Man arrested in slaying at McDonald’s parking lot
A 31-year-old man was arrested this week in the killing of a man who was chased and stabbed repeatedly in a McDonald’s parking lot in the Midway District last month, San Diego police said.
Armando Parras was arrested at a motel in West Covina on Sunday. He was booked into San Diego County jail on suspicion of murder in the stabbing death of Joshua Goodman, 44, police said.
Investigators did not reveal a motive.
Goodman, who apparently was homeless, was attacked around 11:30 a.m. Aug. 30 after he rode his bicycle to the McDonald’s on Midway Drive near Duke Street, San Diego police Lt. Jud Campbell said.
The assailant arrived in a minivan, got out and chased Goodman in circles in the parking lot, stabbing him multiple times, Campbell said.
A woman drove the minivan in the lot with the sliding door open before the assailant jumped in, and the pair took off. The attack lasted about 30 seconds, Campbell said.
On Sunday, West Covina police detained Parras in an unrelated matter at the motel and discovered he had an arrest warrant for murder, then contacted San Diego police, Campbell said.
The lieutenant did not say how investigators identified Parras as the suspect.
He said Parras and Goodman were acquainted.
As of Thursday, investigators had not yet identified the getaway driver, Campbell said.
Anyone with information about the case was asked to call detectives at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477.
DAVID HERNANDEZ U-T
Investigators say man used Grindr to rob, assault victims
VISTA
A 28-year-old man was charged Wednesday with kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery after investigators alleged he used an LGBTQ dating app to lure several men to an Escondido apartment to attack them, prosecutors said.
A criminal complaint lists three victims as John Does. The alleged attacks began in July and ended a day before he was arrested, on Sept. 15, according to the complaint.
The man, identified as Tobias Bartee, pleaded not guilty to seven counts during his arraignment Wednesday in Vista Superior Court, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with parole, according to prosecutors. He is being held without bail. Police arrested Bartee after four men reported that they had been attacked by the suspect after messaging with him on Grindr, Escondido police Lt. Suzanne Baeder said in a news release.
It was not unclear why a fourth victim was not listed in the complaint.
Bartee, who is Black, posed as a White man by using a fake name and profile to lure the men to his apartment, Baeder said. When the victims arrived and they did not recognize the man who answered the door, the suspect would tell them the man they were looking for was a roommate, but he was gone.
According to police, Bartee would then forcibly restrain and oftentimes sexually assault the victims inside the apartment.
He is charged with kidnapping and sex crime counts in connection with the alleged Sept. 14 attack on John Doe 1.
Investigators said another attack occurred on Aug. 13 against John Doe 2. Bartee is charged with assault with intent to commit sodomy and assault causing great bodily injury in that attack.
Bartee is charged with robbery in connection with John Doe 3. That incident allegedly occurred between July 1 and July 31, according to the complaint.
He’s also charged with failing to appear in court in May of last year while he was out on bail in a separate case, in which he faces vehicle theft and drugrelated charges.
Escondido police said there might be other victims. They are encouraged to contact Detective Jesse Santaniello at (760) 839-4768.
Woman, 57, hit by minivan, killed while crossing street
A 57-year-old woman was struck and killed by a minivan as she crossed a street in Mira Mesa Wednesday evening, police said.
Officers responded to a collision shortly after 8:15 p.m at Mira Mesa and Pacific Heights boulevards.
Witnesses told police the woman was hit as she began crossing Mira Mesa Boulevard against a red light.