A homicide suspect was in custody Wednesday after a La Mesa Police detective fired several shots when he came face-to-face with the alleged killer in Talmadge Park.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported shots fired by the La Mesa detective Tuesday night did not hit the 30-year-old suspect, and the man was taken into custody in connection to the shooting death of a man last week outside the Burlington Coat Factory in La Mesa.
San Diego Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting per protocol.
San Diego homicide Lt. Todd Griffin told the Union-Tribune that La Mesa police and a county task force were conducting surveillance Tuesday night on the suspect, whose name was not released. At about 7 p.m., the suspect was seen walking on Altadena Avenue south of El Cajon Boulevard, and the La Mesa detective got out of his car and ordered the man to the ground.
The suspect ran and the detective gave chase, and at some point the two came face-to-face, at which point the detective fired multiple shots that did not hit the suspect, Griffin told the Union-Tribune. The lieutenant did not say whether the suspect was armed, and the man was taken into custody by other officers about two blocks from where the detective fired at him.
Griffin told the newspaper that La Mesa police now have all suspects in their homicide case in custody. They were searching for two people last Thursday, believed to be a man and woman, after Travis Lewis was gunned down about 6:45 p.m. outside the Burlington Coat Factory at El Cajon Boulevard and Baltimore Drive.
Lewis died at the scene, and witnesses reported seeing the man and woman fleeing on foot. La Mesa police have not provided any recent updates on the case.
— City News Service
