IDENTITIES RELEASED OF TWO TEENS KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH IN JAMUL, FOUR OTHERS INJURED
Updated with identies of the vicitms, provided by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office By Miriam Raftery June 3, 2019 (Jamul) – The driver and a passenger in a 1997 green GMC Sonoma pickup truck are dead following a head-on collision with a Jeep at 11:45 p.m. last night on Lyons Valley Road in Jamul. The driver, Martin Lopez Soto, 19, from Lemon Grove and his passenger, Hope Najera, 18, from Jamul, died at the scene after the GMC crossed the center line into the path of the Jeep. According to their Facebook posts, the couple recently became engaged. Witnesses called 9-1-1 but both victims were found inside the vehicle without a pulse by first responders who were unable to revive the teens despite aggressive life-saving efforts. The Medical Examiner concluded that both died of blunt-force injuries. The driver of the Jeep, an 18-year-old El Cajon woman, had three teen passengers in the vehicle. All four sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were either treated on scene or transported to local hospitals for medical evaluations, according to the California Highway Patrol. According to their Facebook pages, Soto had attended Mount Miguel High School and Lemon Grove Middle School. Najera lived in Jamul and had attended loal schools including Steele Canyon High and was a student at Cuyamaca College studying child development at the time of the accident. She worked at the YMCA in Rancho San Diego. She had attended a church service and a lunch with family prior to the accident, according to her family. The possibility of alcohol and/or drug use was not ruled out as a contributing factor in the event, and is still being investigated, according to CHP Officer H. Curiel. No other vehicles were believed to be involved. The collision is still under investigation. Desheila Manuel, a teacher in Jamul, posted on Najera’s obit at Legacy.com, “I will always remember that you always had a smile on your face. You were always so sweet and kind to everyone. Rest In Peace.”
BREAKING NEWS: CALFIRE/COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO RETAKES REMAINING JULIAN FIRE STATION; DEFIES STAY TRIGGERED BY APPEAL
San Diego County fails to pay JCFPD paramedics as agreed in earlier court judgment Update: Sheriff’s office declines to comment on eviction of the JCFPD By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor June 3, 2019 (Julian) — CAL FIRE, under the authority of the San Diego County Fire Authority, retook the remaining Julian fire station Sunday afternoon. The station has been held by volunteers Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District (JCFPD) with court approval after the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) dissolved the JCFPD, pending the outcome of litigation by those trying to save the county’s last volunteer firefighting district. The move by CAL FIRE and the Sheriff’s Department failure to halt the takeover was in defiance of an appeal filed to the San Diego Superior Appellate Court Division immediately after Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp on Friday ordered members of the JCFPD to vacate Fire Station No. 56 in her Friday ruling. The appeal triggers an automatic stay, the County’s director of communications acknowledged Friday, prior to the forced takeover this weekend. Judge Trapp on Friday also affirmed that no eviction should occur until an appeal could be heard, according to a witness present in the courtroom. ECM is working to obtain videotape of the judge’s statement. The motion to stay Trapp’s vacate order was filed by JCFPD attorney Cory Briggs, after the court released her judgment on Friday at mid-afternoon. It was also served to attorneys for the San Diego LAFCO Board of Directors, County Counsel Thomas E. Montgomery, and Craig A. Sherman, who represents the Julian Fire Company Association. According to a reliable source who provided photos, CAL FIRE arrived at the station house at 3407 Highway 79, south of Julian’s town center at approximately 2 p.m. with several CAL FIRE employees. A JCFPD member called the Sheriff and Deputy Ken Weber arrived. JCFPD Board of Directors Vice President Brian Kramer was told that Cal Fire was there to retake and change the locks on the station house on Judge Trapp’s order. Kramer said that a stay was in effect and handed the appeal document to the deputy, who could not produce a copy of Trapp’s order. The locksmith then proceeded to change the locks. In photographs provided to ECM, three CAL FIRE employees, Battalion Chief Preston Fouts, Fire Chief Bud Sullins, and Division ChiefTodd Phillips are identified as present. JCFPD attorney Cory Briggs then spoke to Deputy Weber by phone but was unable to sway him to