san diego county sheriff’s office

ACLU investigating local jail COVID-19 surge

The ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC) filed a California Public Records Act request Monday, Dec. 21 seeking information on the alarming surge of COVID-19 cases in San Diego County jails. According to the Sheriff’s Department website, as of Dec. 18, 637 people incarcerated in its jails have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. “The situation in county jails…


Hernandez Hideaway goes COVID-19 rogue

Ah, “historic” Hernandez Hideaway, Del Dios — on the shores of Lake Hodges — ode to risky business and no, the founder did NOT invent the margarita; got shut down this week. Blame it on COVID-19. along with the owner’s vile violation of San Diego County restaurant re-opening guidelines. Turns out social distancing and sanitation procedures at the fabled headquarters of the Hodgee Monster Appreciation…


Coronavirus prison break as jails are emptied

San Diego County and California prisons and jails were being emptied of prisoners this week, part of a dramatic release of inmates aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, which can race through institutional populations with deadly impact. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released around 400 inmates without bail Wednesday and Thursday in compliance with a state order to reduce prison populations to prevent…


San Diego police stop black people at a rate 219 percent higher than white people

“They did what human beings looking for freedom, throughout history, have often done. They left.” These are the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson in her book, “The Warmth of Other Suns.” The book follows the story of three Black Southerners and their journey escaping racial violence — a sharecropper’s wife who left Mississippi in the 1930s for Chicago, an agricultural worker who left…


Escondido rejects county Grand Jury call for citizen’s police review board

Think Escondido should have a citizen’s review board for its police department. Think again. Escondido officials this week rejected the recommendation of the San Diego Grand Jury to establish a citizen’s police review board. Following investigation into “several citizen complaints regarding police behavior in local jurisdictions,” the Grand Jury called on Escondido along with El Cajon, La Mesa, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Chula Vista and Coronado to…


Grand theft package, San Marcos: Sheriff’s Department goes viral video seeking thief

The Video UPS bandit must be stopped, according to San Diego County Sheriff’s investigators. A woman who allegedly stole two UPS packages worth $100 from a San Marcos resident fell afoul of the residence’s surveillance cameras. San Diego County Sheriff’s investigators took the unusual step Monday of releasing a kind of reality TV-meets-package-theft video as a means of bringing the alleged package snatcher to justice….


Valley Center crime dropped from 2010 to 2014, SANDAG report said

Valley Center overall crime rates dropped 16 percent from 2010 to 2014 and 14 percent in 2014 compared to 2013, according to a San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) report issued recently. It was a mixed bag for Valley Center, however, with violent crime, although relatively low, increasing 37 percent from 2010 to 2014 and 35 percent from 2013 to 2014 while regional violent crime…


Body found two months ago at Lake Hodges identified as San Diego woman

Her name was Marisol Lopez. She was 29 years old. She was from San Diego. She was the woman whose decomposed body was found nearly two months ago at the shore of Lake Hodges by some dogs accompanying a trail runner. Technically speaking, Lopez was found in the 19900 block of Lake Drive in the community of Del Dios. She was wearing a distinctive ring,…


Police seek hit-and-run driver; EPD blotter: 6 new crimes reported for Dec. 6

Now, on to current incident reports. For more details click on “Map It.” CRIME ALERT! 5 new crimes Type Description Case # Location Agency Date Map It TAKE VEHICLE W/O OWNER’S CONSENT/VEHICLE THEFT (F) – 900 E BLOCK MISSION AVENUE Escondido Police 12/2/2015 10:00:00 PM Map It DRUNK IN PUBLIC: ALCOHOL, DRUGS, COMBO OR TOLUENE (M) – 1200 W BLOCK VALLEY PARKWAY Escondido Police 12/1/2015 2:46:00 PM…