East County News Service

Update: The County Medical Examiner has determined that Paul Heimark died of natural causes from pneumonia.

June 29, 2023 (San Diego) – A 66-year-old San Diego man who was in the Sheriff’s custody on a parole violation died at 9:30 Monday night at Alvarado Hospital. Paul Arthur Heimark had medical issues identified by the Sheriff’s medical staff during his booking on June 16, so he was admitted directly to the hospital. He received treated at the hospital for 10 days before his death and was never housed at a detention facility. 

East County News Service 

June 27, 2023 (Sacramento) -- The Joint Legislative Audit Committee this week unanimously approved a request by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) to audit Liberty Healthcare’s long-running exclusive contract to manage the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Conditional Release Program (CONREPO) currently overseen by the Department of State Hospitals. A petitionin support of the audit request has almost 1,600 signatures.

East County News Service

June 24, 2023 (Spring Valley) – California Highway Patrol is searching for the drivers of a red SUV and a silver sedan which each struck a 50-year-old woman in Spring Valley shortly before 10 p.m. on June 22, then fled the scene.

The woman was walking northbound on Jamacha Blvd. east of Lamplighter Village Drive when she was hit by the red  SUV, which was traveling west on Jamacha.  The impact knocked the victim to the ground. While she was lying on the roadway, she was struck a second time by the silver sedan.

The woman sustained major injuries and died at the scene.

“Both vehicles were last seen fleeing the scene, westbound on Jamacha Blvd.,” says Officer Matthew Baranowski with the California Highway Patrol. 

East County News Service

June 23, 2023 (Boulevard) -- A woman has been arrested on suspicion of shooting her daughter in Boulevard. 

Shortly before 10 a.m.,  deputies from the Sheriff's Rural Command responded to a call about a 22-year-old woman with a gunshot wound who came to a fire station on Church Road.

Deputies learned that the victim and her mother, Andrea Najera, had gotten into an argument earlier that morning inside their home near the fire station.

By Miriam Raftery

June 22, 2023 (El Cajon )  -- A man who swung a sword at neighbors and threatened violence prompted a SWAT team to respond today ending in his arrest 

Around 8 a.m., El Cajon Police began receiving calls reporting a man swinging a large sword at people in the parking lot of 1018 East Lexington.

“The man with the sword went back inside an apartment, and then returned to the parking lot making threats to shoot people, while simulating a gun in his waistband,” says Lieutenant Jeremiah Larson, adding that no gun was seen by any of the victims or witnesses.

By Miriam Raftery

June 13, 2023 (Pine Valley) – The Sheriff’s department is asking for public help to find a man who falsely told a 12-year-old girl that her mother had asked him to pick her up. The girl told authorities that she had returned to Pine Valley Park after a movie screening Friday just after 9 p.m. to pick up belongings she had had left behind, when a tall, heavy-set man wearing a hoodie approached and asked her name.

“She gave the man a false name as she continued to walk away. After receiving the false name, the man told the girl that her mother had given him permission to pick her up,” says Lieutenant Jeff Ford with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Rural Command. “The girl immediately fled and notified her friends and family. The man did not follow her. The girl was not hurt.”

Update 3:15 p.m. -- The seven-hour SWAT standoff has ended. According to the Sheriff's Dept., the suspect, Brandon Andrade, walked out of the house and surrendered after deputies used chemical agents. Mental Health Clinicians with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) will evaluate Andrade before he is booked into San Diego Central Jail. He is expected to face three counts of attempted murder charges. The evacuation notification and road closures will be lifted in an hour.

East County News Service

May 25, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is working to peacefully resolve a SWAT standoff in Lemon Grove. A suspect has barricaded himself inside his home and is refusing to come out after firing multiple shots and injuring a neighbor. 

Skyline Drive between Longdale Drive and Palm Street is closed as deputies continue to negotiate with the suspect, who may have other weapons. Deputies evacuated eight homes in the neighborhood. Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.

577 Million Robocalls made to CA phones on National Do Not Call Registry, including Medicare and Social Security scams

May 23, 2023 (Sacramento)-- California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general, announced a lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly making billions of unlawful robocalls in California and across the nation.. Those robocalls included Social Security Administration scams, Medicare scams, and employment scams; two robocall examples can be found here and here. 

Today’s complaint is the result of efforts by the nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, which Attorney General Bonta helped launch last year and is charged with taking legal action against telecommunications companies that perpetuate robocall traffic.

East County News Service

May 21, 2023  (Santee) – Jose  Lawrence Ruvalcaba, 29, is in custody for allegedly groping a 12-year-old girl on May 18.

A 12-year-old student from Chett F. Harritt School was walking towards  Big Rock Park on Arlette Street on May 18 shortly before 4 p.m. when a man approached her and inappropriately touched her chest, says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

According to O’Boyle, a friend who was with the victim tried to intervene by pushing away the suspect. He took off on an electric black and gray scooter. 

An employee at the Santee Teen Center, which is also located at Big Rock Park, called the Sheriff's Department on Friday, May 19 just before 6:30 p.m. when he saw a man who matched the all-black clothing description of the suspect and his scooter.

Source: San Diego Sheriff

May 20, 2023 (Santee) -- Detectives with the Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit and the Santee Sheriff's Station want the public's help in identifying and locating a man wanted for groping a child in Santee. The alleged incident occurred  on Thursday, May 18 just before 4:00 p.m. near Big Rock Park in the 8100 block of Arlette Street.

“A 12-year-old student from Chett F. Harritt School was walking towards the park when a man approached her,” says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle. “The man inappropriately touched her chest. A friend who was with the victim tried to intervene by pushing away the suspect. He took off on an electric black and gray scooter. He was last seen going eastbound towards Mesa Road.”

By Miriam Raftery

May 17, 2023 (Spring Valley) -- The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has released video from a deputy-involved shooting that occurred on April 26 in Spring Valley. The deputy fired several rounds, seriously injuring a man who had charged at deputies with a metal bedframe in his residence in the 3600 block of South Barcelona Street.