The deaths of an elderly couple who were fatally shot over the Memorial Day weekend at a home near Padre Dam Park have been ruled a murder-suicide, authorities reported Tuesday.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that deputies responding to a call in the 300 block of Lantern Crest Way in the Santee area at around 11:30 a.m. Sunday found the bodies of David Soulner, 82, and his wife Claire, 79.

Investigators concluded that David Soulner shot his spouse before turning the gun on himself, sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said.

“The circumstances and motivation for this crime are still under investigation,” Krugh said Tuesday.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330 or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this report.

An elderly man and woman were found dead in their Santee home Sunday by San Diego County Sheriff‘s deputies.

The deaths in the 300 block of Lantern Way were reported around 11:25 a.m., according to Lt. Michael Krugh.

Both victims suffered head trauma, Krugh said. Their names were being withheld pending notification to the next of kin.

Krugh said there is no outstanding suspect and no danger to the community.

Anyone with information was asked to call homicide detectives at (858) 285-6330 or after hours at (858) 565-5200, or anonymously contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this article.

Two Santee residents were behind bars Wednesday for allegedly supplying fentanyl to homeless people in El Cajon, either by selling the drug to them outright or bartering it for stolen property.

Samantha Nicole Ekiss, 32, and her roommate, 44-year-old Jeremy Wayne Ketchum, were arrested Monday following a two-month investigation, according to the El Cajon Police Department. They were booked into county jail on suspicion of narcotics crimes, weapons offenses and organized retail theft.

During a search of the pair’s residence and a self-storage unit rented by Ketchum, officers found about three-quarters of a pound of fentanyl, a half-ounce of methamphetamine, suspected stolen property, several thousand dollars in cash and hundreds of rounds of illegally possessed ammunition, ECPD Lt. Will Guerin said.

Three months ago, Ekiss was jailed on suspicion of possessing fentanyl for sale and was released on bond pending court proceedings.

A coalition of activists said Thursday that it will submit over 900,000 voter signatures to qualify an anti-theft and drug measure for the November general election.

To qualify the measure — a response to 2014’s Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for certain nonviolent crimes with plans to shift the savings from incarceration to rehabilitation programs — for the November ballot, the law requires just 546,651 valid signatures.

The Californians for Safer Communities Coalition made the announcement in San Diego and in coordinated press conferences across the state.

Once the petitions are filed with the elections offices in San Diego County and beyond, the submissions trigger a process that involves the Secretary of State’s Office and verification that signatures came from registered voters. If enough are validated, the measure will make the ballot.

The coalition — backed by the mayors of Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Escondido, Coronado, Chula Vista, National City, Oceanside, Poway, El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee — is made up of small business owners, social justice leaders and community organizations.

Retailers such as Target and Walmart have pumped millions into the effort to place the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act on the ballot.

The initiative focuses on accountability measures for repeat theft offenders and those who traffic in drugs like fentanyl, while incentivizing and encouraging individuals to participate in and complete drug treatment programs, according to the coalition.

Backers maintain that the measure creates a deterrent for repeat offenders and redirects addicts towards treatment rather than incarceration.

They also argue that Proposition 47 led to unintended consequences over the past decade, including repeat and often organized retail theft ad inner-city store closings.

In addition, according to the coalition, the proposed ballot measure will deter smash-and-grab offenders who are driving up costs, with the potential to chase retailers out of state.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, in a statement, said that “responsible reform” is needed.

“This is a balanced, commonsense initiative that addresses the fentanyl crisis by going after drug dealers who are killing our loved ones and imposes stronger penalties for repeat offenders of organized retail theft, which is hurting far too many families and local businesses,” she said.

Californians for Safety and Justice, which sought and backed Prop. 47, has criticized the new tough-on-crime effort “as the wrong approach.”

— Staff and wire reports

A San Diego federal judge granted a request Friday to unseal videos and other evidence related to the 2019 death of an inmate in Santee.

U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns ruled in favor of Elisa Serna‘s family, who moved to unseal exhibits that included jail videos showing the final days of her life. Some of those videos were played in open court during a criminal trial earlier this year for a doctor and nurse charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Serna’s death.

Serna, 24, who collapsed in her cell, died in the medical observation unit on Nov. 11, five days after she was booked into Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility.

She was suffering from symptoms of drug and alcohol withdrawal, including frequent vomiting and seizures. In the criminal trial, prosecutors argued that withdrawal can be fatal and though her condition could have been treated, she was often ignored or accused of faking her ailment.

After she collapsed, Serna was left alone on the floor of her cell. Emergency personnel, summoned an hour later, discovered she was dead.

Burns’ order stems from the Serna family’s wrongful death lawsuit against San Diego County, then-Sheriff Bill Gore and various jail staff members.

Attorneys representing the county and the other defendants argued to keep the items under seal for various reasons, including the contention that releasing the videos could compromise security.

“Anyone viewing this footage could determine what parts of this area of the jail are under surveillance and find dead spots to avoid coverage of the cameras,” the defendants’ lawyers wrote in one of their briefs.

