been in a construction zone when he or she was struck around 3 a.m., according to state police.

The highway was closed at exit 25, but has since reopened. 

Several emergency vehicles responded and a large FedEx truck was pulled over along the side of the highway. It was not clear whether that truck was involved in the crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to make an announcement Thursday night that should clear up a week of speculation that put "the D" in dramatic and a bump in the electric carmaker's stock price.

The electric car manufacturer appears poised to unveil a new model after Musk's tweet last week that indicated plans to "unveil the D and something else." The tweet featured a graphic with Thursday's date and a partially opened garage door that masked all but the menacing front end of a vehicle with Tesla's logo and signature headlights.

In the days after Musk's mysterious tweet, Tesla's stock price climbed about 6 percent. The stock took a slight dip Wednesday before rising again Thursday ahead of the announcement.

Tesla is likely adding another member to its family of vehicles, which includes the Model S luxury sedan. The company has plans for a Model X SUV and mass-market model called the Model 3.

Thursday's announcement might involve an all-wheel drive vehicle, which would fit nicely into the carmaker's lineup and allow Tesla to match offerings from similarly priced competitors. Electric vehicles allow engineers more flexibility than a traditional front-, rear- or mid-engine vehicle when it comes to how power is distributed to each wheel. For example, instead of transferring power from one engine to four wheels, an electric powertrain might use two electric motors for the front and back wheels or even four electric motors dedicated to each wheel.

But the guesses don't stop there.

A Tesla with greater range or higher level of driver assistance technology, such as lane assist or collision-avoidance braking, are some of the possibilities.

A self-driving vehicle or something that's not a car at all have all been mentioned in response to last week's tweet.

About time to unveil the D and something else pic.twitter.com/qp23yi59i6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2014

Brookfield police are asking for help to figure out who vandalized technology the department uses to investigate traffic complaints.

Police placed a device, called a Traffic StatTrak Data Collector, about 8 feet up in a tree along Cove Road on Thursday, Oct. 2 to collect information on the speed of drivers after receiving complaints from residents.

By the following Wednesday, the $2,800 device was destroyed and on the ground. Police had used straps and a lock to secure it to the tree and believe the vandals used bolt cutters to take it down.

The town was able to obtain the equipment  through a High Risk Rural Road Speed Enforcement Grant and will not be able to replace it out of this budget, police said, so this is limiting their ability to look into traffic complaints.

Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area of the Beach Accessway on Cove Road or has information about the vandalism is asked to call Capt. Kevin Brooks at 203-775-2575.
 

Police said sun glare might have been a factor in a crash that involved a school bus and a car just before 8 a.m. on Asylum Street in Norwich on Wednesday morning.

The car was traveling south, crossed the double yellow line on a curve and sideswiped the school bus, which was traveling north, police said.

Twenty-five students were on the bus and nine were transported to the hospital to be evaluated for what appeared to be minor injuries.

The driver of the car, Daniel Collins, of Colchester, and the driver of the school bus driver, Diane Mileski, of Jewett City, were not injured, police said.

The Norwich Police Accident Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene and will investigate.

Norwich police ask anyone with information about the crash to call the Norwich Police Department at 860-886-5561 or the anonymous tip line at 860-886-5561, extension 500.
 

A 33-year-old Putnam man has pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge after officials found more than 600 photos and videos on his computers and hard drives.

The complaint against Darrick Collette was filed on March 19 when an FBI agent found pornographic content linked to his IP address, according to the Justice Department.

On June 13, 2013, police searched Collette's residence last year after the FBI filed a federal criminal complaint and seized a computer and several external hard drives.

A forensic analysis on the evidence revealed hundreds of files containing child porn, 

At that time, Collette admitted that he had been downloading and trading child pornography over the Internet for more than 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Collette pleaded guilty one charge with the receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, according to the U.S Department of Justice.

A 46-year-old Branford man is facing charges after breaking into a North Haven package store last spring and stealing the store's cash register, according to police.

Police said Dennis Schoendorf smashed the glass door of a liquor store on Washington Avenue and got away with the register before authorities arrived.

Traces of blood near the broken glass door linked Schoendorf to the crime, according to police.

He was arrested Oct. 8 and charged with third-degree burglary and fifth-degree larceny.

Schoendorf was held on $50,000 bond.

The man accused of breaking into a New Haven home and robbing the residents at gunpoint has also been linked to two home invasions in Hamden and a carjacking in West Haven, according to New Haven police.

