By Gina Yarbrough
Spring Valley, CA–Authorities released the identity of the 61-year-old man who died from trauma to his head following a physical altercation with another man at an overflow dirt parking lot of the Spring Valley Swap Meet on Thursday.
The victim has been identified as Richard Johnson, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The 31-year-old man deputies detained after the altercation with Johnson was Mauricio Juarez. He was arrested and booked into the San Diego Central Jail for murder. The circumstances and motivation are still under investigation. The relationship between Johnson and Juarez is unknown.
“We are still determining this man’s level of involvement in this incident,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report, just before 11 a.m. of a verbal disturbance near the 8600 block of Jamacha Boulevard. When deputies arrived, they located Johnson on the ground with trauma to his head.
Fire department medics transported the victim to a local hospital for medical treatment. Despite life-saving efforts by medical staff, he was pronounced dead.
Deputies at the scene detained Juarez who was seen fighting with the victim.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330, or after hours at (858) 565-5200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
