April 19, 2013 (Boston)-- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released photos from video surveillance of suspects believed to have left bags or backpacks containing the bombs that killed three and injured 176 at Monday's Boston Marathon. One supsect has been named: Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19. View more photos here.

Nearly 200 runners from San Diego were registered for the race, including 18 from East County.

April 13, 2013 (Santee) – A Santee security guard who told Sheriff’s deputies that he was shot at in his vehicle and fired back has been arrested for filing a false report, negligent discharge of a firearm and planting evidence.

Lance Wright, 22, an employee of Bravo 3 Security, called 911 shortly before 4 a.m. on April 5 to report that while driving on Woodside Avenue near Highway 67 in Santee, he saw flashing lights.  Wright claimed that as he pulled over, a red Suburban drove by and shots were fired at him, so he fired back.

Residents spread word through social networking of crimes and more, strengthening bonds in close-knit community

April 12, 2013 (Eucalyptus Hills) --A hidden surveillance camera in Lakeside captured a mail thief in action last night, ECM has learned.  View the video.   Property owner Dennis Richardson, an award-winning ECM photographer,  has posted the video on his Facebook page and on the community’s Brush Fire Partyline website. He is hopeful that alert neighbors and law enforcement will lead to arrest of the thief, whose vehicle is also shown in the video.

 “Eucalyptus Hills is a very safe neighborhood with proactive people who have a huge network of communications – Facebook, e-mail and just neighborly across the fence,’ Richardson told ECM. “We can get the word out to a lot of people really quickly. Everybody is on the lookout and knows what to look for, so our neighborhood is safer than most.”

April 6, 2013 (San Diego State University) – This morning at 2:03 a.m., two SDSU students were confronted by two robbers armed with handguns.  The victims were on Cuicacalli Walk near the Cuicacalli front desk.  The thieves stole wallets, a cell phone, ATM cards and a backpack. 

The suspects, both African-American men in their late 20s, were last seen running toward College Avenue.   The first suspect was about 6 feet 2 inches tall with an athletic build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with red SDSU lettering on the front. The second suspect was about 6 feet 3 inches tall with a thin build and thick eyebrows; he was wearing a black beanie.

April 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – As darkness nears, a search intensifies for a woman suspected of abducting a 3-week-old baby, her niece, from the 9100 block of  Valencia Street in Spring Valley, the Sheriff’ s office has confirmed. 

 A black SUV belonging to the suspect, Deborah Ann Fowler, 46, was found abandoned in the 10000 block of Vine Street in Lakeside.  A multil-agency search team is scouring banks of the San Diego Riverbed including transient camps.

According to ECM news partner 10 News, the child's grandmother has custody of the infant, Anissa Von Goerlitz. She told deputies she awoke after a nap around 11:30 to find the child missing and believed the three-week-old baby may have been taken without permission by an aunt. The aunt's vehicle was seen in Lakeside.

April 5, 2013 (Spring Valley)--The Lemon Grove Sheriff's Station wants your help in finding two men who tried to kidnap a 17-year-old girl in Spring Valley just before 11 a.m. yesterday. According to the Sheriff, the teen girl was walking near the intersection of Kenwood Drive and Campo Road when she was approached by two African-American men. The suspects drove up in an older burgundy four-door car and offered her a ride saying: "Hey beautiful, need a ride?"

The girl declined. The passenger then got out of the car and grabbed the victim from her arm and shoulders in an attempt to get her into the car. The girl fought him off and ran away. The suspects were last seen driving westbound on Campo Road, toward the Wendy's. The girl suffered minor injuries.No weapon was used during the attempted kidnapping.

March 31, 2013 (La Mesa) – Last Wednesday, La Mesa Police Detective Sean Snow arrested Nikolas Aledam, 29, of San Diego for a series of vehicle burglaries mainly targeted at Ford Rangers.  Aledam taken into custody at the courthouse when he showed up for an unrelated court appearance.  Police believe he is responsible for over 18 vehicle burglaries in La Mesa and numerous others in the San Diego County area.

