Fight in OB leads to two stabbings
Police investigators are looking into a multiple-stabbing incident in Ocean Beach early on Jan. 8. According to police, a Hispanic man became involved in an altercation with two white males in the 4900 block of Cape May Avenue shortly before 2:30 a.m. The suspect allegedly stabbed the other two men, sending both to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The attacker is described a Hispanic man in his early to mid-20s, about six-feet one-inch to six feet four inches tall, with a thin build. The investigation continues. Police hunt for identity of ‘Pigeon-Toed Bandit’
Investigators are working to uncover the identity of a robber who struck the Cabrillo Drug store in Point Loma on Christmas Eve — just one in a series of pharmacy robberies police are tracking. The robbery series began in July and included three targeted pharmacies in the Point Loma areas, one in Pacific Beach and one in East County. He is being referred to by police as the “Pigeon-Toed Bandit” because of his gait. The latest case occurred on Dec. 24 at about 10 a.m., when a man wearing a Santa hat entered Cabrillo Drug, located at 955 Catalina Blvd., in the Fleetridge neighborhood. The man walked directly to the back of the store to the pharmacy counter and caught the pharmacist’s attention. He handed the pharmacist a note demanding Oxycodone, Xanax and money. The clerk put some bottles of the generic equivalents of the drugs in a plastic bag from the pharmacy. The suspect walked out of the store and fled northbound on Catalina Boulevard. The same suspect is believed to be responsible for pharmacy robberies at Ralph’s on Sports Arena Boulevard on July 23, Vons on El Cajon Boulevard on Aug. 12, Ralphs on Mission Boulevard on Aug. 14, Vons on Truxtun Road on Oct. 17 and finally the Christmas Eve job. The suspect is described as a white male between 30 and 50 years old, five feet six-inches to 5 feet 10-inches tall with a medium build. He wore latex gloves in two of the cases and carried a black bag or backpack in most cases. Anyone with information concerning this case is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299. Charges dropped against ex-surf shop worker An embezzlement case was dropped Jan. 9 against a former employee of the South Coast Surf Shop in Ocean Beach after he pleaded guilty to robbing two clerks at a jewelry store in an unrelated case. The surf-shop case against Derek Jacob Patterson, 22, involved the theft of surfboards, embezzlement and grand-theft charges, but the case was dropped because Patterson pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, which are more serious charges, said Deputy District Attorney Dave Williams. Patterson robbed Zales Jewelry store in Grossmont Center on June 14 after he was no longer working at the surf shop. He pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun and ordered employees to the floor while he took $77,000 worth of rings and other jewelry. He faces a maximum term of six years in prison, but El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson said he would consider imposing a three-year term. Sentencing is set for Feb. 7. Patterson, who was arrested June 27, admitted to posing as a customer at Zales for an hour before pulling a gun on employees around 8:15 p.m. The stolen surfboards were not recovered during the investigation. Patterson remains in custody on $170,000 bail. — Neal Putnam

PLNU has 3rd-highest CPA exam pass rate Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) recorded the third-highest pass rate in California on the 2010 certified public accountant exam, according to a report by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). PLNU was No. 1 among private and Christian universities, according the report. PLNU graduates also had the highest average score on the exam. “I am pleased and proud of our PLNU accounting alumni,” said accounting professor Carl Hammond. “It is rewarding to see their hard work pay off, so they are able to build valuable careers. It is an honor to teach at a university that recruits this caliber of students.” The University of California, Berkeley ranked No. 1 overall with a 60.2 percent pass rate, while UCLA took the second spot with 58.6 percent. PLNU was just one-tenth of a point behind UCLA with 58.5 percent. Rounding out the top five were the University of Southern California and Chapman University. There were 57 schools in California ranked in NASBA report. Rock Church robotics team set for SD qualifier The Rock Academy High School robotics team is heading into the San Diego F.I.R.S.T. Tech Challenge Championship Qualifying Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 14 in hopes of moving on to the World Championship Tournament in St. Louis. This weekend’s round at Madison High School will involve more than 400 participants from 48 teams representing California, Arizona and Nevada, according to officials with The Rock Church on Rosecrans Street in Point Loma. The team, dubbed The Warriors, will compete to win The Inspire Award after recently winning second place at the Los Angeles Championship Tournament, along with two other awards. The Rock Academy participates in F.I.R.S.T. Robotics, which is a national robotics program for youth. The mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology. For more information, visit www.-sdrock.com.