Of dirt in a trench collapse. The investigation now under way. Good afternoon. Welcome to nbc bay area news at 4 30. Our Sergio Quintana is in the city tracking the latest with Recovery Efforts this afternoon. Hes going to be joining us in just a little bit. Some other stories were watching today. A cold case possibly coming closer to being solved. Today was the First Court Appearance for the man accused in the 1987 killing of a 6yearold vallejo boy. Were going to hear from the boys mother who was at court today and also why investigators are looking into this same suspect for a another murder less than a month before. Also crazy video of a smash and grab robbery. This is in san jose. You see right here this truck just drives straight through the storefront. What the thieves got away with. Were also looking into the numbers and trends for these brazen breakins. And heads up sfo is warning people to leave early for the airport this weekend. Highway 101 is going to be fully closed starting tomorrow, but first lets go ahead and start in San Francisco. An investigation is under way right now following the death of a utility worker. That person died after being trapped under 8 feet of dirt in a trench collapse. Now, this happened at oak. Surge joe, whats the latest . Reporter well, for much of the day we have seen these crews using very heavy equipment as part of what started out as a rescue and now, unfortunately, is part of a recovery. You can see that theyre using a very large vacuum truck to remove some of the debris thats inside that trench. Emergency crews were first called out here about 10 00 this morning for what they found out was a construction worker that was inside of a trench about 10 feet deep. That trench collapsed and dirt and concrete collapsed in on that construction worker. Now, the San Francisco department of public works has since told us that that is a contract construction worker that is working on a city sewer improvement project. And, unfortunately, after about two hours of these crews being here on scene with the help of everything from a dog to help locate that worker and lots of equipment to try to shore up that trench, unfortunately they did determine that that construction worker did not survive this accident. And now they are turning this into an investigation, and i can show you in just the last two minutes here this vehicle just showed up. This is from the San Francisco crime scene investigations unit. This part, theyre going to be part of this multiagency investigation in this accident that well tell you more about that coming up on nbc bay area news at 5 00. Back to you. All right, sergio, thank you for that update. Appreciate it. Were going to take you to san jose now. Look at this. Police are investigating a very brazen and destructive burglary. Whole thing caught on camera. You see it right there. Someone drove a pickup truck into a bakery stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise. It all happened early this morning on center road near the golf course in san jose. Nbc bay areas ian cole has been looking into the story and the trends for this type of crime. Ian, first off can you tell us what happened . Peter and his wife have owned the cafe bakery for 14 years and he said early this morning his Alarm Company called him to wake him up because of this. A stolen ford truck smashed into his business at 4 00 a. M. He says he took tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash, cigarettes, and lottery scratchers. And he says he almost immediately saw the security footage on his phone and called police. And his cameras also caught what he believes is the same person casing the store about 30 minutes before the smash and grab. He says burglars kept hitting his business even after he installed metal bars and a Surveillance System and cameras. He asked us not to show his face. A lot of businesses got broken into, and i think i have and never expect this will happen to us. Its a tough time for so many businesses for sure. And ian, it seems this type of crime is becoming a trend in san jose. It was just weeks ago San Jose Police arrested six teens and one adult for a series of similar burglaries. The suspect would use stolen cars to crash into stores and take merchandise. In that case they mostly targeted smoke shops. Police say that there were 26 commercial breakins between march and august. Tran says given all that he wants a Greater Police presence across the city. I want police especially in this area, this community they need to step up the patrol. Hire more police. Cleanup the city. And one footnote, too, those lotto scratcher tickets that were taken today may end up being worthless. Tran hopes to identify what batches were stolen so he can report it to the california lottery. The lottery could then invalidate them. So hes hoping that will be the case today and reached out to them, reached out to his insurance company, too, to try to get help with that. More on the story coming up at 5 30. Pretty cool theyre able to do that, make those lottery tickets worthless. Yeah, i didnt know that. Something i learned today as well. This new video this afternoon. Take a look here a highspeed chase did end in a