El Cajon, CA–A man is facing numerous drug and weapons charges after firing a shotgun in the direction of Sheriff’s deputies in East County.
Rodney Luzaich, 59, was charged with assault on a police officer, negligent discharge of a firearm, and being under the influence of a controlled substance while armed. Deputies found the shotgun Luzaich used hidden inside a large cactus. He was also found in possession of shotgun ammunition.
On July 11 just before 6:30 a.m. near Valle De Paz Road in an unincorporated area of El Cajon. Deputies from the Alpine Sheriff’s Substation were responding to calls of a man acting erratically and holding a rifle. After setting up a perimeter around an area where the man was last seen, a shotgun blast was fired in the deputies’ direction. The shotgun slug hit a nearby home. No deputies or residents were hurt in the incident.
After a search warrant was obtained for Luzaich’s home, deputies found 32 additional firearms and about 50,000 rounds of ammunition.
A butane honey oil lab was also located on the property. Honey oil labs are dangerous because the process involves extracting concentrated THC from marijuana using butane, a flammable odorless gas. Those vapors can be ignited even with static electricity, triggering an instant explosion.
Detectives also seized 29 marijuana plants, 98 pounds of marijuana, four pounds of marijuana wax, as well as methamphetamine, from the home.
The case remains under investigation.
