On the evening of December 18, 2023, at approximately 10:28 p.m., the Escondido Police Department swiftly responded to a distress call reporting a theft incident at the Dick’s Sporting Goods store located on Auto Park Way. The incident involved a male suspect and two females who were reportedly stealing merchandise from the store.

As the Escondido police officers arrived at the scene, the suspects hastily entered a pickup truck and attempted to flee. A pursuit ensued, with the truck heading east through Escondido onto Washington Avenue. However, the driver’s attempt to make a high-speed turn onto Fig Street resulted in a loss of control, leading to a collision with a retaining wall. The impact of the crash caused both female passengers to be ejected from the vehicle, while the male driver attempted to flee on foot.

Tragically, one of the adult females was pronounced deceased upon arrival at an area hospital. However, the second female, who had undergone surgery, is expected to survive. During the investigation, the surviving female disclosed that she had pleaded with the driver to pull over multiple times, but he callously refused to release her from the vehicle.

The apprehension of the male suspect, identified as 21-year-old John Eugene Brand, occurred shortly after the crash. Escondido police officers located him hiding just one block away from the collision site. Brand was promptly taken into custody and subsequently booked at the Vista Detention Facility. The charges against Brand include:

• Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence
• Kidnapping
• Evading police with wanton disregard for safety
• Evading police causing serious injury or death
• Evading a police officer
• Hit and run resulting in death or injury
• Burglary
• Conspiracy

Remarkably, it was discovered that Brand, the perpetrator, is a lance corporal serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The pickup truck involved in the incident was found to belong to the U.S. Marine Corps. Furthermore, law enforcement officials successfully recovered stolen articles of clothing from the stolen truck.

In consideration of the sensitivity of the matter, the identities of the two female victims are being withheld until their respective families have been notified.