A Los Gatos woman is facing serious charges of felony DUI after police said she caused a wreck at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Lincoln Avenue.

The crash happened shortly after midnight Saturday. Napa Police reports indicate that Deborah Austin, 55, of Los Gatos, was driving a silver-colored Sedan at high speeds west on Lincoln Avenue. Reports show that Austin ran a red light and collided with Lisa Clark, 41, of Napa, who was driving north on Jefferson Street in a Chevrolet SUV. The impact caused Clark’s SUV to roll onto its side, trapping her inside the vehicle.

Austin was knocked unconscious and her vehicle subsequently caught fire. Napa City Fire crews arrived and rescued both women from their vehicles. Fire crews initially thought that Austin had sustained life-threatening injuries, but it was later determined that they were not. Clark sustained minor injuries.

Police arrested Austin on suspicion of DUI causing injury to others, a felony, and released her to Queen of the Valley Medical Center for treatment.

A rash of armed robberies

Napa Police officers are investigating three separate armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery that all happened on Friday evening.

The first robbery occurred at 8:20 p.m. Two men approached a boy walking along Pueblo Avenue near Crocker Street. Police records show that one of the men hit the boy in the face and brandished a small knife.

They took the boy’s cell phone, keys, wallet (which contained no money) and watch, and ran west. Those robbers were described as Hispanic males, about 18 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing baggy pants. Both men also wore dark-hooded sweatshirts, one with writing on it, and one of the robbers wore a white and black bandanna on his face.

Then, about two hours later on the 2400 block of Marin Street, police responded to an armed robbery involving two robbers who were wielding a knife. Reports show that the two men approached another man and took his cash and credit cards. They were last seen running on Pueblo Avenue and getting into a white, two-door vehicle. It was reported that one of the robbers was wielding a gun, but no shots were fired and no one was injured. Those robbers were also described as Hispanic males wearing dark sweatshirts and pants.

About 20 minutes later, another man reported being robbed by two men, one of whom said he was wielding a gun. Police are further investigating this incident.

Earlier in the night, around 8:50 p.m., police also responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery at Maher Street. In that incident, the alleged victim refused to give the robbers anything and they left the area, according to police reports. Police are investigating to determine if the robberies are related.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to contact police at 253-4451.

Teen escapes

from juvenile hall

Authorities are looking for a teen who escaped from Napa County juvenile hall on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old boy bolted over the chain-link fence, including the razor wire at the top, Napa County Sheriff’s Capt. John Robertson said.

“He cut his arm and side on the razor wire,” Robertson said.

The youth ran to an awaiting car, jumped in, and the car sped away, he said. “The car was identified as a 2003 blue Ford Focus.”

The boy, who was in on a warrant out of Alameda County, is also a suspect in a Napa downtown gun and pawn shop burglary last month, Robertson said.

Anyone with information about the teen is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 253-4519.

Power outage

Power went out for about 445 customers in northeast Napa Friday afternoon after a utility pole on Main Street caught fire, PG&E spokeswoman Jana Schuering said. The lights dimmed about 4 and were expected to come back up by 6 p.m., Schuering said. The outage affected homes on Main Street, Beard Road, La Homa Drive and neighboring streets.

The cause of the fire is believed due to dust buildup during the summer. “When it rained this afternoon, there most likely was an (electrical) short, which caught the arm of the pole on fire,” Napa Fire Capt. Charlie Rhodes said.

The fire was contained to the top wires on the pole.

TV switcheroo fails

Police say Kevin Ray Dunham tried the old switcheroo scam, but instead of carting home a new television, he was carted away to the county jail.

On Wednesday, Dunham attempted to return a television, which was crated up in the sales box, to the Wal-Mart Superstore in American Canyon.

He took the box to the electronics department, but was told by a clerk to take his merchandise to customer service, sheriff’s Capt. John Robertson said.

Dunham complied and toted the box to the front of the store. The clerk became suspicious and opened the box only to find it was filled with scrap metal, Robertson said.

Police were called and found Dunham still inside the store. He was not arrested for burglary because he had not left the store with any merchandise.

However, police discovered he was wanted on an outstanding out-of-county warrant and took him into custody.

Register City Editor Jill Decker contributed to this report.