Since last we met, Escondido-San Marcos-Valley Center has been the scene of some wild time, criminally speaking and otherwise. A bittersweet tale at best, tragedy and crime, some deadly and others of the head-scratching variety have been in the news. Here are some of the highlights and — shall we say — lowlights of the last few weeks. 5-hour SD Sheriffs SWAT standoff starts with…
Remember when Escondido Police last closed down a local massage parlor allegedly involved in prostitution? Seemed like just last month. Or cracked down on human trafficking, this time last September? Guess what? Theeeeey’re back. Police, that is, raiding even more Escondido massage parlors allegedly engaged in illegal activity, this time of the municipal code violation or other civil miscreant kind. “Although the majority of massage…
Death is never far from a hospital, but in the case of James Donaldson, 63, of Oceanside, death came at a Palomar Medical Center parking area. Donaldson died as a friend pushed him in his wheelchair across the emergency room’s parking area’s front entrance street at 2185 Citracado Parkway, just before 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Escondido police. An 89-year-old man, later identified as John…
Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, a 27-year-old San Marcos man touched off a touchy incident at Rancho Vallecitos Mobile Estates, 3535 Linda Vista Dr., San Marcos. First, he killed his mother’s turtle. Then, he threatened to kill his mother. Nearby homes were evacuated during a five hour standoff ended by the San Marcos Sheriffs SWAT Team with tear gas. After about a five hour standoff with…
It was a deadly start of the driving week on Escondido roads with the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office late Tuesday identifying the latest local road victim as Galileo Esteban Diego, 21, of Temecula. Diego died immediately after he crashed his silver 2006 Dodge Caravan westbound on Country Club Lane near Broadway just before 7:30 p.m. Monday. His minivan was nearly torn in half when…
“Quite frankly, when I got the first phone call, it was there’s a problem with the roof. The second phone call was the roof collapsed and third phone call was thank goodness our staff got out safely.” — Beth Forsberg, Goodwill VP Retail & Operations, at the scene Thursday morning. Goodwill Industries Thrift Store workers spent Thursday mopping and moping. The group’s venerable thrift shop at…
Don’t look now, but Cal State University San Marcos (CSUSM) was the scene of a terrorist attack on Wednesday. Good thing school doesn’t resume sessions until Jan. 25, so campus was fairly devoid of students. With terrorism and school shooting scenarios in mind, CSUSM staged an active shooter drill where fake became real for training purposes. About 100 North County police, fire and hospital personnel…
Chito’s Taco Shop at Del Lago Boulevard and Interstate 15 near Westfield North County in the early morning hours of Dec. 17 was the latest in a new type of brazen crime wave striking San Diego County since June. The same thing happened Nov. 6 at a Tierrasanta Chase Bank branch. And Oct. 6 at an Otay Mesa CVS Pharmacy and nearby check cashing store….
Just 10 days after a deadly Highway 78 crash killed four people; a wrong-way, single-vehicle crash on a nearby stretch of Highway 78 sometime before 3 p.m. killed another man, according to California Highway Patrol officers. The wrong-way 2003 Chevrolet Suburban headed west on eastbound Highway 78, presumably from Broadway, plunged off the road near Metcalf Street killing the driver, CHP officers said. Nobody called…
Escondido Police officers went around town this month giving $10,000 in $100 bills to lucky people, all made possible by a donation from an anonymous person. Here is the video and (somewhat) tongue-in-cheek titled news release issued today by EPD… Escondido Police Department Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Escondido Police Officers had an opportunity to spread holiday cheer. Please watch this short video…