Major crash in Chula Vista

Several people are injured in a three- or four-vehicle crash in Chula Vista, where a medical helicopter is landing, police said.

The collision occurred about 11:20 p.m. Friday at Brandywine Avenue and Main Street, Chula Vista police Lt. Scott Arsenault said. Firefighters are having to cut apart some vehicles to free injured people.

Arsenault said no fatalities have been reported. The intersection is closed while police, paramedics and firefighters work.

Teens punch, rob 15-year-old in La Mesa

An off-duty deputy caught a 16-year-old boy suspected of robbing and punching another teen at the La Mesa Boulevard trolley station Friday night, La Mesa police said.

A 15-year-old boy told officers he'd just gotten off the trolley and was walking home when two youths walked up to him, grabbed his cell phone and necklace.

They tried to lead him by the arm to a nearby parking garage. When he tried to get away, they punched him in the head several times and ran away. An off-duty deputy ran after them and caught one about 7 p.m., police said. The victim suffered minor scrapes to his face.

The second teen got away. He was described as black, 16 to 18 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 160 pounds, carrying a gray backpack and wearing a long black T-shirt, dark pants, a black ballcap and white tennis shoes.

Two restaurants robbed by same pair

Two masked men with a handgun robbed two Mexican restaurants in East County within 20 minutes of each other Friday night, a sheriff's official said.

At Los 3 Pedros Authentic Mexican Restaurant on Folex Way in Rancho San Diego, the two ordered employees to the floor and took cash about 9 p.m., Lt. William Donahue said.

About 9:20 p.m., the pair showed up at Rojelios Taco Shop on Federal Boulevard in Lemon Grove. They took cash from the register and a customer's wallet, Donahue said.

The victims described the robbers as black men wearing black clothes, including black bandannas over their faces. A sheriff's helicopter was looking for them in the area of College Grove shopping mall after the second holdup.

Man suspected of beating infant son is arrested

A man suspected of beating his 5-month-old son was arrested Friday afternoon by sheriff's deputies.

Mauricio Lopez, 33, was arrested inside a Lemon Grove home-improvement store where he ran to get away from deputies, authorities said.

Lopez is suspected of repeatedly beating his son. Authorities said Lopez's wife took the infant to Children's Hospital in mid-October, and medical staff notified Child Welfare Services and the sheriff's department of the boy's injuries.

Officials said the boy suffered fractured bones on his legs, arms, ribs and back. The fractures are in various stages of healing.

The assault is being investigated as a felony, deputies said.

Downtown scuffle ends in stabbing

A man was seriously injured when he was sliced across the belly during a fight in downtown San Diego Friday afternoon.

The scuffle began shortly after 1 p.m. near the trolley tracks on Park Boulevard and Broadway, San Diego police said.

Jesse Gonzalez, owner of Popular Market, said a customer ran inside and asked him to call 911. Gonzalez saw a man bleeding on the sidewalk, while another man was fighting with a woman on the tracks.

The bleeding man then got up and came to his girlfriend's defense when she was knocked to the ground, Gonzalez said.

The stabbing victim, who was possibly sliced with a box cutter, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, while the other man was also transported for minor cuts. It was unclear who started the fight.

The woman suffered minor injuries and did not need to be taken to the hospital.

SDPD officer drives off road, is not hurt

A San Diego police car drove off the road on northbound Interstate 5 just south of Del Mar Heights Road. The officer is not injured and the patrol car appears to have sustained some damage. The reason why he drove off the road is unknown, according to the California Highway Patrol. Several CHP officers, an ambulance and a helicopter have been sent to investigate.

Two SDSU fraternities disciplined

Final disciplinary action has been taken against two San Diego State University fraternities in connection with a campuswide drug sting that culminated in May.

The university announced that Theta Chi has been expelled for three and a half years and Phi Kappa Psi has been suspended for 18 months.

James Kitchen, vice president of student affairs, informed the presidents of each fraternity of the actions in letters dated Thursday. Kitchen cited violations "totally unacceptable and antithetical to the expectations for civil behavior that govern our university," according to an SDSU statement.

Both fraternities have been on interim suspension since the drug-related arrests of some of their members in May. The decisions followed separate review hearings for each fraternity.

Previous stories:
Major SDSU drug probe nets 96 arrests in raids
Ex-president: Frat `tainted' by arrests

Gas leak fixed, residents return home

The more than 200 residents of a Vista neighborhood evacuated because of a gas leak were allowed back into their homes early today after the line was repaired.

The Red Cross provided food, water and blankets to those who were displaced

Man with gun arrested after chase

Officers arrested a man armed with a handgun early today after the led them on a chase that started in San Diego's Grant Hill neighborhood and ended in Sherman Heights, where he crashed his vehicle into a parked car.

Officer tried to stop the driver of the green Saturn sedan at Dodson Street and Island Avenue just before 1:45 a.m., San Diego police said. The man, said to be in his 20s, sped off but ran into a parked car at 25th and K streets minutes later.

He got out of the car and ran carrying a backpack and a gun, which he dropped and picked up. Officers arrested him at 2 a.m after finding him hiding in an alley behind K Street, sitting with the handgun in his lap, police said. No shots were fired.

He was booked into jail on several charges, police said.

Broken gas line forces out Vista residents

Residents are being evacuated from their homes in a one-block radius around a broken natural gas line in Vista, authorities said.

A vehicle hit the line or gas meter near a house at North Santa Fe Avenue and East Drive about 11:45 p.m. Deputies are evacuating neighbors, a sheriff's dispatcher said.

No injuries have been reported. A fire dispatcher said firefighters are staying back, away from the broken line, until San Diego Gas & Electric Co. crews arrived to shut it off.

Driver killed in Clairemont crash

A 68-year-old motorist was fatally injured in a single-vehicle crash on Genesee Avenue in Clairemont Thursday night, San Diego police said.

The man was southbound in his 1997 Saab when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a light pole at Boyd Avenue about 11 p.m., police Sgt. Rich Nemetz said. Paramedics took the critically injured driver to a hospital, where he died.

No one else was in the car. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Police have traffic lanes at the intersection closed.

Teens beat man for backpack

Two teenagers beat, kicked and robbed a man of his backpack in La Mesa Thursday night, police said.

The thugs got only the unemployed man's identification and some clothes that were in the pack, La Mesa police said.

The robbery came about 8:45 p.m. on University Avenue near Massachusetts Avenue. The victim, in his mid-40s, told officers he was on the sidewalk when a small green four-door sedan stopped at the curb in front of him. When he walked past, two teens from the car attacked him from behind.

He turned around and saw one teen pointing a semiautomatic pistol at him. He struggled over his backpack, but was punched and kicked by the teens until they got the pack. They drove away. Paramedics took the victim to a hospital for treatment of a cut on his head and a bruised leg, police said.

The robbers were described as black, 16 to 18 years old and about 5 feet 7 inches tall. One teen weighed about 150 pounds and wore a black ballcap. The gunman weighed 190 pounds and wore dark clothes.