A candle was left burning by itself in a home on Tuesday and ignited a fire that burned down the house located in a military complex in Murphy Canyon. Seven people were left without a home as a result of the fire. 

The fire took place on Taussig Street, near Gurnard Street, and was called in around 1 a.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque reported. When firefighters showed up at the scene, they discovered large billows of smoke pouring from the second floor, Luque stated. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in about 15 minutes.

Three adults and four children — ages 3, 7, 11, and 12 — were residents of the home, Luque stated. 

No one was hurt in the incident. The fire caused damage of about $150,000 to the structure and $7,500 to the interior. 

The candle was on fire and left unattended in a bedroom on the second story, Luque informed.

An incident which police have come to believe is gang-related, one man was stabbed and another was nearly run over by a vehicle in Palm City Monday night. 

The victims, ages 22 and 20, were traveling by bike down Outer Road near Hollister Street just around 5:45 p.m. when a white Mercedes Benz pulled up and drove right in front of them, San Diego police stated. 

Four men jumped out of the Mercedes, and initiated a gang challenge and attacked the two men.  

One of the men was attacked with a knife six times but his injuries were not life-threatening, police stated. 

The robbers left with the victims’ groceries and sped away. They attempted to run over the other man on their way off but they were unsuccessful, police reported. 

No information regarding the attackers and what they looked like was given.

 A pedestrian was followed by two men on his way home, who suddenly pulled out a gun and took all of his possessions on Monday night.  was robbed at gunpoint Monday night by two men who were following him as he walked home.

The victim was headed south leaving Parks Avenue near University Avenue just a little before 9:30 p.m. when two men came up to him from behind, La Mesa police reported.

One of the men took out a silver semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at the victim ordering him to give him his wallet and and iPod, police stated. The robbers were spotted traveling south on Parks. 

Officers received help from sheriff’s department helicopter that scanned the region but could not locate the robbers. 

Both men were said to be black and about 20-years-old, around 5 feet 10 inches tall with thin builds. Both were dressed in black or dark-colored hooded sweat shirts and one was also wearing a black baseball cap with a D emblem on it, police reported.

The victim was not hurt in the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (619) 667-1400 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

A 51-year-old man from Connecticut has been taken into custody under suspicion of being linked to the 1989 murder of a 83-year-old Pacific Beach man who was attacked with a knife and beaten to death inside his home while it was being robbed, police reported Monday. 

Officials arrived at the home of Howard Dean Jamison, a resident of Milford, Conn., on Monday to take him into custody after DNA evidence linked him to the murder that took place, police stated.  

“Technology is the one piece that allowed us to solve this crime that is some 20 years old,” stated homicide Lt. Terry McManus.

Jamison is being held in jail with a bail set at $1 million bail and is waiting to be sent to California for trial. 

The victim, Ewing C. Scroggs, was found laying on his bedroom floor in his home on Dec. 10, 1989, by his family who went to the house to see if he was okay. His house had been robbed and some of the stolen possession included an antique handmade quilt, clothing and a man’s wedding ring. 

Detectives on the case in 1989 searched the home and gathered fingerprints and DNA evidence at the but could not find a suspect, McManus stated. 

The DNA led officials to Jamison in April, and cold-case investigators were able to find about that he had definitely been in San Diego during the time of the killing. Only after the DNA was a match then Jamison became a suspect in the murder, McManus said.

U.S. Border Patrol agents confiscated over 51 pounds of cocaine on Friday that was stashed inside an SUV’s gas tank at an Interstate 8 checkpoint, authorities reported Monday.

The confiscation procedure was carried out at 9:30 a.m. Friday after a 26-year-old man driving a Jeep Cherokee Sport pulled over to get searched at the checkpoint. A group of drug-sniffing fogs was used and signaled to authorities that the vehicle possibly contained illegal drugs. Agents looking underneath the car saw that the vehicle’s gas tank had been messed with and changed around, the Border Patrol stated.

After taking out the tank, agents were able to find a compartment specifically designed in the tank to hold drugs. Inside they discovered 20 wrapped bundles of cocaine with a street value of over $516,000, officials reported.

The man, who is a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody and handed over to the Drug Enforcement Administration to be dealt with, officials reported.

Police are looking into the murder of a 34-year-old man in Lincoln Park on Sunday night who was shot to death. 

Police received a call to arrive at Pelusa Street near South Euclid Avenue after neighbors called informing them that they had just heard guns firing after 9:30 p.m., homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney reported. They arrived at the scene to discover the victim sprawled in the middle of the street.

Paramedics tried to save his life, but were unsuccessful and he died at 9:59 p.m., Rooney stated.

The victim was from National City, officials with the Medical Examiner’s Office said. His identity has not been announced.  

Police are unsure about what his business was in Lincoln Park, the lieutenant added.

Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide detectives or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Officials took a 45-year-old suspect into custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after he was thought to be responsible for stabbing and killing a younger man at a home in San Marcos, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

The stabbing took place at 1:12 a.m. at a home on Las Flores Drive, near Linda Vista Drive, as the aftermath of a party. The victim, who is thought to be 19 years old, and the suspect, Hector Cortez, 45, got into an argument after the majority of the home owners had fell asleep, authorities stated. 

When police officers came to the scene, they discovered the victim laying on the ground in the garage. Medical crews tried to save his life, but were unsuccessful and he passed away at 1:24 a.m. His  name is not to be released until his family is informed of his death.

Authorities reported that Cortez took off before officials showed up. Law enforcement agencies in the area were informed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Cortez  at the border and handed him over to the Sheriff’s Department.

The U.S. Coast Guard had use a helicopter to transport a 62-year-old woman yesterday from a cruise ship and to a hospital in San Diego to seek medical aide for her severe head trauma.  

A Coast Guard helicopter lifted the woman at about 5:15 p.m. from the Carnival Paradise cruise ship, which was floating just about 25 miles off Point Loma. Coast Guard officials used a basket to pull the woman up into the helicopter. Facts and information regarding her state and condition were not given. 

On Saturday, the Coast Guard also used a helicopter to lift a 73-year-old man from a fishing boat located around 88 miles south of the San Diego shore after he displayed similar characteristics to a heart attack. He was transported to a hospital where he was said to be in stable condition and recovering well.

Homicide detectives are currently looking into a case after the finding of a body at a car business was reported around 6 p.m. yesterday.

A friend of the man came across the body at the car shop located on South Coast Highway, near Leonard Avenue, Oceanside police reported.

Detectives did not give out any other information regarding the case.