San Diego County Man Admitted to Feeding Children Hallucinogenic Mushrooms

Two children were severely burned Saturday evening when a tabletop fireplace suddenly flashed, igniting their clothing, according to the Oceanside Fire Department. The incident occurred around 6:25 p.m.

in a residential complex along the north side of the Strand near Surfrider Way, just a few blocks north of Oceanside Municipal Pier. Several children, with adults present, were roasting marshmallows over the flame of a portable outdoor fireplace when it flashed, sending flames toward the children and catching their clothing on fire.

Parents and other adults rushed to help, extinguishing the flames and pouring water on the injured children until paramedics arrived. The children's injuries were so severe that they were flown by medical helicopter to a burn center for treatment.

Fire officials did not provide the children's ages. The father of one of the injured children sustained minor burn injuries and was taken by ambulance to the same burn center.

Preliminary information indicates the incident involved the use of rubbing alcohol as fuel with the outdoor fire tabletop fireplace. The department noted that similar incidents have been reported elsewhere in the country.

"These incidents highlight how alcohol vapors can ignite unexpectedly, creating a sudden flash fire even during what appears to be normal use," the department said.

A man who brutally beat and strangled a woman in Scripps Ranch more than 35 years ago was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in state prison. Randall Oyler, 65, was found guilty by a downtown San Diego Superior Court jury of first-degree murder for killing 47-year-old Margaret Orozco Jackson.

Her body was discovered on July 11, 1990, off Scripps Ranch Boulevard, on land that later became the site of Scripps Ranch High School.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg told jurors that a woman walking to work on the morning of July 11 spotted a length of rope on the sidewalk. The rope led down a hill to Jackson’s body, wrapped twice around her neck.

The prosecutor described the killing as unprovoked and a brutal attack, noting that Jackson was strangled for five to six minutes.

Oyler was not identified as a suspect until decades later when DNA testing linked him to genetic material found beneath the victim’s fingernails and from other areas of her body. He was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2023.

During the trial, video clips from an undercover jail operation showed Oyler discussing the killing. In one clip, Oyler said, "She scratched me." In another, when an operative asked if he "just left her there," Oyler responded that he "threw her down a hill."

In a probation report interview, Oyler claimed that Jackson had stolen drugs from him. However, Lindberg noted that when Oyler was placed in a cell with an undercover jail operative posing as an inmate, he made several incriminating statements but never mentioned a drug theft.

"While no one really knows if this is true, such a slight provocation is no excuse for such a cruel murder," Lindberg wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Jackson’s niece, Rebecca Cepeda, called Oyler "a monster." She said, "You took her life, and for what? Now you’re going to spend, who knows, the rest of your life in prison, and for nothing."

Oyler did not make a statement in court, but his defense attorney, Kara Oien, said on his behalf, "He does want to say he is sorry and express his condolences to the family. He knows that doesn’t excuse anything, but does wish to say he is sorry."

Judge Jeffrey Fraser said he believed there was "no doubt" that Oyler committed the murder and "he did get away with it for over three decades." The judge added, "There used to be a saying that, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ and to a large extent that’s true, but it’s not true today."

A suspected drunk driver crashed through a police blockade in San Diego early Saturday morning, injuring two San Diego Police Department sergeants. The incident occurred near the intersection of Market Street and 13th Street, where officers had set up a DUI checkpoint.

According to authorities, the driver, whose identity has not been immediately released, was traveling at a high speed when he ignored the checkpoint and drove directly into the officers. The two sergeants sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence, a felony. Witnesses reported that the vehicle struck a patrol car before hitting the officers.

The area was closed for several hours as investigators processed the scene and interviewed witnesses. The SDPD has not yet released further details about the suspect's blood alcohol content or specific charges, but they confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.

This incident highlights the dangers faced by law enforcement during routine traffic enforcement operations. The two injured sergeants are expected to recover fully, and the department has expressed gratitude for the community's support.

A 77-year-old Iranian man with a rare, life-threatening liver disease was transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego for what immigration officials called "better medical care." Instead, his daughter said in a court affidavit, staff placed him in isolation, where he banged on a locked door and screamed for help while struggling to breathe, with no one responding. Court records show he was moved to another cell but remained detained for weeks, despite letters from doctors and a consensus among medical staff at Otay Mesa and another facility that he should be released.

The man is among dozens of immigrants detained at Otay Mesa who described deteriorating health or inadequate medical care in court filings reviewed by inewsource. He and three others stated they were held in restricted, isolated cells for medical treatment.

Detainees who spent weeks or months—in one case, over a year—at the facility reported worsening health conditions in habeas corpus petitions, a federal legal tool used at record rates in recent months to challenge detention amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

In an investigation, inewsource reviewed more than 500 habeas corpus petitions filed between January and March by detainees at Otay Mesa and an Imperial County detention center. Nearly 70 mentioned health problems or medical care at Otay Mesa specifically.

