Source: San Diego County Sheriff
February 6, 2025 (El Cajon) -- Several people have been arrested due to criminal activity at a homeless encampment near Willow Glen Drive in unincorporated El Cajon on a variety of charges.
On Tuesday, February 4, around 2 p.m., a small fire broke out at the encampment. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames. Fortunately, there were no injuries or property damage.
“Deputies with the Sheriff's Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART) have conducted multiple outreach operations at this location over the past month, offering services and resources to those experiencing homelessness. Despite these efforts, deputies continued to respond to reports of criminal activity at the encampment,” says Sergeant Aaron Montan.
On Wednesday, February 5, Sheriff's HART performed an enforcement operation at the encampment. Several individuals were arrested on various charges, including drug-related offenses, outstanding misdemeanor warrants and identity theft.
The encampment has now been cleared and clean-up efforts are underway.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office remains committed to a balanced approach of outreach and enforcement, working closely with community partners to connect individuals in need with available services while addressing criminal activity that impacts public safety, Sgt. Montan says.
To learn more about Sheriff's HART, visit: https://www.sdsheriff.gov/community/homeless-outreach.
To report suspicious or criminal activity, call the Sheriff's Office at (858) 868-3200.
East County News Service
February 5, 2025 (El Cajon) – Sarhad Yawsip Jammo, the Bishop who led the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle for the western U.S. from 2002 until his retirement in 2016, has died at the age of 83. Born in Iraq and later based at St. Peter’s Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon, Bishop Jammo was a noted scholar, author and religious leader who guided the diocese through turbulent times, including wars ravaging his homeland and terrorists targeting Chaldean Christians in Iraq.
The Chaldean Diocese announced on Instagram, “The Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle mourns Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo Bishop Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo passed from this earthly life and entered eternity on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in San Diego, California. Let us join in prayer for his soul.”
Born to a Chaldean family in Baghdad on March 14, 1941, he went to Rome at age 17, where he obtained master’s degrees in theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies at Pontifical Oriental Institute with a dissertation titled “The Structure of the Chaldean Mass.”
He taught at the University of Notre Dame, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.
He was named pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Baghdad, serving there from 1969 to1974.Later he became rector at the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in Mosul. In 1977, he came to the United States and served as a pastor at two churches in Michigan.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II created a second Chaldean diocese in the U.S. and appointed Jammo to preside over the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle covering the western U.S., a position he held until his retirement in 2016.
He led the diocese through challenging times. In 2010, he led a prayer vigil in El Cajon for Chaldeans including priests massacred in a Baghdad church by terrorists. El Cajon was home to some 40,000 Iraqi Chaldeans at the time.
Bishop Jammo traveled to Washington D.C. in 2014 to meet with political leaders including Congressman Juan Vargas, who introduced a bill to grant asylum for religious minorities persecuted by ISIS in Iraq and raise the cap on refugees from that region to come to the U.S.
Mark Arabo, a Chaldean activist, remembered Bishop Jammo in a Facebook post today, praising Jammo as a “revered and legendary figure in the Chaldean Catholic Church.” He added, “Bishop Sarhad was a dear friend, - I cherish the memories we had together- from actively participating in various community gatherings, baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings, and even our numerous trips to the White House, United Nations and so much more. Together, we created cherished memories and effected significant change at the highest levels of government through our unwavering focus on the well-being of others.”
Jammo also championed reconciliation within the church and ecclesiastical renewal. After the Vatican approved a liturgical reform, the St. Peter diocese became the first to implement the reformed mass. Bishop Jammo was also an author and historian who wrote numerous books and other publications on Chaldean Catholic history, language and liturgy.
He voiced pride in his Chaldean heritage, stating in this video, “For 2,500 years, my Chaldean nation survived all massacres and genocides. Chaldeans will survive in the future." He added, “My Chaldean heritage is a diamond and I claim it."
Bishop Jammo’s funeral mass will be held on February 8 at 10 a.m. followed by funeral prayers at 11 a.m. at St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral, 1627 Jamacha Way, El Cajon. A viewing will be held Feb. 7 from 1 to 8 p.m. at the same location. Bishop Jammo will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego.
By Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters
Photo: The Eaton Fire burns in the community of Altadena. Firefighters were unable to get water from hydrants that ran dry, as homes and businesses burned, on Jan. 8, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters
February 4, 2025 (Los Angeles) - State Farm, the largest insurer for California homeowners, this week asked the state to approve “emergency” rate increases for insurance policy holders, saying the recent Los Angeles County fires have imperiled its finances.
The company wants an average 22% increase for homeowners and 15% for renters on top of rate hikes it requested last year. Those requests — 30% for homeowners, 52% for renters and 36% for condominium owners — have not been granted and are being challenged before the state’s Insurance Department, which is investigating the company’s financial situation.
In a letter dated Feb. 3, State Farm CEO Dan Krause and other executives wrote to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara that the company “needs your urgent assistance in the form of emergency interim approval of additional rate to help avert a dire situation for our customers and the insurance market in the state of California.”
State Farm has received more than 8,700 claims and paid more than $1 billion to its customers in the state as of Feb. 1, the executives said. “We know we will ultimately pay out significantly more, as these fires will collectively be the costliest in the history of the company,” they added.
The company has nearly 3 million policies in the state, including 1 million homeowner policies, the executives said. They mentioned that last year, credit-rating firm AM Best downgraded the credit rating for State Farm General, the California arm of the nationwide State Farm Group, because of its financial picture.
State Farm executives want the interim rates to be effective May 1, and referenced their pending rate requests from last year. Also in their letter, they alluded to both their company’s financial position as well as the state insurance market’s ongoing struggles: “In addition to your other efforts, immediate approval of additional and appropriately supported rate… sends a strong message that the state is serious about reforming its insurance market and allowing insurers to collect sufficient premiums to protect Californians against the risk of loss to their homes.”
Lara’s plan to address insurance availability in the state took effect at the beginning of the year, just days before the L.A.-area fires. It is widely expected to lead to significantly higher premium increases as the state allows insurers to include catastrophe modeling and the cost of reinsurance when setting their rates.
In response to State Farm’s new request, the department is scheduling a meeting of its rate-review experts, State Farm and Consumer Watchdog, which last year challenged the rate increases, insurance department spokesperson Gabriel Sanchez said. Department staff will then make an “urgent formal recommendation for action” to the commissioner, Sanchez said.
Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said her group has repeatedly asked State Farm for more information about its finances, including why its parent company can’t “step in” and help its California business. Consumer Watchdog last year accused State Farm General of redirecting profit by buying reinsurance from its parent company, an allegation on which the company would not comment.
“Insurance Commissioner Lara must require State Farm to prove it needs this staggering increase,” Balber said.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters
By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson
February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees. DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data. The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” states a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court against the U.S. Department of the Treasury, its Bureau of the Fiscal Service which disperses payments, and newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
The suit was filed by the Alliance for Retired Americans and two labor unions under the AFL-CIO: The American Federation of Government Employees and Service Employees International Union.
“People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his `DOGE.’ And federal law says they don’t have to,” the lawsuit states. “The Privacy Act of 1974 generally, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for Secretary Bessent to hand over access to the Bureau’s records on individuals to Elon Musk or other members of DOGE.”
The lawsuit seeks a temporary and permanent injunction to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury system, though according to Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, DOGE’s access has been “complete”; there is no way to know if the data has been further shared, or with whom.
Concerns have also been raised over the illegal shutting off of funding to any programs that Trump does not approve of. Trump initially ordered a broad freeze on spending, even though Congress has the power of the purse strings under both the Constitution and a law passed by Congress during the Nixon era which prohibits a president from refusing to spend money allocated by Congress.
Trump later rescinded his memo ordering the freeze after a judge ordered a halt, CBS News reports.
But Musk has already shut down all funds to U.S. Aid, the agency that provides foreign aid around the world, such as programs to ease hunger and prevent AIDS. The agency’s website has gone dark. Other funds halted thus far include money allocated by Congress for green energy programs and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Federal law requires that if a president wants funding reduced or halted, the president must ask Congress and cannot take action unless Congress passes a bill to change the funding mandates.
