March 12, 2010 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police have arrested Gustavo Lugo, 54, a transient living along Highway 125. He was booked Friday for one count of annoying/molesting a child, a misdemeanor, and has not yet been charged by the District Attorney’s office, Lt. David Bond told East County Magazine.
The suspect was walking in the same location where a female student was accosted one day earlier while walking on Fletcher Parkway to Parkway Middle School.

 
 
March 12, 2010 (Spring Valley) – San Diego Sheriff has issued a warning to the public about a man who has been following a 10-year-old girl to and from Kempton Elementary School in Spring Valley. The most recent incident occurred March 10 in the area of Piedmont Street and Grand Avenue. The first incident occurred on February 22, however the victim delayed reporting it because of fear.

March 12, 2010 (Fallbrook) – Todd Norton, 43, of Fallbrook has been arrested for threatening to harm his wife and shoot up her house after she reported him to authorities for possession of child pornography, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s office.

March 10, 2010 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police has arrested Anthony Long, 19, of El Cajon and two juvenile males from El Cajon and Santee for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The assault occurred on March 6 at Northmont Park in LA Mesa.

The suspects were arrested after search warrants were obtained and searches conducted on three homes in East County. According to the police investigation, two groups of young men got into a phone argument over a girl following a party in El Cajon, then agreed to meet at Northmont Park for a fight.

 UPDATE March 11:  Lucero is now in custody.

March 10, 2010 (Valley Center) - The San Diego Sheriff’s Department seeks David Leroy Lucero for questioning regarding the murder of his mother yesterday in Valley Center. Though not yet named as a suspect, a Sheriff department special bulletin states that he "may be armed and possibly violent."

March 7, 2010 (Escondido) – The county medical examiner’s office has used dental records to positively identify remains found Saturday as those of Amber Dubois, the 14-year-old teenage girl who went missing while walking to Escondido High School on February 13, 2009.   Her disappearance resulted in a massive search over more than a year and made headlines nationally.

By E.A. Barrera
 

March 3, 2010 (San Diego) --In the wake of the case of murdered Poway High school student Chelsea King and the arrest of convicted sex-offender John Gardner who lives in Lake Elsinore, the subject of “Megan’s Law” and what it is supposed to do is once again in the news.

Self-defense tactics helped first victim escape; learn how you can fight back if assaulted
 
March 1, 2010 (Rancho Bernardo) – Fighting back may have saved the life of a woman attacked by John Gardner, the convicted sex offender now under arrest for suspected rape and murder in the case of missing Poway High School teen Chelsea King. (The search for King continues; Sheriff Gore has stated he still holds out hope that she may be found alive)
Candice Moncayo, a jogger attacked last December in the same park where King vanished, has positively identified John Gardner as her assailant, 10News reports.
 
How did Moncayo escape from Gardner--and what should you do if you are ever attacked?

March 2, 2010 (SDSU) – Four reported sexual assaults have occurred in the San Diego State University area in the past two weeks, including one case where the suspect reportedly broke in to the victim’s home. In addition, a man was robbed at gunpoint and another was beaten during a robbery on campus.

 
 
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.

March 1, 2010 – Jose Luis Covarruibias, 46, of Chula Vista has been arrested and will be charged with raping a Spring Valley woman on February 27.

February 28, 2010 (La Mesa) –A Circle K Store was robbed at gunpoint Friday at 11 p.m. Earlier on the same date, two young men robbed, punched and kicked a juvenile on Spring Street. In yet another incident, a youth was robbed of a cell phone by five men at Water Street and Amaya Drive in La Mesa.

February 28, 2010 (Santee) –Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Collier has died following a rollover accident that occurred while he was in pursuit of a wrong-way driver on westbound State Route 52 around 3:20 this morning. Dispatcher Ryan Debillis, who was riding along, was injured.

The driver, Jose Jasso Lopez, 23, will be charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving, Sheriff Bill Gore announced at a press conference this morning.

February 26, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Two violent crimes, both involving drive-by shooting, have been reported locally today. Two vehicles involved, a white Lincoln or Cadillac and a Toyota pickup truck, are sought by authorities.

VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR SEARCH SATURDAY AFTERNOON
 

February 26, 2010 (Rancho Bernardo) 6 p.m. – Chelsea King remains missing, more than 24 hours after she disappeared while jogging around Lake Hodges near the Rancho Bernardo Community Center on West Bernardo Drive, where her locked car was parked. The Poway High School honor student is described as “responsible, conscientious, loving, intelligent, cherished by all who know her,” according to an e-mail sent on behalf of the family today.
 

NOTE:  National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says her hair is dyed red; family site says strawberry blond --- early news reports said blond.

February 20, 2010 (Lakeside) – Sean Scenna, 22, has been arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Scenna is accused of stabbing a juvenile at Lindo Lake County Park in Lakeside on February 14th.

