RAMONA: Two people died in a collision that flipped a flatbed truck on top of a sedan, crushing the driver's side of the car on state Route 78 yesterday, authorities said.
The truck driver is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol when he skidded across the road and was broadsided by a Lexus, said California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings.
Witnesses reported the crash about 6 p.m. on Route 78, or Julian Road, west of Ramona Trails. They told the CHP a truck was on top of a Lexus, and a person reportedly was trapped in the car.
Pennings said the truck driver, a 35-year-old man from El Cajon, was going east on Route 78 with a male passenger. He reportedly lost control of the truck and crossed into the wrong lanes. A westbound Lexus rammed the passenger side of the truck.
The truck passenger and Lexus driver, a man about age 19, died at the scene. A female passenger in the Lexus and the driver of the truck suffered major injuries and were airlifted to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. –P.R.
Sweep nets 18 suspects,
cache of cocaine, guns
Federal agents arrested 18 people yesterday and seized more than 2 pounds of cocaine and five handguns in conjunction with a state narcotics investigation, authorities said.
Eight search warrants were served in the southeastern area of San Diego County and one was executed in San Bernardino County, where agents found an indoor marijuana-growing operation, said Special Agent Mark Pothier of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The cocaine and weapons were found at one location in San Diego, and about 4½ ounces of crack cocaine was confiscated at another, Pothier said.
The warrants were part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. All those arrested will face felony narcotics charges, Pothier said.
Agents with the DEA and the agency's narcotics task force conducted the searches assisted by the San Diego police SWAT team and sheriff's deputies, Pothier said. –D.B.
Wanted man surrenders
after five-hour standoff
ALPINE: A sheriff's SWAT team took into custody a man who had holed up in a house on the Viejas Indian Reservation for five hours yesterday before surrendering.
Deputies saw Michael Edward LaChappa, 31, in front of the house near Viejas Grade Road and Bunker Hill about 12:20 p.m. They knew that a felony warrant was out for LaChappa's arrest and that he had a history of violence, sheriff's Lt. Anthony Ray said.
Sheriff's records on LaChappa show a felony warrant for allegedly threatening a witness and a misdemeanor warrant for alleged domestic violence.
The SWAT team was called in and surrounded the house. Ray said a woman came out of the house about 4:30 p.m. LaChappa surrendered about an hour later. –P.R.
Anti-gang operation
leads to 81 arrests
Eighty-one people were arrested last week as part of an anti-gang operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with cooperation from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and Escondido police.
Using lists of targeted individuals, officers combed homes principally in North County and arrested 38 confirmed gang members and gang associates, ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. The rest had criminal records and were either in the country illegally or otherwise deportable, she said.
Six people were charged with felony re-entry after deportation, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years upon conviction.
Nine people were charged with state violations; some were found to have outstanding warrants. Two U.S. citizens were among those arrested.
The sweep was part of Operation Community Shield, a nationwide ICE initiative begun in 2005 that is intended to crack down on gangs and seek out members who are deportable. –L.B.
Cyclist killed in collision
with pickup identified
SAN DIEGO: A bicyclist who was killed in a collision in Hillcrest last week has been identified as Atip Oupron, 22, authorities said yesterday.
Oupron was riding east on University Avenue shortly after midnight Friday when he turned left onto Park Boulevard against a red light, San Diego police Sgt. Jeff Fellows said.
Oupron was hit by a pickup and taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he died Saturday.
Oupron, who lived in Sherman Heights, worked at a Trader Joe's, the Medical Examiner's Office said. –K.D.
Man will stand trial on murder, assault charges
SAN DIEGO COURTS: A 25-year-old man was ordered yesterday to stand trial on charges of murder and assault with a firearm in connection with the slaying of a 17-year-old girl eight years ago.
Omar Emanuel Maldonado is accused of shooting Leah Tadeo in the back of the head with a 12-gauge shotgun Feb. 17, 2000, during a party in the southeastern San Diego neighborhood of Mountain View.
San Diego Superior Court Judge William Kennedy determined that prosecutors had presented enough evidence during a preliminary hearing for Maldonado to be tried. He also said the evidence could support a finding of premeditation, meaning jurors could consider first-or second-degree murder.
Prosecutor Frank Jackson said the evidence showed Maldonado shot the girl because he mistakenly believed she had crossed out his name from a list of gang members written on a bathroom mirror, a sign of disrespect.
A warrant was issued for Maldonado's arrest after the shooting, but he eluded authorities in the United States and Mexico for years. He as arrested in October in Tijuana after Mexican officials received a tip. –D.L.
Staff writers Pauline Repard, Debbie Baker, Leslie Berestein, Kristina Davis and Dana Littlefield contributed to this report.