“Controlling the system could allow the Trump administration to unilaterally--and illegally--cut off payments for millions of Americans, putting at risk the financial security of families and businesses based on political favoritism or the whims of Mr. Musk and those on his team who have worked their way inside,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, stated in a letter to Bessent on Feb. 2.
Though Trump has long touted Musk’s DOGE as an independent, non-governmental entity, after the lawsuit noted that Musk is not a federal employee, Trump’s White Houe announced that Musk is serving as a “special government employee.” Such employees work only part of the year and have less stringent conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements than full-time government workers.
The world’s richest man, Musk is CEO of Space X and Tesla, which have received billions of dollars in federal contracts.
By Michael Howard
February 3, 2025 (La Mesa, CA) - The La Mesa City Council, during its Tuesday January 28, 2025 meeting, voted unanimously to increase city fees by 24.7%.
"Some fee schedules are increasing higher than normal,” Assistant to the City Manager Lyn Dedmon admitted to the Council members when the increases were presented for their vote.
City “user fees,” which are the fees charged to the users of certain city provided services, are not meant to be a source of revenue, per the city’s policy. Rather, the purpose of the fees are to recover the costs of providing the services that the city provides.
City services range from building permits to city-owned community pool swim passes, along with countless other engineering, planning, public works, and community services in between.
According to a report commissioned by the city to study the fee schedule, La Mesa only recovered 59% of the cost it takes to provide its services in fiscal year 2023-2024. Total costs were $7,626,128, but the city collected only $4,469.581.
According to Dedmon (photo, right), a big reason for the shortfall and resulting need to increase fees so dramatically is due to the pandemic and the increased cost of labor.
“It became clear that the pandemic’s impact on the fee schedule’s time line and overall year-to-year inflation in the years post-COVID, were the primary cause,” he reported to the City Council.
Employment costs have also increased, Dedmon explained. “Some of which the city controls,” he shared but added, “Some, the city does not control like health care and pension costs.” Contracted services that the city hires for various projects have also increased, he said.
Fee increases, however, are not across the board. Increases will vary by the services provided.
For example, a building permit for a building valued between $100,000 to $500,000 will increase a whopping 40%. In FY 2023-2024, the flat fee for a building permit in this range was $1,428.50, followed by $6.40 for every $1,000 increment in value up to $500,000. Starting in April of 2025, when the city’s fiscal year begins, that flat fee increases to $2,380.80 and the incremental amount for every $1,000 in value will be $10.60.
In comparison, the city of El Cajon charges $1,154.94 for the first $100,000 and $6.32 for each additional $1,000 increment in value.
But not all fees went up. Some fees will be lowered, or in some cases, removed. Fees for companies that fumigate, provide dry cleaning services, or that produce, store, or handle cryogenic fluids for example, all saw a slight decrease.
Service fees that were removed include the cost of inspection of day-care and in-home care facilities, mobile food vehicle inspections, and fire-plan checks.
Public comment was limited during the hearing. Only one citizen signed up to speak and her comment was a suggestion to charge a fee for short-term rentals. She did not comment on the increases.
In other actions, the city approved adding a section to the La Mesa Municipal Code to clarify the preemption, or precedence, of the California building code and appointed citizen members to the community police oversight board.
SOURCES
City of El Cajon. (n.d.-a). Budgets & Financial Policies | El Cajon, CA. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://www.elcajon.gov/your-government/departments/finance/budgets-financial-policies?form=MG0AV3
City of El Cajon. (n.d.-b). Master Fee Schedule. https://www.elcajon.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/27815/638428996424970000
City of La Mesa. (n.d.). CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION ADOPTING A FEE SCHEDULE TO BE CHARGED BY VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025—City Council—January 28, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://pub-lamesa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=164e18d7-efd1-46c9-bcf7-3339182a746c&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=51&Tab=attachments
City of La Mesa. (2025, January 28). City of La Mesa Fee Schedule Fiscal Year 2024-2025. https://pub-lamesa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=17915
MGT Conusulting Group. (2024, May 28). COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE RECOVERY CSOST STUDY. https://pub-lamesa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=17914
East County News Service
Update Feb. 4, 2025 -- Supervisor Joel Anderson has launched a petition to oppose Snavely's placement in Julian. You can sign his petition here.
