SAN DIEGO: Six people were arrested and six others already in custody were named yesterday in federal complaints resulting from a three-year investigation targeting an Oceanside street gang, authorities said.
During the investigation, authorities seized 26 firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition in the Oceanside area, U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt said in a statement.
Many of the defendants are members or associates of the Varrio Posole Locos gang, Hewitt said.
She said the crimes alleged in the complaint include purchase, theft and possession of multiple firearms by convicted felons; robbery of a heroin dealer who was forced from a moving vehicle; conspiracies to distribute heroin at the Vista jail and at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe; and street sales of methamphetamine and heroin.
The investigation was conducted by the North County Regional Gang Task Force. –S.S.
Two men arrested after
eatery worker hit in head
SOLANA BEACH: An employee of a North County restaurant was pistol-whipped and two men were arrested hours later after crashing a getaway car and then turning up at the address where the car was registered.
The employee, 45, was outside the Blanca restaurant on South Coast Highway 101 near Dahlia Drive just after midnight yesterday when he was approached by three men who hit him in the head and demanded money, sheriff's Detective Conrad Berlinsky said.
The victim told deputies he heard two or three shots fired.
The attackers left without getting any cash and headed south in a green Toyota Corolla with a loud muffler, Berlinsky said.
They crashed the car near South Sierra and Border avenues, where they got out and ran, Berlinsky said.
The men eluded authorities, who saw them inside the Del Mar Fairgrounds. A check of the abandoned vehicle's registration showed an address in Escondido.
Deputies went to the home after 2:30 a.m. accompanied by a witness, who identified two men as the assailants, Berlinsky said. –D.B.
Bank branch in Alpine
supermarket is held up
ALPINE: Authorities are investigating a bank robbery yesterday at the US Bank branch in Alpine.
The bank is inside an Albertsons supermarket on Alpine Boulevard near Honey Hill Ranch Road.
Sheriff's deputies were called about 2:15 p.m. –A.M.
El Cajon police seek help
of public to close cases
EL CAJON: Police have unveiled a new section of their Web site this week that urges the public to review surveillance photos of crime suspects in two dozen open cases and to help identify the people involved.
The photos are at elcajonpolice.org; click on the “open cases” link.
“Help us close cases and stop these suspects from victimizing additional people,” police urged the public in a news release this week.
One case seeks the capture of a shoplifter in a Sept. 29 theft and assault incident at a Sears store. Another case involves a man wanted for stealing a catalytic converter in a parking lot Aug. 13.
The department offers a reward of up to $1,000 and anonymity to anyone with information that leads to an arrest. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers' anonymous tip lines at (888) 580-8477 or e-mail or send a text message to sdcrimestoppers.com. –M.A.
Coast Guard assists boat
flooding in San Diego Bay
SAN DIEGO: A Coast Guard crew helped eight boaters whose 40-foot vessel began flooding on San Diego Bay yesterday morning, officials said.
The group's pleasure boat, the Ocean Alexander, began taking on water about 11:40 a.m. because of a torn exhaust hose that flooded the bilge, officials said.
The crew plugged holes and pumped water out of the boat before towing it to the Fiddler's Cove Marina, where it was safely moored.
No one was injured. –A.M.
Prosecutor resists attempt
to toss out drug sentence
A prosecutor said yesterday that he opposes efforts to throw out a 10-year drug sentence given to a Carmel Valley mother before she escaped from a Michigan prison in 1976.
Saginaw County Prosecutor Mike Thomas said he found nothing legally defective with the punishment.
He said Susan LeFevre should at least serve about 3½ years in prison – the same amount of time her co-defendant served before he was released.
LeFevre, 53, was a suburban mom when she was captured this year while living under an alias. She escaped from a state prison in suburban Detroit in 1976 after serving about 14 months for a heroin sale.
LeFevre requested that her original sentence be thrown out for several reasons, including an ineffective defense attorney in the '70s. She also has complained about the harshness of the sentence for a first-time offender.
LeFevre has pleaded guilty to the escape and has been sentenced to probation. She is still behind bars on the drug sentence while her attorneys try to have it set aside. –AP
Staff writers Susan Shroder, Debbi Baker and Angelica Martinez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
