East County News Service

March 25, 2016 (El Cajon) – Civil rights leaders including Rev. Shane Harris from the National Action Network met with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra yesterday in Los Angeles to discuss police reform and accountability. The group asked for a special prosecutor to investigate the officer-involved shooting of Alfred Olango in El Cajon last September.

East County News Service

March 21, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- A man suspected of robbing several East County businesses has turned himself in this afternoon and is now in custody, the Sheriff’s Department advises. The suspect is Randall Lee, 22, of Lakeside.

East County News Service

March 20, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Graffiti threatening President Donald Trump has been found along a wall facing Interstate 8 east between Los Coches Road and the Lake Jennings exit in unincorporated El Cajon, NBC 7 reports.

East County News Service

March 12, 2017 (La Mesa) – A passenger in the backseat of a 2005 Infiniti Q45 traveling east on I-8 near Fletcher Parkway was injured by a bullet fired from a passing vehicle at 4 a.m. At least five rounds were fired, said California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Pearlstein.

East County News Service

Photo courtesy 10 News, ECM news partner

March 9, 2017 (Rolando) – A gunman fired multiple rounds into the Blue Nile Hookah Lounge shortly after midnight, but fortunately no one was injured.

Panicked customers dove for cover to avoid bullets that went through a front window and also struck vehicles in the 7200 block of El Cajon Blvd.

By Miriam Raftery

March 2, 2017 (La Mesa) –The popularity of selling goods using the internet has substantially increased over the last decade, which has also increased criminal activity during the sale of these items.  So today, La Mesa Police Department announced designation of two parking stalls on the east side of the police station as a “transaction zone” for La Mesa residents engaging in e-commerce.

East County News Service

February 20, 2017 (Santee) – A SWAT team stand-off in the 8500 block of Massery Lane in Santee has ended peacefully. 

East County News Service

February 16, 2017 (San Diego) -- Detectives and Crime Suppression Team Deputies from the Sheriff's Alpine Station, with the assistance of the Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail, served a search warrant at 5090 College Ave. #5 in San Diego this afternoon. Deputies from the Special Enforcement Detail (SED) served the search warrant, since the occupants were believed to be armed with firearms and selling narcotics.

East County News Service

February 11, 2017 (El Cajon) – A pedestrian struck by a vehicle on February 3 has been identified as William Settles, 56, an East County resident. He remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Source: San Diego County Sheriff's Department

February 9, 2017 (Lemon Grove) - The Sheriff's Homicide Detail wants the public's help in identifying a suspect who was killed in a home invasion in Lemon Grove.

It happened just before 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 7th at a home in the 2400 block of Edding Drive. Investigators say two armed suspects forced their way into the home. The homeowner's son and one of the suspects suffered gunshot wounds after a struggle. That suspect died. The homeowner's son is recovering from non-life threatening injuries.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A home invasion turned deadly after two men armed with pistols broke into a home on Edding Drive in Lemon Grove shortly before 2 a.m. 

One of the intruders shot and injured Francisco Suarez, Jr., 22.  His father, Francisco Suarez, 44, fired back and killed one of the gunmen, who died at the scene.

Update:  LMPD has arrested Elvis Rojas, 19, on robbery and carjacking charges in this case. 

East County News Service

February 3, 2017 (La Mesa) — A man with long curly hair, shorts and a blue jacket open with no shirt violently attacked a woman with a crowbar in the parking lot of a Denny’s on Spring Street in La Mesa around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Source: U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

January 31, 2017 (San Diego) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the ports of entry in the San Diego and Imperial Valley Counties over the weekend intercepted approximately 9,600 pounds of narcotics including more than 500 pounds of marijuana hidden in a cargo shipment and another almost 8,400 pounds in a separate shipment, valued at almost $7 million.

East County News Service

January 26, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – Last night, a suspect brandishing a handgun got into the backseat of a vehicle driven by a couple who had driven into a parking lot at the Keg N Bottle liquor store on Massachusetts Avenue in Lemon Grove. The suspect demanded cash, then exited the vehicle after getting money and fired several rounds.