concede to the stay motion pending the Appellate court’s decision. When East County Magazine asked for a comment on the alleged defiance of the Appellate Court Division order by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department on Sunday evening, Lt. Michael Rand declined to offer a comment until the incident was investigated by the department. Rand promised to contact ECM with an explanation on Monday. The county’s decision to take over the fire station is in direct conflict of a statement from Friday to San Diego Union-Tribune writer Harry O. Jones by Michael Workman, the County of San Diego’s Director of Communication. Workman said, “Although fire and sheriff’s officials had been preparing to go to Julian and evict the volunteers from the station late Friday afternoon, those plans are now on hold because of the appeal. The law provides that an appeal stays (the temporary restraining order issued by the judge) so we are directing the fire authority and sheriff not to move forward with removal at this time.” ECM attempted to contact Workman early Sunday evening in light of Sunday’s county takeover of the building, but its phone call was not returned. ECM reached out to Sheriff’s media relations Sunday and Monday. Update: Late Monday the Sheriff’s office advised us that it will not comment on these matters. Lt. Jason White deflected our request with this response: “Media requests related to Fire station 56 are being handled by the County of San Diego Public Safety Group. You will need to send your requests there.” ECM is reaching out to Public Safety Group but has not heard back. In her original order, Trapp ordered the JCFPD to return to the county all keys to rooms and vehicles, logs of persons that have “occupied, possessed, or otherwise accessed Station 56 from April 8, 2019 to the present, within 24 hours, copies of all video recordings and photographs of all inspections, all payroll records, and restrained from operating any JCFPD property. Significantly, Trapp ordered that the county may take possession of and secure all entrances to Station 56, and may post security personnel to guard the station. “Personnel from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department shall have the right to enforce this order to secure the safety of Station 56 and all property and equipment therein,” the order also stated. ECM Publisher and Editor Miriam Raftery and Contributing Editor Paul Kruze visited Fire Station No. 56 on Thursday, Mar. 30 to meet with concerned community members over the quality of medical care received from Cal Fire paramedics. Those interviews will be published shortly. The station appeared to be clean and well-maintained. Trapp issued her vacate order after the County last week alleged that the JCFPD had “stolen” a JCFPD four-wheel drive fire truck. The County Fire Authority made an official complaint about the alleged theft to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) but the Sheriff has not concluded whether any crime occurred. NBC San Diego quoted Sheriff Lt. Justin White saying, “The County advised Deputies that the engine was missing and we are currently looking into the complaint. The Sheriff’s Department has not completed a written crime report as of yet.” But as of Friday afternoon, the alleged “missing” fire truck was pictured parked in front of Station 56 by several San Diego media outlets. A gag order issued by the court prevents Julian’s volunteer firefighters and board from speaking with media on matters in litigation. However, a Julian resident who asked not to be named has told ECM that the fire engine was taken
READER’S EDITORIAL: MISSING PERSONS REPORTS AND ENTRY INTO NAMUS DNA DATABASE SHOULD BE STANDARD PROTOCOL
By June A. Sortore Photo: Shawn Lone Wolf Cristman June 3, 2019 (Santa Ysabel) — The sheer volume of missing and unidentified person cases poses one of the greatest challenges to agencies tasked with resolving these type of cases. Over 600,000 individuals go missing in the United States every year. Many missing children and adults are quickly found alive and well. However, tens of thousands of individuals remain missing for more than one year. These are what most “agencies” consider “cold cases.” An estimated 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year. Of those recovered, about 1,000 remain unidentified after one year. My son, Shawn Lone Wolf was one such case. My son became that unidentified body. In 1991, my son Shawn Lone Wolf (Coyote),Christman, left his uncle’s house, in California. He was not seen again. Shawn was the wandering type. He was one of the kids who followed the rock and roll band ” The Grateful Dead”. He sold macramé belts, plant holders and other associated goods that the “hippie” type like. Year after year, in California I made requests to the local law enforcement