San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The San Diego crime rate has declined 16.3 percent in the beginning of the year in comparison with last year’s crime rate. Mayor Jerry Sanders announced that the amount of violent offenses had diminished by 2.6 percent compared to last year.

Other crimes such as property crime (18.3%), rape (10.1%), robbery (8.8%) and San Diego homicides (7.7%) have reduced as well from January 1 through June 30th of this year. As heard by many San Diego criminal attorneys.

In contrast, aggravated assault has increased by 1.7 percent as well as a 6.4 boost of illegal behavior attributed to gang members.

The San Diego Police Department’s Chief William Lansdowne, as well as his officers has been congratulated by the mayor for their persistent efforts. However, the mayor did not mention that decrease in crime had an unforeseen consequence of being excluded from the list of recipients for grants as part of the economic stimulus payout from the federal government.

Mayor Sanders said that “San Diego continues to be one of the safest cities in the nation, largely due to the efforts of this police force and their partnership with the community.”

Report: Crime In San Diego Down, 10news.com, July 29.2009

REGION: Violent crime reports up, property crime down at 2009's midpoint, North County Times, July 29, 2009

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After San Diego Coast Guard spots a small vessel off the Coast of San Diego three teens are arrested for a drug crime involving smuggling a half a ton of marijuana into the United States.

Three teenage men 18 and 19, and a woman who is also 19 were arrested for drug smuggling off the San Diego coast.

The incident occurred on Saturday when the small boat was accompanied by the Coast Guard to Shelter Island where the three teens could report to the U.S Customs and Border Protection after time in Ensenada, Mexico for their "fishing expedition".

Border agents, with the help of a drug- sniffing canine found 277 packages of marijuana below the deck of their small boat.

Transportation of Marijuana is a felony. These cases usually occur near the U.S.-Mexican border. If the quantity of Marijuana is exceptionally large and the arrest is made by the DEA it turns into a federal offense.

Teens Jailed After 1,000+ Lbs. Of Pot Found In Small Boat, 10news.com, July 28, 2009

Half-ton of pot found in boat off San Diego coast, San Diego 6 The CW, July 28, 2009

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In Oceanside a teenage boy, two Marines based in Camp Pendleton and another man may face charges for an assault and weapons incident that happened this last weekend.

What happened to be a weekend quarrel resulted in an Oceanside shooting on a street in North County. Luckily no one was injured from the shooting.

Before 2:30 am, Dennis Lawnshea, 26, was driving around the area of the 2300 block of the Greenbrier Drive in Oceanside. Lawnshea, well aware of three men walking along the road, tried to run them over with his Ford Focus, according to Sgt. Kelan Poorman

Michael Harrison Washington, a 21 year old Marine was struck by the vehicle as well as his friend, 21 year old Bradley Sanford Brown. Brown allegedly reacted by taking out his guns and pulling the trigger on the vehicle while the vehicle sped off. Then Washington and Brown entered another vehicle with a 17 year old boy and drove off.

Both vehicles were later stopped due to reports of officers responding to gunfire. All four suspects were taken into custody.

According to Sgt. Kelan Poorman, Washington and Brown were arrested on charges of transporting a loaded firearm, carrying a stolen gun and assault with a deadly weapon. The minor was taken to juvenile hall on weapons charges. Lawshea could face a possible DUI charge.

4 Jailed After Weekend Shooting, 10news.com, July 27,2009

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Near Campo, a southeastern area of San Diego County, a 30 year old United States Border Patrol agent who was investigating illegal smugglers was found murdered by a gunshot wound to the head.

Robert Rosas was alone on duty when he suffered from gunfire around 9 pm on Thursday on Shockey Truck Trail when he was found dead at the scene, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

Border Patrol Chief Richard Barlow describes that they tried contacting the agent where they knew he was patrolling, but could not reach him and later found the slain agent with numerous gunshot wounds. According to Federal sources, Rosa’s gun and badge were also taken from him.

Federal authorities are searching for the person who murdered Rosas but are unaware of what caused the violent attack and how many people might be involved in this East County shooting.

Border Patrol Agent Shot And Killed In East County, 10news.com, July 24,2009

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An El Cajon bank robbery took place Tuesday in the city of El Cajon by a sunglass and baseball cap wearing bandit, according to police.

The El Cajon Wells Fargo Bank branch in the 1200 block of Avocado Avenue was robbed around 10:45 a.m. According to Lt. Jim Redman, the bank teller gave an undisclosed amount of cash to the suspected robber after receiving a demand note from the thief.

The five foot seven inch robbery suspect who appeared to be in his forties fled on foot with his black duffle bag filled with the loot. Officers were unable to catch the thief of this El Cajon Robbery, even with the help from a sheriff’s helicopter.

According to witnesses the suspect of this San Diego crime has dark hair, a thin build and was wearing sunglasses, a white baseball cap, blue shirt and beige shorts.

Bandit Robs East County Wells Fargo Bank, 10news.com, July 21, 2009

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Wednesday morning in San Diego, an eighteen year old male was arrested on the suspected shooting of a security officer and the theft of his gun at the East County rail depot.

According to Sgt. Ray Battrick, Marquise Loftis was arrested after being pulled over in a vehicle around 12:30 am in the 2200 block of 54th Street. The shooting incident occurred on Saturday around 10:15 pm, at the Grossmont Center Trolley Station.

