SPRING VALLEY–A convenience store clerk allegedly under the influence of an unknown drug bit a Sheriff’s deputy’s arm after he attempted to arrest him for threatening customers with a knife.
The clerk, identified as 23 year-old Layth Mohammed, suffered minor scratches on his face and was treated by paramedics at the scene before being transported to the San Diego Central Jail where he was booked for assault on a peace officer.
On Monday, just before 10 p.m., the Sheriff’s Communications Center received a report of an Arco convenience store employee chasing a customer with a knife in the 9000 block of Campo Road in Spring Valley.
The reporting party stated that the store clerk appeared to be under the influence of an unknown type drug and was threatening customers with a knife.
Deputies arrived on scene and contacted the store clerk. They suspected that the clerk was under the influence of a controlled substance and placed him under arrest. During the arrest process, the clerk lunged at the deputy and began fighting. He bit the deputy on his right forearm and attempted to remove the deputy’s firearm from his holster. The deputy forced the clerk to the ground and was able to hold him there until additional deputies arrived to assist him. The deputy was taken to a medical facility where he was treated for abrasions to his elbows and knees and the bite to his forearm.
