Oceanside man admits kidnap
Was on probation for four other cases, at the time of the new crime
Gregory Leon Spatcher, 31, made a plea deal in which he admitted felony kidnap, in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse, yesterday. When the judge asked the defendant if he did seize and confine and kidnap another person, Spatcher replied, …
Woman accused of felony bad driving after argument
Escondido cop said wrong-way-driver forced others off the road
Officer J. Houchin said he went to a hotel parking lot after someone complained of a man and woman fighting in a white van parked there, before 9 p.m. on January 3, 2013. The Escondido police officer said he was …
Man who rescued domestic violence victim was rammed by car
Deputies in San Marcos say the alleged abuser returned to the scene
A man who reportedly rescued a woman from domestic violence got smashed between two cars when the assailant returned and ran him down, according to San Diego Sheriff deputies. Monday evening, about 7:30 p.m., several concerned persons intervened and stopped …
Bag of meth was hanging over the baby's crib, police say
Escondido couple plead not-guilty to felony child endangerment
A couple was charged with felony child endangerment, after police found a bag of meth hanging over their baby’s crib, according to testimony in court today. When police went into a trailer home three weeks ago, they also found hypodermic …
Determined gangster yelled at police as he was led away to prison
Escondido gangster was sentenced in San Diego Superior Court today
Sergio Alejandro Lopez Jr. turned 26-years-old in jail yesterday. This afternoon he was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison. Lopez' criminal career is documented since 2005, the year he turned 18. That year he admitted meth possession and resisting officer, and …
Vista man bloodied when arrested during under-aged party
Forty-six-year-old man denies resisting arrest charges
The deputy said it was a “typical” underage-drinking-party, with more than 200 persons overflowing the home into the street, and persons holding bottles were yelling “fuck the cops” and “fuck you pigs!” Sheriff’s deputy Frank Leyva said he and four …
Disbarred attorney not required to appear in court
Michael Theodore Pines “waives” his appearance for hearings
A former attorney who is notorious in San Diego County for his multiple arrests and unusual statements in court, apparently is no longer required to appear in court for his own cases. Michael Theodore Pines was formally disbarred in November, …
Stolen iPhone leads to arrest of a man accused of multiple burglaries
Pinging iPhone was ditched in a vacant lot near the home of a thief on probation
A man whose iPhone was stolen from his home while he slept, used the tracking device in his smartphone to assist Oceanside Police to find and arrest a suspect they already named for a string of prior burglaries. The alleged …
Hearing delayed for woman accused of embezzling more than $5 million
Defense attorney hopes a psychological exam could prove she is "not a danger" to the public
A 45-year-old woman accused of embezzling more than $5 million dollars from a San Marcos company for which she was the financial controller, delayed her preliminary hearing from this week until the end of next month. Elizabeth Ann Masters was …
Valley Center woman to face civil trial for hit-and-run
Mother of girl killed on Escondido street seeking $15 million in damages
Tiffany St. Ives was 52 years old when she drove into a girl walking across a street in Escondido, in 2007. Seventeen-year-old high school student Marlene Resendiz was crossing East Grand Avenue at the corner of Rose Street, just before …
Valley Center man accused in mother's death due in court
David Leroy Lucero Jr. was sent away to a mental hospital in 2010
Margo Jean Lucero, 53, had been locking her bedroom door at night because she was afraid of her 25-year-old son David, according to investigators who found the woman deceased in her own bed, almost two years ago. The young man’s …
Trial date set for two Border Patrol agents in California
Accused of lewd acts in public, and then attacking and threatening a witness
Two persons who are said to be five-year-veterans with the Border Patrol have a trial date at the end of this month, for a case in which they are accused of attacking a woman after a circus performance at the …
Escondido child-abuser transferred to Los Angeles County
Twenty-four-year-old man admitted sex with 12-year-old girl
A 24-year-old man who admitted to having intercourse with a 12-year-old girl in Escondido had his case transferred to Los Angeles County, last week. Christopher Bradley Nutt had only recently moved to San Diego County, from San Dimas, before the …
Fraudster impersonated California Highway Patrol officer
Elderly San Diego couple were targets of a scam
It was a warm, pleasant morning in San Diego, about 11 a.m. last October, when Peggy got an upsetting phone call. The man on the phone said he was Sergeant Perry with the California Highway Patrol. The sergeant told Peggy …
Eighteen-year-old woman admits driving stolen vehicle
Judge finds "stupid" good cause to reduce felony to misdemeanor
The deputy said he first noticed the car because it was driving so slow, and then he saw that the occupants kept turning around to look at his patrol car. Because there were four persons in the back seat of …
San Marcos man accused of stealing beauty cremes
Man reportedly wrestled to the ground for Oil-of-Olay and Loreal products
The “corporate security” man for a retail grocery store said he observed the customer put two jars of beauty crème into his jacket before he left the store, without paying for the items. Witness Miguel Rivera testified that it was …
Fallbrook deputies found the hidden gun
Two suspects were recorded wondering if the gun had been found, a deputy said
Fallbrook deputies did not know about the hidden gun until they heard the man ask his female friend if they had found it. Sheriff’s deputy John Klimek said he put Angel Chavez and Araceli Diaz in the back seat of …
Escondido police arrest "suspicious" man
Meth in his hoodie, pills and Sig Sauer pistol in his silver Cadillac
Escondido Police officer Jake Houchin said he was called to an apartment complex at 101 South Spruce Street on a report of a “suspicious person in the area.” It was just before 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night, December 19, …
Fallbrook deputies saw the body in the back
Family said they noticed the car of missing man parked at shopping center
The family of a man reported missing two weeks ago found his car in a Fallbrook shopping center, and when deputies investigated, last night, they noticed the body in the back. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies saw a man “zipped …
Would-be-robber of Carlsbad pizzeria wants probation modification
Judge denied Thomas Scott Ruth's request in Superior Court yesterday
The owner of a pizza shop in Carlsbad made national news when he wrestled a loaded handgun away from a would-be robber in February 2011. Almost two years later, the man who admitted the attempted robbery is requesting modification of …