By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Jennifer and Kirk Nichols, courtesy of Dignity Memorial

March 4, 2023 (Jamul) – Robert Keith Thomas, 30, pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and has been sentenced to four years in state prison, CBS 8 reports. He was driving a pickup truck on State Route 94 on Feb. 25, 2022 when a boat trailer he was towing came unhitched and slid across the highway.

 It struck a vehicle driven by Jennifer Nichols, 49, wife of then-interim San Diego Harbor Police Chief Kirk Nichols. She later died in a hospital. Her husband, who was a passenger, had minor injuries.

Thomas also faces a civil suit filed by Nichols’ husband and their two sons, Times of San Diego reports.

Teenage suspects caught on surveillance video.

Source:  San Diego Sheriff's Department

February 28, 2022 (Ramona) -- Detectives from the Ramona Sheriff's Substation and San Diego County Crime Stoppers want your help in identifying and locating those responsible for a vandalism spree in Ramona.

"God allows U-turns." -- Kathi Torres

By Miriam Raftery

View video interview by clicking image, right

February 26, 2023 (San Diego) – Kathi Torres with Freedom from Exploitation, an organization that helps survivors of human trafficking, is also a survivor of sex trafficking. In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine originally aired on KNSJ radio, Torres speaks out on her own experience, how to protect teens from traffickers, and how to get help for victims here in San Diego County, a national hub for human trafficking.

She also calls for repeal of a state law, Senate Bill 357, that decriminalized loitering to solicit prostitution, which she says has cut off the main avenue for victims to get help. 

“Because of this new law, police can’t stop, cite or arrest anyone for loitering to solicit prostitution,” including victims as well as men driving around looking to pick up prostitutes. But when police can’t detain trafficking victims, the victims don’t get referred to programs that can help them escape from being trafficked, says Torres, who was also a panelist at a recent presentation of “Stolen,” an NBC San Diego investigative series on trafficking.

During multi-day operation, task force makes 48 arrests, offers support to 41 individuals, and recovers two firearms

Source: Attorney General Rob Bonta

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 (San Diego) --  As part of a joint investigation through the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF), California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the results of Operation Better Pathways during a press conference in San DIego. The multi-jurisdictional operation, which concluded earlier this month, is part of a broader, regional effort to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation through targeted enforcement, relying both on surveillance of known locations and officers working undercover. 

As a result of the multi-day operation, 48 individuals were arrested for alleged human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other criminal offenses, 41 individuals — including eight children — were offered support services, and two firearms were recovered, including a ghost gun.

Update February 15, 2023:   The vicitm has been identified as Terry Dana Lee, 67, of El Cajon.

East County News Service

February 14, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – A 51-year-old San Diego woman is under arrest after running a red light and striking a motorcycle, causing death of the drive yesterday morning, according to San Diego Police Dept.

By Miriam Raftery

February 4. 2023 (San Diego) -- Detectives from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department conducted an investigation and arrested Deputy Allen Wereski for bringing drugs onto jail property, after suspected cocaine was located inside his vehicle. He has been booked into the Central Jail.

Wereski has been suspended without pay from the Sheriff's Department. It is unclear what prompted the seasrch of his vehicle, and whether the suspected drug stash was for Wereski’s personal use, illicit sale or smuggling into the jail.

Story and photos by Shiloh Ireland and Miriam Raftery 

View video by Douglas Quaid including event highlights and ECM interviews with Monica Dean (photo, left) and Dr. Rhonda Taylor

January 28, 2023 (Lakeside) –Sex trafficking of children inSan Diego “is happening in every single school district inSan Diego County,” NBC San Diego investigative reporter Monica Dean (photo, left) told parents and teachers during a showing of the documentary film “Stolen” at El Capitan High School in Lakeside on January 19.

That shocking evidence was found during NBC San Diego’s award-winning investigative reporting series on which the film is based. Dean, a mother of three young children, hopes to raise awareness to protect vulnerable children and teens in the community from exploitation by traffickers. “We all have to stand up against them,” she says of traffickers. “We all have a role to play.”

San Diego is one of the country’s hotspots for trafficking of adults and children – the FBI has ranked San Diego as one of the 13 worst regions in the United States with up to 8,000 victims per year.

By Miriam Raftery

January 27, 2023 (El Cajon) – A house fire this morning in unincorporated El Cajon has been determined to be arson.Shaun Maize, 44, has been arrested and charged with arson. He will be booked at San Diego Central Jail. 

By Miriam Raftery

January 24, 2023 (La Mesa) – Neighbors near Lemon Avenue Elementary School reporting seeing 15-20 police cars and a SWAT team late this afternoon.  The La Mesa Police Department sent a Nixle warning of police activity near Lemon Ave. and Glen, but at 4:19 posted this message on Facebook:  “La Mesa PD received a call of an active shooter at Lemon Avenue Elementary. It was a FALSE ALARM. Officers are still on scene but there are no injuries and no active threat to the community.”

By Cassie Klapp, County of San Diego Communications Office

January 12, 2023 (San Diego) - As Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, thefts continue to happen both locally and throughout the state, people are encouraged to take easy steps to protect their benefits. EBT cards provide monthly funds from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service for people to buy food.

East County News Service

January 12, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – The victim who was fatally stabbed in Lemon Grove on January 10 has been identified as Vinson Austin, 49, of El Cajon.

East County News Service

January 9, 2023 (San Diego) – San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Cory Richey has been arrested for 13 counts of burglary and three counts of illegal drug possession.

East County News Service 

January 4, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – A Lemon Grove man suspected of attempting to steal a vehicle fled from California Highway Patrol officers. He ran into traffic on State Route 94 last night, where he was struck and injured by a vehicle drive by a La Mesa woman, says Officer Jared Grieshaber.

East County News Service

December 31, 2022 (Lakeside) – A man fatally shot two women, then killed himself at a home in Lakeside after an argument last night, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department reports.

Update 12/30/2022 12 p.m. – Richard Arnold, 38, has been arrested for murder and booked into the San Diego County Jail. The victim has been identified as Kevin Stewart, 35.  Stewart and Arnold were acquaintances that lived in separate motor homes on the same property.

East County News Service

December 30, 2022 (Potrero) – The San Diego County Sheriff’s Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting death of a 35-year-old man in Potrero. A possible suspect has been detained.