Community Corner

County Gas Prices 20 Cents Higher Than a Week Ago

Gas prices rose almost two cents overnight.

Gas Prices

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose Tuesday to its highest amount since May 23, increasing 1.6 cents to $4.087.

The average price has risen for 27 consecutive days and is 20.6 cents more than one week ago, 35.5 cents higher than a month ago and 51.5 cents more than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

Find out what's happening in Powaywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The average price has spiked 33 cents over the past 27 days, including 1.2 cents on Monday.

Analysts have cited increasing oil prices and the closure of some California refineries for maintenance as reasons for the rising gasoline prices.

Find out what's happening in Powaywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.

Pedestrian Struck by Train

An 18-year-old man was struck be a passenger train while walking on the tracks north of the Sorrento Valley Station, but he did not appear to be seriously injured, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The pedestrian, later identified as Luis Cortez, was struck about 3:05 p.m. by a northbound Amtrak train, which was traveling about 45 miles per hour, said sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Yancey. The train immediately stopped and train personnel checked the Cortez's condition, Yancey said.

He did not appear to be seriously injured, so he got onto the train and was taken north to the Solana Beach Station, Yancey said.

An ambulance than took Cortez from Solana Beach to Scripps Hospital in La Jolla to be treated, Yancey said.

Foreclosure Fraud

A man who participated in a $6 million foreclosure fraud scheme in which he stole the identities of several notaries and forged hundreds of deeds across California is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday at the downtown courthouse.

John Zepeda, 60, pleaded guilty last year to multiple felony charges, including rent skimming, forgery, identity theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. He agreed to pay restitution and will be sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Zepeda's 59-year-old brother, David, is also charged in the case along with co-defendants Carlos M. Torres and Patricia Torres, according to Deputy District Attorney Valerie Tanney.

The conspiracy, which prosecutors called "huge" and "brazen," involved hundreds of victims in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, as well as Clark County in Nevada.

According to prosecutors, the defendants would hold seminars for people hoping to save their homes from foreclosures.

Authorities said the Zepeda brothers identified properties in foreclosure and acquired title either by forging a quitclaim dead -- which transfers the property into a trust -- or convincing homeowners to transfer the property to them by promising the homeowner they would help avoid foreclosure.

Once they had acquired the title, the Zepedas would rent out the property, prosecutors said.

Money was diverted away from the lenders and owners and into accounts, where the cash was used to support the defendants' lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of exotic, high-end cars, prosecutors said.

During a search of a home in San Bernardino where the defendants were arrested in September 2010, investigators seized $335,000 in uncashed checks; a gold Geneva watch; a gold Rolex watch; diamond bracelets and rings; $33,000 in cash; more than $8,000 in silver coins and a Bentley automobile.

-City News Service


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