Police lock down S.D. arts school while they investigate disturbance at home

The School of Creative and Performing Arts in the Bay Terraces neighborhood of San Diego was placed on lockdown for several hours Monday afternoon while police investigated a disturbance at a nearby home, officials said.

The incident began about 3 p.m. after San Diego Unified Police Department officials called San Diego police to report that a person was on the balcony of a nearby home pointing what appeared to be an Airsoft gun toward the school, police said.

San Diego police officers were sent to investigate the sighting.

In a live feed captured from a 10News helicopter, more than half a dozen patrol vehicles could be seen in front of houses at the corner of Dusk and Alta View drives. The school is on Dusk Drive.

Police initially surrounded a home on Dusk and two people came out with their hands up about 4:15 p.m., the helicopter footage showed. A short time later, police moved to a different home on Alta View. Officers were there for a short while before a person came out and was handcuffed by police about 4:35 p.m.

A group of officers entered the home on Alta View soon afterward. It’s unclear what police found, if anything, after searching the home, and it was not immediately clear if anyone was arrested.

School officials said around 5:30 p.m. that the lockdown had been lifted and students were being released.

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com Man killed in head-on crash in San Marcos SAN MARCOS

A 56-year-old man died Sunday after his car was involved in a headon crash on a San Marcos road, sheriff ’s officials said.

The man’s blue Scion sedan and a silver Toyota minivan collided about 4:10 p.m. on South Santa Fe Avenue near Smilax Road, about 1.5 miles west of Palomar College.

Officials did not say how the crash happened.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he died. His name was not released.

The driver and three passengers in the minivan were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that did not appear to be lifethreatening, Deputy Brian Bentley said in a statement.

The deputy said it was unknown if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash, which was under investigation.

david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Passenger dies, drivers injured in crash in Dehesa

A 74-year-old San Diego woman riding in a minivan was killed and two drivers were hurt Sunday afternoon in a head-on crash in Dehesa, authorities said.

One of the drivers, a 30-year-old woman in a 2003 Honda Civic, was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, although she had not been arrested as of Monday. She suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.

The Honda Civic and a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica minivan collided about 3:30 p.m. on Dehesa Road, west of Sloane Canyon Road. Garrow said the driver of the Honda Civic was headed east before she drove across double-yellow lines, veering into the westbound lanes, where her car struck the minivan.

The minivan passenger died at the scene, according to Garrow and Cal Fire Capt. Frank LoCoco.

The driver of the minivan, a 46year-old woman, suffered moderate injuries, Garrow said. Both drivers were taken to a hospital.

david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com One dead in I-15 crash in Scripps Ranch area SCRIPPS RANCH

One person was killed in a crash on northbound Interstate 15 in the Scripps Ranch area late Sunday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash, which reportedly involved several vehicles, happened about 5:10 p.m. near Miramar Way. Authorities said one person died at the scene.

david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Driver pleads guilty to 2019 hit-run that killed pedestrian VISTA

An Oceanside man pleaded guilty Monday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for a 2019 hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian, who was dragged about 50 feet.

Wesley Stuart, 29, also admitted to drunken driving and hit-andrun causing injury or death when he changed his plea in Vista Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney David Uyar said Stuart is expected to be sentenced Feb. 8 to 18 years, four months in prison.

The incident happened just after 10:15 p.m. Dec. 17, 2019. Oceanside police said Stuart was speeding east in a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado on Mission Avenue when he ran a red light and slammed into a Ford F-150 headed north on Douglas Drive.

After the two vehicles collided, authorities said, Stuart backed up his pickup and tried to continue east on Mission. As he fled, he struck 65year-old Tran Thanhminh, who was walking home with his wife after they’d closed their restaurant for the evening.

The truck dragged Thanhminh about 50 feet, police said. He died at the scene.

Police located the abandoned Silverado about a half-mile away, and found Stuart and his passenger outside Stuart’s nearby home.

Defense attorney Samantha Greene said Monday that Stuart thought he hit a curb as he was f leeing the crash with the F-150. He did not realize he’d struck a person until police informed him that he had.

Man pleads guilty in DUI crash that killed Marine VISTA

A man who was driving drunk when he struck and killed a 22year-old active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton pleaded guilty Monday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

William Edward Vaden, 33, is scheduled to be sentenced next month in Vista Superior Court to 15 years to life in state prison for the death of Juan Muniz III, who was struck while crossing an Oceanside roadway during the early morning hours of Jan. 26, 2020.

The victim was hit at around 1:10 a.m. while crossing Coast Highway near Sportfisher Drive, according to police and prosecutors.

Paramedics responded to the scene and took Muniz to a hospital, where he died about an hour later, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Vaden, who remained at the scene, was initially arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was charged about six months later with murder, which prosecutors filed because he had a 2010 DUI conviction in San Diego County.

Deputy District Attorney David Uyar has said the defendant had a blood-alcohol content of 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit to drive a vehicle in California.

The prosecutor said Vaden stopped at several Oceanside-area bars before the fatal collision.