During a Friday afternoon hearing, Burns, not persuaded, said, “The county’s on notice now that there’s dead spots. If they think it’s a security concern, get an electrician in there and put another camera up.”

The county’s attorneys also argued that the videos do not accurately depict what jail staff personally observed on the date of Serna’s death. “Thus, that particular footage does not further any public interest in understanding the treatment/care provided to the decedent in jail,” their brief states.

Eugene Iredale, an attorney representing the Serna family, told Burns the public interest in what occurred outweighed such concerns.

“We believe that the public should see what happens in a public institution and how the public money is spent and how public officials act,” Iredale said.

Burns said he did consider how public dissemination of the footage could potentially taint a jury pool for the civil trial, but said he was confident that the attorneys would be able to exclude affected potential jurors from the panel.

Iredale said after the hearing that Burns “ruled exactly in accordance with the law” and called the requests to keep the material sealed “indicative of another attempt by the county to bury the truth along with the body.”

Serna’s mother, Paloma Serna, said in a statement that she was pleased with the judge’s decision.

“The public has the right to know what truly happened to her in those five days in the (medical observation unit), in Las Colinas. This is a big victory because this has opened doors for other families to know what happened to their loved ones and have those responsible for their deaths be held accountable,” she said.

Much of the material was originally kept under seal because the criminal case against nurse Danalee Pascua and Dr. Friederike Von Lintig was still in progress. Their trial concluded in February, with Pascua being acquitted.

Von Lintig’s case was dismissed after jurors voted 9-3 in favor of acquittal.

– City News Service

A predawn domestic dispute in a Santee apartment on Friday led to a nearly eight-hour law enforcement standoff that ended in the arrest of a man wanted on unrelated drug charges.

The 31-year-old suspect refused to exit a home in the 8600 block of Fanita Drive when deputies arrived in response to a reported disturbance there at about 2:30 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Lt. Chris Galve told reporters the suspect had a felony warrant for narcotics, was believed to be armed and was not allowing a woman to leave the residence.

After the suspect, whose name was not immediately available, refused repeated orders to free the woman and exit the home, a SWAT team was called in, Galve said.

Crisis negotiators eventually persuaded the man to allow the woman to leave the home.

“The (woman) exited the residence unharmed,” the lieutenant said. “She was escorted to safety by our deputies out here in the field.”

The suspect continued refusing to surrender until late morning, when he finally complied after deputies set off a concussion grenade and tear-gas dispensers in the apartment.

The incident resulted in no injuries, the lieutenant said.

City News Service contributed to this article.

A 2.02-acre site slated for development in Santee, near Mission Trails Regional Park, has been sold for $1.1 million, a brokerage announced.

“This prime real estate parcel is zoned R-2, making it an ideal opportunity for residential development,” said Aaron Bove, senior managing director, investments in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego Del Mar office.

Bove represented the unnamed individual seller and procured the buyer.

The property is located at 8540 South Slope St.

Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a commercial real estate brokerage firm, specializes in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services.

A man died Monday in a predawn fire that engulfed a mobile home in Santee, authorities reported.

The blaze in the 10800 block of Woodside Avenue erupted shortly before 2:30 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

When emergency crews arrived in the neighborhood just west of state Route 67, a man who had fled the flames was standing outside the burning trailer home and said he feared his father was still inside, according to sheriff’s Detective Dan Wilson.

Firefighters found the older man in a rear bedroom, severely burned. The victim, whose name was not immediately available, died at the scene.

It took crews about an hour to extinguish the flames, Santee fire Battalion Chief Kyle Moiaur told OnSceneTV.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation at midday, though it was believed to have been accidental in nature, Wilson said.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. March 11, 2024

–City News Service

Authorities have publicly identified a woman found dead in a brushy area alongside a Santee waterway during last month’s severe storm and flooding.

The nude body of Faith Angle, 46, was discovered next to Forester Creek on the afternoon of Jan. 22.

She was 5 feet, 5 inches tall; weighed about 230 pounds; had brown eyes, long brown hair and a tattoo on her right leg of hearts and a dolphin with wings on it; and she was wearing a bracelet engraved with “Mama B” inscribed on one side and “4/21/2006” on the other. 

A recent tip from the public allowed the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to identify her remains.

Angle was believed to be unhoused at the time of her death, which is believed to have been related to the inclement weather. A ruling on exactly how Angle died remains on hold pending further investigation, county officials said.

City News Service contributed to this report.

 One person was arrested at a DUI checkpoint in Santee, authorities said Saturday.

The checkpoint was conducted from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday in the 8700 block of Fanita Drive.

A total of 525 cars passed through the checkpoint, with 35 motorists stopped for secondary evaluations, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Six drivers were cited for operating a vehicle unlicensed, two drivers were cited for operating a vehicle with a suspended license and one driver with a provisional license was cited for driving with other minors as passengers, officials said.

Two vehicles were also towed.

–City News Service