Source: San Diego County Sheriff

February 6, 2025 (El Cajon) -- Several people have been arrested due to criminal activity at a homeless encampment near Willow Glen Drive in unincorporated El Cajon on a variety of charges.

On Tuesday, February 4, around 2 p.m., a small fire broke out at the encampment. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames. Fortunately, there were no injuries or property damage.

“Deputies with the Sheriff's Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART) have conducted multiple outreach operations at this location over the past month, offering services and resources to those experiencing homelessness. Despite these efforts, deputies continued to respond to reports of criminal activity at the encampment,”  says Sergeant Aaron Montan.

On Wednesday, February 5, Sheriff's HART performed an enforcement operation at the encampment. Several individuals were arrested on various charges, including drug-related offenses, outstanding misdemeanor warrants and identity theft.

Screenshot from YouTube video:  suspect hurls shampoo bottle at employee

View videos:

https://www.instagram.com/daygotv/reel/DFgPb6JoFCl/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKPxJKrzI30

East County News Service

February 5, 2025 (Santee) – August Marriott, 27, has been arrested for becoming violent and threatening employees at a hair salon in Santee. On January 29, after being told he was late for an appointment at Great Clips on Mission Gorge Road, the man began hurling shampoo bottles at workers and knocking products off shelves. He shouted obscenities and repeatedly threatened harm to an employee. 

By Miriam Raftery 

Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson

February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees.  DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data.  The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.

By Miriam Raftery

February 2, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – February brings some favorite festivities and fun-filled events including a Judy Collins Concert in El Cajon, a stage production of Romeo and Juliet in Borrego Spr9ings, romantic Valentine’s teas in Julian, a black history celebration in Lemon Grove, the Boots and Bowties awards dinner at Sycuan, Fido Fest in Santee, and Hawk Watch in Ramona.

Scroll down for full details on February’s events in San Diego’s inland region.

East County News Service

Update Feb. 4, 2025 -- Supervisor Joel Anderson has launched a petition to oppose Snavely's placement in Julian. You can sign his petition here.

February 1, 2025 (Julian, CA) – San Diego County Superior Court has ordered the conditional release of Gary Snavely, a sexually violent predator (SVP) at 3452 Wynola Road in Julian.  The public can submit comments from Feb. 3 through Feb. 16; hearing set for March 7.

Snavely was convicted of molesting two girls ages 8 and 9 in Orange County back in 1987. In 1996 he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego County and went back to prison.  After his release, he was placed in Jacumba in 2008 but after he abused his psychotropic medication and lied to his supervising staff he went back to Coalinga state hospital, though he was not accused of committing new crimes. Violations included 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.

By Miriam Raftery

January 31, 2025 (San Diego) -- A two-count indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores with violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse. Flores is accused of using excessive force that caused a spinal cord injury, then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.

He is charged with depriving the individual – identified in the indictment as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation. If convicted on both counts, he could face up to 30 years in prison and be fined up to $500,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Robert Gehr

January 31, 2025 (El Cajon) – After voting to repeal a long-unenforced ban on dog walking downtown, the city of El Cajon has installed “doggie pots” and poop disposal bags to help dog owners cleanup after their pets.

By Miriam Raftery

January 30, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – Eleven people have applied to fill a vacancy on the Lemon Grove City Council created when former Councilmember Alysson Snow won the mayoral election.  The City Council will interview the applicants during the Feb.4 Council meeting at 6 p.m. at the Lemon Grove Community Center. View the full agenda including candidate applications: https://events.lemongrove.ca.gov/council.

The Council previously approved filling the vacancy via appointment, to avoid a costly election. The appointee chosen will serve the remainder of the term, which expires in December 2026.

Applications included detailed questions about candidates’ backgrounds and goals, though some did not identify policy objectives.

The applicants, in order of their interview times, are as follows, along with highlights from their applications:

By Miriam Raftery

View video of full Council hearing (Immigration agenda item begins at 37 minutes.)

January 29, 2025 – Emotions ran high during yesterday’s El Cajon City Council meeting, where a packed chamber heard testimony from 88 members of the public over a proposed over immigration enforcement resolution, followed by a heated Council debate that divided the all-Republican members during a hearing that ran over five hours.

The measure introduced by Mayor Wells, a revision from a version heard two weeks ago, aims to authorize El Cajon police to comply with federal immigration enforcement officials within the limits of state law and the Constitution for the purpose of removing violent criminals.

But the action comes on the same day that the White House Press Secretary indicated that the Trump administration views all undocumented immigrants as “criminals” even though crossing the border itself is a misdemeanor on the first offense, not a felony or violent crime.

Sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have begun nationwide, picking up many immigrants with no criminal record—including an El Cajon man with no criminal record who was awaiting his asylum hearing when arrested  this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his home in front of his five-year-old daughter, Councilman Michelle Metschel revealed in an impassioned speech.

Source: America’s Voice

January 29, 2025 (Washington, DC) — Yesterday delivered several reminders that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda is sweeping in its scope, harm and indiscriminate nature, viewing all immigrants here without legal status as “criminal” and comfortable in the reality that U.S. citizens and tribal members are among those being targeted and detained in their early enforcement efforts. These fresh reminders, detailed below, follow our assessment yesterday that highlighted the indiscriminate nature of the early Trump administration’s deportation agenda.  

East County News Service

January 29, 2025 (Santee) – Bring your dog for fun times at Fido Fest, or adopt a furry companion from rescue groups.  The city of Santee event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive East in Santee.

Contests will be held for the biggest and smallest dogs, best costume, and best trick. There will also be “arfs” and crafts, demonstrations, off-leash areas, vendors and giveaways.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Opponents of resolution rallied Monday in El Cajon; CBS 8 video screenshot

Read the revised resolution on pages 57-59 from City Council agenda attachments

January 28, 2025 (El Cajon) – A crowd of about 75people opposed to mass deportations held a rally outside El Cajon’s City Hall yesterday to speak out against Mayor Bill Wells’ proposed resolution for the city to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The City Council will hold a hearing today at 3 p.m. on the controversial measure.

Changes have been made since the last meeting, adding praise for the city’s “vibrant and diverse immigrant communities” but also declaring the city’s intent to “comply with federal immigration law to the legal extent permissible under SB 54 and other applicable laws to remove violent criminals from our community.” SB 54 is a state law which prohibits cities from turning anyone over to federal immigration authorities unless they have been convicted in court of committed certain serious felony crimes, such as murder or rape. 

But President Donald Trump has declared a border emergency and  ordered immigration officials to conduct broad sweeps in immigrant communities. In recent days, people including citizens have been stopped,  asked for documents to prove citizenship, and many have been detained. Trump has stated his goal is to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.—going far beyond the small percentage convicted of felonies.

January 28, 2025 -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• U.S. puts virtually all foreign aid on 90-day hold, issues 'stop-work' order (NPR)
• DOJ halts legal programs for detained immigrants, cuts off advocates’ access to facilities (Los Angeles Times)
• Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies  (AP)
• Vice President Vance casts tie-breaking Senate vote to narrowly confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary  (CNN)
• Trump launches crypto meme coin, ballooning net worth ahead of inauguration (Politico)
• Top 5 takeaways from Jack Smith's final report on Trump's Jan. 6 case  (Axios)
• Jen Rubin exits Washington Post, joins Norm Eisen to launch new outlet countering ‘authoritarian threat’ (CNN)
• Supreme Court declines to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits (AP)
• Judge bars Rhodes, other Oath Keepers from entering DC without court permission (The Hill)
• Trump was sentenced to ‘unconditional discharge.’ Here’s what that means. (Politico)
• Biden says Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, kicking off expected legal battle as he pushes through final executive actions (CNN)
• Biden Aides Warned Putin as Russia’s Shadow War Threatened Air Disaster (New York Times)
• Biden pardons Fauci and Milley in an effort to guard against potential 'revenge' by Trump (AP)

WORLD

• Palestinians return to Gaza City as mediators look ahead to next stage (Reuters)
• Mexico refuses to accept a U.S. deportation flight (NBC News)
• What to Know About the U.S.-Colombia Clash Over Deportations and Tariffs (Time)
• Danish PM says Europe must ‘stand together’ as Trump threatens Greenland (Guardian)
• Sweden seizes vessel suspected of 'sabotage' after undersea data cable rupture in Baltic Sea (AP)
• 'It starts now': South Korea's President Yoon defiant as police closed in (Reuters)
• Zelensky offers exchange of North Korean soldiers (BBC)
• Gunman shoots dead 2 judges in Iran's capital tied to 1988 mass executions (AP)
• Nigeria is admitted as a partner country of the BRICS bloc (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

January 28, 2025 (Jamul) -- Robert Hobbs sent in these images of the Border 2 Fire, which burned over 6,500 acres after starting on Otay Mountain in San Diego County on Jan. 23.  These photos were taken Jan. 23 and 24 from Jamul.

By Alastair Bland, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo via Calif. Dept. of Water Resources:  A drone provides a view of a section of the California Aqueduct within the California State Water Project, located near John R. Teerink Pumping Plant.

January 27, 2025 (Central Valley, Calif.) - President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Sunday that told federal agencies to “immediately take action” to deliver more Central Valley water and eliminate rules that stand in the way, including endangered species protections.