February 20, 2010 (Santee) - In early February Santee’s Community Policing Unit developed information on a prolific tagging crew consisting of seven criminal graffiti "taggers". Using the Graffiti Tracker investigation system, the San Diego County Sheriff’s office documented that the "tagging crew" had committed over 80 incidents since April 2009 with a significant spike in activity last week.

 
February 17, 2010 (San Diego) – California is under federal court order to reduce the number of its prison inmates by 40,000. A new state law mandates that Calfironia slash its inmate population by 6,500 this year.  To comply, in January San Diego County jails gave early release to approximately 260 inmates.
 
Who are these prisoners? What will their release mean for our community? What could help prevent these individuals from committing new crimes? Find out at a free community forum on February 22.

Deborah Gibney Receives Probation, Fine

February 17, 2010 -- Fallbrook resident Deborah Gibney has pleaded guilty to violating the County of San Diego’s Social Host Ordinance. The guilty plea stemmed from an underage drinking party Gibney hosted in June of 2009.

February 16, 2010 (Bonsall) – The San Diego Sheriff seeks public help to locate Joseph and Summer McStay and their two children. Last night, the Sheriff was asked by a relative member to conduct a check on the welfare of the family, who resided at 3473 Avocado Vista Lane in Bonsall. The family has not been seen or heard from by family or business associates since February 4th.

 
February 14, 2010 (La Mesa) - A masked man armed with a handgun robbed the PETCO store at 8501 Fletcher Parkway shortly after 7 p.m. tonight, then fled on foot.  A witness who saw him shortly before the crime, without the mask, said he had a large scar over his right eye, down to his cheek. He is described as a black man in his late twenties, 5 feet 7 inches, medium build, with a royal blue jacket, dark pants, and a black mask with tan border. 
 
 

 
February 14, 2010 (La Mesa) San Diego County Credit Union and Mart Liquor store were robbed yesterday, La Mesa Police Department reports. Police seek suspects in both cases and Crime Stoppers has announced rewards.

February 14, 2010 (San Diego) –The California Fourth District Court of Appeals this week found the City of San Diego’s curfew ordinance unconstitutional on grounds that the language is too broad.

“The City of San Diego is proceeding to enact an emergency ordinance so curfew laws can continue to be enforced, protecting San Diego’s children,” Councilwoman Marti Emerald has informed East County Magazine.“I want to be able to enforce the curfew law to keep our kids safe," she added.  "I also want to protect their Constitutional Rights.”

February 7, 2010 (San Diego) - Following a three-day manhunt, San Diego Police have arrested Torrance Jones, 33, and charged him with the murder of LaDonte Ellese Collins, 22. Collins and two friends had a flat tire and called for a taxi outside the Ace Budget Motel, according to authorities. When it arrived, Jones and a woman came out and tried to take the cab. An argument ensued and Jones allegedly stabbed Collins in the chest.

 
 
February 6, 2010 (El Cajon) – Police are seeking a suspect who is believed to have shot and wounded a man at the Ha’Penny Inn, 1529 East Main Street in El Cajon, early this morning. The suspect is described as a black male adult, clean shaven with neck-length braided hair. The shooter is in his early 20s, 5 ft. 8 to 5 ft. 9 inches, medium build, and was last seen wearing a black Versace leather jacket, white long T-shirt and jeans, according to witnesses.

February 4, 2010 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the robbery of a woman at Grossmont Center on January 21st.   The victim suffered a cut on her hand when a suspect attempted to slice the strap of her purse to steal it.

February 1, 2010 (El Cajon) – Five women were arrested January 28 in El Cajon on prostitution charges. El Cajon Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit conducted an undercover operation targeting individuals involved in prostitution.

Upon conviction of prostitution related charges, arrestees may be placed on geographic probation and ordered to refrain from certain activities in specified areas of El Cajon. One of the arrestees, Georgina Garcia (photo), was in violation of these conditions and was also charged with violation of a court order.

January 28, 2010 (Santee) – Yesterday morning, Sheriff’s detectives arrested eight people in Santee in connection with a burglary ring that has targeted homes in Santee, Lakeside, and unincorporated areas of El Cajon. Approximately 60 law enforcement officers participated, recovering many stolen property items as well as a firearm, heroin, and drug paraphernalia.

January 24, 2010 (La Mesa) – Two white men, one with a mustache, stole a purse and injured a woman who was walking from Walmart to her vehicle in the parking lot at Grossmont Center on Thursday, January 22nd.

A green older model Chevy or Ford pickup pulled up in front of the woman and a passenger got out, then tried to slash the victim’s purse strap with a knife. During a struggle, she sustained a deep cut on her hand.

Januuary 24, 2010 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police have arrested two men suspected of robbing an Arco AM/PM store on Massachusetts Street on January 22nd. Punckey Donnell, 23, of Lemon Grove and Devon Brown, 27 of San Diego were booked into San County Jail for robbery. Three other unknown suspects fled in a blue Honda and have not yet been apprehended.