Photo (left): Dolly adopted by new owner;

Photo (right): man on video wanted for animal cruelty

East County News Service

September 29, 2014 (Ramona) - PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone with information about a man who threw a 6 month-old puppy over a fence in Ramona. The brutal act was caught on video on August 28th, showing a man in a red shirt and dark pants committing the violent act. The video went viral, drawing over 7,000 viewers on Facebook, but the crime remains unsolved.

Source: Alpine Community Network

September 17, 2014 (Alpine) – Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man who reportedly tried to lure a 12-year-old Alpine girl into his grey car as she walked home from the Alpine Youth Center with her little brother in the 2000 block of Arnold Way today, NBC San Diego reports. The girl’s mother told the Alpine Community Network that the man asked, “Where is your mother? Come here,” then sped off when a neighbor confronted him.

By Miriam Raftery

September 13, 2014 (Alpine)—Tina Smyth, owner of the Atria Salon in Alpine, suffered serious injuries from a brutal attack during an attempted robbery at her shop on April 8, 2014.  In a blog posted at the Alpine Community News site, Smyth says she has now been forced to put her shop up for sale because her injuries prevent her from working more than a couple of days a week.

September 9, 2014 (Alpine)--This isn’t the kind of “rock art” that hikers in the backcountry want to see.

Vandals have defaced numerous large boulders at Wright’s Field preserve in Alpine with graffiti tags, including pornographic images and swastikas, the Back Country Land Trust reports.

Update: Torillo was captured Tuesday night at an El Cajon motel.  He will face charges of escaping custody in addition to drug-related charges.

September 9, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – The Sheriff has issued a warning to residents to be on the lookout for Don Andrea Torrillo, a prisoner who escaped custody from Central Jail just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday. He was last seen wearing a dark sleeveless shirt with a star in the middle, khaki shorts and slippers. He has a tattoo on his left bicep shoulder area. He has short brown hair and eyes.

September 8,2014 (La Mesa)-- Travelodge Motel at 7911 University Avenue, La Mesa, was robbed by a suspect armed with a black handgun last night at 8:20 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

September 6, 2014 (San Diego) – San Diego State University campus police have issued an alert warning students that a sexual assault occurred early this morning at 1:39 a.m. at the Granada Apartment complex on Hardy Avenue.

East County News Service

September 2, 2014 (Campo) – Over the objections of Campo residents and Supervisor Dianne Jacob, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Margie Woods has ruled that a convicted child molester can be released to live in Campo starting in late October.

By Miriam Raftery

August 29, 2014 (La Mesa)--Two security officers caught on video beating a passenger on a trolley in La Mesa on August 18^th have lost their jobs, Transit Systems Security has informed Metropolitan Transit System. MTS contracts with TSS to provide security services on trolleys and busses countywide.

“This incident never should have happened and we will take all appropriate steps internally and with TSS to help prevent future occurrences,” said MTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Jablonski in reference to the altercation between a passenger and two TSS security officers. “We do not tolerate that kind of behavior.”

August 25, 2014 (La Mesa) - East County news partner 10 News has tracked down the man shown in a video being beaten aboard a trolley in La Mesa on September 18^th by MTS security officers.

View video of beating (warning, disturbing content):  http://www.10news.com/news/investigations/video-security-officers-beat-man-on-trolley

By Miriam Raftery

August 22, 2014 (La Mesa) – Two security officers for Metropolitan Transit System have been suspended after security video revealed the officers knocking a man across the aisle and then beating him for nearly seven minutes, 10 News reports.  10 News obtained the video through a public records request after receiving a complaint from Lynn Riggs, a passenger who witnessed the beating aboard the trolley in La Mesa on August 18. 

“He was not trying to get away, he was just trying to avoid getting further injured,” she said.  “I just watched them beat him and beat him and beat him with the baton.”  At one point, officers paused, then began violently beating the man again, seemingly without provocation.  The witness called the behavior “out of control.”

August 21, 2014 (Spring Valley) -- The Sheriff's Homicide Detail wants your help in solving the murder of Larry Hargis. This case has remained unsolved for more than 40 years.

August 15, 2014 (La Mesa)—La Mesa Police seek public help to locate a man who robbed the Riviera Supper Club at knifepoint, injuring an employee.

By Miriam Raftery

August 13, 2014 (El Cajon)--Last October, an 18-year-old student was held at knifepoint by a man who forced her into her car at Grossmont College, then began sexually assaulted her. But thanks to a passerby who saw her struggling and honked his horn, the assailant ran off and the victim was freed.

August 7, 2014 (Spring Valley)--The Sheriff's Department wants your help in identifying and locating a man who robbed a bank in Spring Valley.