to submit a missing person’s report. I had no idea what the steps were in filing such a report. More alarming was the fact that each time an officer who responded to my house, my request for a missing person report for my son fell on deaf ears. No one ever actually wrote anything down. They stood in my living room with pen in hand, wrote something on their paper. Never was it the name of my son. That was almost 26 years ago. No one should have to go through that kind of anguish. No one should be treated with such disrespect. One officer took me aside about five years or six years ago, told me to quit bothering them, that my son did not want to talk to me, and to leave him alone. All the while my son was already dead, laid to rest in a “John Doe” grave in Gary Indiana. My son was found June 20,1993 floating in Lake Michigan, Chicago found him but, Gary, Indiana buried him. NamUs The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States. It is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice and managed through a cooperative agreement with the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. All NamUs resources are provided at no cost to law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, allied forensic professionals, and family members of missing persons. The NamUs database application fills the nation’s need for a unified, online, free, secure database for unidentified remains and missing persons records. NamUs provides free forensic services, to include forensic odontology, fingerprint examination, forensic anthropology, and DNA analyses through the UNT Center for Human Identification. Family DNA collection kits are also provided at no cost. Unidentified and unclaimed person records are entered into the NamUs database by medical examiners, coroners, and other criminal justice designees. This is where it just doesn’t go far enough. Missing and unidentified person cases in NamUs are automatically compared to locate potential matches based on dates, geography, and core demographic information. The trouble is that someone has to actually TAKE THE REPORT AND FILE IT. The person trying to file the report has to know where the person went missing from. In my son’s case, I had no idea he was in Illinois. It is up to each individual agency and each individual officer weather the agencies protocol is followed. It just isn’t mandatory for them to follow each step to take DNA or to enter it into the “NAMUS” database. I hear that when a crime is committed, the criminal has to submit their DNA to be cross referenced in cases where DNA evidence was collected nation wide–not just in the county or state where the persons crime took place in. When someone requests that a report be taken, shouldn’t that officer at least submit the report? It should be mandatory for DNA of unidentified remains to be automatically entered into the Namus database. If requested family members, that wish to submit their DNA for comparison, it too be entered into the NAMUS database for the possibility of making a match. This would be such a powerful tool in missing persons reporting and unidentified remains recovery? This should be the standard protocol used across the board in these situations. It should be law. I know more people would be able to finally have answers about their loved ones. I feel those unidentified remains and those people looking for loved one could be given a small bit of dignity by making this “Standard Protocol”, a federal law. They deserve at least equal attention law enforcement gives to criminals when researching their identity or suspected past. The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
READER’S EDITORIAL: SANDAG MISUSE OF OUR TAXES
By James Rue, El Cajon June 2, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Hello, SANDAG. I’m in fear of misuse of our tax dollars by SANDAG, and I would like my opinion heard. For more than 30 years I commuted to/from downtown San Diego. I drove, I carpooled, and commuted using public transportation (bus & trolley). And your system still stinks. Originally, I’m from one of those very large cities where public transportation was accessible on every corner, and the fare was reasonable. San Diego, and metro area is NOT accessible. I remember leaving home two and half hours to three hours early to get to work, using public transportation and always getting home several hours late. When I carpooled I left about an hour earlier and if I drove myself and left 30 minutes earlier I could be at work in less than 25 minutes. I have some suggestions for you to consider. 1. Today all new vehicles are built more efficient, and environmentally agreeable (gas and electric). Provide tax incentives to purchasers of newer vehicles rather than the reverse; there is no incentive to purchase a “newer” environmentally (gas/electric) friendly vehicle, especially if their NON-environmentally older vehicle pollutes. (the better gas mileage the better the incentive as an example). 2. It’s been stated that only about 3% of the county residents use public transportation. I would suggest MORE express buses, and trolleys. Fewer stops, more direct routes with three, maybe four stops. Plan or get suggestions as to best stops / destinations. There really is no reason that the trolley has to stop at each and every station, if there is an express designated trolley, (Yes, it can be done). 3. Where is the vehicle traffic coming from and going to? What businesses, governments. military, “large employee organizations” are these drivers heading to/from? Why not suggest to these organizations to create more ‘FLEX’ hours. Why do courts have to be 8 – 5? Why does schools have to be 9 – 3? Why do government offices have to be 8 – 5? Why do doctor office visits have to be 8 – 5? etc…. After all, the retail malls are very flexible with their hours. WHY? Offer an incident (reduced fares) to employees who travel to/from during NON-PEAK hours. 4. FIX THE ROADS AS PROMISED. 5. I would ask all voters to remove — “vote OUT” — any representative that does not keep their promise to “FIX OUR ROADS” and use our tax dollars for what they were intended for. I remember the promise (with our tax dollars) to fix our ROADS, to reduce traffic, and NOT for more trolley tracks or bike lanes. In fact, where is my incentive to ride a horse to/from work; are there stables available for parking my horse? Do I get a special lane on the road? The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
HUNTER DRAWS FIRE FOR ADMISSIONS HE SHOT AT CIVILIANS AND POSED WITH DEAD IRAQI SOLDIERS
By Miriam Raftery Photo: Duncan D. Hunter, right, via Duncan D. Hunter for Congress campaign June 2, 2019 (San Diego) – Republican Congressman Duncan D. Hunter is drawing fire for admitting that he fired at civilians in Iraq while serving combat duty with the Marines, also posing with corpses of dead enemy combatants. Hunter has been vocal in his public support of Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher, a San Diego-based Navy Seal charged with war crimes including shooting at civilians and fatally stabbing a young wounded prisoner, then posing with the corpse. During a town hall meeting in Ramona over Memorial Day weekend, Hunter stated that Gallagher “did one bad thing that I’m guilty of too –taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid,” Times of San Diego reported, posting an audio recording. Hunter doubled down on those remarks during a later taped interview with the online site Zero Blog Thirty, in which he stated, “So, I was an artillery officer and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killing probably hundreds of civilians,” adding, “probably killed women and children if there were any left in the city when we invaded. Do I get judged, too?” As for the charges Gallagher faces of murdering a teenage ISIS fighter who had been brought in for medical treatment, Hunter told Zero Blog Thirty, ““I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care.” He added that even if Gallagher did stab the wounded prisoner to death, he still “deserves a break”, indicating Gallagher should not be held accountable for violating the Military Code of Justice. Barstool Sports, which publishes the Zero Blog Thirty podcast, released a statement Sunday calling Hunter’s rhetoric “horrific.” U.S. soldiers have been prosecuted for taking photos with dead bodies of enemy combatants, though typically with aggravating circumstances such as desecrating a body. Shooting at civilians, if done intentionally, can be charged as a war crime, but not civilian deaths that occur as a result of what the military calls “collateral damage” when targeting enemy forces. International human rights organizations have long raised concerns that some U.S. military actions in Fallujah violated the international code of justice including what some have termed “massacre” of civilians there in 2004. The military has contended that U.S. soldier were fired upon by insurgents and that the military siege was justified. Hunter’s unit was in Fallujah in 2004. Aaron Glantz at the investigative reporting site Reveal reported in his eyewitness account that in 2004: “Retired Gen. James Mattis earned the nickname “Mad Dog” for leading U.S. Marines into battle in Fallujah, Iraq, in April 2004. In that assault, members of the Marine Corps, under Mattis’ command, shot at ambulances and aid workers. They cordoned off the city, preventing civilians from escaping. They posed for trophy photos with the people they killed. Each of these offenses has put other military commanders and members of the rank and file in front of international war crimes tribunals. The doctrine that