February 1, 2025 (Julian, CA) – San Diego County Superior Court has ordered the conditional release of Gary Snavely, a sexually violent predator (SVP) at 3452 Wynola Road in Julian. The public can submit comments from Feb. 3 through Feb. 16; hearing set for March 7.
Snavely was convicted of molesting two girls ages 8 and 9 in Orange County back in 1987. In 1996 he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego County and went back to prison. After his release, he was placed in Jacumba in 2008 but after he abused his psychotropic medication and lied to his supervising staff he went back to Coalinga state hospital, though he was not accused of committing new crimes. Violations included failing to remain appropriately clothed at all times on his property while in public view, and failing to report any and all instances of sexual thoughts and fantasies involving sexual deviance to treatment staff.
Supervisor Bill Horn has called Snavely “the worst of the worst” adding, “No child or family should be forced to live in fear with Snavely as their neighbor,” back when Snavely was proposed for release in Borrego Springs, before the state withdrew that application and instead placed Snavely in Jacumba Hot Springs.
How to submit comments via email, phone, or at hearing
The SAFE Task Force will be accepting public comments about the proposed placement to be included in the formal response to the court and the Department of State Hospitals. Comments will be accepted between the dates of February 3, 2025 and February 16, 2025.
You can e-mail your comments regarding placement to: sdsafe@sdsheriff.org. You can also call (858) 583-7238. You can mail your comments to:
SVP/Release/SAFE Task Force
9425 Chesapeake Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
Oral comments may be accepted subject to court ruling during a hearing on:
March 7, 2025
9:00 a.m.
Honorable Jeffrey F. Fraser
San Diego Superior Court
Department 2002
1100 Union Street
San Diego, CA 92101
More information
For more information about the legal designation, treatment and release from confined facilities of sexually violent predators, visit the San Diego County District Attorney's website. You can also visit the Department of State Hospital's website.
To learn more about the SAFE Task Force, click here.
View ECM’s previous articles about Snavely here.
By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Lakeside Fire Department, which has sent firefighters to battle the Palisades wildfire
January 11, 2025 (Los Angeles) – After days of massive destruction and widespread evacuations, firefighters are finally making progress on four remaining wildfires in the Los Angeles area. At least 13 people have died in the fires, which have destroyed an estimated12,000 structures, the Los Angeles Times reports.
At least 90 firefighters from San Diego County have been dispatched to help fight the L.A. fires, including Lakeside Fire Department, which posted photos on social media of the Palisades Fire that their firefighters have been battling since Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands remain evacuated, as firefighters slowly make progress toward controlling fires fueled initially by hurricane-force winds.
Here are the latest updates from Cal Fire and L.A.-based news outlets:
The Palisades Fire has burned 22,600 acres and is now 11% contained. The wildfire has ravaged Pacific Palisades, portions of Malibu, and homes along Pacific Coast Highway. Current evacuation orders include much of Brentwood, Encino,Calabasas, Sansta Monica,Malibu and Pacific Palisades. This fire has damaged or destr
oyed around 5,300 homes; another 12,000 structures are still threatened.
The Eaton Fire has scorched14,117 acres and is 15% contained. Around 7,000 structures have been damaged or lost, according to fire officials, in Pasadena and Altadena.
The Kenneth Fire is now 80% contained after burning 1,052 acres near the Los Angeles and Ventura county lines. All evacuation warnings have been
lifted.
Evacuation orders have also been lifted for the Hurst Fire, which burned approximately 779 acres in the Sylmar area. The Hurst Fire is now 76% contained.
At least two other fires have been fully contained, including a blaze that threatened portions of Hollywood.
Firefighters have come from across the region and as far away as Canada and Mexico. Canada has deployed 250 firefighters, while Mexico has sent at least 101 “bomberos” or firefighters to L.A. Numerous inmate firefighters are also help to control the conflagrations.
After Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state emergency, President Joe Biden cancelled a planned trip to Italy to meet with the pope in order to get aid to California. President Biden announced that the federal government will cover “100 percent of all the costs” to fight fires in Los Angeles County, higher than the 75% customarily granted by the federal government to states during disasters.
