REGIONAL ROUNDUP.

ANTELOPE VALLEY

Student fondling prompts search

LANCASTER -- Sheriff's deputies swarmed across a Lancaster elementary school Tuesday to search for a person who reportedly walked onto the campus and fondled at least one female student.

Two female students at Sierra Elementary School reported to school administrators that a stranger on campus approached them and fondled one of the girls, KABC (Channel 7). It was not immediately clear if the second girl was touched or if she merely saw the other girl attacked.

The station reported that a similar incident may have occurred last week on the campus, 747 W. Avenue J-12.

-- Daily News

ANTELOPE VALLEY

Trial ordered in man's slaying

LANCASTER -- An ex-convict was ordered to stand trial Tuesday on charges he beat and stomped to death a 73-year-old Llano man who went missing last fall and whose remains were found at an abandoned property belonging to the defendant's mother.

Joete Paul Perras, 24, who is on parole for a 2005 vehicle theft conviction, is accused of killing Thomas David Pittman over a dispute over two horses that Perras' mother claims the victim stole from her.

The victim's remains were found beneath some floor boards at the property near 185th Street East and Fort Tejon Road in Llano.

-- Daily News

ANTELOPE VALLEY

Runaway teen says she's fine

PALMDALE -- An aspiring teen model from Palmdale who ran away a week ago told sheriff's detectives Tuesday by telephone that she will not return to her parents' home.

Rasheeda Hewitt, 15, hasn't been seen since Aug. 21 when she left for Highland High School in Palmdale, though she has called home without divulging her whereabouts.

Early Tuesday, detectives tracked her down on the phone and learned she was staying somewhere in Los Angeles, a sheriff's lieutenant said. Hewitt informed them she was fine and that she was not going home, he said.

Hewitt relies on unspecified medication, and without it becomes very agitated, her father said, adding the family suspects the teen left after they told her she could not see her 19-year-old boyfriend.

Nicknamed "Mi-Mi," Hewitt regularly does fashion modeling and recently won a scholarship to attend a modeling school, her father said.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts can call the Palmdale sheriff's station at [phone].

-- Daily News

SANTA CLARITA

Canyon Country campus opens

CANYON COUNTRY -- College of the Canyons held a formal ribbon-cutting Tuesday at its 70-acre Canyon Country campus, which opened this week.

Funded in part by a voter-approved bond measure, the 24,000-square-foot campus includes 23 classrooms and five laboratories. More than 300 classes are being offered.

The campus, now made up of temporary buildings, is the college district's second -- the main facility is in Valencia and is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state.

Construction of permanent buildings is set to start in 2009, with a 40,000-square-foot building. The campus eventually will accommodate 10,000 students.

-- Daily News

SANTA CLARITA

Y starts drive for new facility

CANYON COUNTRY -- The Santa Clarita Valley Family YMCA has started a fundraising drive to finance a planned $12 million, 35,000-square-foot facility within a new Canyon Country development.

Brookfield Homes Southland is providing 4 acres at Newhall Ranch Road and Golden Valley Road for the new YMCA, the second in the area.

Construction is expected to start in 2010 on the new facility, which will include an indoor swimming pool, exercise areas, teen and youth activity areas, locker rooms and offices.

The Y will be part of the 499-home Keystone development approved by the city earlier this year.

-- Daily News

VENTURA COUNTY

Parked vehicles targets of thefts

SIMI VALLEY -- Prompted by a recent increase in thefts from vehicles, local police are warning residents to take precautions.

The thefts have generally occurred at night from cars parked on the street or in driveways, police said.

Thieves look for vehicles with visible valuable property inside, including laptop computers, purses and compact discs.

Police remind residents to remove valuable property from their vehicles, close windows completely, lock the doors and park vehicles inside a closed garage.

Anyone with information about the recent thefts can call the Simi Valley Police Department at [phone].

-- Daily News