landed them there dates back to World War II, when an American military tribunal held Japanese Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita accountable for war crimes in the Philippines. His execution later was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. During the siege of Fallujah, which I covered as an unembedded journalist, Marines killed so many civilians that the municipal soccer stadium had to be turned into a graveyard. In the years since, Mattis – called a “warrior monk” by his supporters – repeatedly has protected American service members who killed civilians, using his status as a division commander to wipe away criminal charges against Marines accused of massacring 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 and granting clemency to some of those convicted in connection with the 2006 murder of a 52-year-old disabled Iraqi, who was taken outside his home and shot in the face four times.” Even if the orders to fire artillery rounds into the city of Fallujah were legal, Hunter’s apparent lack of any remorse over killing innocent women and children is disturbing to some constituents; many veterans return suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, haunted by guilt over their role in such bloody conflicts. President Donald Trump has indicated he is considering pardoning Gallagher and other U.S. soldiers if they are convicted of war crimes. Some have suggested that Hunter, a staunch Trump support, may be angling for a pardon for himself if Hunter is convicted of felonies when his own trial commences in September. Hunter and his wife are charged with stealing $250,000 in campaign funds and spending it on lavish personal expenses including vacations in Italy and Hawaii, expensive jewelry, tuition at his children’s school, and airfare for the family’s pet rabbit. Hunter is facing 60 federal charges. If convicted, whether pardoned or not, Hunter would almost certainly face expulsion from Congress by the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Three Republicans and one Democrat have announced plans to run for Hunter’s 50th Congressional seat in San Diego and south Riverside counties, which includes large portions of San Diego’s East County and North County. Ammar Campa-Najjar came within just a few percentage points of toppling Hunter in the 2016 election, after Hunter’s indictment became public. The Democratic candidate has amassed a large campaign war chest for the 2020 race in a race that has drawn national attention and fundraising efforts. Campa-Najjar has issued this statement: “I believe Eddie Gallagher deserves the presumption of innocence and a fair trial, just like any other American. Ultimately, a jury of Gallagher’s military peers will determine his fate and that’s the way it should be. The politicians should stay out of it.” The three GOP contenders vying to replace Hunter are El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Temecula mayor Matt Rahn, and retired Navy Seal Larry Wilske.
CHP ASKS PUBLIC FOR HELP TO IDENTIFY MAN KILLED IN FIERY TOYOTA TUNDRA CRASH ON I-8 AT CRESTWOOD
By Miriam Raftery Update: The victim has been identified as Monterro Friend, 34, of San Diego. June 2, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Highway Patrol seeks public help to identity the driver of a blue Toyota Tundra killed shortly before 4 a.m. after his vehicle, traveling at a high rate of speed, struck a guardrail and went airborne over the side at Crestwood Road in rural East County. The vehicle vaulted over traffic on Crestwood and hit the I-8 westbound bridge. The driver, who appears to be a short, thin black man possibly affiliated with the military, was ejected and came to rest under the vehicle’s rear bed, which caught fire. After being engulfed in flames, both the vehicle and the victim slid down the embankment to the west edge of Crestwood Road, says Officer B. Montgomery with the CHP. Please contact the El Cajon CHP Office if you have information regarding this event. (619) 401-2000.
MOTORCYCLIST DIES AFTER COLLISION WITH TEEN DRIVER ON OLDE HIGHWAY 80
By Miriam Raftery June 2, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – A 19-year-old Jamul woman driving a Hyundai Accent made a U-turn on Olde Highway 80 west of Bond Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon yesterday at 5:25 p.m., crossing directly into the path of a motorcycle. The driver of the motorcycle, a 27-year-old Santee man on a black SSR Razkull 125, was ejected following the collision and sustained blunt force trauma. California Highway Patrol, Lakeside Fire and medics arrived shortly after the collision, says Officer Travis Garrow with the CHP. The motorcyclist was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he died of his injuries. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the collision.