Isaias Raziel Ochoa, 19

La Mesa, California
August 24, 2017

Agencies: La Mesa Police Department California | San Diego County District Attorney's Office California | San Diego County Sheriff's Office California | San Diego Police Department California

Cause of death: Shooting


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

One man was fatally shot by law enforcement officers in Lemon Grove, one man was in custody and one on the loose after a pursuit from La Mesa early Thursday, authorities said.

Four officers — two from La Mesa, one from San Diego, and one sheriff’s sergeant — opened fire on the man after he shot several rounds at them, sheriff’s homicide Lt. Kenneth Nelson said.

Dozens of officers and deputies extensively searched the Lemon Grove neighborhood for hours, looking for the man who escaped them.

A La Mesa police officer saw some odd activity in a gray Ford sedan stopped at a green light at Fletcher Parkway and Baltimore Drive about 1:20 a.m., Nelson said. One car door was open. When the officer approached the car, he heard screams coming from the car, then saw the door slam shut. The car sped away.

The officer pursued the sedan into Spring Valley, where a sheriff’s sergeant joined the chase.

It ended on Rebecca Way, a cul-de-sac near Ildica Street in Lemon Grove, not far from Mount Miguel High School. A San Diego police officer with a patrol dog got there right after the car stopped. Three men ran from the gray sedan, Nelson said.

Nelson said the officers and sheriff’s sergeant saw one of the men jump over a fence, then heard what sounded like gunshots. The law officers then saw the suspect run up a hill, and the police dog was released.

As the dog bit the suspect, he started firing at the law officers, and four of them returned fire, killing the man. His gun was recovered.

No information about him was released. The shooting occurred at 1:32 a.m., just 12 minutes after the pursuit started, Nelson said.

A second man was taken into custody about a block away. He was questioned at a sheriff’s station. Nelson said investigators don’t yet know if he was involved in any crime in connection with the pursuit and shooting.

Deputies and officers went house-to-house and yard-to-yard looking for the third man, described only as black or Middle Eastern and wearing a white shirt.

He had not been found by sunrise and Nelson said he most likely was no longer in the neighborhood

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