how two officers acting only a hunch brought down a sophisticated and dangerous drug operation and a posh san francisco neighborhood. >> live in oakland, a man confesses to more than two dozen robberies. the surprising way in which police caught him, coming up. >> first, they were caught in a terrible bridge traffic jam because of a standoff. now many drivers get an unwelcome surprise from authorities. the story ahead on ktvu chainlets news at noon.

good afternoon. topping our news, a registered sex offender is under arrest accused of sexually assaulting a toddler inside a union city store. according to union city police, officers arrested eugene ramos yesterday afternoon after he allegedly grabbed a two-year- old girl inside a dollar tree store on dakota road and sexually assaulted her inside the store. authorities say the child's grandmother saw the assault in progress and along with other customers began to chase the suspect. ramos was tackled by a group of people and held down until an officer arrived. he was booked for kidnapping, rape, sexual acts with a child and false imprisonment. a news conference with police is scheduled for this afternoon. we'll bring you that today on ktvu channel 2 news at 5. our other top story, a big

bust in a san francisco residential neighborhood. police find a drug lab with enough chemicals that could have caused real damage to a wealthy neighborhood. kraig debro joins with us more from the laurel heights area. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. police describe this as a small and medium sized drug operation. the cache of chemicals behind me in front of a home in laurel it's. the people spent an estimated $2 million for homes so they can liver here say they cannot believe what they see. >> it boggles my mind that's it's in this neighborhood. because everyone here has family. like small children or teenage children. >> absolutely shocked. i had no idea this was going on. >> police say the suspects were operating a methamphetamine lab out of this home in laurel heights. two officers patrolling the area spotted two suspicious people outside the home yesterday at 3:45. police say the status every one of those people allowed them to search the home. what they found is a concoction

of chemicals from acetone to alcohol, even a book on biochemistry. their captain says the police work was a potentially life- saving event. >> really experience waiting for an opportunity, and that's what happened here. they came down the street, they know -- they know when things are not right. >> the captain says the inside of the house was a recipe for disaster. chemicals throughout the house, speakers on the stove top. >> so there is an extreme fire danger, young kids who live next door. i don't know what sort of people were coming in and out, but scary. >> the five suspects are awaiting charges on various felonies, including making and possessing introduction. they are ryan ellison, 32, john pratto, 37, hippo 44, todd molly 47, and april litton, 33. only molly doesn't have a san francisco address. >> the only activities we get is stroller pushers. >> better idea of the

neighborhood, ucsf is in the street and the hospital is down the street. finding this kind of operation here is rare. right now police can't be sure but believe the date rape drug ghb was made here. police are also giving an assist to the department of justice, whose crews know how to handle those toxic chemicals. one of people arrested here yesterday is the son of the homeowners who live upstairs. but as one of the neighbors told me, today, he hid it very well. reporting live, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. san francisco police are also investigating the deadly shooting of a man in a city's richmond district. the victim was found inside an apartment on 23rd avenue last night around 9:00. paramedics were called but the victim died at the scene. we don't know the shooting victim's name. police will only say he was 20 to 30 years old. so far no arrests have been

made and no suspect information has been released. this doesn't happen everyday day, but a man walked into the oakland police station this morning saying he was shot. an alert officer felt the man look familiar. turns out the shooting victim is suspected in a lot of robberies. tara joins us now. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. that's right, oakland police calling this case bizarre because it's rare to have a victim in a shooting admit to a long string of robberies. let's look at some video of a convenience store in san leandro, and it was struck last friday and police are still investigating whether walter sales of oakland was responsible for this heist. here's how police were tipped off. the suspect called 911 yesterday morning during a shoot-out on cherry street in oakland. when investigators later interviewed him in the hospital, they recognized he matched the suspect description from a recent robbery.

it was then sales admitted to committing more than 30 armed robberies at quick stop markets, shell, arco and 76 gas stations throughout san leandro and oakland. >> yes, this was a very big bust for us. especially coming up to the christmastime. we always see a spike in robberies. as it gets near the holidays. and with this arrest, this will help keep the numbers do of robberies in the city of oakland. >> were you surprised he confessed? >> i'm not surprised, especially with the evidence we had against him. >> that evidence includes surveillance footage. police are forming a lineup and then later today, early tomorrow, they will call on witnesses from those robberies to try to identify the suspects some therefore a photo of the suspect is not being released at this time. also it's not known how much cash sales made off with from those robberies. >> thank you, tara. oakland police are reporting today that a suspect

has been arrested for an teamed robbery and shooting near lake merritt. it happened after 11 last night at 15th street and madison street. investigators say the victim was walking and sending a text when 26-year-old danielle alem grabbed his cell phone and an altercation occurred. authorities say alem pulled out a handgun and shot victim several times. the situation was frightening, say witnesses. >> after i -- like really a gunshot? i'm not sure. and then i actually went to -- [not understandable] never did that before. >> authorities say the victim was injured in the stomach. he was taken to highland hospital and is in stable condition. his identity has not been released. oakland's police chief continues to make the rounds in washington, d.c. today. trying to get federal funds for his safe schools program.

