Investigators on Wednesday tracked down and made an arrest linked to the fatal shooting and stabbing of a man downtown near Petco Park.
The development occurred the morning after Tuesday’s attack, which took place near 14th Street and Imperial Avenue in the East Village, according to the San Diego Police Department. The victim, 53, died at a hospital after police found him on a sidewalk.
Using data generated by a license-plate reader, according to OnScene.TV, officers were able to pick up the trail of a van connected to the crime on Interstate 5 at about 10:45 a.m., and followed the occupants as they exited onto National Avenue.
The van pulled into a Starbucks at National and 28th Street, where officers, joined by other patrols that already had been in the parking lot, confronted the occupants, a male, identified as Alex Bailey, and a female. They surrendered without incident, though the Starbucks was evacuated beforehand.
Police said detectives had been seeking Bailey, 53, as the suspected shooter, and after the arrest were working to book him into a San Diego jail on a murder charge.
Patrol officers discovered the victim shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday while investigating what sounded like gunfire.
“The preliminary investigation shows that a group of people were gathered on the sidewalk,” SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said. “There was some sort of altercation that led to (one assailant) shooting the victim, then another … stabbing the victim.”
Following the attack, the killers, described as male and dressed in dark-colored clothing, fled in different directions, according to police.
“Detectives are continuing to investigate this incident, including analyzing physical evidence collected from the scene, attempting to locate and interview witnesses and canvassing the area for surveillance footage,” the lieutenant said Wednesday.
Police withheld the name of the victim, a Black man, until the Medical Examiner’s Office can confirm his identity.
There are still multiple unidentified bystanders in the group that was gathered on the sidewalk at the time of the attack. Detectives want to speak to them or anyone with information regarding the case. Contact the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Updated 7:25 p.m. Sept. 18, 2024
