San Diego – Three men have been taken into custody by San Diego Police Department (SDPD) after almost a year-long investigation into an ambush and attempted murder in southeastern San Diego. The incident occurred in March 2022 when a man was getting into his car to go to work and was boxed in by two other vehicles on 4700 Hilltop Drive. The suspects mistakenly took the man for a rival gang member, yelled gang challenges, and shot at the victim multiple times. Luckily, the victim was not hit by the gunfire and SDPD responded to launch an investigation.
Over the past eleven months, SDPD gang detectives worked to identify the three suspects responsible for attempted murder and a fourth man involved in weapons trafficking. This morning, SDPD and National City SWAT officers served four court-authorized warrants on each of the suspects’ homes, leading to the safe arrest of all four suspects.
Investigators recovered an unregistered AR-15-style ghost gun, ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, and body armor from the suspects' homes.
29-year-old Brian Acosta, 32-year-old Adrian Rodriguez, and 29-year-old Eleazar Avitia have been arrested for attempted murder, while 29-year-old Thomas Contreras has been arrested for firearms-related charges. The defendants will be arraigned on Friday, February 17, at 1:30 p.m. in Department 101 of the Superior Court downtown.
SDPD and Crime Stoppers are requesting anyone with additional information on this case to come forward and assist with the investigation.
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