ESCONDIDO: A 17-year-old boy sought in last week's stabbing death of a man who lived in the same apartment surrendered yesterday at Escondido police headquarters.
Police did not release the boy's name or his relationship to the victim, Lorenzo Ramirez, 47, of East Mission Avenue.
The boy came to headquarters with his mother and other family members about 4 p.m., said Escondido police Lt. Bob Benton. The teen was taken to Juvenile Hall.
Ramirez arrived at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido last Tuesday afternoon with a stab wound to the abdomen. He told police he had been stabbed by a family member, Benton said. Benton said Ramirez and the boy are not blood relatives.
Ramirez died 12 hours later, and police began searching for the 17-year-old.
The weapon has not been found, Benton said. A motive in the case is unclear. –P.R.
Agents seize boat that
carried illegal immigrants
IMPERIAL BEACH: Border Patrol agents seized a 19-foot motorboat yesterday that landed on Imperial Beach with nine illegal immigrants from Mexico, authorities said.
Acting on a tip from the Coast Guard, an agent spotted the vessel on the sand about 1 a.m. near Sea Coast Drive with nine people nearby, including two women.
When the agent ordered the group to stay near the boat, they scattered but were later arrested by Border Patrol agents in the area, authorities said. Two men tried to escape in the boat, which had no markings showing where it was registered. They were captured after a wave turned the boat on its side, authorities said.
Five men and two women are expected to be deported, while two men will face human smuggling charges, authorities said. –J.L.J.
Diver dies after suffering
from unknown ailment
A 60-year-old diver was declared dead at a hospital yesterday after suffering an unknown medical condition while he was diving off a charter boat near San Clemente Island, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Jetta Disco.
A Coast Guard helicopter flew out to the vessel, which was about two miles from the island, and brought the diver back to the Coast Guard base on San Diego Bay, along with a nurse who was on the boat, Disco said.
The man, whose identity was not released, was taken by ambulance to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, the spokeswoman said. –J.L.J.
Fire damages vehicles
and apartment plumbing
SAN DIEGO: A fire that started in one car spread to two other vehicles and melted the plastic plumbing to four upstairs apartments in the Lake Murray neighborhood yesterday.
An 18-year-old pregnant woman was taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Seven adults and four children were displaced for the night, San Diego fire officials said.
The fire broke out about 5:15 p.m. in a carport below two floors of apartments in an eight-unit building on Lake Murray Boulevard at Lynhaven Lane.
Flames spread from one car to vehicles on each side before being doused in about 10 minutes. The bathroom plumbing to four apartments was melted, making those units unliveable until repairs are made, Battalion Chief Grace Yamane said. She said some of the tenants were assisted by the Red Cross and others expected to stay with friends.
Damage was estimated at $100,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. –P.R.
Staff writers Pauline Repard and Jose Luis Jiménez contributed to this report.
