Source:  San Diego County Sheriff's Department

April 14, 2016 (San Diego) - Take a good look at the surveillance photo of a man wanted for punching a train conductor in the face.

East County News Service

Image:  FBI

April 13, 2016 (San Diego) — Sovereign citizens, a shadowy group of anti-government, anti-tax conspiracy theorists linked to violent attacks on law enforcement officers across the nation, have drawn the attention of Sheriff Bill Gore and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

East County News Service

April 9, 2016 (El Cajon) – The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the arrest of an El Cajon couple charged with forcing an Indonesian woman to work in their El Cajon home up to 18 hours a day without pay.  The victim was rescued after giving a note to a visiting nurse asking for help.

By Miriam Raftery

April 9, 2016 (Lakeside) --  A worker for a pest control company who arrived to remove a termite fumigation tent from a home at 9548 Farmington Drive in Lakeside Friday found an intruder in the home. The suspect fled and the employee pursued him in his work truck, said Sergeant Mike McNeill.

Source: El Cajon Police

April 7, 2016 (El Cajon) – Distracted driving is such an important safety issue that April is recognized as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  In California, Police, Sheriff and CHP officials are joining the Office of Traffic Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as well as law enforcement throughout the country, working together to focus on education as well as enforcement.

East County News Service

March 31, 2016 (Pine Valley) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a 31-year-old man after he allegedly attempted to smuggle four Mexican nationals last through the Border Patrol checkpoint near Pine Valley on March 25^th.

East County News Service

March 29, 2016 (La Mesa) – A man with a syringe confronted a 17-year-old boy outside a taco shop on Parkway Drive in La Mesa at 3:30 this afternoon, threatening to stab him with an HIV-infected needle unless the teen drove him to an undetermined location.

Source: La Mesa Chamber

March 18, 2016 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce will host La Mesa Police Chief Walt Vasquez for a breakfast meeting starting at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, at the Marie Callender’s restaurant, 6950 Alvarado Road, San Diego. Breakfast sponsors include Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World, El Camino Memorial Park and Hornbrook Center for Dentistry.

East County News Service

March 18, 2016 (Spring Valley) – A man suspected of carjacking a Toyota Tundra at gunpoint last night has been detained, according to Sergeant Pat McEvoy with the Sheriff’s Department.  The suspect reportedly carjacked theTundra from a driver walking to his parked vehicle at a fast food restaurant near Campo Road and State Route 94 in unincorporated Spring Valley around 10:30 p.m.

East County News Service

March 14, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department aims to make sure your luck runs out if you get caught drinking and driving on St. Patrick's Day. Watch for increased DUI patrols by deputies across the county on Thursday, March 17th starting at 7:00 p.m. and lasting through 3:00 a.m. the following day.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Pixabay

March 13, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Residents from Alpine to Mt. Helix have reported mail theft during the past week. In some cases, even locking mailboxes have been burglarized by determined thieves, neighbors report.

Hear our interview with Jonathan Markovitz:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

March 7, 2016 (San Diego) –Last month, the American Civil Liberties Chapter of San Diego sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department signed by 25 community leaders asking for an investigation of the San Diego Police Department’s use of force against mentally ill people.  We sat down with Jonathan Markovitz from the San Diego ACLU for an interview on KNSJ, the Network for Social Justice.  You can hear our interview at the link in this story.

The letter was prompted by recent shootings including the fatal shooting of Fridoon Rawshan Nehad (photo, left), an Afghan army veteran who has suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome.  The officer was mistakenly informed by a dispatcher that Nehad had a knife. But surveillance video showed that he was unarmed, walking down an alley carrying only a pen, when he was shot and killed.

Update 11:05 a.m.:  The suspect is now in custody and the lockdown has been lifted.

March 1, 2016 (San Diego) 10:50 a.m. -- San Diego State Police have issued a shelter-in-place alert due to suspect believed armed with a handgun near Alvarado Hospital.  10 News reports police attempted to stop a vehicle on I-8 near College Avenue and the suspect fled toward Alvarado.

If you are in this area, police ask that you stay inside and do not call police unless you have an emergency.

By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

Photo:  Arnoshwithal/morguefile

February 28, 2016 (San Francisco) -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court in San Francisco Monday with far-reaching consequences for the 255 people sentenced to die in prison for crimes committed as juveniles.

East County News Service

February 27, 2016 (El Cajon) — Joshua Hallmark, 24, is under arrest for vehicle theft and evading law enforcement following a chase that ended in a crash on State Route 125 near Grossmont College on Thursday, February 25^th.  A passenger, Daniel Toft, 28, was also arrested and charged with drug possession.