Arrest Made In Connection With Woman's Death‎

Homicide Arrest

An Escondido man was behind bars Sunday in the shooting death of a 20-year-old woman whose body was found dumped Wednesday off a rural road in the Lawrence Welk Community.

Morayma Denise Rodriguez, the mother of an 11-month-old girl, told her family Tuesday night that she was going out with friends to a casino but never came home, her friend, Yvonne Rodriguez, 16, told The Union-Tribune. "When I woke up the next morning to go to school, I didn't see her, and I was worried," Yvonne told the newspaper. "That wasn't like her, she would either text or call."

Jeffrey Steven McCreary, 42, arrested in a car chase about 7:45 a.m. Saturday, was booked at the Vista Jail on suspicion of murder, sheriff's Lt. Larry Nesbit said Saturday.

A sheriff's SWAT team chased McCreary on North Broadway until McCreary pulled over, jumped out and ran. He was caught within moments.

It was unclear what a search of his home might have turned up.   Rodriguez's family released a statement Saturday:

"Although we are still devastated, it is a relief to know the person responsible has been arrested. We also want to thank the individual who stopped to help Denise on Wednesday. Thanks to your actions she was found quickly, and a monster was taken off the streets before he caused more harm."

Rogelio Ponce of Oceanside, the father of Rodriguez's daughter, told The U-T he and Denise Rodriguez had a troubled relationship. Last year. he got a restraining order against her/

"She loved her daughter very much," Ponce said.

Her body was found by a passer-by about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, face-down on the side of Lawrence Welk Court.

McCreary, on his Facebook page, said he had been a department manager at an Escondido Walmart, attended the Southern California Firefighters Academy and Palomar College, and was in the Escondido High School class of 1987.     Nesbit declined to talk about a motive or how the two might have known one another.   "The case is ongoing. It's being presented to the (District Attorney) next week," Nesbit said.

Quake Rocks Baja California

A moderate earthquake struck the mountains of northern Baja California Saturday, and may have been noticed in San Diego County.

The magnitude 3.0 quake was not centered in the Mexicali Valley, but was located about 38 miles due east of Ensenada, B.C. That would be 84 miles southeast of Tijuana, or 101 miles south-southeast of downtown San Diego.

It was reported at 12:06 p.m., and it was verified by a USGS seismologist. The existing network of seismographs and electronic relays south of the border is being improved, seismologists said, but early automated reports of Mexican quakes are sometimes corrected after human review.

Man's Leg Severed From Crash

A 42-year-old man's left leg was severed Sunday when his motorcycle veered into oncoming traffic on state Route 76 and collided with a utility trailer pulled by a truck, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The man, whose name was not immediately released, was riding a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle at an unknown speed on westbound state Route 76, east of Valley Center Road, about 12:25 p.m., according to CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt.

The motorcyclist veered into the eastbound lane, directly into the path of a 1999 Dodge Durango pulling a utility trailer, Bettencourt said.

The truck's driver, a 56-year-old Valley Center man, saw the motorcyclist in his lane and attempted to swerve to the right to avoid him, however the bike collided with the trailer with such force the trailer's left wheel broke off, Bettencourt said.

The motorcyclist's left leg was severed near the hip as a result of the crash, Bettencourt said.

Before emergency personnel arrived, a U.S. Navy Corpsman applied a tourniquet to stop the motorcyclist's severe bleeding, Bettencourt said. The motorcyclist was then taken via Mercy Air to Palomar Medical Center, Bettencourt said.

As of late afternoon, it was unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, Bettencourt said.

The crash prompted a temporary closure state Route 76 east of Pauma Valley Road, according to the CHP.

-City News Service