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ByScottSmith TheAssociatedPress STOCKTON Misty Holt- Singh planned to be gone for just a few minutes when she stepped into her local bank. Instead, she became the victim of three rob- bers who had gone there, too, planning to take both money and hostages. As her 12-year-old daugh- ter sat waiting in the car, Holt-Singh and a pair of bank employees were forced into a stolen SUV at gunpoint just as police converged on the parking lot. What followed was a chaotic, hour-long chase through this Northern Cal- ifornia city that ended with a furious gun battle. When it was over, the 41-year-old mother of two was dead in the back of the vehicle. Police said that a sus- pect, the only one of the three to survive, used her as a human shield as the bullets flew back and forth. An autopsy may determine whether the one that killed Holt-Singh was fired by of- ficers or the robbers. Most police departments discourage shooting at get- away cars during chases. But the taking of hostages and hail of bullets com- ing from the suspect's ve- hicle forced Stockton po- lice to make the split-sec- ond decision to use their own weapons while know- ing they might harm an in- nocent civilian. "When you have a hos- tage in there it changes the ballgame altogether because you can't risk the life of a hostage to stop the bad guy," said Timothy Cle- mente, a retired SWAT ex- pert for the FBI. But, he added, "if these guys are driving down the highway and they're spray- ing AK-47 fire and a lot of innocents are put in dan- ger by that fire, then maybe my return fire is absolutely needed to cease their ac- tion." Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said Thursday that any and all responsi- bility lies with three home- town robbers. "The fact that these three violent gunmen put our community at such jeop- ardy is deplorable," Jones said. "The gunmen had not the slightest intent of a peaceful resolution as they continued to cause may- hem and havoc. Every min- ute the incident continued, the stakes rose intensely for our officers and for our en- tire community." In the drama that un- folded Wednesday after- noon, the suspects entered the Bank of the West branch wearing hooded sweat- shirts and sunglasses and with guns drawn, San Joa- quin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ronald Freitas said. They tied up a security guard, took over the bank and went to the vault to get money, he said. On the way out they ab- ducted Holt-Singh and two women who work at the bank as they made their get- away. It's not clear whether the employees were tar- geted before the holdup. During the hour-long chase, the two bank em- ployees jumped or were thrown from the stolen SUV, one of them while it may have been going more than 50 mph. At least one suffered a gunshot wound. Both were expected to sur- vive. Police managed to shoot out the tires of the vehicle, and the getaway attempt ended in a flood of gunfire. In the aftermath of the shootout, police and FBI agents sorted through hun- dreds of bullet holes in 14 police vehicles, citizens' cars, homes and businesses along the route of the chase. The sole surviving sus- pect was identified as Jaime Ramos, 19, of Stock- ton, who wasn't injured. Po- lice said the other robbers, ages 27 and 30, were gang members, also from Stock- ton. Ramos was scheduled to be arraigned on Mon- day, and Freitas said pros- ecutors anticipate charging him with murder and spe- cial circumstances includ- ing kidnapping, robbery and burglary that could make him eligible for the death penalty. Police said that they re- covered at least three hand- guns and an assault rifle and that the gunmen had ammunition strapped to their bodies. STOCKTON BANK Violenceofchaseledcops to fire despite hostage STOCKTONPOLICEDEPARTMENT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A condolence letter written for Misty Holt-Singh, who was married with children, one of the victims of a bank robbery, is shown on Wednesday in Stockton. The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he has signed two bills into law that are intended to tighten controls on gun sales and keep firearms out of the hands of crim- inals and people who have been confined due to men- tal health issues. One bill, AB1964, ad- dresses semi-automatic handguns, which can only be sold in the state if they meet safety standards that include not discharging when dropped and exhibit a warning sign when a bul- let is in the gun's chamber before it is fired. An increasing num- ber of people have tried to circumvent those stan- dards by converting the handguns into single-shot weapons, which are cur- rently exempt from such standards, then changing them back to semi-auto- matics when a sale is com- plete. The bill by Assembly- man Roger Dickinson ends that exemption. Before 2009, Dickinson, D-Sacramento, said no more than 1,100 sales were reported in any year of sin- gle-shot handguns. The in- crease in sales started in 2010, when several new handgun safety standards were added to state law. Last year alone, more than 18,000 were purchased in California. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said in a statement that dealers who sold the single-shot weapons to skirt state law were putting profits over the safety of Californians. Brown also approved AB1591, which speeds up how quickly courts must notify the state Depart- ment of Justice when de- termining that someone can no longer legally own a firearm in California be- cause of a criminal viola- tion or mental health com- mitment. The bill by Assembly- man Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, short- ens the requirement from two days to one. It was prompted by a state au- dit that found that many courts took too long or did not submit the required re- ports at all. FIREARMS New California bills impose tighter gun rules The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that deletes from most California laws outdated terms once used to de- scribe mental health con- ditions. AB1847 by Democratic Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro of Arcata re- places references to in- sane, mentally disor- dered or defective per- sons with references to mental health disorders, intellectual disability or developmental disabil- ity. Chesbro says using such outdated terms increases the stigma against peo- ple who suffer from men- tal health issues and puts the focus on the disabil- ity rather than the person. Previous legislation al- ready replaced references to imbeciles and lunatics in state laws. The legislation Brown announced signing Fri- day does not apply to pe- nal codes used in legal pro- ceedings. SACRAMENTO Changes to mental health references OK'd The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he has signed a bill re- quiring board members of California's public pension fund to receive investment- related training every two years, even though the fund already requires such edu- cation. AB1163 by Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, originally was introduced as a way to meet Brown's request to "bring finan- cial sophistication" to the California Public Employ- ees' Retirement System's 13-member board, which is dominated by public em- ployees and labor union representatives. Its original language re- quired adding two board members who had financial expertise and did not have a financial interest in the pension system. It also pro- posed replacing the State Personnel Board represen- tative with the state Direc- tor of Finance. The bill was changed to give board members 24 hours of education every two years, require records of board members' com- pliance with education re- quirements, and provide an annual report on CalPERS' website. The bill provides a broad definition of training, with topics including fiduciary responsibilities, ethics, in- vestment management, ac- tuarial matters, pension funding, benefits adminis- tration and governance. The pension board over- sees a portfolio valued at $299.4 billion for 1.6 million public workers and retirees, but it remains underfunded by billions. Board mem- bers are responsible for setting employer contribu- tion rates, determining as- set allocations and proving actuarial valuations, among other duties. According to CalPERS, the board adopted an ed- ucation policy in March to include governance and investment education for board members. That pol- icy includes training on un- derstanding duties and re- sponsibilities, the fund's health benefits design and funding, and CalPERS' in- vestment policy. SACRAMENTO New pension board training required The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO U.S. Ag- riculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited drought- stricken homeowners on Friday in Central Califor- nia, saying drought and cli- mate change would require major investment to secure future water supplies. Vilsack also announced $9.7 million in new emer- gency drought aid to help ru- ral Californians hurt by the state's three-year drought. A drought monitor spon- sored by the federal govern- ment says 81 percent of the state is experiencing ma- jor agricultural losses and widespread water shortages or restrictions. All but one of the state's 58 counties are now feder- ally designated disaster ar- eas because of the drought, making farmers and ranch- ers eligible for emergency loans, according to the ag- riculture department. Outside the small city of Farmersville in Tulare County, 60-year-old Carlen Overby told Vilsack the run- ning water in her home now came via a garden hose con- nected to a neighbor's well, the Fresno Bee reported. . Overby's own well, like others in her area, had gone dry. She now showers each morning with the hose. "When you get up in the morning and turn the water on, you wonder if the wa- ter is going to come out," Overby told the agriculture secretary. The new drought spend- ing is intended to help se- cure water supplies for 73,000 Californians in 11 counties. DROUGHT Ag chief visits water-starved families 744MainStreet,RedBluff AvailableNow! 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