East County News Service

August 15, 2019 (San Diego) -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the individual responsible for a bank robbery. This morning around 10:30 a.m., a man entered the US Bank branch inside a Vons store at 6155 El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego.    

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

August 15, 2019 (San Diego) - Prison and jail suicides are not just about inmates hanging themselves with bedsheets.

#Warning: graphic descriptions, but no graphic images in link and/or story.

“They jump off of their bunkbeds, they hit their heads on the ground, you can see all the blood,” said a health care professional who asked that their name be withheld.

Source:  City of La Mesa

August 8, 2019 (La Mesa) - Continuing with the National Night Out celebration, the La Mesa Police Department and Heartland Fire and Rescue will be hosting the 8 th Annual Safety Fair on Saturday, August 10th, 2019. The event will run from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the La Mesa Police Department parking lot.

By Miriam Raftery

August 7, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – A  new lawsuit alleges that Boy Scouts of America (BSA) covered up names of some sexual abusers, the Washington Post reports. In a press conference this week, attorneys from Abused In Scouting say that researchers have found 350 names of suspected pedophiles were left of a blacklist with some 5,000 names previously made public. Both lists cite alleged abuse cases in our region including San Diego, El Cajon, La Mesa, Mount Laguna, Palomar Mountain and Poway.

“We as a group can start to change things and make sure that the next generation of kids does not have to suffer the way they did,” says San Diego attorney Van Arsdale  with AVA Law, a local firm that is one of three law firms nationally working with Abused in Scouting. 

East County News Service

August 2, 2019 (Palomar Mountain) – A ranger arriving for her morning shift on July 31^st at the Palomar State Parks entry station/information kiosk discovered the site had been burglarized overnight, according to the California Highway Patrol.

By Miriam Raftery

August 1, 2019 (El Cajon) – A jury in a civil trial has ruled that an El Cajon Police officer was justified in shooting and killing Alfred Olango on Sept. 27, 2016.  Olango’s sister ,Lucy,  had called 911 to ask for help for her brother, who was reportedly suffering a mental health crisis and walking into traffic.

While another officer pointed a taser at Olango, Officer Richard Gonsalves asked Olango to remove his hands from his pocket,. Olango pulled out a silver and black vape smoking device that resembled a gun and pointed it at the officer, assuming a shooter’s stance at point blank range.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Xusha Brown, Jr., innocent victim of gangland shooting

July 25, 2019 (La Mesa) – “We will continue to fight until justice is done,” Deborah Flores, mother of slain Sycuan tribal member Xusha Brown Jr. said at a press conference in 2016, when the tribe boosted a reward to $100,000 to help find his killer. La Mesa Police also posted the reward information on freeway signs. Three weeks later, three men were arrested for the drive-by shooting of Brown, 22, which occurred on I-8 in La Mesa in 2013.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

July 18, 2019 (San Diego) – Over two years after a sexual harassment and fraud lawsuit was filed against Ben and Jessica Kalasho, the couple was arraigned last Friday in San Diego Superior Court on multiple counts of contempt of court. The former El Cajon Councilman and his wife are charged with failing to provide subpoenaed documents and actively interfering in the judicial process.

According to legal experts, the punishment for contempt of court can vary greatly. If it is a matter of urgency or if the contempt was done in front of a judge, the punishment can be immediate. Punishment can range from imprisonment of up to five years, to jail time merely until the defendant complies with the order or fine.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

Update July 19, 2019: Police have identified the decease as Hollis Forman, 38.

July 16, 2019 (San Carlos) – An alleged burglar was shot and killed after being confronted by a homeowner and the homeowner’s son in the 6300 block of Lake Shore Drive around 6:30 a.m. 

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

Photo courtesy San Diego County Sheriff’s Department website, other photos via Creative Commons

July 10, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- Imagine you lived in an apartment complex so riddled with crime and danger, that law enforcement officers would not enter the property until backup arrived. A place where firefighters would not respond to a fire unless they were accompanied by sheriff’s deputies for protection. Where helicopters frequently flew overhead in search of a suspect, or attempting to restore peace. Where drive-by shootings, vandalism, prostitution, thefts, drug dealing, gangs and violence ruled the day.