According to police, 39-year-old Jonathan Mills, a convicted felon from Hamden, jumped over a railing on a porch at Fountain Street and grabbed the resident, who speaks only Russian, forcing him inside the house around 11 a.m. Oct. 7.

Mills threatened him with a gun and demanded money, then turned the weapon on the resident’s wife. Police said the couple’s daughter was home at the time and ran into her bedroom to call police. She locked the door behind her, but Mills kicked it down.

He took off running through neighboring backyards and was last seen heading toward Gilnock Drive. Mills did not take any property or money, according to police.

About three hours later, authorities were alerted to a burglary at an empty home on Early Street. The caller said the suspect was still inside.

Police arrived to hear someone moving around in the home. They entered the house and found Mills hiding in a closet, holding a backpack containing a BB gun, marijuana and clothing, according to police.

Police said Mills admitted to holding up the home on Fountain Street but told officers he had been looking for someone who wasn’t there.

He was arrested and charged with home invasion, first-degree burglary, criminal attempt to commit first-degree robbery, carrying a dangerous weapon, illegal use of a facsimile firearm, criminal trespass and several drug offenses, according to online court records.

New Haven police said Mills is also suspected of committing two recent home invasions in Hamden and a carjacking in West Haven.

Authorities haven’t specified which Hamden burglaries he’s been linked to, but Hamden police said late last month the man accused of breaking into a home on Mix Avenue got away in a Nissan Juke stolen from West Haven.

Another woman was tied up and robbed at gunpoint in her home at the Seramonte Apartments on Kaye Vue Drive in Hamden on Sept. 15, and just last week, a man crawled through the window of a home on West Helen Street in Hamden and stole a woman’s purse while she was sleeping.

Police said Mills is a convicted felon with a history of robberies, burglaries, larcenies and assault. He has violated parole and is being held on $500,000 bond.

The body of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with and die from Ebola in the United States, will be cremated, state health officials say.

Duncan's body was removed from the hospital where he had been treated in isolation within hours of his death on Wednesday, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital officials said.

His remains have been transported for cremation, Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed, but they did say where or when it would happen.

Patients with the Ebola virus are still contagious after death, so medical personnel must be cautious when handling Duncan's body and will follow the strict guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Duncan's family has agreed to cremation, a process that will kill any virus remaining in the body so tthat his ashes can be returned to them. No protective gear would be needed to handle cremated ashes.

Duncan's mother and nephew returned to North Carolina Wednesday, NBC 5 learned.

"This is a difficult time for the family, and our thoughts are with them," said Dr. David Lakey, Texas health commissioner. "We will continue to treat Mr. Duncan with dignity and respect, and we're taking great care to make sure there is no additional risk that others could be infected."

Duncan's death raised concerns about how workers handling his body could be kept safe from the virus that took his life Wednesday, since Ebola can survive in bodily fluids as long as they remain wet and at room temperature.

The Centers for Disease Control has given guidance for how to handle an Ebola victim's body safely, and Lakey told reporters that officials would "continue every effort to contain the spread of the virus and protect people from this threat."

Any hospital employees who handle the body of someone who died of Ebola must wear personal protective equipment, including a scrub suit, cap, gown over the suit, eye protection, face mask and more. They must remove the equipment in a prescribed manner and wash their hands very carefully.

The body of a person who died of Ebola must be wrapped in multiple leak-proof plastic bags and disinfected, according to CDC guidelines.

Duncan's hospital room and surrounding hallways were cleaned and disinfected by a hazmat crew from CG Environmental - Cleaning Guys, the company that cleaned the apartment where Duncan had stayed. The 13-member crew also removed bedding, clothes and protective equipment for incineration.

The crew finished early Thursday morning. "It was an all-night job," company vice-president Brad Smith said.

Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Wednesday in Dallas after becoming the first person to be diagnosed with the deadly virus in the United States, had told doctors not to resuscitate him to prolong his life, the hospital that treated him said Thursday.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital detailed Duncan's care and death in a statement it released Thursday afternoon hoping to "correct misconceptions" about the much-scrutinized Ebola case and about Duncan's treatment.

Duncan died when his heart stopped at 7:51 a.m., the hospital said. He had told his doctor the care team "should not perform chest compressions, defibrillation or cardioversion to prolong his life," according to the hospital.

Because Duncan's blood type was not compatible with Fort Worth doctor Kent Brantly, he did not receive the same type of serum transfusion as an NBC News freelancer being treated for Ebola in Nebraska, the hospital said.

