Update January 11, 2021:  CHP indicates a Honda Civic crossed the double yellow lines, colliding with a Chrysler Pacific minivan.  A 74-year old San Diego woman, a passenger in the minivan, died at the scene.  The minivan’s driver, a 46-year old woman, suffered moderate injuries.  The Honda driver, a 30-year-old woman, suffered major injuries; she is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol but has not yet been charged, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Update 4 p.m.  Dehesa Road will likely be obstructed for two hours, ECM has learned. 

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2021 (El Cajon) -- A head -on collision is blocking Dehesa Road in unincorporated El Cajon in both directions, about 500 feet west of Sloan Canyon Road. 

Two patients has been transported to Sharp Memorial hospital. 

Edwin Mathery, an eyewitness who lives nearby, told ECM that one of the vehicles is a white minivan.  

East County News Service

January 5, 2022 (El Cajon) – Robert Roger Marchand, 71, of El Cajon died at a local hospital of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident December 28 on Interstate 805.

Marchand was driving northbound on I-805 at Telegraph Canyon Road in Chula Vista around 7:02 p.m. when for unknown reasons, his vehicle veered onto the shoulder and down an embanking, landing on the roof.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Screenshot from video posted by 10 News, an ECM news partner

Update December 28, 2021: The FAA reports that four people were on board the plane.

December 27, 2021 (El Cajon) -- A Lear jet owned by Med Jet LLC, an air ambulance company, crashed at 7:15 p.m. tonight at Pepper Drive and North Mollison Avenue in the Bostonia area of El Cajon.  The pilot and any passengers aboard the 10-seat plane are presumed dead following multiple explosions.  There are no reports of fatalities on the ground, ECM news partner Times of San Diego reports.

The crash spewed fiery wreckage across the neighborhood, damaged a vehicle and knocked out power to around 2,500 customers of SDG&E, the utility website indicates. Power is expected to be restored by 6 a.m. tomorrow. Traffic signals are also out in the vicinity.

By Elijah McKee

December 21, 2021 (El Cajon) — The El Cajon City Council tackled several County-level issues at its recent meeting on December 14.  

First, City Manager Graham Mitchell spoke about a rare opportunity to temporarily over-staff the police department with 10 new officers drawn laterally from other nearby agencies, in an effort to save the city money over the next three years. 

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, as many as 160 San Diego police officers may be facing termination in light of the city’s vaccine mandate. Meanwhile, El Cajon does not currently have such a mandate.

By Elijah McKee

Photo, left: Rebecca Branstetter, East County Homeless Task Force, testifies to El Cajon City Council

December 18, 2021 (El Cajon) — The El Cajon City Council addressed several agenda items at its last meeting that had potential to either help or hurt those in the homeless community who rely on cars or RVs. 

According to the East County Homeless Task Force (ECHTF), the Cajon Valley Union and Grossmont Union High School Districts serve a known homeless population of over 550 families, at least 30 of which are unsheltered and sometimes living in vehicles. 

However, after lengthy discussion, the two pressing items — a Safe Parking Program proposal and a zoning code update on RVs — were pushed off to a future meeting so that City staff could look at them in greater detail. Many who spoke at the meeting hoped to see clear actionable steps and less policy mazes on these issues, but the City Council sought to strike a balance. 

By Miriam Raftery

December 16, 2021 (El Cajon) – Sheriff’s deputies deployed a spike strip on Interstate 8 East in El Cajon Tuesday night to help stop a suspected carjacker who forced an Amazon driver out of a delivery truck in Kearny Mesa. The driver drove a short distance on the shredded tires before he was surrounded by officers and arrested in the parking lot at Shadow Mountain Church on Greenfield Drive in El Cajon around10 p.m.

East County News Service

December 13, 2021 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police are investigating a suspicious death after Sharp Grossmont Hospital reported a 29-year-old man with a single gunshot wound admitted by family members last night around 8:15 p.m. The man died of his injury upon arrival at the hospital.  

“At this time, it is believed the incident originated on the 500 block of Jeffree Street in the City of El Cajon,” says Sergeant James Juns with El Cajon Police. 

Story and photos by Elijah McKee

December 8, 2021 (El Cajon) — “Our community is under threat again. This time, it's right here in the United States,” said Vince Kattoula, a Chaldean activist, at the Keep East County United rally and press conference on Tuesday.

"These types of extraction operations pose an inherent risk to public safety.” --Shelly S. Howe, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency 

Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

December 3, 2021 (El Cajon) --  Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotic Task Force and El Cajon Police Department executed a state search warrant at a warehouse at 1478 Fayette Street in El Cajon.  Investigators uncovered an active and sophisticated hexane hash oil extraction laboratory operation. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner ABC10 News

December 1, 2021 (El Cajon) – A man who reportedly threatened another person with a gun during a domestic violence dispute in City Heights early this morning fled the scene when San Diego Police officers arrived shortly after 7 a.m. 

The suspect, who was driving a white SUV, led officers on a high speed pursuit first to Kearny Mesa. California Highway Patrol joined the chase but halted when speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour near a school, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

East County News Service

November 25, 2021 (Crest) – Santa will arrive by firetruck to cap off a two-day Christmas Market and Festival in Crest.  The event will be held at the Crest Clubhouse (113 North Park, El Cajon) on Friday, December 3 from 3-8 p.m. and Saturday, December 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Story and photos by Henri Migala

November 23, 2021 (El Cajon) -- November is National Homeless Youth Month. Nearly 100 people participated in a rally and march in downtown El Cajon on November 17 to bring attention and awareness to this national crisis, including El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmember Steve Goble, and representatives from various non-profit organizations and agencies dedicated to serving homeless youth.

According to the National Child Trauma Stress Network, “as many as 2.5 million youth per year experience homelessness. Along with losing their home, community, friends, and routines as well as their sense of stability and safety, many homeless youths are also victims of trauma. While trying to survive on the streets, youth are exposed to countless dangers, with an increased likelihood of substance abuse, early parenthood, impulsivity, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a vulnerability to being trafficked.”

It is estimated that there are at least 1,500 homeless youth in San Diego, although some believe that the number is much higher since homeless youth are difficult to find and count.

East County News Service

Photo: CC via Bing

November 14, 2021 (El Cajon) – A walk, rally and resource fair aimed at raising awareness of runaways and ending youth homelessness will take place Wednesday, November 17 in downtown El Cajon. According to Home Start, the nonprofit organizing the event in honor of National Runaway Month:

The victim, Jose Serra, was interviewed today by 10 News. Still in the hospital, he said the assailant had asked him on the trolley for directions to Spring Street. Soon after they got off in El Cajon, Serra says, "He just pulled out the knife and started slashing. It was a complete surprise."  A bystander came to his aid after he fell to the sidewalk. He adds, “It feel good, feels good to be alive."

Investigators are looking into whether the assault on Serra, who is Filipino, may have been a hate crime.

By Miriam Raftery

November 12, 2021 (El Cajon) – The victim of a brutal stabbing attack in El Cajon was on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit, after suffering stab wound injuries to multiple major organs, his intestines, head and hand.

The vicious assault by a stranger also cut an artery and nearly severed an ear, according to Todd Jones, who has set up a GoFundMe account to help his 71-year-old friend and colleague.

By Ken Stone and Chris Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells warned against the “evil” of government mandates.  Photo by Chris Stone

November 11, 2021 (El Cajon) - Raging against “a plot to take over America and the rest of the world,” El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells spoke Wednesday at a rally of parents calling for freedom from vaccination mandates.