Arroyo Grande

Cause of market fire under investigation

Fire crews were investigating the cause of a Tuesday afternoon fire at JJ's Market on South Halcyon Road that led to the evacuation of the building.

Units from San Luis Obispo County/Cal Fire and Arroyo Grande and Oceano fire departments were sent to 2792 South Halcyon Road at 12:52 p.m., officials said.

The fire was mostly on an exterior wall of the building, but appeared to have spread into the attic, officials said.

By 1:21 p.m. the blaze was contained and units were cleaning up. No estimate on damage was available Tuesday.

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Santa Barbara County

Board names new county counsel

A new county counsel for Santa Barbara County was approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.

Dennis Marshall will replace interim county counsel Daniel Wallace, who temporarily took over for Shane Stark after Stark retired in January.

Marshall will be paid about $190,000 annually in his new position as the chief attorney for the Board of Supervisors, in which he will oversee a staff of 45 and an annual operating budget of $7.7 million. He begins his new job July 1, according to county officials.

Marshall has worked as an attorney for Fresno County since 1988 and has been its county counsel since 2004.

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Avila Beach

Naked man's antics land him in jail

An El Dorado Hills man may have over-celebrated the Memorial Day holiday when he allegedly got naked, jumped on cars, simulated a sex act and wound up in County Jail, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department.

Cody Eugene Williams, 27, was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism, indecent exposure, committing a lewd act in public and being drunk in public Saturday afternoon, sheriff's deputies said.

Deputies were summoned to Avila Beach around 6:15 p.m.

after several reports of a naked man running in the street and jumping on cars, said a sheriff's spokesman.

With the help of Port San Luis Harbor Patrol officers, Williams was arrested near Front and First streets and booked into County Jail, with bail set at $20,000.

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Santa Maria

Girl, 3, struck by SUV and moderately hurt

A three-year-old girl from Santa Maria was injured Monday evening when she reportedly ran out from between two parked cars in the 200 block of West Boone Street and was struck by a sport utility vehicle.

The girl, who complained of pain to her back and right arm after the incident around 6:30 p.m., was taken to Marian Medical Center with apparently non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

The driver of the SUV, Barbara Rodriquez of Santa Maria, was cited for being unlicensed, police said.

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Santa Maria

Two women suspects in armed robbery

Two unidentified women robbed a Santa Maria man at knifepoint Monday night, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

Celerino Cruz, 27, flagged down officers at 10:35 p.m. in the 1400 block of South Broadway and told them that he had been robbed about 15 minutes earlier, police said.

The investigation revealed that the suspects had approached the victim and asked if he wanted to go drinking with them, and he drove off with them.

The women reportedly robbed him of his keys, wallet and an undisclosed amount of cash in the 400 block of East Park Avenue.

The suspects then drove northbound on Miller Street and Cruz ran away. He was not injured.

The suspects are described as Hispanic women, 20 to 23 years old, 5-foot 8-inches to 5-foot

9-inches and heavyset.

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Las Flores Canyon

Man succumbs to heart attack at plant

A report of an unconscious man and a possible gas release Tuesday morning at the Popco onshore oil plant in Las Flores Canyon, near El Capitan Ranch, turned out to be a medical emergency in which a man died, but the plant did not leak any gas.

A 54-year-old Exxon employee, whose name was not released, was working on a tower 60 feet above the ground when he complained of chest pain and collapsed on the scaffolding of the tower about 9:15 a.m., according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Despite efforts by Exxon employees using an automatic defibrillator and of county firefighters shortly after, the man died, according to the fire department.

- From staff reports