From Officer David Surwilo:
Recently there was a violent day-time robbery of a Ocean Beach business. The suspects used a gun to hold up the store then bound the employees with duct tape. I have attached the wanted poster to seek assistance from the public with identifying the suspects. Please post and send this poster to everyone you can so we can identify the suspect before they victimize others. Any and all information should be sent to Detective Wolfe, whose contact information is on the wanted poster.
Officer Surwilo is the San Diego Police Department Community Relations Officer, Western Division.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Am I right to assume that if the San Diego Police want to catch a pot seller in the “Lot” at the beach(both of them), that we (ragsters) are supposed to co-operate or collaborate, with these guy’s. Please let us know if we are aspiring to be mainstream or if we are to remain an underground publication.
Not on my watch. This robbery, however, is a horse of a different feather. Pot is way diff than a shotgun being forced into a local merchant’s face. Millions of California voters voted for the legalization of MJ. But of course, this armed robbery is a crime against our neighbors. What do others think? Is it wrong of the OB Rag to post this wanted poster of a widely-known robbery that happened on our main street? Thanks, Mr. Rick, for bringing this up.
Am I right to assume that the victims are actually the victims or ?. I happen to be a local who went to San Quinten a long time ago because someone (Yogi) told on me first on a mutual consenting “Crime”) just so he could get out of it. The “Victims” could be crimies of the “So called” robbers. Until we have a definative situation (whatever that is ) it would be prudent not to give the man such a forum, They are just going on what they’ve been told. Besides, as for rthe distinction between pot and armed robbery goes, both are felonies,
Mr Rick – the poster has photos of the robbers gleaned from store video cameras. It’s kinda difficult getting around that. Please don’t equate your experience with everybody’s elses. Sure, there’s all kinds of false ‘victims’ out there, and people get jailed for the wrong reasons or for no reasons at all, but this is quite a definitive situation.
Smoking pot is an infraction in California. Selling it is, yes, still a felony. But way different from armed robbery.
Can’t agree more. Some grass is one thing. Who cares; it’s only a matter of time before we right the ship and get it legalized anyhow.
Thanks for putting the pic up of these thugs. Let’s hope they’re arrested in short order. If they were this brazen during the day, you’d have to imagine they’d do it again, if not escalating into something much worse.
Robbery, rape, killing, assult …… I would think/hope that our community would want to get the criminals off our streets so that no one else would be harmed.
Am I right to assume you are a defense attorny? If such is the case, then, you would know that there is no such thing as a definative situation. Under the law. Put on your laywers hat and take your journalist hat,before you close your case.
Mr. Rick, as the owner of a family business on Newport and as a member of the ocean beach community I want to make this neighborhood safe from VIOLENT crime. I endorse any effort from any form of communication that is viewed or read by the local community. This article is not about assisting “The Man”. The editor of the Rag is doing the community a valuable service by posting these images, taken directly from the victim’s surveillance cameras, in an effort to alert this community of persons who have shown, without a doubt, to be violent.
Mr Rick – Sure, I’m an under-employed, partially retired defense attorney. Of course, I’m not their attorney. What do you do when someone gets caught with their hand in the cookie jar, especially when the other hand has a gun? These guys were brazen and the potential for violence was real. I did appreciate your earlier view (at the other post) that shopkeepers should not try to out duel armed thieves, that no jewelry or gold is worth your life.
Shouldn’t that read “Subjects 1 and 2 spoke English well” ?
Whoops! haha – funny you.
What started out as a few tips to remain breathing after being held up by armed bandits, has at least turned into a fairly decent conversation about the roll of the Alternative Press, and their response to local criminal activity.I can understand how a person could get the wrong impression concerning my particular point of view. But that’s all it is. A point of view. Philosophically speaking, I don’t have much time for stupidity. Especially stupid crooks. The worst thig a bad guy can do to their victims is to frighten them. Scared people are unpredictable and anything can happen. There are cases where a straight burn job has turned into someone losing their life. For instance, behind the “Hotel” in ’73. But back to the discussion at hand. My point is it’s ok to report on crime in the community.My beef is letting the Law advertise for free in our publication. Maybe we could trade the “Right” to feed homeless kids in OB for the ad they want to run. Preferably just write up an article for the Rag after interviewing the “dick” investigating the 211.Next thing you know they (police) will think we’ll give them info on us, the readers, participants of the Rag. For some reason I’m not too worried about our Editor going this way. But someone else might get the idea tha the SDPD is in the business of promoting our right to dissent.Or whatever.We have all,or most of us,been down this road before. The coin of the realm is information.
Quite honestly, we bash the SDPD so much – in other articles – I don’t think they are ready to join the Rag staff. Actually, our policy is to tell like it is. If a good cop does something good, we ought to report on that as much as the other side. Right now, police officers are coming under attack by the extreme right-wing for being unionized public employees and we totally support their collective bargaining rights and other rights as workers. It’s when police – or any public servant – strays from the service to the public that we get our hackles up. Thanks for keeping the conversation on some of these points going, mr rick.
+1 Frank – I think we’re all in favor of a police force that keeps order and serves society, and when they need our help taking down the ‘bad guys’ it’s the job of the community (and the community news) to step up. When they’re facing attack in the guise of staff, pension, and pay cuts, we need to support them.
Likewise, it’s our job to speak out when one of their members steps out of line. And while it’s the job of the police to enforce the law, it’s the job of the citizens to push the people elected to represent us to pass the kind of laws we want to see enforced. Towns in Colorado and elsewhere have passed ordinances stating that marijuana infractions are officially the lowest enforcement priority…we Californians are more focused on the whole decriminalization shee-bang, but the bottom line is that the people we pay to enforce the laws are stuck enforcing the laws that we the people (and our representatives) create.
The previous crack about you being a lawyer was just to establish a perspective for my self. All I was trying to convey is that facts are sometimes not really facts until they are vetted. One sided stories ,etc. You know where I’m comming from. I hope.
I am so glad the pictures are posted. I am so wanting these criminals caught. The Union Tribune refused to post the pictures, not sure why. I have not seen the pictures on tv, either. These criminals were bold and will do it again if not caught. I am sure this is Not their first crime. They were all very brazen. I do wonder what was said in spanish. I feel sure someone out there will help. They do not look very smart at all and have to resort to stealing to make it in the world. How sad. Losers. Get a JOB>
Also, I do find it difficult to follow mr. rick’s line of thought. Not sure what he is trying to say until I read Mr.Gormlie’s reply. It’s the grammar and thought processes, I suppose.
Anyway, I do hope they get caught and prosecuted as I firmly believe they will. And, I am glad the OB rag showed the pictures since Tv and newspaper would not.