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ByAmyTaxin The Associated Press SANTA ANA A California driver who police say struck and killed three teenage trick-or-treaters on Hallow- een before fleeing with his own children had recently pleaded guilty to a sepa- rate hit-and run, authori- ties said Monday. Jaquinn Bell, 31, of Or- ange drove a black Honda SUV through a marked crosswalk on Friday near an elementary school in Santa Ana, hitting 13-year-old twin sisters Lexi and Lexandra Perez and their friend An- drea Gonzalez, police said. The victims, wearing cos- tumes, were found lying in the street. Authorities believe Bell fled with his two teenage children after ditching the damaged car in a nearby parking lot. He was ar- rested Sunday at a motel in Stanton, Santa Ana police chief Carlos Rojas said. "He left. He did not try to render aid, and thank God for other witnesses there who contacted the police department and allowed us to respond rather quickly," Rojas said. "Unfortunately it was a tragic end." Bell was arrested for in- vestigation of felony hit- and-run causing death and was being held on $500,000 bail. The case has been re- ferred to the district attor- ney for possible charges. It was unclear if Bell has an attorney. Online court records show Bell pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor counts of child abuse, driv- ing under the influence and hit-and-run with property damage. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1 arrested in Halloween hit-and-run deaths By Michael R. Blood The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Trendset- ting California is where you look for the next new thing. But on Election Day, expect to see mostly the same old thing. Candidates in the state were headed toward all but inevitable outcomes on Tuesday in races for gov- ernor, lieutenant gover- nor, attorney general and treasurer, after a lacklus- ter campaign season that could produce a record low turnout. The election follows a June primary that marked an all-time low for voter participation for a primary, with only about one in four voters bothering to cast bal- lots. With registration skew- ing increasingly Democratic in California, statewide races have become mostly lopsided affairs. Gov. Jerry Brown, facing little-known former banker Neel Kash- kari, barely campaigned in the conventional sense. "I've talked to people who literally didn't know there was an election going on," said Claremont McK- enna College political sci- entist Jack Pitney. California's lowest gen- eral-election turnout in the past century was in 2002, when half of registered vot- ers cast ballots. There are exceptions to the more predictable races on Tuesday. A handful of congres- sional contests could go ei- ther way, although Demo- crats on Capitol Hill long ago gave up hope of regain- ing control of the House. In the Sacramento sub- urbs, Democratic Rep. Ami Bera was in a tight contest against former GOP con- gressman Doug Ose, while Rep. Scott Peters, a Demo- crat, was struggling to hold his San Diego seat against Republican Carl DeMaio. There also are some tough fights over ballot questions, including Propo- sition 46, a proposal to lift the ceiling on damages for pain and suffering caused by medical negligence. And polling suggests Pete Peterson, the Republi- can candidate for secretary of state, could be within striking distance of Dem- ocrat Alex Padilla, a state senator. The final sprint had campaign staffers and vol- unteers dialing phones, knocking on doors and em- ploying social media. Tony Strickland, a Re- publican seeking a con- gressional seat in a district bordering Los Angeles, was urging supporters to use Facebook, Twitter and email to remind friends to vote. Organized labor, a po- tent political force in Sac- ramento, was turning out thousands of volunteers to make phone calls and go house-to-house. "Whether we're teach- ers or firefighters, grocery clerks or bricklayers, work- ing people need a seat at the table," said Art Pulaski, ex- ecutive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Fed- eration. "That seat at the ta- ble comes from voting." Some local ballots car- ried hot-button questions on fracking, marijuana cultivation, taxes on sug- ary drinks and, in Sacra- mento, whether the city should strengthen the role of the mayor. But the mea- sures have not been enough to generate widespread en- thusiasm. Sliding turnout is part of a nationwide trend. Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., a research firm that helps campaigns iden- tify and track voters, said the sluggish pace of early voting pointed to a likely record low turnout Tuesday. There is no "big, prime- time issue for voters," he said. CALIFORNIA Dr ow sy e le ct io n co ul d bring low turnout By Brian Melley The Associated Press LOS ANGELES An experi- mental rocket ship broke apart in flight over Cali- fornia's Mojave Desert after a device to slow the space plane's descent deployed too soon, federal investi- gators said. The cause of Friday's crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has not been determined, but investiga- tors found the "feather- ing" system — which ro- tates the twin tail "feath- ers" to create drag — was activated before the craft reached the appropriate speed, National Transpor- tation Safety Board Act- ing Chairman Christopher Hart said. The system requires a two-step process to de- ploy. The co-pilot unlocked the system, but Hart said the second step occurred "without being com- manded." "What we know is that after it was unlocked, the feathers moved into the de- ploy position, and two sec- onds later, we saw disinte- gration," Hart said. The finding moves away from initial speculation that an explosion brought down the craft. The investigation is months from being com- pleted, and officials are looking at factors that in- clude pilot error, mechan- ical failure, design prob- lems and whether pressure existed to continue testing, Hart said. "We are not edging to- ward anything. We're not rulinganythingout,"hesaid. "We are looking at all these issues to determine the root cause of this accident." The co-pilot, Michael Alsbury, 39, was killed in the crash. Pilot Peter Siebold, 43, parachuted to the ground and is hospital- ized with injuries. Investigators have not interviewed Siebold be- cause of his condition, Hart said. Virgin Galactic — owned by billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi — plans to fly up to six passengers at a time more than 62 miles above Earth, where they can experience weightless- ness. The company sells seats on each prospective journey for $250,000. Branson told Sky News on Monday that the com- pany will move forward despite the crash. He said there would be a "whole massive series of test flights" before any trips are made. He still plans to be on the maiden voyage, with his family. "We need to be absolutely certain our spaceship has been thoroughly tested — andthatitwillbe—andonce it'sthoroughlytested,andwe can go to space, we will go to space," Branson said. "We must push on. There are incredible things that can happen through man- kind being able to explore space properly," he said. SpaceShipTwo tore apart Friday about 11 seconds af- ter it detached from the un- derside of its jet-powered mother ship and fired its rocket engine for the test flight. Initial speculation was that an explosion oc- curred, but the fuel and ox- idizer tanks and rocket en- gine showed no sign of be- ing burned or breached, the NTSB said. The feathering system is a feature unique to the craft to help it slow as it re-enters the atmosphere. After being unlocked, a le- ver must be pulled to ro- tate the twin feathers to- ward a nearly vertical posi- tion to act as a brake. After decelerating, the pilots re- configure the feathers to their normal position so the craft can glide to Earth. A review of footage from a camera mounted to the ceiling of the spaceship's cockpit showed the co-pi- lot moving the feathering lever to the unlock posi- tion, Hart said. The feathers activated at Mach 1.0, the speed of sound, or 760 mph, Hart said. They should not have deployed until the craft had reached a speed of at least Mach 1.4, or more than 1,000 mph. MOJAVE CRASH Spaceship's descent system deployed early NTSB—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Virgin Galactic pilot Todd Ericson, right, talks with NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart, second from le , at the SpaceShipTwo accident site with investigators in Mojave on Monday. The Associated Press COARSEGOLD Prosecutors have filed charges against 15 people in the armed takeover of a Central Cali- fornia casino at the center of a power struggle between factions of a Native Ameri- can tribe. The group's leader, Tex McDonald, 64, sur- rendered Monday to the Madera County Sheriff's Office along with Vernon King James, 59. Authori- ties arrested Eric Domingo Flores Suniga, 30, on Sun- day, said Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for the Sher- iff's Office. Stuart said deputies re- main on the lookout for 12 others wanted on charges thatincludekidnapping,false imprisonment and assault with a firearm. Bail for Mc- Donald was set at $1 million. The charges stem from a dispute between rival fac- tionsofthePicayuneRanche- riaoftheChukchansiIndians vyingforcontroloftheChuk- chansi Gold Resort & Casino northeast of Fresno. Authorities closed the ca- sino's doors last month af- ter one group attempted a takeover. 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