SAN DIEGO: A woman was struck and killed last night when she walked in front of a car at Clairemont Drive and Burgener Boulevard in Bay Park, San Diego police said.
The victim was not identified.
Police said the woman might have walked into traffic deliberately. They said they were told that she was despondent over the death of her dog earlier in the day.
She stepped off the curb on the south side of Clairemont Drive and was hit about 9 p.m. by an eastbound Volkswagen Beetle driven by a 19-year-old woman.
A man performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim before paramedics arrived, but he was not able to save her. She was declared dead at the scene about 9:15 p.m.
Officers closed the street during their investigation. –P.R.
Four masked carjackers
take vehicle at gunpoint
SAN DIEGO: Four masked men with pistols and a rifle surrounded and carjacked a woman in Normal Heights last night, police said.
The woman, in her 30s, reported about 6:30 p.m. that she was parking her 2001 BMW at her apartment complex on Madison Avenue near 35th Street when the men approached her.
They pointed guns at her and ordered her out of the car. She complied, and they got in and drove off. She told police the men wore dark clothing. –P.R.
Armed man uses lighter
as ruse to hold up market
SAN DIEGO: A robber who pretended he wanted to buy a cigarette lighter pulled a handgun and took money at a Paradise Hills store last night, police said.
Employees at Neighbors Korner Market on Potomac Street reported about 8:30 p.m. that the robber put a lighter on the counter as if he wanted to buy it. He then pointed a chrome-plated, semiautomatic pistol at them and demanded money.
Police said the robber was a Latino in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 190 pounds, wearing a black, hooded sweat shirt, jeans and a black ball cap. He escaped before officers arrived. –P.R.
Masked, hooded robber
gets $500 in store heist
SAN DIEGO: A heavily disguised man robbed a Shelltown market of about $500 last night, San Diego police said.
The robber – wearing a black mask, hooded jacket and gloves – confronted two employees and demanded money, then reached over the counter and grabbed the cash himself, police Sgt. Rich Nemetz said.
The holdup occurred about 5:50 p.m. at Diamond Dot Market on South 43rd Street.
The workers described the robber as Latino, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and of medium build. –P.R.
Federal jury convicts 7
with ties to prison gang
FEDERAL COURT: After a trial that lasted two months, a federal jury yesterday convicted seven members of the notorious Mexican Mafia prison gang on racketeering charges.
The verdict capped a lengthy investigation by federal and state police agencies in San Diego.
The probe targeted Latino street gangs that have ties to the prison-based Mexican Mafia.
This was the first time that federal prosecutors in San Diego used the federal anti-racketeering act against a street gang.
At the trial, they alleged that the defendants engaged in numerous racketeering acts including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, drug sales and money laundering.
In September, two leaders of the prison gang, Raul Leon and Salvador Perez, pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Convicted yesterday were Eduardo Gonzalez-Gallegos, George Fernandez, Thomas Durkin, Salvador Perez, Richard Valenzuela, Cesar Abarca and Joshua Cruz. All face a maximum sentence of life in prison. –G.M.
Psychiatric test ordered
after barber is stabbed
SAN DIEGO COURTS: A man charged with stabbing a barber in South County must undergo a psychiatric evaluation, a judge ruled yesterday.
Joshua Robert Schwartz, 20, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He is accused of stabbing a Coronado Avenue barber in the neck about 6 p.m. Wednesday as the barber was closing his shop.
Deputy District Attorney Brendan McHugh said Schwartz told police he stabbed the man because the barber had given him a bad haircut two years ago and because Schwartz thought the barber had placed a hex on him.
Superior Court Judge H. Ronald Domnitz ordered Schwartz held without bail pending a psychiatric review to determine if he's capable of understanding the charge and the court proceedings against him.
Schwartz's mother, Loretta Schwartz, said outside the courtroom that her son suffers from chronic schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication.
She said she called police the day before the stabbing to try to get help for her son. –R.H.
Staff writers Pauline Repard, Greg Moran and Ray Huard contributed to this report.
