San Diego, CA
San Diego resident charged in vandalism spree of places of worship
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A San Diego resident who allegedly vandalized several local places of worship, as well as a religious altar at a private residence, pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony and misdemeanor charges.
Erdem Onder, 47, is accused of spray-painting two churches and a synagogue with profane messages in January and February of this year.
The places of worship allegedly vandalized are University Christian Church in Hillcrest, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill and Ohr Shalom Synagogue, also in Bankers Hill.
Onder is also accused of dousing a religious altar outside a person’s home with alcohol and attempting to set the altar ablaze last December, but was unsuccessful, according to Deputy District Attorney Mei Owen. The prosecutor said Onder returned to the same home a month later and vandalized several religious statues at the residence.
Onder is accused of vandalizing both St. Paul’s Cathedral and Ohr Shalom Synagogue on two separate occasions.
Owen said Onder faces up to 13 years in state prison if convicted of all charges, which include interference with civil rights, vandalism of religious property for intimidation, and arson.
The prosecutor did not say what led law enforcement to suspect Onder was responsible for the crimes, nor a motive for allegedly targeting those locations.
Onder was booked into county jail on Monday on $250,000 bail. A judge reduced the defendant’s bail to $200,000 during Thursday’s arraignment, but a bail review hearing was scheduled for later this month to revisit Onder’s bail status.
Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.
Stammen challenged a safe call at second base — one that led to the Washington Nationals tying the game. Fernando Tatis Jr. threw
The Nats had chances to win last night, but they came up short. Some of the weaknesses at the back end of their roster showed up, and they lost 7-5 in a bullpen battle. Now they will look to bounce back at home against a tough Padres team.
Blake Butera has made some peculiar changes to the lineup. Clearly, he wants to go lefty heavy. The struggling Jorbit Vivas will start over Curtis Mead. Jose Tena will also be starting at DH. That means James Wood will go to right field and Dylan Crews will slide to center. Drew Millas will also be back behind the plate. Foster Griffin will be on the bump.
The Padres have a very similar lineup to last night. Rodolfo Duran will replace Freddy Fermin behind the plate. Otherwise, it is the same personnel. We saw Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis start to wake up, so hopefully that does not continue. Blake Butera’s college teammate, Michael King, will be on the mound.
The Nats will look to avoid going under .500 in this one. Michael King will be a good test, but this lineup has been resilient. Hopefully Foster Griffin can build on his strong outing against the Braves. If they don’t win today, those narratives about the poor home record will re-appear. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
San Diego taxpayers are subsidizing the short-term rental industry’s trash collection under the People’s Ordinance. The 2017 letter from the city attorney to Councilmember Zapf is crystal clear: transient occupancy (rentals under 30 days) generates “nonresidential refuse.”
The city is prohibited from providing free weekly collection to these units. Yet, thousands of whole-home STRs continue to receive curbside service at taxpayer expense. Measure B (2022) modernized funding but left the core definition intact — transient rentals remain ineligible for city residential service.
Requiring owners to arrange and pay for private hauling would shift the full cost off the general fund. With roughly 7,954 active licenses, and residential collection costing about $520 per unit annually, the city could save approximately $4.1 million a year. That money could repair streets, fund public safety or lower taxes for actual residents. Enforce the ordinance as written.
— Gary Wonacott, San Diego
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