Crime & Safety

Three Minors Arrested Following Death of La Jolla High Grad Garrett Berki

Family and friends identify the victim as 18-year-old Garrett Berki.

Three local teens were arrested on suspicion of killing a young college student after allegedly luring him to the Paradise Hills neighborhood of San Diego by posing as sellers on Craigslist, according to police reports.

Family and friends identified the victim as 18-year-old Garrett Berki, a 2010 La Jolla High School graduate who lived with his mother in Mission Beach.

Berki, a Mesa College student, had reportedly gone with his girlfriend to the eastern San Diego neighborhood to buy an item he had seen for sale online. At the prearranged meeting location, three teenage boys pretended to sell the item before pulling out a gun and demanding cash and cell phones, according to police.

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The three teens, whose names were withheld because they are minors, fled the scene in a green Honda. Berki reportedly followed their vehicle for a mile to try to get the license plate number. The two cars drove into a cul-de-sac near Parkside Park and the Honda circled around and headed back toward Berki’s car, according to police reports.

“As the vehicles were next to each other, one of the [robbers] fired a shot, striking the victim,” said Lt. Kevin Rooney of the San Diego Police Department. The victim's girlfriend was present throughout the incident, but her name was not released.

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After the gunshot, the three youth reportedly drove away from the cul-de-sac for a short distance before losing control of the car on the 3000 block of Fleming Way and fleeing on foot.

Officers searched the area by ground and air with a helicopter. The three suspects were arrested about a block from the site of the crash.

The three teens were booked into juvenile hall, Rooney said.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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