{"id":485334,"date":"2026-10-05T02:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T02:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485334\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T02:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T02:12:18","slug":"arrests-made-months-after-lemon-grove-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485334\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrests made months after Lemon Grove assault"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HandsInHandcuffsHC0510-630x420-1.jpg\" data-caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HandsInHandcuffsHC0510-630x420-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"HandsInHandcuffsHC0510-630x420\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A months-long investigation has led to the arrest of a third suspect in connection with several assaults in Lemon Grove.<\/p>\n<p>On Feb. 28, 2026, just after 1:30 a.m., deputies from the Lemon Grove Sheriff\u2019s substation responded to a report of an assault in the 7600 block of Broadway. The victim reported waking up on a bus bench with injuries and no memory of what happened to him. Surveillance video obtained during the investigation showed the victim being punched, kicked, and knocked unconscious by two men.<\/p>\n<p>During the same incident, a woman and her adult daughter were confronted by a third man. That suspect punched the woman several times in the face. When her adult daughter tried to stop the attack, she was also punched. Both female victims later said the suspect pointed a black pistol at them. Fearing for their safety, the women ran from the area and called 9-1-1.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives conducted a thorough investigation, which included reviewing surveillance video.<\/p>\n<p>That led to the identification of the three suspects:<br \/>\u2022 Joseph Lafaele, 34, for the assault on the male victim<br \/>\u2022 Leetama Sylvas, 39, for the assault on the male victim<br \/>\u2022 Eugene Vaimagalo Sotoa, 49, for the assault on the two female victims, as well as the assault on the male victim<\/p>\n<p>Lafaele was arrested on July 29 for violations of 243(d) PC (battery causing serious bodily injury), 186.22(b)(1) PC (participating in a criminal street gang) and 12022.1 PC (committing a felony while on bail). He was booked into the San Diego Central Jail.<br \/>Sylvas was arrested on July 29 for violations of 211 PC (robbery), 29800(a) PC (felon in possession of a firearm), 30305 PC (felon in possession of ammunition), 243(d) PC (battery causing serious bodily injury) and 186.22(b)(1) PC (participating in a criminal street gang). He was also booked into the San Diego Central Jail.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Sept. 22, detectives from the Lemon Grove Sheriff\u2019s substation and Rancho San Diego Sheriff\u2019s station, as well as deputies from the Sheriff\u2019s Community Policing and Problem-Solving Unit, the Sheriff\u2019s Special Enforcement Detail (SED\/SWAT) and the Fugitive Task Force, served a search warrant in the 7700 block of High Street in La Mesa.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where Sotoa was taken into custody without incident. He will be booked into the San Diego Central Jail for violations of 245(a)(1) PC (assault with a deadly weapon), 664\/187(a) PC (attempted murder) and 186.22(b) PC (participating in a criminal street gang).<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with information about the assault incidents is asked to call the San Diego County Sheriff\u2019s Office at (858) 868-3200. You can remain anonymous by calling San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/newspaper-rec728.jpg\"\/><\/a>        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A months-long investigation has led to the arrest of a third suspect in connection with several assaults in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-485334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}