Police are investigating an apparent gang-involved shooting that occurred Sunday night on the south side of San Diego State University.
At about 9 p.m., five Asian-Americans went to Aztec Amusement Center in the 5100 block of College Avenue armed with bats and sticks seeking a fight with another group of Asian-Americans, according to San Diego Police Lt. Howard Kendall. The two groups had had a previous argument to which the aggressing group intended to put an end, Kendall said.
When the group inside the arcade saw the aggressing group coming toward them with weapons, all but two of them ran away. At that point, the two remaining men, one of whom was armed with a .380 handgun, and the aggressing group confronted each other outside of the arcade.
The confrontation ended when the man with the handgun fired one shot into the victim’s stomach. The victim, who originally was one of the aggressors, was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was treated for a lacerated liver caused by a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Police have not yet identified the shooter, Kendall said, but have several leads. The shooting currently is being investigated by the San Diego Police Department’s Gang Unit.
Two arrested for DUI
Two men were arrested for drunken driving in separate incidents last week after University Police stopped the vehicles they were driving near San Diego State University.
At 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 26, a University Police officer was talking to night-safety employees of Villa Alvarado Residence Hall on the northeast side of campus when he observed a blue 1989 Pontiac LeMans rev its engine and squeal its tires as it drove toward the parking lot’s exit.
When the officer stopped the Pontiac in the 6100 block of Alvarado Road, he smelled alcoholic odors on the breath of the driver, Luis A. Madrigal, 22, of South Gate, Calif.
While talking with Madrigal, the officer noticed Madrigal had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, so he decided to give him a field-coordination test. Based on his poor performance on the test, Madrigal was arrested and taken to County Jail, where his bail was set at $1,600.
At 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 31, another University Police officer was in the parking lot of a liquor store near the intersection of College Avenue and Lindo Paseo when he saw a black 1985 Pontiac Fiero approaching him on Lindo Paseo without its headlights on.
The officer stopped the car near the intersection’s stoplight and confronted the driver, Herman Gaines Jr., 24, of Spring Valley. The officer noticed Gaines had the usual signs of intoxication ? alcoholic odors on his breath, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech ? as well as an open 40-ounce can of malt liquor inside the car.
The officer administered a field-coordination test, on which Gaines performed poorly, and arrested Gaines for drunken driving. Gaines was taken to County Jail, and his bail was also set at $1,600.
Neither Madrigal nor Gaines is an SDSU student.
Man grabs woman on footbridge
An SDSU student was grabbed by an unidentified man Monday night while entering campus on a footbridge on the northeast side of the Business Administration and Mathematics building.
The student, a 21-year-old woman, told University Police that
as she was walking across the footbridge around 7:20 p.m. from Parking Structure I to campus, she noticed a white man walking toward her. As the man passed her, she said, he reached out and grabbed her breast.
The student said she knocked the man’s hand away and he continued to walk across the footbridge into the parking structure. The student then went to Love Library where she called University Police. Officers searched for the man but were unable to find him.
“By knocking the suspect’s hand away and standing her ground, she told the suspect she wasn’t going to be an easy target,” said Marc Fox, University Police crime prevention specialist.
The man is described as 22; 5 feet, 8 inches; and 170 pounds with a medium build. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans, a baseball cap and gold-framed glasses. The man’s hair and eye color are unknown. He was last seen entering level 6 of Parking Structure I.
Anyone with information may call the University Police Investigations Unit at 594-5722.
Police Log
The following incidents were logged by University Police between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1:
* Assault
* Consuming alcohol in public
* Disorderly conduct
* Disturbing the peace
* DUI
* Fire
* Hit-and-run
* Injury/accident
* Minors in possession
of alcohol
* Noise complaints
* Petty theft
* Robbery
* Sexual assault
* Traffic collision
* Vandalism
* Vehicle burglary
* Vehicle parts theft
* Vehicle theft
