La Mesa police seek information in death of gunshot victim left at hospital
LA MESA
Police sought tips from the public Monday as they continued investigating last week’s death of a gunshot victim who was dropped off at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.
The driver of a red Honda sedan dropped off 36-year-old San Diego resident Jose Santos Acevedo Torresdey just before 7 p.m. last Wednesday at the hospital’s emergency room ambulance bay, according to La Mesa police spokesman Lt.
Greg Runge.
The driver took off immediately after getting Torresdey out of the car, Runge said.
Hospital staff attempted to save Torresdey, but he died shortly after he was dropped off, Runge said. Authorities said he had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.
Investigators do not know when or where the shooting occurred, but were asking for tips from anyone with information about the shooting or the car that left Torresdey at the hospital.
The victim’s brother, Carlos Guevara, said the family has not been given many more details than what police have released publicly.
“The main thing is a timeline, the detective is just trying to figure out where it happened and when,” Guevara said.
The family has started a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral and other costs.
Guevara lived most of his life in the San Diego area, including for a time with an ex-wife in El Cajon. He attended Grossmont High School, and was raised by his mother, Natalia Guevara, and his grandfather, who he referred to as his father.
Because of his close relationship with his grandfather, he used Torresday as his primary surname instead of Acevedo, his father’s last name, according to his brother.
The family said Torresdey struggled with drug addiction, but was always loving and kind to his family, and always there for friends in need.
Anyone with information about the circumstances surrounding Torresdey’s death or the car that dropped him off is urged to call La Mesa police at (619) 667-7532 or lamesatips@cityof lamesa.us.
Tipsters can also call County Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
Woman cut when gunman shoots out car windows
SAN DIEGO
A woman sustained cuts from shattered glass after a gunman pulled up alongside her car on an Interstate 805 off-ramp and opened fire, a California Highway Patrol officer said Tuesday.
The incident happened about 9 p.m. Monday as the woman waited for the light to change at the Imperial Avenue exit from southbound I-805, in the Mountain View neighborhood, Officer Salvador Castro said.
Castro said the shooter pulled up along the passenger side and opened fire, shattering the windows of her black Ford sedan.
Paramedics tended to the victim’s cuts and released her at the scene.
teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com
Woman pleads not guilty in killing of boyfriend
VISTA
A woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend at their Escondido apartment pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and domestic violence charges.
Shelley Noel Reaves, 52, is charged in connection with the Dec. 22 death of 63-year-old Rafael Octavio Choza.
Escondido police received a call just after 7 p.m. that night from a woman who said her roommate was dead. Officers responded to the apartment in the on North Quince Street near West Washington Avenue and found Choza unconscious and with signs of trauma. Choza, who had been stabbed multiple times, was pronounced dead at the apartment.
Escondido police said Reaves and Choza were in a dating relationship and the death was investigated as a domestic-related homicide.
In addition to the murder charge, Reaves is charged with felony domestic violence in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on Dec. 17.
Reaves is being held in custody on $3 million bail and her next court date is Feb. 4.
San Diego police investigate stabbing at San Ysidro motel
SAN YSIDRO
San Diego police are investigating a stabbing that occurred at a San Ysidro motel Tuesday.
Police were called by a nurse at Scripps Mercy Hospital around 6:25 a.m. after a man arrived for treatment who was suffering from a stab wound not believed to be lifethreatening, said San Diego police Officer Scott Lockwood.
The victim, who is in his 40s, told police he had been stabbed by a male acquaintance at the Best Western motel on West San Ysidro Boulevard. No arrests have been made, Lockwood said.
karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com
Chula Vista mobile home fire sends three to hospital
CHULA VISTA
Three people suffered smoke inhalation injuries Monday night when a Chula Vista mobile home caught fire, authorities said.
The blaze was reported about 8:30 p.m. on Otay Lakes Road a few blocks west of the state Route 125 toll road, Chula Vista police said.
Fire crews arrived to find smoke and f lames spewing from the mobile home, according to the Chula Vista Fire Department.
Firefighters knocked down the f lames in less than 20 minutes.
A man who lived in the mobile home that was on fire was able to get out on his own but a female resident was still inside when two neighbors went in to help.
The resident and a female neighbor were able to get themselves outside, and both women and the man were taken to be treated for smoke inhalation, fire Capt. Linda D’Orsi said.
Medics took three patients to hospitals with smoke inhalation injuries, fire officials said. It was unclear what sparked the fire.
Fire at Mira Mesa house causes $400K in damage
MIRA MESA
A fire caused an estimated $400,000 worth of damage to a Mira Mesa home Monday, officials said.
The non-injury blaze on Hillery Drive near Westonhill Drive began about 3:15 p.m., the San Diego FireRescue Department said.
Crews arrived to find smoke and flames emanating from the garage of the two-story house, fire spokesman Alec Phillipp said.
It took crews about 20 minutes to knock down the blaze, he said.
Investigators estimated the fire caused $250,000 in damage to the structure and $150,000 to contents.