VALLEY POLICE BEAT: El Centro man allegedly assaults minor By JONATHAN DALE, Staff Writer
Monday, August 20, 2007 10:48 PM PDT
An El Centro man will appear in court Thursday for an alleged sexual assault on an underage girl.
Jared Tillman, 19, was arrested three weeks ago after purportedly forcing himself upon the girl, who is younger than 18, Imperial County Sheriff’s Sgt. Miguel Leon said.
Sheriff’s investigators were notified of the incident last week.
“Over the next couple of days we were able to put a case together and subsequently arrest the young man,” Leon said.
Tillman allegedly started a correspondence with a young female on the popular MySpace Web site in late July and was able to get her cell phone number and home address from her.
He purportedly convinced her to meet with him late one night. The girl told police she believed Tillman just wanted to talk and get to know her better, Leon said.
After driving the girl a few blocks from her house, Tillman allegedly forced himself on her, performing numerous acts of inappropriate sexual activity she did not consent to, Leon said.
After arresting Tillman last week, Sheriff’s investigators seized his computer and Tillman was arraigned to appear in court.
“We want to make sure of course there are no other victims out there,” Leon said.
Tillman is being held at the Imperial County jail on $50,000 bail.
Police search for carjacker
BRAWLEY — Police here are looking for a man who carjacked a vehicle Sunday night and escaped police after abandoning the vehicle shortly thereafter.
The carjacking occurred at 11:18 p.m. Sunday at 649 Main St. in the Ciudad Plaza apartments and business center, Brawley Police Sgt. Perry Monita said.
The victim of the crime reported they had been approached by a Hispanic man in his 20s armed with a knife. The suspect was also described as being of medium height and build and having a shaved head.
The suspect brandished the knife and took the victim’s vehicle, only to be spotted by police later in the evening at 650 S. Brawley Ave., Monita said.
After abandoning the vehicle, the suspect fled on foot and lost pursuit in an apartment complex at 650 S. Western Ave.
At about the same time Sunday night, three vehicles were broken into.
“We suspect the suspect who did the carjacking was also involved in breaking into those vehicles,” Monita said.
Sunday appeared to be the night for breaking into and/or stealing vehicles in Brawley, as Monita also reported that a 15-year-old Hispanic boy was caught after breaking into a vehicle and stealing its stereo at 600 S. Palm Ave. at 1:30 a.m.
The boy was arrested at 675 S. Palm Ave. for possession of burglary tools and petty theft, and was booked into Imperial County Juvenile Hall, Monita said.
Man arrested for stealing pipes
HEBER — A Heber man was arrested here Saturday after being found in possession of “a large number” of aluminum irrigation pipes stolen from an Imperial farmer.
John Alvarez, 23, was initially pulled over by Imperial County Sheriff’s deputies Saturday for a traffic violation, Sheriff’s Sgt. Miguel Leon said.
The deputy noticed the back seat of the small car driven by Alvarez to be completely covered by pieces of aluminum irrigation pipe that had been cut up.
After determining Alvarez and two passengers to be under the influence of methamphetamine, the deputy called in investigators, which included Leon.
The trunk of the vehicle was also found to be full of aluminum pipe pieces. One of the pieces had a splash of distinctive paint that Leon said he was able to identify as belonging to an Imperial farmer.
“What these thieves do is they try to cut the pipe in pieces where they eliminate the paint,” Leon said.
“In this particular case I was able to find one piece with that paint smear,” he said. “We were able to find the owner and he identified the property.”
All three men were arrested for being under the influence of meth. Alvarez is also being charged with possession of stolen property, Leon said.
Three injured in accident
BRAWLEY — Three people were injured in a two-vehicle collision that occurred south of here Monday afternoon.
The accident happened at the corner of Keystone Road and Highway 86, when a manure hauler and a Dodge truck crashed into each other, causing a broken ankle to one man, a broken leg to another and severe head injuries to a third man.
Andraea Dyson, the secretary for Sierra Air at 396 W. Keystone Road, said she was inside her office when she heard the crash.
“I heard the collision and I watched the manure hauler jump our canal and land in our yard,” Dyson said. “Right after he jumped the canal, he rolled onto our yard and I could see the Dodge truck come to a stop on the side of Keystone Road.”
Dyson called 911 and went outside, where she found the driver of the manure hauler in dire straits.
“I found the driver of the manure hauler unconscious, leaning against one of the old air conditioning units we have,” Dyson said.
“He had blood coming from an obvious head injury,” she said. “He was definitely not doing good.”
The California Highway Patrol was unavailable as of press time, but Dyson said she was told by emergency personnel and the driver of the Dodge truck that the accident occurred when the manure hauler, traveling east on Keystone, pulled out in front of the truck, which was northbound on Highway 86.
Dyson said the male driver of the pickup told her uncle that he applied the brakes, but could only slow to 50 mph before slamming into the driver’s side of the manure hauler.
Four injured in collision
CALEXICO — Two adults and two teens were injured Monday morning when the vehicles they were in collided with each other west of here.
The accident happened at 7:46 a.m. Monday at Highway 98 and Ferrell Road, when the 2006 Nissan being driven by 26-year-old Daniel Moreno of Mexicali slammed into the side of a 2004 Mercedes being driven by 72-year-old Jose Gallegos of Calexico, the California Highway Patrol said.
A 14-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl, both of El Centro, were in the vehicle with Gallegos.
The accident occurred when Gallegos tried to cross Highway 98 while northbound on Ferrell Road.
Moreno, traveling east on the highway, slammed on his brakes and tried to swerve around Gallegos’ car, to no avail.
Moreno’s vehicle slammed into the left front of the Mercedes, sending both vehicles off the road, where they came to rest on their wheels.
The two men and two girls were taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center, the Highway Patrol said. Gallegos suffered major injuries, Moreno moderate wounds, and the teens sustained minor injuries.
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