Fugitive Caught After Shooting and 4-Hour Search Near Gillespie Field

A California Highway Patrol officer opened fire Tuesday on a parolee at large who allegedly steered a car directly toward him on a road near Gillespie Field, then fled into a surrounding industrial area and eluded capture for nearly four hours.

Ali Alkafaji, 27, was taken into custody shortly before 6 p.m. in the 700 block of Gable Way in El Cajon, a few blocks from the site of the mid- afternoon shooting, police Lt. Mike Moulton said. Alkafaji was expected to be booked into county jail tonight on various charges, including resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer.

The events that led to the non-injury gunfire began at about 2 p.m., when El Cajon police spotted Alkafaji driving a small red car in the 1300 block of North Johnson Avenue and recognized him as a fugitive, according to Moulton. They called for backup, and a CHP officer who happened to be nearby was among those who responded.

When they tried to pull over Alkafaji, he allegedly refused to yield and rammed a police sergeant's cruiser, then allegedly accelerated directly toward the CHP officer, who had pulled over and gotten out of his squad car. Fearing for his life, the patrolman opened fire, the lieutenant said.

Following the shooting, the suspect allegedly sped off and drove a short distance before abandoning his vehicle in a parking lot in the 800 block of Vernon Way and running off into the surrounding commercial district.

Numerous officers then began an intensive search on foot and aboard a sheriff's helicopter.

The nature of the area, which is crowded with warehouses, machine shops and other industrial properties, made the process of finding the suspect "very difficult," Moulton said.

"These buildings are large," the lieutenant told reporters in the late afternoon. "They're time-consuming ... to search; there's a lot of places to hide in (them). So that's why it's taking so long."

Alkafaji did not require medical care when officers located and apprehended him two blocks north of Westfield Parkway mall, according to Moulton.

At about 6 p.m., they found the suspect hiding under a vehicle in the 700 block of Gable Way, a short distance from the site of the shooting. He allegedly refused to surrender until a deputy sent in a police dog.

Alkhafaji was treated for minor bite injuries, then was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of two counts of assault on a peace officer, as well as resisting arrest, possessing a controlled substance for sale, violating parole and other charges. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.

His companion, Dasha Danielle Elkerton, 24, was jailed on two outstanding narcotics and grand-theft warrants.

-City News Service