A 67-year-old man was seriously injured when he stepped in front of a truck in the Clairemont Mesa area Monday afternoon.

The collision took place around 2:20 P.M. on Monday at 6900 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, according to the San Diego Police Department.

A 68-year-old man driving a 2012 Ford F-150 truck reportedly struck the pedestrian after he stepped in front of the truck during the vehicle’s right-of-way on the off-ramp of the 805 to Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. .

The victim was taken to a hospital with a fractured skull. His injuries were non life-threatening, and alcohol was not a factor, police said.

Police asked anyone with information related to the collision to call SDPD or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this report.

A Clairemont Mesa apartment fire left two people injured Thursday.

The blaze erupted at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the 7700 block of Belden Street, just west of Linda Vista Road and Interstate 805, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Crews had the flames under control within 15 minutes of their arrival, the city agency reported.

It was not immediately clear how seriously the victims were injured. Paramedics took one of them to a hospital, according to the fire department.

–City News Service

A two-car non-injury crash turned into a six-vehicle major injury pileup early Sunday morning when other drivers ignored a traffic break on the 805 just north of Balboa Avenue, leaving two people with major injuries.

The incident began when a sedan rear-ended a truck in the right lane of the southbound 805 at around 4:45 a.m. CHP officers ran a roadblock trying to clear the lane, according to OnScene.TV.

Several drivers disregarded the traffic break, turning the non-injury accident into a major injury crash when a big rig and at least four other vehicles collided, hitting and flipping the original truck.

The man driving the truck had severe injuries and another driver suffered life-threatening injuries. Both were taken to local hospitals.

Traffic was completely stopped on the southbound 805 for at least 45 minutes. Cars were diverted onto Clairemont Mesa Boulevard into the morning while the investigation continued.

The city of San Diego has started new road repair projects involving slurry seal in and around Clairemont Mesa, Mission Hills, Pacific Beach, Point Loma and Bay Park, it was announced Tuesday.

According to the city, slurry seal is used to prevent the deterioration of streets and reduces the need for a more costly asphalt overlay and reconstruction for badly deteriorated streets.

“Slurry seal is often completed in phases over several days or weeks,” officials said. “Multiple slurry seal projects are happening across the city simultaneously and are often coupled with other upgrades to increase safety and mobility for all modes of transportation.”

The first street to be slurry sealed will be University Avenue from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue, and the resurfaced roadway will then be striped with a separated Class IV Cycle Track in subsequent weeks.

Other streets to be resurfaced include Randolph Street, Montecito Way, Fort Stockton Drive, Loma Pass, Sheridan Avenue, Rialto Street, Clovis Street, Whitman Street, Guizot Street and Grandview Street, among others. Work on the roads — weather permitting — will be completed this month.

Slurry seal is a cost-effective pavement preservation method consisting of asphalt emulsion, sand and rock. The mixture is applied to the street surface at an average thickness of a quarter inch and extends the life of streets that are already in good condition.

Streets are selected for resurfacing through a pavement management system that helps determine when to schedule streets. Each street segment is assigned a Pavement Condition Index score based on the pavement’s roughness and cracks. To prioritize street paving, the PCI is used in conjunction with other factors such as traffic volume, road type, equity, climate resiliency, mobility, maintenance history, other construction projects and available funding.

A map of past, current and future street repairs can be found at https://streets.sandiego.gov.

City News Service contributed to this article.

A domestic violence suspect surrendered early Friday after about two-and-a-half-hour standoff Clairemont Mesa, San Diego Police reported.

Lt. Adam Sharki said someone texted 911 just after 1 a.m. Friday saying they were being held hostage at an apartment in the 5200 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.

A police SWAT team was called to the location.

Around 3:30 a.m. a woman came out safely, the lieutenant said. About 4 a.m., the male suspect surrendered to police.

Brandon Grosso was taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and domestic violence, Sharki said. The woman being held was not injured, he said.

OnScene.TV and City News Service contributed to this article.

San Diego Police are investigating four similar armed robberies that occurred over a one-hour period Saturday night and Sunday morning involving suspects with similar descriptions.

The first occurred at 10:53 p.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of B street involving four male juveniles between ages 15 and 17, who entered Golden Hill Liquor, San  Diego police Officer John Buttle said.

Two were armed with handguns and two were not, he said. The two with handguns ordered the employee to open the register and took cash and bottles of Hennessey Cognac. They fled in a dark-colored sedan.

The second occurred at 11:37 p.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of Mission Village Drive, Buttle said.

Three male suspects entered the store and two pointed guns at the employee, then one removed cash from the register while the others took liquor and other merchandise. They fled on foot.

The third occurred at 11:55 p.m. Saturday in the 8600 block of Aero Drive, Buttle said. One suspect pointed a handgun at the clerk and took money from the register while the other two took cigarettes and other items before fleeing on foot.

