Jacob, Gore proposal would make safety program mandatory at troublesome spots; vote set July 13

July 10, 2010 (San Diego) -- A San Diego County Sheriff’s Department program that has achieved success turning around crime rates at problem apartment complexes soon will be mandatory for landlords whose rental properties generate frequent visits from law enforcement.

 
 
At the request of Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Sheriff Bill Gore, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance last week that would require certification in the Crime Free Multi-housing Program for owners of rental dwellings that rack up at least 10 calls for service from law enforcement in any three month period. Final adoption is expected on July 13.

July 9, 2010 (San Diego) – East County Magazine added another award to its growing list of honors last night at the Society of Professional Journalists awards banquet at the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego. SPJ-San Diego presented ECM with a first-place award for investigative reporting in the daily news reporting category.

The winning story, “Sonic weapons used in Iraq positioned at Congressional town hall meetings in San Diego County,” by ECM editor Miriam Raftery, revealed that San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore’s office had been rolling out a long-range acoustical device (LRAD) at public events ranging from a sand-castle building contest to Congressional town hall meetings on healthcare reform. (Read the award-winning story.)

By Miriam Raftery
Richard Darvas also contributed to this report
 

June 9, 2010 (San Diego) – By a solid 56.8% margin, Sheriff Bill Gore won reelection to another four year term. Had he received less than 50%, a run-off race in the fall would have been triggered. Gore was appointed to fill the top lawman’s spot when Sheriff Bill Kolender retired.

Gore’s handling of prominent cases including the Chelsea King murder investigation contributed to his victory. In East County, his office’s efforts to obtain grants that boosted border security may also have raised his approval among voters.

May 29, 2010 (Julian) -- Stephanie Brehm-McCabe, 44, was found dead May 27 n her vehicle in a remote mountain area near Julian. Cause of death has not yet been released by the coroner's office.

A resident of Santa Margarita, she had been reported missing by family on May 25.  She was last seen May 24 at approximately 8 a.m. after putting a knife to her wrist. She left in her truck, then phoned an acquaintance and left a message indicating she intended to commit suicide.

By Miriam Raftery, Editor
 
April 28, 2010 (Deerhorn Valley) – Five days after a man’s dead body was found by motorists on Deerhorn Valley Road following a night of freezing temperatures, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore has not bothered to issue a press release. Neither has the County Medical Examiner. The Sheriff’s office has not returned a call from ECM requesting information on the man, who carried no identification.  
 
Why aren’t local authorities interested in getting public help to identify the deceased stranger?
 

 
 
April 8, 2010 (San Diego) -- Sheriff Bill Gore announces that San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has begun to distribute public safety notifications using the Nixle community notification service.
 
Nixle is a free web-based service provided by Nixle, LLC. Residents may register by going to the Nixle web site (www.nixle.com), and clicking the “Residence Sign Up Now” button. Once registered, users will receive messages by e-mail and by text message to their wireless phones. Messages are categorized as Alerts, Advisories, Community Information, and Traffic.

March 15, 2010 (San Diego) -- Sheriff Bill Gore wants to send a reminder about St. Patrick’s Day and safe driving. For many Americans, St. Patrick’s Day has become a popular night out to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, due to the large number of drunk drivers, the night out has also become very dangerous. On St. Patrick’s Day 2008, thre were 134 fatal crashes—and 37 percent of the drivers and motorcyclists involved had a blood alcohol content of .08 or above, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 


PUBLIC MEMORIAL SET FOR CHELSEA KING MARCH 13
 
March 5, 2010 (San Diego) – John Albert Gardner III has pleaded not guilty to the murder and rape of Chelsea King. View a video of his arraignment: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/04/chelsea-king-body-confirm...
 
A preliminary hearing is set for March 18. Sheriff Bill Gore has ordered the County Medical Examiner’s report including sealed until the hearing, including identification of a body found at Lake Hodges and believed to be King’s.

 
 
March 2, 2010 (Rancho Bernardo) – The search for Chelsea King continues, despite the arrest of John Gardner, a registered sex offender booked on suspicion of rape and murder. Sheriff Bill Gore has said he holds out hope that Chelsea may yet be found alive – and volunteers are needed for daily searches starting at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day.
 
To help in the search, come to the Chelsea King Search Center at 11858 Bernardo Plaza Court and register to volunteer.