March 29, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Sheriff’s deputies arrested 14  juveniles during a curfew sweep of Santee and Lakeside from 10 p.m. last night until 1:30 a.m. this morning. 

The juveniles were released to their parents at the Santee Sheriff’s substation.  Eleven were given an opportunity to participate n a diversion program through San Diego Youth Services. Three cases were turned over to the District Attorney’s office for review. One juvenile was found in possession of marijuana.

Deputies were also out on patrol to look for social host violations. No social host violations were discovered.

May 25, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – California Highway Patrol is searching for the driver of a  Chevrolet Silverado truck whose driver fired four or five shots at a Marine on his way to training at a San Diego Naval base. The shooting happened on the northbound 125 connector to westbound State Route 94 in Lemon Grove.

The Silverado truck was found in San Ysidro later in the day, but its occupants have not been located. The registered owner was not driving the truck when the shooting occurred. The incident happened early this morning around 4:30 a.m. 

March 22, 2013 (Santee)--A 14-year-old boy has been booked into Juvenile Hall after making threats against two schoolmates, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department reports.

The principal of Cajon Park Elementary (which has students from kindergarten through 8th grade) school called the Santee Sheriff's Station  yestserday after a female student reported receiving a text message saying she will be killed at school. A second female student received a text message in reference to the killing and a body being hidden.

View 10 News interview with teen Doyin Oladipupo; photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News 

March 20, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Robin Sadik, 18, of El Cajon and two 17-year-olds are in custody for burglarizing a Chula Vista home yesterday at 1 p.m..  A teen girl hid in a closet and called 911, leading to the arrests.   

“The suspects have likely participated in other burglaries in the area, as other stolen property was found in their vehicle.  The vehicle was also determined to be stolen from El Cajon within the previous week,” said Captain Gary Wedge with the Chula Vista Police department.

As Saint Patrick's Day approaches, Sheriff Bill Gore and the AVOID the 15 DUI Task Force are urging drivers to plan a safe ride home and never get behind the wheel drunk or drugged. Deputies and officers throughout San Diego County will be on high alert cracking down on drunk drivers as part of its Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over safety campaign.

Deputies and officers will conduct DUI Patrols this Saint Patrick's Day weekend starting Friday at 6:00 p.m. through Sunday at 2:00 a.m. DUI/Driver License Checkpoints are also planned for the following cities: Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, Oceanside and the City of SanDiego.

March, 13, 2013 (SDSU) – Giving new meaning to the term “beer bash,” A resident of Villa Alvarado Residence Hall at San Diego State University was struck on the head with an empty beer bottle last night. 

The incident occurred around 9:15 when the victim heard shouting outside his front door. He opened the door to see what was going on and was immediately struck with the bottle, causing a laceration on top of his head, according to campus police.

March 6, 2013 (Alpine) – David Grub, 43, was taken into custody in the 1800 block of Tavern Court in Alpine last Thursday.  A SWAT team was called in to assist in the arrest, the Alpine Community Network reports.

Grub , along with another suspect still at large, is suspected of robbing a home in Rancho Santa Fe shortly before Christmas, where a housekeeper was held at gunpoint, then left handcuffed to a door when the suspects fled in a blue Hyundai.

By Miriam Raftery

Governor Jerry Brown, in his State of the State Speech in January, praised legislators for casting “difficult votes to cut billions from the state budget.  You curbed prison spending through an historic realignment,” he said among other cost-cutting measures listed.

The realignment shifts responsibility for tens of thousands of prisoners from the state to local governments by 2014.  The action is fueled in part by a court ruling that ordered California to reduce overcrowding in state prisons by 33,000 prisoners, though the Governor’s move goes further in an effort to cut the budget.

The action, however, shifts responsibilities for those prisoners  to local counties and cities. It is also forcing some jurisdictions to release some prisoners early to avert overcrowding in local jails--and raises questions on how best to address the state's crime problems overall.