People behaving badly: Weekend edition

Man shot in each foot during 20-person brawl

Hot foot doesn’t even begin to describe the scene just before midnight Sunday when a man got shot once in his left foot and once in his right during a late-night free-for-all.

An estimated 20 people mixed it up around Rock Springs Road near West Lincoln Avenue, Escondido police Lt. Al Owens said.

A suspect identified as an approximately  25-year-old Hispanic man whipped out a gun, shooting the victim during the street fight. The shooter fled in an unidentified vehicle just before police arrived to respond to reports of gunshots, Owens said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital with injuries that did not appear life threatening, Owens said. The suspect was last seen wearing black pants, a black shirt and a black baseball cap. He remained at large Sunday.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call 760-839-4722.

Traffic stop leads to freeway chase

It’s a long way to Miramar from the scene of the start of the chase.

The going got tough, not to mention wooly and wild, Friday afternoon on Interstate 15 near Old Highway 395 in North Escondido, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The pursuit began shortly before 5:30 p.m., when a California Highway Patrol officer tried to pull over the driver of a silver 2001 Ford Mustang for speeding on Interstate 15, near Old Highway 395, Robert Catano of the CHP said.

Refusing to yield, the motorist continued to the south at up to 110 mph, weaving back and forth across the freeway while heading into San Diego, Catano said.

Hotly pursuing officers used their vehicles to “box in” the Mustang Just north of Highway 52 and force it to a stop on the left-hand shoulder about 5:45 p.m., then took the 54-year-old driver into custody following a struggle, Catano said.

The motorist’s name was not immediately available.

Escondido man charged in Illinois crash

Rogelio Sanchez, a 49-year-old Escondido resident, was charged with numerous offenses for his role in a  three-vehicle personal injury crash that occurred on Interstate 57 southbound near mile post 82 in Jefferson County, Illinois last week

The accident involved Sanchez, an Illinois State Police (ISP) officer and an abandoned 2002 Dodge Stratus, officers said.

The crash and smash occurred when Sanchez failed to yield to an immobile authorized emergency vehicle, ISP officers said.

Sanchez and the state trooper, whose name has not been released, were taken to a local hospital.

Sanchez was later transferred to a regional hospital. The state trooper’s injuries were not life-threatening, ISP officers said.

Sanchez was charged with failure to reduce his speed to avoid a crash and using an unsafe tire.

“It saddens me to announce a fellow officer has been injured in the line of duty,” District 13/22 Commander Lieutenant William Sons said. “Illinois state troopers place their lives on the line daily to keep our roads safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families and we wish them a speedy recovery.”