SAN DIEGO – Enrique Ayon, 24, was booked at the San Diego Central jail around 9 p.m. Tuesday on four felony charges: discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury; attempted murder in the first degree; assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury; and discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling or vehicle, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department’s records.
Authorities believe Ayon is the gunman behind Monday’s shooting spree along the 1-805 and the I-5 in San Diego.
Witnesses reported a gunman in a white Chevy Malibu was shooting at passing vehicles on the 805 freeway. Authorities say four separate shootings were reported within 20 minutes, and among the vehicles shot at were an ambulance and state police cruiser. A 26-year-old man driving a Hyundai Accent was also shot in the leg, treated and released from a local hospital. There were no other injuries reported in the shootings.
Law enforcement shut down portions of the 1-5 and the 1-805 for several hours Monday as they searched for the gunman and the vehicle. A description of the vehicle, a white 2006 Chevy Malibu with California license plate 5POM917, was posted on electronic freeway signs. The vehicle was registered in Lancaster to Enrique Ayon.
Ayon was detained by the California Highway Patrol around 10 a.m. Tuesday in Lakeview Terrace, after a driver spotted the car and tipped off authorities. He was transported back to San Diego Tuesday, questioned, and then charged in connection with the shootings. He remains at the San Diego Central Jail.
Ayon is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at the San Diego Superior Court, according tojail records.
Updated 10/6/11: Enrique Ayon pleaded not guilty to eight charges Thursday. See the updated charges here. Ayon is being held on $2 million bail. His next court date is set for 10/13/11.
Jo says
Yet it was home grown white supremacist beating the crap out of people (yes, even to death) and cooking meth from 1980 to the late 1990’s. Every color under the sun has good and bad. And we have suffered under the white criminal’s as much as any criminal of color. what has caused so many problems is unrestrained growth, w/o the infrastructure to maintain such growth. Hell, our city fathers have allowed building that we didn’t even have enough water for. And not just once. We ran into the same problems in the 80’s, 90’s and now 2000’s. The real problem is why we can’t ever seem to learn!
Rentlek Ttam says
(sigh…) another Antelope Valley lowlife! I am not happy with what this town has become. For those of you who run this website and post here, you probably have no idea what I am talking about because you probably just moved here within the past 5 to 15 yrs. This place was clean, crime free, had great schools, good jobs, safe neighborhoods and people were friendly to one another on the streets and at the local market. Those days are long gone friends!
Yeah, we’ve got more shopping choices now and more “culture”, etc., but I would still gladly trade it for the old days.
Greta says
People always like to reminisce on those “good ole” days of the AV, when everything was lily white and their were no low lives from other races up here ruining the fun… Here’s a newsflash: 30 years ago there were still low lives in the AV. The same ones who kidnap and murdered Leslie Long. Are you going to pin that one on a Sec 8 gang banger too?
Rentlek Ttam says
Things like what happened to Leslie Long were a rarity and any long-tme A.V. resident can attest to as much.
Deep down you know this to be true too. I can see where this is going though, you seem to want to be an apologist for the criminal element we have living here now. Have at it!
Greta says
What wasn’t a rarity 30 years ago was open discrimination and racism against the few people of color that had the nerve to reside in the AV. Now that the Valley has become more integrated, racism is much more subliminal. I don’t know which one is worse! For every Enrique Ayon, there is a Sonia Sotomayor, a Barack Obama and more. I find it interesting that initial reports said the suspects in this crime were two black males. But again, when it comes to crime, the search is always for a black male isn’t it?
Patty Smith says
I knew Leslie Long well. She was a friend of mine and her kids went to the First Baptist Church in Lancaster. Her daughter, Christie, being older than my kids , often babysat for me. I have lived in the Antelope Valley for 55 years now and I completely agree with the other poster who stated that this Valley has changed for the worse. My niece was beat up in the parking lot of the former Vons on J and 20th West. A group of three black women stood behind her car and kept kicking the bumper so she got out of the car and asked them to move and they started screaming at her calling her a “white b**ch” and punching her. They only stopped when an employee threatened to call the police. The Sherrif showed up but nothing was ever done. We didn’t grow up this way in Lancaster and it took our whole family by complete surprise that things like this happened because it was so unusual and we are accustomed to people being friendly. So yes this Valley has changed but not for the better.