East County News Service

September 19, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police dispatched its SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics team) and evacuated neighbors due to an active shooter at 1400 Petree Avenue.

The incident began at 7:40 p.m. when a caller reported three gunshots from a neighbor’s apartment. While on the phone, police heard another shot.Officers responded and established a perimeter around the apartment, hearing additional gunshots from inside.

As arrests and incarcerations decline, county will put greater emphasis on prevention, intervention

East County News Service

September 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--A major decrease in juvenile arrests and detentions has caused significant savings for the county, and now government officials are looking to transfer money into services that help keep young people out of serious trouble. In 2009, 5,000 juveniles were under supervision, but now there are approximately 2,100. Detention rates have had a similar decline, down from 842 to 438, said Ron Lane, deputy chief administrative officer.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to transfer this savings to training for law enforcement officers dealing with young offenders, increased mental health services, and a program that helps stop juvenile family violence.

Update: The body of missing chlid Wesley Hilare was found in Mission Bay.  Police now believe the boy drowned and that the report of a man walking off with the boy was a false lead.

Photo of Wesley Hilaire, by Daniesha Hilaire

September 13, 2015 (San Diego)  --- An Amber alert has been issued across southern California for a 4-year-old African-American boy abducted from San Diego last night at 7:44 p.m.  He vanished while at Mission Bay in the 2800 block of East Mission Bay Drive. He was last seen with a man who is believed to have abducted him from a family gathering.

Wesley Hilaire was last seen wearing red shorts and no shirt.  He is 4 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 40 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

The suspect, a stranger to the family, is described as a 40-year old African-American man, 6 feet tall, 235 pounds with short black hair. He was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt, dark blue jeans with a hole in the right knee, and flip flops.

By Miriam Raftery

September 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Grossmont High School’s principal sent a letter to all parents yesterday warning of a apparent attempt to kidnap a female student on Tuesday, September 8th. 

According to Principal Daniel Barnes, the teen girl was waiting for a ride at 3:30 p.m. near the baseball field on Milden Avenue when she was approached by a man, who beckoned to her with a cigarette and told her to “get in” his vehicle. She refused and the man drove off on Water Street.

The victim described the suspect as a Hispanic man about 30 to 40 years old with brown hair, brown eyes, dark complexion, round face and large mole on his right cheek.  He was driving  a maroon single cab pickup truck, possibly a Ford F-150, older model with chipped paint.

Video: Press conference in Los Angeles announcing OpenJustice initaitive

East County News Service

September 6, 2015 (Los Angeles) --Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced the launch of OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that will release unprecedented data.  The new interactive database includes disclosure in three key areas: 1)law enforcement officers killed or assaulted in the line of duty, 2) deaths in custody and arrest-related deaths, and 3) arrests and bookings.

The tool consists of two components: a Dashboard that spotlights key criminal justice indicators with user-friendly visualization tools and an Open Data Portal that publishes raw data from the California Department of Justice’s statewide repository of criminal justice datasets.

By Miriam Raftery

September 2, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - Deadly drunk driving crashes have spiked this summer, killing 11 people since May -- six in August alone.

East County News Service

Aug 28, 2015 (San Diego)-- San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced today that Gary Snavely, a diagnosed pedophile and sexually-violent predator was ordered by Judge Louis R. Hanoian to return to Coalinga State Hospital, a mental facility, after violating the terms of his release. The violations included misuse of medications, failing to remain appropriately clothed at all times on his property while in public view, and failing to report any and all instances of sexual thoughts and fantasies involving sexual deviance to treatment staff.

East County News Service

August 27, 2015 (La Mesa)—La Mesa Police seek public help to locate Hispanic male suspect who robbed the WalMart store’s garden center in Grossmont Center at gunpoint on August 24 at 4:10 p.m.

East County News Service

Photo: El Cajon Police

August 25, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police officers have collared an unusual “suspect” spotting rambling through backyards along Helix View Drive. Though a caller reporting a “possible alligator,” the roving reptile turned out to be a large iguana native to the tropics but commonly kept as pets.

City Manager announces a successor to replace retiring Police Chief Jim Redman

August 24, 2015 (El Cajon)--City Manager Douglas Williford announced today that Police Captain Jeffery “Jeff” Davis will become El Cajon’s next Chief of Police on December 5, 2015. Davis, a long-time member of the El Cajon Police Department, will replace retiring Chief Jim Redman. Earlier this month, Redman announced that he will retire on December 4, 2015.

East County  News Service

August 23, 2015 (Lakeside) – Yesterday at 5:30 a.m., 16 detectives and deputies from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation conducted a probation compliance/directed patrol operation in the Lakeside area.  Thirteen people were arrested, including five on warrants and seven on misdemeanor crimes. Stolen property was also recovered, including a $1,500 sound system control console.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Suspect Donald Ray Lewis, considered armed and dangerous

August 21, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police have identified the victim in a fatal shooting on August 19^th as James Melvin Crawford Jr., an El Cajon Police.

East County News Service

August 17, 2015 (Otay) –An agent from the U.S. Border Patrol found the body of a Hispanic man alongside a roadway in unincorporated San Diego County at 6 a.m. on the morning of August 12, 2015. “The man had been shot multiple times in the upper body and died as a result of his injuries,” said Lieutenant John Maryon with the Sheriff’s homicide detail.

Submitted by the La Mesa Police Department

The La Mesa Police Department has been awarded a $34,363 grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol-related crime. This is important to the City of La Mesa in order to increase protection for youth and to keep our community safe.