East County News Service

March 14, 2024 (Campo)—Yesterday, Sheriff’s deputies with the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force went door to door in Campo to advise residents that Alan Earl James, a registered sexually violent predator (SVP) with the state and county, will be released into their neighborhood at 1138 Custer Road, Campo.

By Bransen P. Harper

March 5, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – On January 22,  immense flooding ripped through San Diego County, devastating many peoples' homes, businesses, vehicles and personal property. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Lemon Grove substation was inundated by floodwaters, which caused heavy damage to the interior of the station. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2024 (Spring Valley) -- Deputies are looking for a man suspected of kidnapping and stealing a vehicle in Spring Valley yesterday.  

Shortly before 6 p.m., the victim called to report his car was stolen from the 500 block of Sweetwater Road with his 2-year-old daughter inside.

East County News Service

March 4, 2024 (La Mesa)—California Highway Patrol is seeking a black Ford Fusion sedan driven by a black man suspected of shooting and injuring a motorist on I-8 in La Mesa yesterday afternoon.

The injured motorist, an El Cajon man, was driving a red Chrysler PT Cruiser westbound on Interstate 8, just east of Grossmont Blvd. California Highway Patrol responded to reports of the shooting around 3:35 p.m.

Update 7 p.m.: The Medical Examiner has confirmed the death of Benjamin Ariel Harouni, 28, of gunshot wounds.

By Miriam Raftery

March 1, 2024 (El Cajon) – Multiple Jewish media outlets report that the man killed at the Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodonics clinic in  El Cajon late yesterday  was Dr. Benjamin Harouni, an Orthodox Jew at the clinic run by Harouni and his father. Authorities have not yet confirmed the victim’s identity, however the Jewish publication Yeshiva World News first published his name along with a photo confirming that Misakim members from  Los Angeles spent the scene at the scene watching over the body to assure that Jewish law was respected.  Jewish News Syndicate has also named Harouni as the fatality victim.

The shooting suspect, Mohammed Abdulkareem,29, was arrested after an intensive manhunt. He has been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder, for two other workers who were injured.  El Cajon Police have indicated the suspect was a disgruntled former patient, but an investigation into his motives continues, with speculations raised online over whether these may have been anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Fabienne Perlov,  Regional Director of the The Anti-Defamation League in San Diego, has issued a statement indicating that its  Center on Extremism "has not identified any extremist or hate-related motivation behind the shootings at this point." 

The carnage might have been worse, if not for a swift response by El Cajon Police. After receiving reports of gunshots in the clinic at 4:14 p.m., officers arrived two minutes later and found the three gunshot victims, an ECPD press release indicates.  According to Yeshiva, Harouni “was found inside the office as the shooting was still ongoing and was taken outside by officers, where they attempted to perform lifesaving measures,” however he died at the scene.

By Miriam Raftery

February 28, 2024 (San Diego) -- A San Diego State University student who intervened to help a victim of domestic violence has suffered injuries including a sprained back and neck, as well as loss of the vehicle he relies on for his livelihood.

East County News Service

February 27, 2024 (El Cajon) – Two teenage boys were arrested following a robbery at the Game Stop Store, 318 Broadway in El Cajon yesterday. El Cajon Police are still seeking two additional suspects.

East County News Service

February 16, 2024 (San Diego) – San Diego Police Department is asking for public help to identify a man who watched women shower through a backyard window in a College area neighborhood in December. The same man was also seen looking through a neighbor’s window the previous night.

A Ring doorbell image taken on Dec. 28 at 1:53.a.m in the 5700 block of Dorothy Drive shows the suspect.  He is described as 30 to 40 years old, with a shaved head and beard. He has a muscular build, with a tattoo on his left forearm and appeared to be wearing stud earrings. He may have been barefoot and appeared to be holding his shoes.

East County News Service

February 12, 2024 (Ramona) – Jorge Aguilar, 21, has been arrested for felony vandalism after reportedly ramming his pickup truck into the back gate of the San Diego County Sheriff’s substation in Ramona on Saturday, says Detective Thomas Sutton.