It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will continue to provide aid to California, since Trump has previously threatened to withhold disaster aid from states that didn’t vote for him. Asked if he is confident that the Trump team members will continue to send disaster aid to California, Biden responded, ”I pray to God they will,” Politico reports.
East County News Service
January 31, 2025 – Annette Smith, 58, of El Cajon has been arrested on suspicion of mailing a narcotic-laced greeting card into a San Diego County Jail.
In December 2024, deputies assigned to the Sheriff's Mail Processing Center intercepted a greeting card intended for Alicia Abungan, 52, who is in custody at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee. While inspecting the card, deputies noticed it had the appearance of being soaked in narcotics.
The Sheriff's Detention Investigations Unit began a criminal investigation, which identified Smith as responsible for mailing the greeting card containing narcotics.
On January 29, Sheriff's DIU Detectives along with deputies from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation's Crime Suppression Team and Santee Sheriff's Station's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Team served a search warrant at Smith's home in El Cajon.
“During the search, detectives found evidence related to the mail case and 35.67 grams of methamphetamine,”says Sergeant Aaron Brown.
Smith was arrested on numerous charges, including sending a controlled substance into jail. This is a felony charge with a penalty of up to six years in custody.
By Miriam Raftery
January 31, 2025 (San Diego) -- A two-count indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores with violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse. Flores is accused of using excessive force that caused a spinal cord injury, then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.
He is charged with depriving the individual – identified in the indictment as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation. If convicted on both counts, he could face up to 30 years in prison and be fined up to $500,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Flores was assigned to the San Diego Central Courthouse on August 29, 2024, and was escorting J.P. to a holding cell after a court hearing. J.P.’s legs were chained and his hands were cross-chained to his waist.
The indictment alleges that Flores Flores forcefully shoved J.P. into the cell from behind with both hands, causing J.P. to smash into the bench and walls and collapse to the ground. Flores failed to immediately report the incident to his supervisor or prepare an official report, both of which are violations of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office’s Use of Force Policy.
According to the indictment, another deputy found J.P. over two hours later lying in the same position in his holding cell with a head wound and a pool of blood on the floor. As a result of Flores’ actions,
J.P. suffered a spinal injury for which he underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for months.
The indictment said that more than an hour after J.P. was discovered in his holding cell, Flores falsely claimed in an incident report that “no force was used” in placing J.P. into the cell.
“The vast majority of law enforcement personnel are dedicated public servants committed to following the rule of law and protecting our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “But when a choice is made to cross the line and violate someone’s civil rights, this office will stand on behalf of the victim, and all those who wear the badge with honor, to uphold the public’s trust.”
Sheriff Kelly Martinez issued this statement: "The actions described in this case are unacceptable. Immediately upon hearing of the incident, an investigation was initiated, and Deputy Flores was placed on administrative assignment. The investigation led us to believe criminal actions occurred, and we presented the case to state and federal authorities. Deputy Flores has been with the Sheriff's Office since November of 2021 and has been a Deputy Sheriff since February of 2023.”
She adds, ”As the Sheriff, I will continue working to ensure a culture does not exist where deputies believe this behavior is tolerated. I hold our value of compassion as core to who we are, and there is no excuse for any deputy to use excessive force. Particularly in the case of someone who is vulnerable due to the circumstances of being in custody. Any Sheriff's employee who violates the law or policy will be held accountable."
“Law enforcement officers work tirelessly every day to protect the public, always striving to be professional, honest, and ethical,” said San Diego FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “The alleged action of the defendant not only violates the oath he swore as a law enforcement officer to protect and serve, but also erodes citizen confidence and trust in our profession.”
Flores made his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David D. Leshner. He entered pleas of not guilty to both charges and was released on a $25,000 personal appearance bond with special conditions that he surrender his passport and his personally owned firearms. The next scheduled court appearance is a motion hearing and trial setting before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez on March 10, 2025, at 2 p.m.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Askins.
To read the news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, click here.
By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Robert Gehr
January 31, 2025 (El Cajon) – After voting to repeal a long-unenforced ban on dog walking downtown, the city of El Cajon has installed “doggie pots” and poop disposal bags to help dog owners cleanup after their pets.
Photos show receptacle near the waterscape outside the Magnolia performing arts center; another is located at the northeast side of Prescott Park.
