By Miriam Raftery

November 13, 2015 (San Diego)--On Tuesday, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced grand jury indictments of medical providers and their associates for accepting bribes and kickbacks for referring and/or treating injured workers in California's workers compensation system.

Detectives from the California Department of Insurance along with agents from the FBI investigated and then arrested the eight individual defendants, who along with six corporate defendants, are charged with criminal violations in the indictments.

East County News Service

November 10, 2015 (Santee) – A suspect who reportedly fled after a traffic stop in Santee later crashed and was ejected.  When he refused to cooperate with deputies after the accident, 41-year-old Anthony Ortega was tasered and arrested, said Sergeant Daniel Morsch.

November 12, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – A woman who ran a Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley, after agents found a person hidden in her trunk, led authorities on a chase at speeds up to 120 miles per hour last night. 

The chase began shortly before 5 p.m. and continued for 30 miles, despite tack strips laid down to try and half the driver, who was in a Ford Mustang. Border Patrol and California Highway Patrol officers were involved in the pursuit. The driver exited the freeway in El Cajon, where she crashed into the back of a Jeep s at Madison and Second Street, Customs and Border Patrol reports.  The CHP site and several media outlets reported that the suspect struck more than one vehicle.

By Miriam Raftery

November 10, 2015 (Santee) – The Sheriff’s department seeks public help to locate a Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s reported to have stalked multiple teenage girls in Santee near Santana High School.  The suspect was driving a white 1997-2004 Ford F-150 two-door pickup truck, dented on the passenger side between the front wheel well and passenger door. There was a silver tool box in the truck bed.  When last seen, he was unshaven with short hair and a dark complexion.

In the most recent incidents, the truck was seen driving past the home of a 17-year-old girl near Magnolia Avenue and Tomel Court several times over the weekend, at times honking the horn. On November 9, while in the street near her home, the victim recognized the same truck driving slowly behind her.  She started running and the truck then sped up and passed her. She ran home and later saw the truck pass her residence again, said Sergeant Joe Passalacqua.

In late September, Santana’s principal sent a letter warning parents about a suspect in a white pickup following multiple female students near Mast and Magnolia, as ECM reported. 

East County News Service

November 7, 2015 (La Mesa) – A man armed with a rifle similar to an assault weapon entered the AM/PM gas station at 3775 Massachusetts Avenue in La Mesa at 1:25 a.m. and demanded cash.  After the clerk turned over money, the suspect left on foot and was last seen running eastbound on Waite Drive, according to La Mesa Police.

Officers from La Mesa Police Department searched the surrounding areas with assistance from the San Diego Police Department helicopter ABLE and a San Diego Sheriff’s Department canine team, but were unable to locate the suspect.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned black male adult in his 20s, approximately 5’9” tall, with a thin build. He was wearing a blue and gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a baseball cap. The suspect also wore dark sunglasses and had the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head.

View pedestrian safety video from El Cajon Police: http://vimeo.com/116996655

By Miriam Raftery

November 3, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon has had 13 pedestrian fatalities in the past 20 months. In the prior 36 months, there were 10 fatalities. So in half the time, there have been double the number of pedestrian deaths. 

“That concerns us a great deal,” Police Chief Jim Redman told community members at a public safety forum held last month at the Ronald Reagan Community Center, where the department reached out to share safety tips, hear community suggestions, and advise about a new enforcement campaign aimed at saving lives.  A “Check before you step” campaign aims to educate the public on how to prevent pedestrian injuries and deaths.

Photo: Surveillance photo of suspects

East County News Service

November 1, 2015 (Lakeside) --San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation are asking for the public's assistance to help identify and locate a man and a woman wanted in connection with a car burglary and the use of stolen credit cards at several businesses in the East County. The suspects may be driving a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo or similar style car.

East County News Service

October 26, 2015 (San Diego) – Police at San Diego State University are warning of a strong-arm robbery that occurred shortly after midnight the morning of October 16^th at 6040 Aztec Circle Drive on campus.

East County News Service

October 21, 2015 (La Mesa)—Asked by relative to conduct a welfare check on an elderly couple in their 70s, La Mesa Police found both the man and woman dead in the home in the 6900 block of Wyoming Avenue on Wednesday, October 14^th.

By Miriam Raftery

October 21, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police have arrested Michael Patrick McDonnell, 46.  He is charged with the murder of his roommate, Richard Winslow Hobbs, 72.

By Miriam Raftery

October 20, 2015 (San Diego)--A federal investigation is under way into allegations claiming that a supervisor at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE , in downtown San Diego has been recruiting workers for swinger sex parties at his home that he shares with his wife, who is also an ICE agent.

The anonymous complaint was filed with Homeland Security’s Inspector General, however the department referred the complaints to Ice for an internal investigation and has questioned several people in the local ICE office, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Union-Tribune has reviewed the complaint and reports that it contends workers were approached during work and via text messages. The sex parties reportedly included sexual romps which allegedly occurred in a bedroom while children were at home.

By Miriam Raftery

October 17, 2015 (El Cajon) – Two suspects spotted cutting open and climbing through a fumigation tarp over an apartment complex are now behind bars, thanks to an alert citizen who called El Cajon Police. Officers concluded that several apartments were burglarized and recovered stolen property, including jewelry and computers, Lt. Steve Kirk reports.

But the accused thieves may be lucky to have lost only their liberty, not their lives. The El Cajon Police Department reminds citizens that entering structures being fumigated, without proper training and protective equipment, is “extremely dangerous and could result in serious illness or death from exposure to harmful chemicals,” a police press release states.

East County News Service

October 14, 2015 (El Cajon) – A 72-year-old man found with serious head injuries at his home at 1037 Pine Drive in El Cajon last night died early this morning after being transported to a local hospital. 

“Detectives are actively investigating this case as a homicide,” says Lieutenant Frank La Haye with the El Cajon Police.  No suspect information is yet available, however he added, “There is no known or suspected immediate threat to the general public.”

The mortally wounded man was found at 8:35 p.m. after officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault.

By Miriam Raftery

October 10, 2015 (El Cajon ) – The family of Elijah “Bear” Diaz, 20,  who vanished on August 29^th, will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and raffle at Barona Clubhouse on October 23, 2015 at 6 p.m. 

“Since we believe Bear is not missing on his own terms, the family has hired a private investigator which these funds will go toward,” Katey Hoffman told East County Magazine. She is working with Lelanie Thompson,  Bear’s mother.

The cost is $10 and includes spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, drinks and desert.  Raffle tickets are $5 and prizes include jewelry, art, cooking wares, and gift cards.  Donations of additional raffle prizes are welcome.