The hospital says Duncan was the first Ebola patient to receive the investigative antiviral drug Brincidofovir, and his doctors gave him the drug as soon as it could be obtained after consulting with experts across the country, the CDC and the FDA.

Some have questioned why Duncan did not receive the drug ZMapp, the hospital reiterated the drug was not available. According to the CDC and the drug manufacturer, it has not been available since Aug. 12, 2014.

Texas Health Presbyterian, which has come under fire from Duncan's family and others about his initial trip to the hospital, said it wanted to correct some misconceptions about his first visit.

"Our care team provided Mr. Duncan with the same high level of attention and care that would be given any patient, regardless of nationality or ability to pay for care. In this case that included a four-hour evaluation and numerous tests," the hospital said. "We have a long history of treating a multicultural community in this area."

The hospital said the team of 50 nurses and doctors who cared for him, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are grieving the loss of Duncan.

The southbound side of Route 15/Wilbur Cross Parkway has reopened in North Haven after crews closed won the highway while battling a car fire Thursday afternoon.

Authorities responded to the scene around 5:15 p.m. The highway was shut down for 30-45 minutes between exits 62 and 63 while firefighters doused the flames.

Expect residual delays in the area.

No additional information was immediately available.

A three-hour SWAT standoff ended Thursday at the Mission Viejo home of Mixed Martial Arts fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller when police stormed in and took him into custody.

Thursday's incident was unusual as Miller tweeted about the standoff and even encouraged people to go to his address to watch "the absolute waste of resources going on outside of my house right now."

Mike Tierney took him up on the offer.

"It's very voyeuristic," Tierney said. "It's just something to do. I'm off today and I live two miles from here."

It started at 10:30 a.m. when Orange County sheriff's deputies tried to take Miller into custody on
an arrest warrant in a domestic violence and stalking case, but he ran back into his home and refused to come out, Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said.

It ended about 2:15 p.m., when SWAT officers placed a device on his door that blew off the locks, prompting Miller to surrender, Hallock said.

Miller defended himself in a tweet, saying "I have not committed any crime, but yet i am forced HERE."

Miller's attorney, Joseph H. Low IV, told City News Service the raid was unnecessary.

"Jason had been under the care of a doctor for an illness," Low said. "He has been waiting for me to come back to town so that we could go back to court to continue to prove his innocence. I wish the police had informed me of their raid. We could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money. There was no
reason at all for them to get all dressed up in their SWAT costumes."

Twitter user @pjuric, who claimed to be a neighbor of Miller, begged him to give himself up, writing, "If not to save himself, please think of your neighbors and our kids!"

Some of his Tweets include:
"I WISH YOU NO HARM. I respect the Police, but this is overkill, for something that would be settled with one piece of paperwork from OCBAIL;

ALL THIS because I wanted to help raise a young boy into a man, and his mama wenr off her meds, and an ambitious DA thinks mayhem is BAD.

i woke up late, and couldn't leave because there is a highly equipment regiment of wanna be soldiers outside my house reminding me that, 'WE WON'T GO AWAY!'

i have the proper paper work, at my office in  HYPERLINK 'https://twitter.com/VaporLabsIrvine/'@VaporLabsIrvine, i was due to go to court this morning, but the LFPD chase me all last night.

if you would like to see this drama unfold, please, come to 26262 Avenida Calidad, Mission Viejo, CA 92691;

Mental health services for one single mother immigrant from the Philipines, who I know was well intentioned, but has a mental condition... now i have to pay a debt for her mistakes.

Just before he surrendered, Miller Tweeted, "They are gearing up like the Bin Laden raid, and I just want to be heard in court, to dispel all of the lies."

He also Tweeted to sheriff's deputies, "They threw a phone box threw a plate glass window. Disrespect. I would like to give up, but not with 50 RAMBOS out there. Not cool."

He also vowed to have the sheriff pay for the damage to his home in one of his Tweets.

Miller is facing two counts of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and stalking, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of violating a protective order, according to court records. He was last due in court Sept. 8 for a pretrial hearing, but he was declared a fugitive and a warrant for his arrest
was issued.

Court records show a $200,000 bond was forfeited on Sept. 8.

This wasn't the first brush with the law for Miller, 33, who had vandalism charges against him dismissed in 2012, but found himself in trouble with the law again for the domestic violence case in August of last year.

A misdemeanor vandalism charge against Miller was dismissed Nov. 21, 2012, after he was accused in August of 2012 of breaking at least one picture frame and damaging a propane tank and other items while spray-painting inside Mission Hills Church, causing at least $400 in damage.