The petitions paint a picture of a facility struggling to care for patients, from those with basic ailments to those with serious diseases. Medical experts told inewsource that conditions that would otherwise be manageable can become life-threatening inside detention centers.

Katherine McKenzie, a professor at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, said detention centers are generally not well-equipped to handle complex medical cases. "Detention centers should not house people with chronic or acute illnesses," she said.

CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs Otay Mesa, and ICE both declined interview requests but provided statements. ICE said detainees receive medical, dental, and mental health services, including 24-hour emergency care, calling it "the best healthcare many aliens have ever received in their lives." CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd said the company follows federal detention guidelines and that the government closely monitors compliance.

"The safety, health, and well-being of the individuals in our care are our highest priority," he said. CoreCivic denies the existence of isolation at its facilities, stating that immigrants are placed in "medical housing units" for observation and treatment, which is distinct from disciplinary or administrative segregation.

Despite these claims, immigrant advocates have long raised concerns about conditions inside ICE facilities like Otay Mesa. Those concerns have intensified as deaths in immigration detention have reached a record high—50 during Trump's second term.

In April, more than 1,170 people were detained at Otay Mesa, most without criminal records. Independent oversight has been limited: San Diego County supervisors recently won a court case to ease federal restrictions on their access, and county health inspectors spent nearly eight hours on Friday evaluating conditions at the facility.

A report is expected in coming weeks.

The petitions detail a range of medical issues, including a 47-year-old Somali man who missed a scheduled hip replacement surgery; a 33-year-old Iranian man with severe neurological problems who received "minimal care" and was shackled during medical appointments; a man from Azerbaijan with acute gastrointestinal distress who lost 20 pounds during detention; a Mexican woman whose prescribed medication was confused with another detainee's laxative, causing a fall; and a 34-year-old Pakistani woman with asthma and anxiety who suffered panic attacks, head injuries, and a three-day hospitalization, writing, "I feel that if this continues while I remain here, I might die one day because I will stop breathing."

More than a dozen detainees reported chronic conditions like diabetes, Crohn's disease, and hepatitis C. Altaf Saadi, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School who studies the health effects of immigration detention, said these facilities focus on acute care and private prison companies have incentives to cut costs, leading to understaffing, medication changes, and "grave consequences for patients with chronic diseases." A recent California Department of Justice report found that Otay Mesa and other ICE facilities in the state "did not meet ICE's own detention standards or ensure basic rights, safety, and well-being." A 2025 study co-authored by Saadi found that longer detention was linked to worse health outcomes, and a forthcoming study shows that interrupted care for chronic conditions leads to lasting psychological distress.

One case involved a 32-year-old Turkish man with rheumatoid arthritis who was detained while working as a driver. His sister said she tried to deliver his medication but was blocked.

A judge ordered a bond hearing, citing his "undisputed and documented medical conditions." Another case involved a 39-year-old Ecuadorian woman who was detained in November after nearly a decade in the U.S. with her now 9-year-old son.

She was forced to miss surgery for a uterine fibroid and said her son, who has severe autism and ADHD, told her, "I don't have enough fingers left to count the days I will be away."

ICE agents have broad discretion in deciding whom to detain, and can consider health. The 77-year-old Iranian man had lived in the U.S.

under supervision for over two decades, attending annual check-ins. He was fitted with an ankle monitor in November, which was removed because it interfered with monthly MRIs.

During his six-week detention, he lost 10 pounds and had high blood sugar. A CPAP machine sent to him lost essential parts.

Two doctors and a nurse practitioner wrote letters urging his release, with one warning that without specialized care his condition could worsen. A federal judge ordered his release in January, finding that ICE agents violated his due process rights, though the ruling was not based on his health.

The California DOJ's May report suggested the Iranian man's case is not isolated, noting that immigrants requiring higher levels of medical care remained in the facility's medical housing unit for months. Some detainees also described mental health impacts, including anxiety, depression, and sleep issues.

A 43-year-old Chinese woman wrote that she was "suffering" inside and begged the judge for help, saying, "I came to this country seeking refuge for what happened to me in my country. I never expected to suffer such inhuman treatment as these."

A suspect has been arrested in the 1999 cold case murder of Diane Ayres, a 23-year-old San Diego resident whose body was discovered in Balboa Park. The arrest comes more than two decades after the killing, following a renewed investigation that used advanced forensic evidence to identify the alleged perpetrator.

On December 4, 1999, golfers at the Balboa Park golf course discovered Ayres’ body in bushes along the 1800 block of Golf Course Drive. They immediately called for help, and the San Diego Police Department responded.

The Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Ayres had been strangled.

For years, the case remained unsolved. Cold case investigators from the San Diego Police Department re-examined forensic evidence, which ultimately led to the identification of Christopher Lynn Creek, 52, as the suspect.

The SDPD worked closely with the FBI and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation.

Creek was located in a prison across the country. On June 16, he was arrested on the San Diego homicide warrant by the Laurens County Sheriff's Department and transferred from Dodge State Prison in Chester, Georgia, to the county jail.

He was set to be arraigned on Thursday in San Diego.