The fourth was at 12:02 a.m. Sunday in the 8800 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, he said. The suspect armed with a handgun walked up to the counter and demanded cash from the register. This time the three drove away westbound on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in a dark colored vehicle.

The suspects were described as Black and they wore face masks during the third robbery. One had a handgun and wore a black jacket with red sleeves, red hoodie and green or gray pants. Another had a handgun and wore a black hoodie or brown sweater, black or gray pants and gray shoes. and the third wore a black hoodie, blue jeans and black shoes.

There were no reports of injuries during any of the robberies.

Six people are in custody, and law enforcement confiscated large amounts of drugs, along with illegal guns, as the result of ongoing investigations by San Diego-area agencies. 

The first investigation began in October, San Diego police said in a Thursday news release.

The San Diego Narcotics Task Force had sought information on a case involving the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine.

The probe concluded Wednesday when detectives seized 60,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills, 5,000 ecstasy pills, nearly 9 pounds of cocaine and 5 pounds of methamphetamine.

Authorities arrested Edith Gonzalez-Ramirez and Edwin Valles on narcotics trafficking charges. 

The second investigation began because of community complaints as residents in San Diego, East County and the South Bay alleged that illegal dispensaries were operating near schools and homes.

There were also reports that these illegal dispensaries were selling synthetics known as “Delta-8 THC” or “Delta-10 THC.” National poison control centers have received numerous reports of synthetically derived “hemp-based” product exposures causing hospitalizations and deaths. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, multiple agencies, including San Diego and Chula Vista police, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, served search warrants at six locations:  

• Canably, at 2971 India St. The establishment was allegedly selling and distributing cannabis and cannabis products within 1,000 feet of a school and homes. 
• A residence in the 6700 block of Bamburgh Drive in Clairemont Mesa, where two young children, aged 10 months and 5 years, and a teen, 14, live. Investigators seized 300 pounds of loose cannabis, 5,400 edibles, 13,900 concentrates, and cash. Police arrested Jose Delahoz and Valeria Rada on child endangerment and drug-related counts. 
• Elevated smoke shop, 1570 Garnet Ave., operating within 1,000 feet of Pacific Beach Middle School. Investigators recovered a loaded ghost gun, 331 loose cannabis pre-rolls and 426 concentrates.  
• The home of Elevated’s owner, 300 block of 14th Street. Investigators recovered evidence, including an unregistered handgun.  
• BestBudz smoke shop, 10010 Campo Road in Spring Valley. Deputies recovered 500 pounds of cannabis products.  
• A location in the 700 block of Camino Francisco, where Chula Vista police arrested Pedro Delahoz and Diego Delahoz on suspicion of drug offenses related to the investigation. 

California law allows for the sale of cannabis and cannabis-derived products only in compliance with specific regulatory and licensing requirements. State law also bars the sale of cannabis to minors, the sale of illegal synthetics and the possession of firearms.

In addition, city of San Diego regulations require businesses that sell cannabis or cannabis-derived products to have a specific cannabis retailer license allowing such sales.

Authorities on Thursday released video footage of last week’s fatal confrontation between San Diego police officers and an armed man in Clairemont Mesa.

The brief standoff ended when a patrolman opened fire on the suspect, who allegedly fatally shot a police service dog named Sir before dying.

The San Diego Police Department posted the 10-minute video to YouTube. It includes a recording of a 911 call, along with footage from two officer-worn cameras – though multiple officers were at the scene – and a dash cam.

Part of an officer’s footage is obscured as he was lying on the ground pointing a department rifle in the moments before the shooting, but the audio is discernible.

Near the conclusion of the video, the police note that “officers were positioned too far away from (the suspect) to effectively deploy bean-bag rounds.” He also can barely be seen in the footage. The police instead provide a written narrative during the post to describe his actions and position.

The events that led to the deadly encounter began shortly before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 2, when a 911 caller reported being shot at by the occupants of a white Tesla sedan in the 3500 block of Ben Street, just west of the area where Interstate 805 and state Route 163 meet.

On the video, the victim can be heard telling a dispatcher the Tesla had been tailing his vehicle before it passed him and pulled to a stop, at which point a man – later identified as Benjamin Pickens, 33 – got out and opened fire with a pistol.

A dash cam in a vehicle parked on the residential street captured images though, of not one, but two shooters firing as the victim hit the gas. The shooting stops and the Tesla backs away down the street.

During his emergency call to police, the victim provided the license-plate number of the Tesla, and according to narrative and maps provided in the video, officers were able to use a GPS signal to trace its location to an alley off the 7400 block of Armstrong Place, east of San Diego Mesa College.

Searching the area, officers found the sedan with Pickens behind the wheel, alone and holding a handgun, according to police. When they tried to pull him over, the suspect sped off, and officers soon lost sight of the car.

A short time later, police again located the Tesla, this time in the 7200 block of Mesa College Circle. The vehicle, shown on the video via an officer’s body cam, had been involved in a solo crash and was unoccupied, its emergency lights flashing and driver’s door open. Officers did not find a firearm inside.