Miller was arrested in August of 2012 when the church's pastor called sheriff's deputies to report he found books and CDs scattered throughout the Alicia Parkway church, along with broken picture frames and fire extinguisher dust on the first and second floors.

Miller, who was an Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor, was found on the second floor nude, although he did have some sort of cloth wrapped around him.

City News Service contributed to this report.

A former Burger King employee is facing charges of impersonating a police officer and sexual assaulting a coworker.

Paul Richford of 10 Bristol St., Worcester, Massachusetts, is charged with three counts of false personation for presenting himself as a police officer, one count of witness tampering, one count of obstructing the report of a crime, three counts of sexual assault, forcible fondling and six counts of simple assault. He turned himself in to Portsmouth, New Hampshire Police on Thursday on a warrant.

Police said Richford committed the crimes at the Burger King on Route 1 in Portsmouth between July 1 and Sept. 9, while he was an employee there. He is no longer employed by Burger King and as a condition of bail is not allowed there.

He was held on $10,000 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Portsmouth District Court.

According to Seacoastonline, this is the second time in a month that a former employee of the same Burger King has been charged with assaulting a co-worker.

Down the road from a growing memorial at Hartford's Blue Hills Fire Station, Sean Stanburry used an airbrush and canvas to immortalize his friend of 30 years, who died fighting a fire earlier this week.

"Eyes are the window to the soul," explained Stanburry, as he sketched the outline of Kevin Bell's eyes and nose. "Eyes first and everything else will follow."

Stanburry, an artist, could think of no better way to express his love and grief.

"It's for a friend. This is what I do. It's only right," Stanburry said. "Right now, I can feel him. He's getting a kick out of this right here. ... His energy is right here."

Bell, 48, was killed in the line of duty Tuesday while battling a two-alarm house fire on Blue Hills Avenue. He was a six-year veteran of the department and is the first Hartford firefighter lost in a blaze in 40 years.

"Anyone you ask – you can ask the firemen, ask anyone you know about Kev – no one has anything bad to say," Stanburry said.

Bell's colleagues draped black bunting at the firehouse on Wednesday, and flowers are piled up outside the station. Stanburry, though, could think of no other way to say goodbye and honor his fallen friend.

"As long as it's good energy, there are going to be tears," he said. "People are going to like the art, but they'll see him. They are going to remember Kev."

When it was finished, Stanburry placed Bell's portait at the firehouse memorial, a striking reminder of the man who died a hero.

Local artist airbrushing a picture of Kevin Bell to place at firehouse memorial. @NBCConnecticut pic.twitter.com/uVXkux5M6L

— Tara Joyce (@tarajoycenbc) October 9, 2014

A 2-year-old boy is in critical condition and three other people were taken to local hospitals following a crash on Route 20 in Granby on Thursday morning.

Police said Kevin Ayers, 24, of East Granby, was driving a 2008 Pontiac sedan eastbound on Route 20 and Daniel Genie, 26, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was driving a 2000 Ford armored truck heading westbound when the vehicles collided around 8:45 a.m.

Ayers had to be extricated from the car and a LifeStar helicopter airlifted him to Hartford Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition after surgery. 

His two-year-old son, Landon, was in a car seat in the back of the car and an ambulance transported him to Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition, the Associated Press reports. 

Ambulances took Genie and a passenger in the armored car, a Christopher Rosado, 23, to Hartford Hospital to be treated for injuries that are not life threatening.

Cash spilled across the roadway when a door to the armored car opened on impact. Police said all money has been accounted for and "adequate officers" are present to mitigate security concerns.

An accident reconstruction team responded and the road was closed for several hours from Route 189 to Bushy Hill Road, but reopened as of about 1:45 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Police are investigating and said no charges have been filed. 

Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates has bought weight-loss magnate Jenny Craig’s horse training center in Rancho Sante Fe for $18 million.

"The family has enjoyed visiting the San Diego area with friends and family for many years and has purchased the Rancho Paseana property in Rancho Santa Fe, California," a spokesperson for the Gates family told NBC 7 in a statement.

Craig’s property, about 20 miles north of San Diego, is a thoroughbred training center. Gates’ teenage daughter jumps horses competitively; he already owns a home at the Del Mar Country Club.

The deal closed in mid-September, according to published reports.

The property encompasses 229 acres and has a seasonal stream and a premium 3/4-mile race track, according to the listing. It also includes a guesthouse and an office, an olive orchard, five barns and a veterinarian’s suite, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal.

It was originally listed for $30 million.

Last month, Gates topped Forbes’ list of the richest Americans for the 21st straight year.