By Miriam Raftery

October 28, 2010 (San Diego) – Christopher Wilson, a veteran police officer was shot last night and died early this morning, San Diego Police report. “Officers were assisting U.S. marshals and probation units in doing a compliance check, when there was an exchange of gunshots,” Lt. Andra Brown told East County Magazine. “The officer was fatally wounded and a police canine was injured as well.” The shooting occurred at the Canyon View Apartments at 479 S. Meadowbrook Drive in the Skyline area of southeast San Diego, near Paradise Valley Road.

October 26, 2010 (San Diego) – City Heights resident Alejandro Muzquiz, 30, was arrested this morning following a traffic stop in the 4400 block of University Avenue. According to Lt. Rick O’Hanlon with San Diego Police Department’s sex crimes unit, Muzauiz is suspected of the recent assaults on three victims—ages 14, 16, and 17 – who were walking near a school in the Talmadge area.

By Miriam Raftery
 

October 24, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – A rash of sign-stealing and defacement has marred the campaign trail in East County communities including Santee, Lakeside, El Cajon. The latest targets are large signs criticizing gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

Vandals in Santee cut the name “Meg” out of numerous 4 x 8 foot signs that read: “What’s Meg Hiding? $200 million to buy election; didn’t vote for 28 years; caters to the rich and corporations. What’s her REAL agenda?” ECM photographer Dennis Richardson spotted at least four of the damaged signs this afternoon--and noticed several others had gone missing completely.

October 23, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Timothy Allen Bliss of Ramona has been arrested following a chase through Lakeside, Poway and Ramona on State Route 67.

October 22, 2010 (San Diego)-- The FBI and San Diego Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the unknown male who attempted to rob the Bank of America branch, located at 6801 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, on Wednesday, October 13th.

October 15, 2010 (San Diego) – Two bank robberies occurred today in the College East and Grantville areas, Officer David Stafford with the San Diego Police reports.

October 15, 2010 (San Diego) – Bank America at 6801 El Cajon Blvd. in the Rolando area was robbed on Wednesday at 12:17 p.m. The suspect, a black man in his mid-20s,5’5” to 5’8” tall, was wearing a brown/black baseball cap with ‘SD’ on it, a khaki shirt, and blue jeans.

October 7, 2010 (El Cajon) – San Diego Sheriff's ASTREA helicopter crew assisted El Cajon Police in apprehending a suspected drunk driver following a high speed chase through La Mesa and El Cajon early Tuesday morning.

October 2, 2010 (Lake Murray) – Not monkeying around, a man wearing a King Kong mask robbed the Kahoots Pet Store at Bisby Lake Avenue and Lake Murray Boulevard at 3:24 p.m. today. He also held up a customer at knifepoint before fleeting on foot with the cash.

15-Year-old faces felony arraignment Sept. 28 for carrying hunting knife while jogging in rural area where kids were stalked by mountain lion

East County News Service

“My 12-year-old daughter was put against the car and she was searched by an adult male officer; the kids said they were touching their butts. My son said they put their hands up between their legs. They were crying and they were all shocked…No one in my household has ever been involved in illegal activities.” – Carmen Gomez Villeda Wagner , mother of two children stopped, including a 15-year-old boy charged with a felony

"I would never in a million years say that wearing camouflage clothing constitutes reasonable cause for anything." -- Rebecca Jones, president, Criminal Lawyers Defense Club, San Diego, who questions the legality of the stop made by Sheriff's officers.

“If they were three white children, would it have happened at all? I think it’s racial profiling.” – a concerned mother in the neighborhood who asked that her name not be published.

September 29, 2010 (SanDiego’s East County) – Four Hispanic men with guns staged a home invasion robbery at 344 Cardiff Street in the Jamacha/Lomita neighborhood in East County this afternoon. According to officer David Stafford with  San Diego Police, the suspects tied up the victim, ransacked his house, and used a motorized drill found at the scene to puncture a  hole in the victim’s back.

September 29, 2010 (Alpine) – “Alpine is experiencing Auto Burglary and Window Smashes,” Paula Dickenson, USN Ret., crime prevention specialist with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Alpine substation said in release sent to media and area residents. “It's an opportunity for the thief…When it occurs, contact Sheriff's Dispatch, 1-858-565-5200, for our Alpine Deputy to take a report,” she said, also offering tips to protect your vehicle.

Updated 1:15 p.m. - The package has been determined to contain party supplies, Sheriff's officials have told ECM news partner 10 News.  Sheriff's representative Jan Caldwell says it is too early to determine if this is related to the pipe bomb that injured Connie Hoagland in Rancho San Diego or the pipe bomb left in the family's Rolando neighborhood earlier this month.

September 27, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) - Steele Canyon High School has been placed in lockdown due to a suspicious package delivered this morning, ECM has learned.  The package was delivered via Federal Express.  According to 10 News and an ECM source close to the investigation, the package was addressed to a child of Connie Hoagland, the woman injured in last week's pipe bomb explosion outside a Rancho San Diego daycare center where she worked. 

Injured woman lives in Rolando, just blocks from where an earlier pipe bomb was found
 

September 24, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) – The explosion that seriously injured Connie Hoagland yesterday afternoon after she started up her pickup truck in Rancho San Diego was caused by a pipe bomb, Sheriff’s officials confirmed today.

Victim taken to motel, forced to pose for photos use to solicit johns online

September 23, 2010 (San Diego) – U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced last week that three men have been sentenced to prison for sexual exploitation of a child and sex trafficking involving a minor.