East County News Service

February 2, 2015 (La Mesa) – San Diego Police have arrested John David Weissinger, 53, of La Mesa for making a criminal threat against the Council on American-Islamic Relations.  He is also charged with illegally owning, buying or selling an illegal large-capacity ammunition magazine.

By Miriam Raftery

January 29, 2015 (Borrego Springs)—A domestic dispute in Borrego Springs ended in an explosive situation that resulted in a home in flames and a Sheriff’s deputy risking his life to save an arsonist from a burning home.

January 26, 2015 (San Diego) -- The Sheriff's Department is teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to keep impaired drivers off San Diego's roadways on Super Bowl Sunday.

January 23, 2015 (Santee) – Sheriff’s deputies have arrested Shawn Wood, 30, who was found sleeping in a stolen vehicle in the 7000 block of Mariposa Street in Santee on January 22^nd at 7:25 a.m.

East County News Service

January 20, 2015 (Santee) – A woman was assaulted Saturday night in Santee by a man who knocked her down, then tried to remove clothing from her lower body, the Sheriff’s office reports.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: shooting victim Julio Ricardo Monggiotti, from his Facebook page

Photo, right: Elaina Welch, from her Facebook page

January 17, 2015 (Lakeside) – The man fatally shot yesterday in a double homicide on the Barona reservation in Lakeside Friday has been identified as Julio Ricardo Monggiotti, 32.  The identity of a child also found dead will not be released until after an autopsy scheduled later in the week, according to the Sheriff’s office.

Elaine Welch, 32, has been arrested for the killings.

According to his Facebook page, Monggiotti  worked at Mr. Paintball USA , formerly served in the U.S. Army and was a student at San Diego State University.  A graduate of Eastlake High School, he was originally from Chula Vista and later lived in San Diego.

He posted that he was “In search for Enlightenment. Big Soul. Big Dreams. Loving life.”

Update January 22, 2015: Welch has been released and charges dropped, though an investigation continues.

Update January 17, 2015:  The body of the missing child has been found in the freezer, underneath frozen food.  Elaina Rose Welch, 32, has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder. She has been booked into Las Colinas.  The causes of death will be determined by the medical examiner. The man killed has been identified as Julio Ricardo Monggiotti, 32.

By Miriam Rafery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 New

January 16, 2015 (Lakeside) – A woman has been detained following the shooting death of a  man, 32, in the 1500 block of Quincy Canyon Road on the Barona reservation in Lakeside.  Sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after noon, after receiving a radio call from a woman who said her child was dead.

Soon after, Barona Tribal Enforcement got a call reporting an attempted suicide at the same address, said Lt. John Maryon with the Sheriff’s Homicide Detail.

January 15, 2015 (San Diego)—The FBI has issued a warning that college students across the United States have been targeted to participate in work-from-home scams that can involve students in criminal activities. Students have been receiving e-mails to their school accounts recruiting them for payroll and/or human resource positions with fictitious companies. The “position” simply requires the student to provide his/her bank account number to receive a deposit and then transfer part of the funds to another bank account. Unbeknownst to the student, the other account is involved in the scam that the student has now helped perpetrate. The funds the student receives and is directed elsewhere have been stolen by cyber criminals. Participating in the scam is a crime and could lead to the student’s bank account being closed due to fraudulent activity or federal charges.

January 15, 2015 (Lakeside) – San Diego County Crime Stoppers and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Unit seek leads in the disappearance of Cynthia Dyann Coleman under suspicious circumstances.

On September 3, 1986, 23-year-old Cynthia Dyann Coleman left her home on the Barona Indian Reservation to go to a nearby supermarket to give away a litter of kittens. Cynthia’s mother reported her daughter missing on September 8, 1986 after she failed to return home and made no contact with her family.

By Miriam Raftery

January 8, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police have arrested a woman suspected of fraudulently buying at least seven vehicles at dealerships in El Cajon and San Diego.

East County News Service

January 5, 2015 (Rancho San Diego)--A man who threatened the lives of Sheriff’s deputies and hurled metal objects at them is now under arrest.

By Miriam Raftery

January 1, 2015 (El Cajon) – New Year’s Eve ended in tragedy for an elderly El Cajon couple. Rosie Mondejar, 80, and her husband, Merlin, were struck by separate vehicles while crossing the street shortly after 8 p.m. in the 300 block of West Washington. Both were transported to a hospital, where Rosie was pronounced dead of serious injuries. Merlin was treated for minor injuries and released.

By Miriam Raftery

December 29, 2014 (San Ysidro) - A man killed by Customs and Border Protection agents at the San Ysidro crossing  on Christmas Eve was an El Cajon resident.  The County Medical Examiner’s office has identified the man as Francisco Manuel Cesena, 40.

East County News Service

December 19, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) - Earlier this week, we reported on a brazen bulldozer theft caught on surveillance video in Lakeside.