Imperial Valley Press Quick News

Fire guts Seeley motor home

SEELEY --- A fire destroyed a motor home today while the South Dakota couple who occupied it was visiting with a next door neighbor at the Rio Bend recreational vehicle park, an Imperial County Fire official said.

The 1:30 p.m. blaze left no one injured but caused damages to the motor home were estimated at $300,000 to $400,000, Imperial County Fire Chief Tony Rouhotas said. A cause behind the fire at the Drew Road RV park was not immediately known, Rouhotas said.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Two arrested after weapon was reportedly brandished at First Street warehouse

El Centro police arrested two truckers today following a report of someone brandishing a weapon from inside a big rig at the River Ranch warehouse on First Street, an El Centro Police sergeant said.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from an orange big rig that was parked outside the warehouse after a team of officers approached the vehicle using what El Centro Police Sgt. Jerrold Novak said was a ballistic blanket.

One of the drivers of the big rig was apparently in the sleeper compartment and removed. He and another man who Novak said is a driver were handcuffed and taken into custody. Several El Centro police officers swarmed around the location with weapons drawn after the 10:09 a.m. call was made.

It was not immediately known which of the drivers allegedly pointed the weapon or what the prompted the incident.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Single vehicle rollover crash in Ocotillo involved teen-age driver, officer says

OCOTILLO --- A 16-year-old Los Angeles girl suffered only minor injuries Thursday night when she turned the Ford Fusion in an unsafe manner while heading west on Interstate 8 and overturned, a California Highway Patrol officer said in a press statement released today.

Two adults and two children, one of whom was a 5-year-old girl, who all traveled with the teen also suffered minor injuries when the mid-size sedan rolled and ended up on its wheels in the center median west of Imperial Highway, Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Gastelum said in the statement. The crash was reported at about 9:04 p.m.

The teen-age driver was driving at about 70 mph when she inexplicably turned her vehicle to the right and then overcorrected herself, causing her to leave the roadway and head into the center median, Gastelum said. The 5-year-old girl suffered facial lacerations and was sent to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, while a 10-year-old girl escaped injury, Gastelum said. Both children were from Los Angeles.

The two adults, a 30-year-old Jalisco, Mexico man and a 25-year-old Los Angeles woman, had only a complaint of pain and were both taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center. It was not immediately known why the teen, who was taken to the El Centro hospital for a complaint of pain, was allowed to drive.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

17-year-old girl faulted for causing crash on Birch Street, Calexico Police officer says

CALEXICO --- A 17-year-old girl could face charges in connection with a traffic collision that occurred today at Birch Street and Rancho Frontera Avenue, a Calexico Police officer said.

The girl, who only had a permit when she drove a Toyota Corolla, failed to yield when her vehicle struck a moving Ford Stratus that was heading west on Birch Street, Calexico Police Officer Ruben Lopez said.

The girl was on her way to school when she turned to head west on Birch Street from Rancho Frontera Avenue. No major injuries occurred during the crash that was reported at 7:55 a.m., Lopez said. The girl drove alone as well as the second motorist, the officer said.

Juveniles driving with a permit are required by law to only operate a vehicle in the company of a guardian or parent, Lopez said.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

One child sent to San Diego area hospital following rollover crash

OCOTILLO --- A child traveling in a vehicle that rolled over Thursday night on westbound Interstate 8 was taken to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The 9:01 p.m. incident occurred west of Imperial Highway, Highway Patrol Officer Pablo Torrez said. It was not immediately known whether there were any other children traveling in the vehicle or what the extent of injuries the child that got sent to the hospital had suffered.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Youth struck at intersection

A vehicle struck a boy at the corner of Barioni Boulevard and South "H" Street in Imperial at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Imperial Police Sgt. Tim Ramos said a male youth was struck by a vehicle at the intersection and was transferred to El Centro Regional Medical Center. He was coherent, Ramos said, though he did not know his condition.

The incident is still under investigation and there were no details immediately available about the collision, he said.

-DAVID STEFFEN, Staff Writer

Suspect shot by El Centro Police detective

A shovel lies on the ground on 7th and State Streets in El Centro. Joselito Villero Photo.

 A suspect was shot after a confrontation with a couple and soon after a detective, said Cmdr. Paul Longoria of the El Centro Police Department.

The department received a call at 9:41 a.m. about a man threatening a couple outside of the Executive Inn on the corner of State and Seventh streets, Longoria said. A detective, the first to respond to the scene, confronted the suspect.

Different stories have come in about what happened, but the suspect was acting in a "threatening manner," Longoria said.

"The detective shot the suspect in question," Longoria said.

Multiple shots were fired, though it was not known how many, he said. The suspect was taken to a hospital and, to Longoria's knowledge, is stable.

The detective is being interviewed as well as the couple that was threatened by the suspect, Longoria said. The information is in its preliminary stage.

Check quick  news for updates.

--ELIZABETH VARIN, staff writer

Officer-involved shooting at Seventh and State in E.C.

A man was shot twice in what police described as an officer-involved shooting at Seventh and State streets in El Centro.

El Centro police Cmdr. Paul Longoria confirmed it was an officer-involved shooting but wouldn't say whether police shot a suspect or a suspect shot at police.

Police and emergency vehicles have surrounded the area around the Executive Inn on State Street.

No other information is available at this time, but according to police scanner traffic an ambulance was transporting one person with two gunshot wounds from a .45-caliber firearm. The person had been shot once below the ribs and another time in the pelvic region.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.  

---RICHARD BROWN, rbrown@ivpressonline.com

No one in custody over weekend shooting in El Centro

No suspects are in custody for the shooting of a 20-year-old El Centro man who suffered a single wound over the weekend to his chest, according to a press statement.

El Centro police suspect that the shooting of Abdul Medina Saturday night is probably gang-related, but have little to work on even after the victim and witnesses have been interviewed, El Centro Police Sgt. Jeff Mason said in the press statement. Medina, Mason said, was in stable condition following the shooting that was reported at about 10:30 p.m.

News about the shooting that occurred in the 1800 block of South 4th Street was not made public until today. Anyone with information about the shooting can call the El Centro Police Department's Investigations Unit at 760-337-4525.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer