ARREST MADE IN LA MESA TROLLEY SHOOTING

July 22, 2009 (La Mesa)—A suspect has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and robbery of a transit guard at the trolley station on Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa, near Grossmont Center. San Diego Police Department apprehended Marquis Loftis, 18. The suspect has also been charged with criminal threats and battery.

The shooting occurred Saturday night around 10:12 p.m. Grossmont Shopping Center was placed on lockdown, with employees and customers asked to remain inside, while the premises were searched but the suspect eluded authorities initially.
 

Loftis is also suspected in the robbery of a Metropolitan Transit guard on Wednesday, July 13 at a San Diego trolley station. “In both cases, the security guards’ guns and magazines were taken,” Lieutenant Dave Bond, La Mesa Police, told East County Magazine. No passengers were robbed during the crimes, which occurred on the trolley platforms.
 

Asked the condition of the officer who was shot, Bond revealed, “He is now out of the hospital.”