VALLEY CENTER, Calif. - Authorities have identified the man found dead of a gunshot wound near a Valley Center library this week.
San Diego County Sheriff's said 28-year-old Jose Manuel Ortiz, of Escondido, was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the 29200 block of Cole Grade Road, near Valley Center Branch Library. Deputies have ruled Ortiz's death a homicide, SDSO Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam said.
Deputies responded to the area on Monday at about 7 a.m., after receiving a report of a fight. Ortiz was found in a parked car, according to SDSO Lt. Kenneth Nelson. He died at the scene.
The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his mid 20's. Authorities said he may have been armed with a sawed-off shotgun, and fled southbound with other companions in a white Honda Civic with a black driver's-side door.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SDSO homicide detail at 858-974-2321, after hours at 858-565-5200, or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