crash. Happened just after noon in San Francisco. Chp officers were chasing a murder suspect from oakland when they entered the city. Sfpd officers joined this pursuit. Police say there were a few different crashes before everything finally came to an end when the suspect crashed on third street. Thats what youre looking at here near the moscone center. Thats when the suspect got out, took off running but oicers caught up to him and took him into custody. Thankfully no one was hurt. Get ready for another freeway closure this time on the peninsula. Starting tomorrow night southbound highway 101 will be shutdown in san carlos. Cal trans says crews will replace the bridge with a single span bridge. This is pretty much goin allow more water and fish to flow underneath it. This work is expected to cause majo delays for drivers. So much so sfo is reminding travelers to leave early to get to the airport. Go ahead and look at the closure here. That means youre going to have to get off the freeway at holly street. The closure starts at 10 00 tomorrow night, and the road is expected to reopen by 5 00 a. M. On monday. Well, it has been an emotional day for the family of a little boy who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered in vallejo nearly four decades ago. The man accused in his murder made his First Court Appearance today. 69yearold fred cain iii appeared in a courtroom in a wheelchair this afternoon. He faces murder, kidnapping, and sodomy charges for the 1987 killing of 6yearold swrarmy. Dna evidence linked him to this crime. Cain was arrested in oregon just last week and today the boys mother says shes grateful for the arrest but also says seeing the accused killer in court was tough. Its just hard for me. Some relief all these years. I dont know if its relief or yeah, just not feeling good thats for sure. Well, i dont think you ever really get closure. Ive been around a long time having never seen families get true closure, but i feel like itll be some comfort someone will be held responsible for this crime. Police say cain is also now a person of interest in the 1987 murder of 9yearold eric coy. Coy was stabbed to death in martinez less than a month before jeremys disappearance. Our Jodi Hernandez will explain the possible link coming up at 6 00. Gas prices rose another 14 cents overnight here in california. The average across the state now up to 6. 03. So this brings us right back to those high prices we saw during this time last year. National average still sitting at 3. 83 a gallon, so why are prices rising so much in our state . Potentially setting up a new battle between state legislators and Oil Companies. Scott budman joins us now. You heard from both sides today, scott. Lets go aed and start with those prices. Youre absolutely right, audrie, theyre high and significant. California was paying 6 a gallon and we were in the thick of it. But the country still had an average price of about 5, and that was very significant. We were higher but only about a dollar higher. Now were more than 2 a gallon higher. Our prices have spiked in the last week. You and i have talked about this a lot. Overall for the country prices havent spiked that much. It is sort of a california story, and thats why local politicians and by local i mean up and down the state are getting so incensed right now. A lot of people are tired of it. Why are we paying so much more than everyone else in the rest of the country . Governor newsom was pressed about this today. He has a plan and he has to have a plan. Its not just politicians getting ticked off, its drivers, especially commuters and Small Businesses that need to fill up their trucks. Governor newsom has been saying and put into place for about a month, hey, its the fault of the Oil Companies. Theyre gouging you, theyre taking advantage and atting costs to what youre already paying. And he admits because of environmental costs and taxes here in california we do pay more, but he says we shouldnt be paying this much more. And he is putting the blame squarely on the Oil Companies right now. Okay. We just pay more, i guess. And theyre fighting back, by the way, and saying, no, its the excessive fees california puts on. And one interesting thing while were here republicans this is really rare. I dont know anything uniting both sides of the aisle like gas prices are. California republicans agreeing with Governor Newsom and asking him for a special session of the legislature, too, and this would be pretty big and temporary sus spend californias gas tax. Thats itll be interesting to see if that gets any play. Coming up San Francisco icon is celebrating a big anniversary. How the famous pier 39 is working to revitalize its image postpandemic. And we are celebrating hispanic heritage month right here at nbc bay area. Were going to introduce you to an oakland artist using color to tell her story of heritage next. All right, heading over to our assignment manager gonzo as always hes making a lot of phone calls. Hes getting ready for our stories for this evening. What are you working on . At 6 30 tonight the Oakland Police commission is going to have a town hall. As you know a lot of residents and merchants in oakland are