Police did not reveal what directed them to suspect Loftis who may have been involved with the shooting incident. Loftis was a passenger in the vehicle that was pulled over by police at the time of his arrest.

According to police, two other possible suspects have been taken into custody. When the injured security officer fell down, the man with the gun took his pistol and two ammunition clips and shot the officer again. After the violent attack, the gunman ran up the stairs and escaped into a close by shopping center.

The victim was treated at a hospital and released the next day. The victim’s name has not yet been released and is recovering at home according to MTS spokeswoman Judy Leitner.

Suspect Arrested in Trolley Shooting, San Dieg0 6 The CW, July 22, 2009

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In Oceanside a teen is accused of attacking a patrolman while the officer was arresting him for suspicion of burglary of a car in a North County.

The 17 year-old teen and another boy were caught by the owner of the vandalized vehicle about 12:45 a.m. while they were stealing items from her car in the 700 block of Mosaic Circle in Oceanside.

Police officers were called, and as they were arriving the two thieves ran away. A patrolman caught up with one of the suspected burglars and ordered him to stop, just then the youth “took up a fight stance,” according to Sgt. Kelan Poorman, and tried to punch the arresting officer several times before attempting to reach for a steak knife that was in his sock. The patrolman was able to subdue him while the other teen got away.

The victim who was able to retrieve some of her stolen items identified the suspected thief. Officers also found items that were thought to have been stolen from two previous car burglaries.

Officers arrested the teen for the theft crime and booked him into San Diego juvenile hall where he is held on suspicion of burglary, attempted assault on an officer, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of stolen property.

Teen Burglary Suspect Attacks Cop During Arrest, San Diego 6 The CW,July 20, 2009

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The San Diego Carnival Cruise Ship Elation docked today at its San Diego homeport carrying 2052 passengers and a man who was arrested by FBI on suspicion of murdering his wife a few days earlier.

The Carnival cruise ship had just ended a five night cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The unidentified man was taken into custody for suspicion of killing his wife aboard the ship by security and kept in the brig until the ship reached the Port of San Diego at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

The 55 year-old slain wife was found in her cabin by crewmembers. She was taken by the San Diego County medical examiner about three hours after she was found dead, according to FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth.

The suspect of this domestic violent crime and his wife were apparently in an argument on Tuesday evening according to witnesses from a nearby cabin who called security on the ship to complain about the loud dispute.

FBI agents took the man suspected of the homicide into custody for questioning. They are also questioning about 30-40 other witnesses that were aboard the ship.

Man Accused Of Killing Wife On Cruise To Mexico, KFMB News8, July 16,2009

Cruise Ship Murder Investigation, San Diego 6 The CW, July 16,2009

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San Diego area beaches saw an increase in the number of people celebrating the Fourth of July Weekend, although there were fewer arrests made for crimes compared to the same time last year.

All of the thirteen arrests made over this years holiday weekend came from crimes that were felonies, including handgun possessions and for drug crimes. In 2008, 21 of the 41 arrests made were for misdemeanors according to San Diego Police department Capt. Shelly Zimmerman.

There were about 1.2 million people covering San Diego beaches this year, almost 250,000 more than last years Fourth of July Weekend. The drop in arrests were due to improvement in “municipal public relation efforts” said Capt. Zimmerman.

“We’ve done a lot of education regarding what the beach rules are,” Zimmerman said.

Although San Diego police gave out more citations for alcohol related cases this year, 200 compared to 104 last year.

Bigger Crowds, Fewer Arrests at the Beaches over the 4th, San Diego 6 The CW, July 5,2009

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A man who is suspected of the San Diego shooting of a resident of Valencia Park and killing him was arrested by San Diego police on Friday.

Philip Aguilar, 26, was found dead from a gunshot wound at his home on 5223 Santa Margarita Street around 2:30pm on Friday by San Diego police detectives, according to San Diego police Lt. Kevin Rooney.

Before the murder took place, two men in their 20’s of Latin decent who were friends of Aguilar were reported to be in the home. After the shooting occurred one man left the scene.

The suspected shooter Jesse Garcia, 23, was arrested on Friday in the 400 block of Ohio Street around 11:45 p.m. He was taken into custody by police to the San Diego County Jail where is likely to be charged with murder.

Police Arrest Valencia Park Murder Suspect, 10News.com, July 4,2009

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A Los Angeles resident and former minister that was affiliated with five churches in San Diego and Riverside Counties was sentenced Tuesday of molesting three boys.

Jimmie Robinson Jr., 48, a former minister and music teacher had pleaded guilty in Superior Court last April to three counts of felony child molestation. He admitted to performing lewd acts on children and having sexual contact with them.

From late 1999 to 2002 the sexual predator admitted to molesting one boy, the second boy he molested in 2005 and he molested the third boy in 2008 in a plea agreement.

He met his victims through church mentoring programs at several San Diego and Riverside churches. He was connected to the sexual assault by DNA evidence after one of the boys reported the sexual abuse to the police.

Robinson was sentenced on Tuesday to over 17 years in prison.

Ex-SoCal Minister Admits He Molested Kids, NBS News San Diego, April 30,2009

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