By Rachel Williams

October 17, 2024 (El Cajon) — In the seam of Benedict Ave’s 800 block at around 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 5, a chilly Saturday night two weekends ago, El Cajon police officers responded to a 911 call reporting the stabbing of a 71-year-old man, Steven Barron, who suffered a wound to his torso. He was quickly transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. 

Photo:  This panel of local peer support specialists spoke about their jobs and training at a job fair.

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 23, 2024 (San Diego) -- San Diego County recently teamed up with the San Diego Workforce Partnership to hold a job fair for people who have a history of incarceration.

Serving time in jail, drug or alcohol use or mental health challenges may not sound like something that a job applicant would highlight. But in the peer support field, that background is called lived experience and is considered an asset, when paired with specialized training to help people who struggle with similar challenges.

By Miriam Raftery

September 21, 2024 (San Diego) – San Diego County’s Sheriff’s department has been under scrutiny for years over its high rate of jail deaths. Despite numerous reforms implemented by Sheriff Kelly Martinez that have reduced the overall number of prisoner deaths, yet another shocking death has sparked a lawsuit against the County—this time, a diabetic man who pleaded for insulin, as did fellow inmates on his behalf. His empty insulin pump beeped for nearly 24 hours before the man was found dead in his jail cell.

Keith Galen Bach, 62, of Chula Vista died in San Diego’s Central Jail a year ago, on Sept. 28. He was arrested Sept. 25 on charges of vandalism and making criminal threats. He was hospitalized briefly due to diabetic-related illness before being jailed; at the time of his arrest he had informed staff he would run out of insulin the next day, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

By Miriam Raftery

September 20, 2024 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Police are seeking tips to identify the killer of a homeless woman, 52, last night. Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call at 10:33 p.m. reporting an  unconscious woman with a serious head injury inside a solo encampment in the 8000 block of High Street in La Mesa. 

“Responding officers found the female and sought to render first aid, but unfortunately the victim was deceased,” says Sergeant Jose Gaytan.  A white male adult with a beard was seen leaving the area a few hours prior to the initial call and is a person of interest, but there is no further description.

“Initial information gathered by investigators revealed the victim, a 62-year-old white female known to be homeless in the La Mesa area, was inside her encampment when the attack occurred. Evidence at the scene indicates that the attack likely occurred within hours of the victim being discovered," Sgt. Gaytan says.

East County News Service

September 20, 2024 (San Diego's East County) --  Motorists should expect a delay traveling on eastbound Interstate 8 (i-8) Saturday, September 21 between 7:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. from Interstate805 to Greenfield Drive in El Cajon for the Funeral Procession of San Diego Police Officer Austin Machitar, who died of injuries sustained when a suspect crashed into his patrol vehicle during a chase. The procession will also affect the following ramps:

Eastbound I-8 at Interstate 15 (I-15)

Southbound I-15 to eastbound/westbound I-8

Northbound I-15 to eastbound I-8

Eastbound I-8 off-ramp to Mission Gorge Road/Fairmount Avenue

Southbound State Route 125 (SR-125) to eastbound I-8

Northbound SR-125 to eastbound I-8

Southbound State Route 67 to eastbound I-8

East County News Service

September 13, 2024 (Ramona) –Yesterday morning before 9 a.m., the Ramona Sheriff's Substation was notified by Olive Pierce Middle School about a threat of a possible school shooting. After an investigation, authorities have concluded the threat was unfounded.

Deputies arrived at the school within minutes. For the safety of students and staff, school administrators made the decision to place the school on a limited lockdown while deputies investigated the incident.    

After a thorough search of the entire campus, deputies did not find anything suspicious at Olive Pierce Middle School. No one was hurt.

Out of an abundance of caution, deputies also conducted security sweeps at Ramona High School and Ramona Community Montessori School and provided extra patrols at all three campuses until the end of the school day.

Update September 11, 2024 -- Parole has been denied for Williams. At yesterday's hearing, Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner Kevin Chappell stated that Williams still poses a threat to public safety, telling Williams "“By your testimony today, it is really unclear if you understand why you committed this horrendous act of violence.”  Testimony was overwhelmingly against Williams' release, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2024 (Santee, CA) – It’s been 23 years since 15-year-old Charles Andrew “Andy” Williams took his father’s revolver to school and repeatedly opened fire, killing two students and injured 13 other people at Santana High School in Santee.

Tomorrow, as the result of a new law regarding youthful offenders, he will have his first parole hearing—drawing a strong response from community members, many stilll traumatized by loss and grief.

By Miriam Raftery

September 7, 2024 (El Cajon) – San Diego Police have arrested Jose Orozco, 53, for arson, after a landlord-tenant dispute. After the bedroom in his El Cajon residence on Coker Way was set on fire Friday night, detectives from El Cajon Police Dept. found   plastic bottle filled with gasoline and a rag on top in his vehicle. 

Orozco was later found by San Diego Police Department and arrested. He is charged with arson and possession of a destructive device.

View the indictment here. 

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

September 4, 2024 (Washington D.C.) – Attorney General Merrick Garland today announced criminal indictments against two Russian nationals in a scheme to spread disinformation across social media under covert identities posing as U.S.-based media outlets. Their aim was to illegally influence the 2024 election, sow division among Americans, and spread propaganda favorable to Russia regarding its invasion of Ukraine. 

The defendants, Kostiantyn “Kostya” Kalashnikov and Elena “Lena”Afanasyeva, are both employees of Russia’s state-controlled media outlet in Moscow,  RT, formerly known as Russia Today.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated August 29, 2024 with identity of the teen suspect who died at the scene following a pursuit.

August 28, 2024 (San Diego) –  A San Diego Police officer is dead and a second officer hospitalized in critical condition after their patrol vehicle was struck by a suspect following a high-speed chase. The suspect also died at the scene on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. west of I-805 around 11:30 p.m. on Monday.

Ironically, the chase initiated by other officers had been called off to protect public safety, shortly before the suspect slammed into the vehicle driven by Officer Austin Machitar, who was responding to a call to assist with the pursuit. A field training officer who appeared in SDPD recruitment flyers and videos, Officer Machitar had just celebrated his 30^th birthday when the deadly crash occurred. He died at the scene.

Officer Zach Martinez, 27, a Navy reservist trained by Machitar, was in the patrol vehicle’s passenger seat during the crash. As of yesterday, he remained hospitalized at Sharp Memorial with serious injuries.

The suspect has been identified as Edgar Giovanny Oviedo, 16, of San Diego.

By Bransen P. Harper

August 4, 2024 (Sacramento)--Several weeks ago, the California State Assembly voted for a new bill that aims at making the streets a little bit safer for everyone. Assembly Bill 1990 would give police officers greater power in making arrests to prevent shoplifting of property that exceeds $950.

This bill would authorize a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor shoplifting offense not committed in the officers presence, if the officer has probable cause to believe the crime occurred, per Digital Democracy CA Matters.

By Miriam Raftery

Updated 2:45 p.m.

July 31, 2024 (Santee) – An autopsy confirms that a couple found dead with head trauma yesterday morning at the Lantern Crest senior living facility in Santee died of gunshot wounds. The Sheriff's homicide unit has concluded that Michael Sheehan, 74, shot and killed his wife, Beverly Slater-Sheehan, then committed suicide.

 The incident is the second time this year that homicide investigators have been summoned to Lantern Crest to investigate suspicious deaths.

In May, homicide investigators were summoned to Lantern Crest to investigate another pair of deaths that were determined to be a murder-suicide. Investigators found that 82-year-old David Soulner fatally shot his wife, 79-year-old Claire Soulner, then  shot and killed himself.