RAMONA: A 35-year-old El Cajon man will face vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving charges after a crash in Ramona that killed two people and sent him and a fourth person to the hospital.
About 6 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said, Shannon Shimp was driving a Chevy pickup east on state Route 78, west of Ramona Trails, when he lost control of the truck and crossed into oncoming traffic. A Lexus struck the passenger side of the Chevy and became wedged under it, California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said.
Shimp's passenger, Joseph Edwards, 52, of Ramona, and the driver of the Lexus, Ian Kinney, 19, died at the scene, an investigator with the Medical Examiner's Office said.
Shimp and Kinney's passenger, Tessa Medearis, 18, of Vista, were airlifted to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Pennings said. Shimp, who was treated and released, was booked into county jail yesterday, with bail set at more than $200,000.
Medearis was listed in fair condition yesterday afternoon, a hospital spokesman said.
Pennings said Shimp appeared intoxicated and, according to witness statements, was unable to realize the extent of what had occurred.
–M.R.
2 men in their 20s shot; one not expected to live
SAN DIEGO: Two men in their 20s were shot Tuesday night on College Avenue in the Redwood Village neighborhood, and one is not expected to survive, police said.
The victims, ages 20 and 28, were standing with a group of friends in front of an apartment building near Newsome Drive just before 11 p.m. when several shots were fired, said acting Lt. William Stetson.
The 28-year-old was hit in the head and was gravely injured, Stetson said. The 20-year-old walked to a hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound and released.
Stetson said evidence indicates that more than one gun was fired, and it is possible that gunfire was exchanged. Witnesses told police they saw vehicles leaving the area and also saw people running away.
Several people were taken into custody on unrelated charges, but no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting, Stetson said.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 where they can remain anonymous.
–D.B.
Three men are arrested in death at apartment
SPRING VALLEY: Authorities have arrested three people in the December death of a Spring Valley man, officials said yesterday.
Tobias Romero and Rodolfo Anguiano, both 26, are suspected of murder in connection with the death of Jose Lua on Dec. 22.
The third man arrested, Reynaldo Romero, 27, a brother of Tobias Romero, is suspected of conspiracy and making terrorist threats, deputies said. He was in custody on an an unrelated crime.
All three live in San Diego County, said sheriff's Sgt. Roy Frank.
Lua, who was in his early 30s, was found dead in Anguiano's apartment on Dale Drive. Anguiano called sheriff's deputies to report Lua was dead.
Detectives said Lua did not live at the apartment. He was an acquaintance of one of the men arrested, Frank said.
Frank said sheriff's officials are not releasing information on the cause or manner of Lua's death, but he said that circumstances of the death “appear to be drug-related.”
Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (858) 974-2321 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.
–A.M.
Teen stole tow truck and then crashed it, police say
SAN DIEGO: A teenage boy stole a tow truck and crashed it into a Big Lots store in the Midway District early yesterday, San Diego police said.
The boy was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. No one was injured.
The tow truck was parked, with its engine running, in front of the driver's home about 2 a.m. when the boy drove off in it.
Minutes later, the teen crashed the truck into the front glass windows of the store on Rosecrans and Kurtz streets, police said.
–D.B.
18-year-old is assaulted, robbed by group of men
LA MESA: An 18-year-old man was assaulted Tuesday night by a group of men who pushed him into some bushes and robbed him.
The victim was walking with two female friends on Fletcher Parkway near Dallas Street about 10:15 p.m. when a car pulled up next to them and six men got out, La Mesa police said.
The friends ran away as the group attacked the teen. They took his shirt and backpack before getting into a silver Dodge Neon with tinted windows, police said.
The attackers were all described as white and in their 20s, ranging from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 1 inches tall, and weighing between 175 and 210 pounds.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call police at (619) 667-1400.
–D.B.
Hearing set for Oct. 7 in bombing near courthouse
FEDERAL COURT: A federal judge in San Diego scheduled an Oct. 7 hearing date yesterday for a woman arrested in the investigation of a bombing outside the downtown federal courthouse in May.
Rachelle Lynette Carlock, 31, of San Diego has pleaded not guilty to charges of using a stolen identity to buy gunpowder. She remains in federal custody without bail.
A trial date is expected to be scheduled during the hearing in October.
Federal officials have said Carlock's arrest stemmed from the investigation into the May 4 bombing, although authorities have stopped short of directly linking her to the crime. No one was injured in the blast, which happened before dawn.
Authorities said Carlock bought 2 pounds of Hodgdon Triple Se7en powder on April 7 and 2 more pounds May 1.
On May 13, she returned to the same gun store to purchase more, but apparently became spooked when an employee asked to photocopy her driver's license as part of a new store policy, according to court records.
Authorities lifted her fingerprints from the bottles of powder she touched in the store to eventually learn her true identity.
–T.M.
Hearing will determine fatal crash suspect's age
A hearing will be held tomorrow in Imperial County to determine the age of the suspected driver in a smuggling-related crash that killed six people and orphaned a 12-year-old girl.
Alejandro Toribio Gama is suspected of driving an SUV that was packed with as many as 22 people when it ran off a road into a canal Friday night in Westmorland, near Brawley.
Several people fled afterward, according to a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court. Toribio, a Mexican citizen, was arrested Sunday in a hotel in Brawley. He has since been charged with illegal transportation of aliens, a felony, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
According to the complaint, police pursued the SUV, but officers ended the chase before the crash occurred.
Among those traveling in the SUV were a family of four from the state of Mexico, in the central part of the country. The 40-year-old father, 33-year-old mother and their 10-year-old son died; their 12-year-old daughter survived.
Debra Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said it is possible Toribio is a minor. If so, prosecutors must then determine if he will be prosecuted as an adult.
–L.B.
Staff writers Matt Rodriguez, Debbi Baker, Angelica Martinez, Tony Manolatos and Leslie Berestein contributed to this report.