anxious with the mayor and commission to move forward with the selection of a police chief. It should be wellattended a nd San Franciscos iconic pier 39 is celebrating its 45th anniversary. City leaders gathered at pier 39 today to mark the occasion, shared some memories. In 1978 the aging cargo pier was first transformed into a popular destination complete with attractions, shops, and restaurants along the waterfront. Today the long time tourist hot spot is working to rebound from the pandemic. It does expect to see about 12 million visitors this year, but thats down about 3 million from prepandemic times. Paer executives says things are looking up. Were at 90 precovid levels from a sales standpoint, so there are tourist actually here, and they want something to do and they want to spend money and they want to have a great experience. A public event for the 45th anniversary is being held this saturday with music and performers and a drone light show. We are celebrating hispanic heritage month here at nbc bay area. Its an opportunity to shine a light on some of the people who bring so much color and diversity to our region. Nbc bay areas joe rhizota jr. Has. Well, since i was a child i always knew i loved to express myself, i love to work with colors and papers. Reporter oftentimes the most powerful art comes from the hardest places. I grew up in oakland, california. I would see murals that depicted different parts of latinamerican history. Reporter growing up in Oakland Favianna Rodriguez found inspiration ever where except maybe the most obvious places. Latinos were hardly present in cartoons and television shows. So for me becoming an artist was a way to find my voice and a way to express myself. Reporter in her hands paper is cut and shaped to become something else. A lot of my work you will see butterflies, youll see trees. Youll see an appreciation for the natural world. I am the daughter of immigrants. Reporter within her heritage rodriguez found her pallete. I love to bring in my culture, so i use a lot of different cultures which was influenced on me because i grew up in a latinamerican household. Reporter rodriguezs color filled art relays the story of her culture, her sense of social justice, and of a climate in crisis. I believe that as artists we can also change the world because we have the potential to open up peoples hearts and their imaginations. These are looking really good. Reporter and last year rodriguez opened hearts and minds in San Franciscos creating art for the new tops park. Looking good. My goal was to make the park more inviting and welcoming to communities of color. Amazing. I make art about the redwoods, art about livers, different kinds of species no longer here because theyve gone extint. Her artistic embrace of culture and nature began here on the hard streets of oakland where rodriguez still lives and works, but her art is also filled with the world view reflecting her own story of life and heritage. We need latina artists, more latina creatives and need our story out there. Beautiful. Our janelle wang was working on the 5 00 news. We have disturbing news out of san jose, a disturbing murder actually. A son accused of killing his mother by secretly putting fentanyl in her milk and other drinks. The confession he made to police about why he did it. And an inspirational story about a 17yearold from the south bay, a student who took his passion for engineering to invent items that are helping people in underdeveloped countries around the world, people who have to deal with horrible air quality and pollution and undrinkable tap water. His story is tonights bay area proud. All right, looking forward to that. All week weve been hearing about taylor swift and kelce at the game. Are we going to see her again the next game . Still ahead well share the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the jets this week. After making waves last week, will taylor swift make another appearance to watch travis kelce. What the new reports are saying next. We made it bmo has arrived. Hello . You said it. Hello to more ways to save money, grow your wealth, grow your business. Just what we needed, another big bank. Not so fast. How many banks do you know that reward you for saving every month . Hes got a good point. Did i mention bmo has more feefree atms than the two largest us banks combined . Uh, bmo . Just beemo, actually. Quick question, will all this stuff fit in your car . should i get rid of the mug . Bmo the end of an era for those red dvd envelopes from netflix. Im sure a lot of you didnt know they actually still existed at this point. But for the 1 Million People who still use them, netflix is sending out its final discs tomorrow. Netflix sent out its first dvd a copy of beetlejuice in 1998. It wiped out blockbuster stores, transformed the Digital Entertainment and streaming industry. Were told customers can keep their final dvds when they get them. Netflixs ceo says it is bittersweet and hes just amazed this day didnt come 15 years ago. Harry potter fans are mourning the loss of actor Michael Gambon known as dumbledore in six of the eight harry potter films. His family saying he died peacefully at his home on wednesday following