Police


Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch locked down by CHP due to missing girl report

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…


No news is worse news in case of missing Escondido student Sky Tosic

Continuing to confound family and friends, Skylar Peterson “Sky” Tosic has gone missing and can’t be found. Despite numerous efforts to locate the Escondido lad in the last 30 days, he seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth, friends and family say. The mild-mannered 20-year-old Palomar College student disappeared on Sunday, Aug. 30. He was last believed to be near the Wild…


Escondido PD stings 5 alleged Johns at local motels (Updated)

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…


Escondido Police briefs: Bicyclist v. vehicle, bad party hosts, tweets ahoy, more charges for alleged sex offender

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…


On eve of what would have been Amber Dubois’ 21st birthday, Amber the rescue dog gets back on her feet (Video)

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….


Search for missing Escondido college student Sky Tosic remains deadly serious

Skylar Peterson “Sky” Tosic is being sought by family and friends following a puzzling, and disturbing, disappearance on Sunday, August 30, 2015. The missing 20-year-old Palomar College student disappeared at an area near the Wild Animal Park off Highway 78. That was the last place where Tosic reportedly was transported in an Uber vehicle. Before disappearing seemingly into the thin San Pasqual Valley air, Tosic…


Hey ISIS, Escondido PD is on the front lines. Or something like that.

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…


No charges for Twelve Tribes member kidnap suspects

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…


Comic-Con ‘ZombieWalk’ no laughing matter as car strikes passerby (Updated 11/4/15)

(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…