Questions raised over early handling of case; no major search mounted for weeks after Jeep SUV found disabled 22 miles off-road in remote desert locale

“Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest of the year. Tens of thousands of people were in the desert…It’s likely someone would have come across him. If it was at night and he was on foot, someone could have given him a ride.” -- Detective Patrick Yates

By Miriam Raftery

February 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) - Grounded for stealing his stepfather's motorcycle and going joyriding November 20th in a Riverside County park, 16-year-old Mickey Guidry (also called Mike or Mikey) took his parents’ blue Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV on Thanksgiving to join friends who were camping at 5454 Split Mountain Road in Ocotillo Wells. He left camp at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 27th—and hasn’t been seen since. Now ECM has learned that this wasn't the first time the teen has gone missing. Sheriff officials are treating the case as a runaway.

But the boy's mother, Missy Perucca, believes her son made it out of the desert alive and may now be living elsewhere--and hopes he didn't meet with foul play.  "I just hope someone somewhere knows something and reports it to the police so we can finally have a direction to go in," she said. 

San Diego Sheriff Announces New E-Tool

 

January 13, 2010 (San Diego) -- Sheriff Bill Gore today announces the initiation of a new Internet tool for the residents of San Diego County. Crimemapping.com, a creation of San Diego-based Omega Group, retrieves crime data, maps it by address, and positions it in crime categories for web users to view. Sensitive crimes, such as domestic violence and sex crimes will not be posted.

Sheriff William D. Gore is announcing a new program designed to keep teen drivers safer when on the roadways.

“Lose your license, lose your car, lose your life,” is the message behind re-enforced patrols, curfew checks, teens driving with unauthorized persons in their cars, texting, cell-phone usage, and all other unsafe driving practices.

December 27, 2009 (Spring Valley) – The San Diego County Sheriff’s office has opened up a new storefront at 9736 Campo Road in the Casa de Oro neighborhood in Spring Valley. The purpose of the storefront is to “enhance the partnership between the community and the Sheriff’s Department,” according to a release issued by  Sheriff Bill Gore (photo, left).

November 25, 2009 (San Diego County)--Sheriff William D. Gore announced today a county-wide Holiday Watch Program beginning Wednesday, November 25, 2009 and continuing through Sunday, January 3, 2010. The purpose of Holiday Watch is to provide a safe, secure, crime free environment during the holiday period. The Sheriff’s Holiday Watch program will consist of both education and enforcement. A schedule and locations of enforcement actions for seatbelt laws, drunk driving stops and more is included below.

 
By Miriam Raftery

September 16, 2009 (San Diego) – San Diego County Sheriff’s Department notified media today that it would hold a demonstration of its highly controversial “sonic weapon.” What was demonstrated, however, was only the loudspeaker capability of the device—a feature which has effectively been used in search-and-rescue operations and to broadcast messages during a sandcastle contest. The sonic weapons switch, capable of emitting tones loud enough to damage ear drums or worse, has now been “disabled,” Sheriff’s Lieutenant Ed Musgrove informed the media at the end of the event. (View our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulkl5Lw5gm8) But concerns remain.
 
“If you accidentally flip that switch and someone is within a 30-foot range, they can have their eardrums burst, bleeding in the inner ear, and it can result in an aneurysm or death,” reporter Kim Dvorac from Examiner.com said in an interview on KCBQ radio’s Rick Amato show last night , citing a source in the Department of Defense http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-09-15-09-HR1.mp3 .

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Leon Thompson

In an exclusive interview, San Diego's new top law enforcement offer shares his goals with East County Magazine--including priorities and new initiatives for East County. 

Appointed to replace retiring Sheriff William Kolender, Bill Gore brings 42 years of law enforcement expertise to the job. As Assistant Director of the FBI in Washington D.C., he earned a Meritorious Executive Service Award from the President. He’s led efforts to bring down organized crime rings including the Triads and Yakuza, helped break up the infamous Arellano-Felix Drug Cartel, and intervened to halt airplane hijackings as a S.W.A.T. team member. (Read his harrowing account here.) In San Diego, he established the Joint Terrorism Task Force and developed the nation’s first regional computer forensic lab—which has since been replicated nationwide. After leaving the FBI, he served as Chief Investigator/Special Assistant to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. As Undersheriff, second in command under Sheriff Kolender, he revised use-of-force policies, implemented a mobile ID system and improved public transparency.

Now as Sheriff, he’s set his sights on his most ambitious goal yet: to make San Diego the safest urban county in America.