a bout of pneumonia. His career spanned 67 years before retiring in 2019. He was always recognizing by the deep tones of his voice, and in 1998 he was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth ii. He was cast as the much loved dumbledore after the death of his predecessor Richard Harris in 1982. He was 82 years old. Okay, so the new most famous football fan in america is expected to grace our airways yet again. Rumor has it taylor swift is going to be at the Kansas City Chiefs game on wednesday. Kels sae playing the new york jetst met life stadium and you can watch that game on sunday night football right here on nbc bay area. Coverage will start at 4 00 p. M. To catch some jaetchiefs action and milwaukee get a glimpse of taylor. Well see. Joining us with a look at the weather this weekend and beyond. Hows it looking cynthia . Were looking like were going to see changes today. Beautiful sun and skies over San Francisco for much of the bay area, but were going to need to pull out the sweaters for tomorrow, audrie because were tracking the development of some rain that is expected to arrive later on tomorrow evening. Now, were going to feel those temperatures drop. Were going to feel the wind coming in, so sweater weather, get those umbrellas out because were also looking at a chance for some weekend rain as we do see this rainfall moving over the sierra and also the chance of the first sierra snowfall of the fall season. And looking ahead into next week the first couple of days of october we should see that warm and dry pattern return. Hey, also for this weekend the water year is coming to an end. It runs from october 1st through september 30th. And i just wanted to go over some facts really quickly. Now, statewide about 33 nearly 33. 5 inches of rain thats what the state agency is saying. Historically the max weve seen during a water year for this period here october through september since they started keeping record was 198142. 66 inches of rainfall. Now, all of this of course helped to ease our wildfire concerns this season and help take us out of the drought. And now currently we are seeing that the state is around 94 droughtfree. Those little pieces of yellow you see there to the north and south of us those are just areas that are seeing abnormally dry conditions now. As we look forward into the winter theres no guarantee well see another active season like we did this year, however we will start the year off on a good note. As i mentioned expecting some rainfall in the bay area. Over the weekend really starting tomorrow as it pushes on through into our early hours saturday. Coming up at 5 00 our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri will be along with all those last minute details to get ready for this. Thank you. And thank you for joining us at 4 30. Jeff and janelle are working on the 5 00 newscast. Were back in two minutes. Right now at 5 00, a shocking murder in san jose. Police say a man killed his own mother by putting fentanyl in her drink. We talk exclusively with the suspects father. Also a deadly accident in San Francisco. A sewer trench collapses on a construction worker leading to a desperate rescue effort. The latest on what went wrong. And trying to address housing issues in the south bay. A hotel converted to help previously unhoused people get off the streets. The news at 5 00 starts right now. Thanks for joining us. Im jessica aguirre. Im janelle wang. A san jose man is in custody after secretly putting fentanyl in his drinks. He was supposed to make his First Court Appearance today but he refused to leave his cell. Reporter the fact that 40yearold Bradley Robert dexter never emerged to enter the courtroom today was just another twist in his case. Dexter was arrested tuesday and faces charges of murder, poisoning and elder abuse in the death of his mother, 72yearold Kathleen Dexter at her san jose home in june. But he was actually being questioned by police this week after allegedly assaulting his father with a metal baton. I spoke to his father who still had cuts and bruises on his face. He asked we not show his face. Im recovering. Im in a lot of pain both physically as well as mentally. Reporter he went onto tell me he believes the anger from his son is due to drug abuse and misunderstandings about his inheritance. My wife ultimately was the victim in this situation and did not deserve what happened. Reporter prosecutor rebecca says Bradley Dexter put fentanyl in his mothers food first and then later put a fatal dose in her wine making it hard for investigators looking for the cause of death. What was originally noted to be the death of an elder ended up being a homicide, and they were able to prove that. Very difficult to find fentanyl traces of it. It is very difficult to find traces of fentanyl. The Coroners Office had to send the blood sample out to an outside lab. In my heart i have forgiven him because i am a christian. But probably something that ill never forget. Reporter after dexter was declared a noshow his arraignment was rolled over until monday, and the judge set no bail without prejudice. If convicted dexter with all the special circumstances faces a possible life sentence without