this morning, anthony batts visited with oakland congresswoman barbara lee, outlining his plan to get students graduate by making schools safe by also providing officers as mentors. he has received a lot of interest but says so far no promises. >> right now all the funding has been tied up and until they work their way through, we're on a stand by. but this was our opportunity to say look what we're doing, take the first step. >> he will next fly back to oakland later today. today the pipeline disaster in san bruno moves one step closer to the courtroom. an attorney for pg&e will meet with lawyers representing the explosion victims for the first time. they'll discuss the more than 35 lawsuits filed against pg&e. the explosion and fire killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes. we web to the devastated neighborhood early this morning

and here's what we saw. one man who grew up in the neighborhood set up this christmas tree on an empty lot. it's complete with solar powered lights. he says it's way of trying to get past the pipeline tragedy and send out a holiday message of hope. many people caught up in the recent standoff on the bay bridge have gotten an unwelcome surprise in the mail. a california lake may have clues to the search for life on other planets, what nasa just announced. rain is coming for the bay area. and mark will check the latest computer models and will tell us where it might be falling. also -- >> i'm concerned about the impact of a rush to repeal. >> when he outlined his objections to repealing "don't ask, don't tell" about gays in the military. 0!ockñ?çóxo?ñ=çñññçvxqx?ñññ?óioy

the cause of a san mateo house fire is under investigation. crews rushed to a home around 7:00 last night. firefighters say when they arrived, flames were shooting out of the back of the two- story home. they were able to keep the fire from spreading and no one was hurt. drivers surprised by citations for doing a u-turn on

the bay bridge during last month's police standoff are being told, not to worry about the tickets. the fast track system is sending tickets to commuters who were told to turn around at the toll plaza because the bridge was shut down. officials say the system cannot differentiate between fair cheats and police activity. and the commuters who get a ticket as a result of the situation should appeal their tickets by saying it was issued during the standoff. the violation and the ticket will be dismissed. a federal judge said today that he will not disqualify himself from the court challenge to cap's ban on same- sex marriage. proposition 8 supporters requested that judge stephen reinhard recuse himself because his wife is an outspoken opponent of prop 8. but he rejected the idea saying he will be able to rule impartially in the case and just minutes ago, prop 8 supporters announced they will stop trying to have the judge

remove himself. reinhardt is one of three judges on a panel scheduled to hear arguments on monday. he was appointed a federal judge back in the 1970s by president jimee carter and is known as the lion of the left for his liberal leaning. the senate's armed services committee this morning took up the question of homosexuals serving openly in the united states military. a recent survey of military personnel showed most do not see problems with repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" law. but one senator and decorated veteran was concerned a majority of those in the marines and in army combat units thought it could hurt military effectiveness. >> i'm not saying this law should never change. i'm simply saying that it may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner without further consideration of this report, and further study of the issue by congress. in my view, the concerns of combat troops as expressed in the survey do not present an

insurmountable barrier to a successful repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." this can be done and it should be done without posing a serious risk to military readiness. >> president obama has pressed congress to repeal the law and senate majority leader harry reid promised a vote on the issue but mccain and others have held up debate making any vote unlikely before the new congress is sworn in in january. after some intense lobbying, we learned this morning which nations will host the world cup in 2018 and 2022. >> 2018 fifa world cup, ladies and gentlemen, will be organized in -- russia. [cheering] >> russia will host the 2018, 2018 world cup, which surprised many people sis then prime minister vladimir putin was a last-minute no show during the presentations. russia beat the joint bids of the netherlands and belgium, spain and portugal and england.

meanwhile, another unexpected winner was announced for the 2022 bid. >> the winner to organize the 2022 fifa world cup is -- qatar. >> the small arab country on the northeast coast of the arabian peninsula bait outs the u.s., australia, japan and south korea. soon the persian gulf boarded a saudi arabia and it may be the smallest nation to ever host a world cup. but qatar is rich in oil. south africa just hosted the world's biggest sporting event over the summer and brazil has the honors for 2014. nasa researchers are shaking up the science world today with an announcement about a new form of life found here in california. they examined bacteria from the bottom of mono lake near yosemite national park. traditional rules state that all life is made of six elements, including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,

phosphorous and sulfur. but these microbes were able to grove and thrive using the poison arsenic instead of phosphorous. >> we've cracked open the door to what is possible for life else's we're in the universe. and that's profound, and to understand how life is formed and where life is going. this is basic bio molecules. >> the findings will up the search for extra-terrestrial life and open new avenues for disease research and add a new chapter to basic biology textbooks. we have some breaking news now out of the east bay city of antioch that a child has been shot. antioch police on the scene of an apartment complex at 2405 lemon tree court near l street, north of highway 4. we have live pictures now from newschopper 2, where you can