A short time later, officers spotted Pickens on foot nearby, talking on a cell phone with a pistol tucked under his left armpit. As they watched, taking cover behind their parked cruisers with guns drawn, the suspect, according to the narrative and an officer’s description, repeatedly touched the pistol with his right hand.

“Talk to us,” someone from the police department can be heard saying during the obscured footage, “What are you looking for? … We don’t want to hurt you.” Another voice can be heard stating the position of the suspect’s gun, while a dog barks.

Pickens ignored officers’ orders to surrender, the narrative noted, and began walking off, heading toward an empty lot.

At that point, footage shows a handler releasing his service dog, Sir, a Belgian Malinois, and the canine running toward the suspect.

Pickens responded, the video stated, by turning, drawing his gun and pointing it in the direction of police. At that point, Officer Addam Ansari opened fire with his service rifle, wounding the suspect in the chest.

A moment later, a second gunshot sounds, followed by Sir’s anguished yelps. The dog can be seen collapsing.

Officers sent in another service dog to move the wounded suspect away from his gun, which remained within his reach.

Sir’s handler, meanwhile, provided first aid to the 4 1/2-year-old dog and rushed him to an animal hospital, where veterinarians could not save him.

Paramedics took Pickens to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The victim who had originally been shot at was unharmed, though the incident left bullet holes in his windshield and rear window.

Ansari has been employed by the department for 11 years. He is assigned to the agency’s Western Division.

Sir had served the department since March of last year.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is handling the case as part of a county-wide agreement in which outside law-enforcement agencies oversee investigations of officer-involved shootings.

– Staff and wire reports

Authorities Monday publicly identified the man who was fatally shot by a patrol officer in Clairemont Mesa after shooting a police dog to death.

Benjamin Pickens, 33, opened fire on the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Sir after an officer sent the animal after him during a confrontation on Mesa College Circle about 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which investigates police shootings in San Diego under the terms of a countywide agreement.

A patrolman then shot Pickens, mortally wounding him. The suspect was pronounced dead at a hospital later in the morning.

The events that led to the shooting began when a 911 caller reported being shot at by a passenger in a white Tesla sedan in the 3500 block of Ben Street, just west of the junction of Interstate 805 and state Route 163, sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Jarjura said. The victim was unharmed by the gunfire.

Searching the area, officers found the Tesla with Pickens behind the wheel, holding a handgun, according to Jarjura. When officers tried to pull him over, the suspect sped off.

A short time later, police again located the car, this time parked on the nearby Mesa College campus. They then spotted Pickens on foot nearby.

“Officers gave verbal commands to the suspect, who was non-compliant and acting erratic,” Jarjura said. “The suspect was armed with a handgun that he placed underneath his left armpit. The suspect made multiple movements, grabbing the gun with his right hand.”

As the suspect continued refusing to comply, the police dog’s handler released the animal. Pickens reacted by shooting Sir, at which point SDPD Officer Addam Ansari shot the suspect in the chest with a rifle.

The service dog was taken to a veterinary clinic, where he was pronounced dead.

Ansari, who is assigned to the SDPD Western Division, has been employed by the department for 11 years.

City News Service contributed to this article.

A man who fatally injured Rose Donuts owner Randy Taing in his Clairemont Mesa home was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years and four months to life in state prison.

Keon Wilson, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the April 5, 2019, burglary that left Taing, 58, fatally injured. He also pleaded guilty to two residential burglary counts for break-ins at homes in Poway and Carlsbad, which also occurred in 2019.

Taing, who owned Rose Donuts in Linda Vista, died in a hospital a few days after the break-in. A medical examiner testified at a preliminary hearing that blunt-force trauma injuries contributed to Taing’s death, but a heart attack caused by the stress of the event was the ultimate cause of death.

According to testimony, Wilson was first connected to the burglary spree through the break-in at Taing’s home.

A van seen leaving the area near Taing’s home was traced to Wilson, who rented the vehicle under his own name. Cell phone data and DNA evidence located inside the victim’s home also placed Wilson in the area around the time of the break- in, according to testimony.

A safe stolen from Taing’s home was later found empty and dumped in the Scripps Ranch area, in an embankment just off Interstate 15.

Wilson, a Los Angeles resident, was arrested in May 2021 in his hometown.

Deputy District Attorney Kristie Nikoletich said the break-ins were part of a larger string of home burglaries committed by Wilson and others. Evidence introduced at Wilson’s preliminary hearing touched on two uncharged out-of-county home burglaries in Fountain Valley and Santa Barbara.

The prosecutor described the people behind the spree as “a sophisticated criminal organization that targeted victims who were owners of small businesses.”

Wilson’s alleged accomplices have not been arrested. Nikoletich said none of the property or money taken in the burglaries was recovered. One family suffered more than $800,000 in losses, she said.

City News Service contributed to this article.