Former Escondido Police Chief’s Jim Maher’s contentious employment end game finished in a swirl of controversy in 2012 that just got curiouser and curiouser on Monday. Maher had filed a breach-of-contract suit last year contending he was owed $75,000 of a negotiated $150,000 job buyout. On Monday, his attorney told a reporter that the suit had been dropped. Rick Pinckard, Maher’s current attorney — Robert…
Partial human remains were discovered on a walking path at Lake Hodges walking path around 7:30 a.m. Saturday have been identified as belonging to a black or Latina woman between 25 and 35 years old. She was 5 feet 3 inches or 5 feet 4 inches tall. Investigators said the woman was believed to have died between three and six weeks ago. Announcing the preliminary…
Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch was put in virtual lockdown from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday as reports of a missing 11-year-old girl caused state troopers to search all vehicles leaving the scene. California Highway Patrol officers also went from car to car in the crowded parking areas looking for the girl. Social media accounts said drivers waited up to 30 minutes to…
Escondido Police have just announced the arrests of five men who approached undercover operatives to try to buy sex at downtown motels. The sting targeting individuals soliciting women for the purpose of prostitution occurred on Friday, Sept. 25 around the motel district in central city, according to Escondido Police Lt. Greg Kogler. As a result of this enforcement effort, five men approached the undercover personnel…
Bicyclist v. pick-up truck ends badly Escondido police today were asking for additional information pertaining to a Tuesday evening collision involving a vehicle and a bicyclist leaving the bicyclist seriously injured, but alive. Witnesses and the vehicle driver provided some information about the incident that left a 16-year-old bicyclist injured at Washington Avenue and Broadway just before 7 p.m. Officers arriving at the scene found…
Amber Dubois would have celebrated her 21st birthday soon. On the eve of that, Amber, the yellow lab rescue dog with a heartbreaking backstory, was recovering nicely this week from a second knee surgery to get her back on her feet and back to saving lives Named after murdered Escondido teen Amber Dubois, the dog already had her left knee ACL surgically repaired in June….
As if Escondido police didn’t have enough to do with crime and all that, apparently they also are devoting time and energy to defending the Hidden Valley from ISIS. Escondido police Sgt. Eric Distel this week had a lot to say to regional news sources about a special program he has been heading since last October to teach people about spotting suspicious terrorist behavior and…
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced recently no charges would be filed against three people accused of kidnapping a relative from the Twelve Tribes Community Church compound in Vista. A spokesman said kidnapping charges couldn’t “be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” The relative was Robert Martinez, 23, who joined the church in 2010. He and his wife, also a tribe member, were expecting…
(UPDATED 11/4/15, FOLLOWED BY AS-IT-HAPPENED INCIDENT REPORT) A deaf motorist who drove through a group of spectators watching the “Zombie Walk” parade in San Diego, seriously injuring one woman, was convicted Wednesday of felony reckless driving. Matthew Pocci faces three years in prison when he is sentenced Dec.11. Jurors deliberated a little more than a day before finding the defendant guilty. Pocci testified that he…
District Attorney targets credit card ID theft San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis this week warned consumers that old credit card technology leaves them more susceptible to identify theft. The magnetic strip technology on the back of credit cards has been around since the 1970s. This old technology is easier for scammers steal and sell cardholder personal information The chip in newer credit…