see it two patrol cars and a cul-de-sac. police confirmed that a two- year-old boy has been shot and that officers are questioning a number of people who were in the apartment at the time. the boy has been taken to the hospital. at this point there's no word on his condition. and you can see some yellow tape there blocking off looks like a couple driveways and several patrol cars on the scene. we will bring you any further information as soon as we have it from antioch. the oakland unified school district is apologizing today for a cost-cutting move that left middle school students shivering in their classrooms. they've been without heat since monday. the district turned it off during the thanksgiving break but it's an older system that doesn't fire back up easily. officials have not been able to get it back on. they were supposed to have it on by 11 this morning. but when we called the school a short time ago, we were unable to get that confirmed. it was very cold earlier

this week. let's check in with mark. little warmer this morning but now clouds are moving in. >> that's right. the clouds and rainfall north of the bay ear and possibly a few sprinkles north of the golden gate bridge. right now the maps, most of the significant rainfall is up to our north up towards the cape, and crescent city. but a closer inspection of our radar, this is the recent development with activity mainly targeting parts of the north bay, not all this reaching the ground but we could have a few light sprinkles, a few pockets of drizzle moving into sonoma county and northern portions of marin county as well. a look outside, over san francisco, still the cloud deck in place, currently san francisco in the lower 50s, and not warming up too much this afternoon. so the overall rainfall distribution for today, light showers, a fairly good bet for the north bay. trillion portions a chance of a few sprinkles or some drizzle this afternoon. south bay probably high clouds, some filtered high clouds moving through the region.

current numbers, you can see mainly in the 50s. santa rosa 53. hayward 56. and san jose one every warmer spots at 57. on track to reach the lower 60s this afternoon. satellite and radar, the big story this morning, has been a rainfall to the north but definitely the clouds a factor. you can see little activity in terms of the showers beginning to gather offshore and once again the bulk of the action heading up to our north, close enough to bring in the chance of a few showers, especially for the north bay. slight chance of a shower for friday and saturday. primarily once again north of golden gate bridge and then by sunday we increase the showers potential across the entire bay area so that will be the best bet over the next few days, significant rainfall. here we go with our forecast model at 4:00 this afternoon. showing you little coverage and then later this afternoon, into the evening hours, we could have some drizzle or few sprinkles around san francisco and also into oakland. so for this afternoon, mostly cloudy skies, north bay shower and temperatures around 55 to

60 degrees. more clouds, chance of showers this evening. and temperatures from 48 to 53. here's a look at the numbers. not too much of a change from the current levels. quite a few 50s and the warmest locations and the lower 60s for san jose, los gatos and morgan hill. here's a look ahead with the 5- day forecast, there's a possibility of a sprinkle or light shower, not a big deal for friday and saturday. but i just look at the updated forecast mod pells they're ramping up the intensity for sunday, so let's keep an eye on that with increasing rainfall chances. that would be for the second half of the weekend. >> okay. thank you, mark. there may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there were free bart tickets this morning at some stations. workers hanked out 120,000 free tickets in berkeley, oakland and downtown san francisco. they can be used for one-way trips during the next three weekends. bart hopes the free tickets will encourage people to take bart to do their holiday

shopping. >> bart says ridership during the thanksgiving holiday period was up slightly this year, some 62,000 riders took part to san francisco airport from last wednesday to monday. slightly more than a 1% increase from 2009. still ahead, new figures on home sales and this time the news is encouraging. and you'll hear what happened when a man near lake tahoe came face-to-face with a bear inside his business.

taking a live look at the big board on wall street. numbers are up significantly once again for the seconds day in a row of course, the big reason there's pending home sales we will have more on that in a moment. and also good news from home builders as well. dow currently up 104. nasdaq up 28. s&p 500 up 14. the new numbers released this morning show the housing market is gaining strength. according to the national association of realtors, the pending sale of previously owned homes jumped an unexpected 10.4% in october. that's well ahead of analysts' expectations for three to five percent. but realtors are still worried about the availability of credit. another study shows the foreclosures are down but still made up one quarter of all u.s. home sales between july and september. in comparison, foreclosures accounted for just one percent

of all housing sales during 2005, the peak of the housing boom. the freeze on some foreclosures did not seem to affect sales of homes in that category. a restaurant tahoe -- tahoe restaurant owner says he was forced to shoot a bear who charged him. bill hunter says the 34500- pound bear broke into his restaurant four times in the same week. on one visit the bear broke through a window and ate two tubs of ice cream. this time he got violent. >> he got really agitated, charged around the table there, shot him right here, and he went over towards the fireplace, across the -- 35 feet within a heartbeat. he was on me before i had a chance to do anything. >> he called wildlife officials twice before the shooting but they didn't respond. he does not regret killing the bear because he felt his life was in danger but feels badly because it was such a beautiful animal. coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 5, we're following a

breaking story out of union city, where police say a toddler was sexually assaulted inside a store. we'll have live team coverage of the investigation. plus what happens when a new produce store opens in an area deprived of supermarkets. the encouraging news at 5. that's our next newscast. thank you for watching. have a great day!