Parolee Suspected of Assaulting San Marcos Clerk Arrested in Encinitas

ENCINITAS, CA — Hours after the San Diego County Sheriff's Department released surveillance video Friday of a man wanted on suspicion of brutally assaulting a San Marcos gas station clerk, knocking him unconscious, the suspect was taken into custody in Encinitas, according to a sheriff's detective.

The video depicts a man entering Chevron at 1200 W. San Marcos Blvd. at 8:15 p.m. on Friday Sept. 28, punching and kicking the clerk several times and knocking him to the floor, then exiting the store and leaving in a vehicle. The video also shows a woman believed to be the suspect's companion as she purchases beer inside the store prior to the assault.

Authorities said the clerk was taken to a hospital following the attack. He reportedly suffered bruising and swelling to the right side of his face, a cut on the back of his head that required staples, and bleeding inside his skull on the left side of his brain.

According to sheriff's Detective Rey Dominguez, deputies with the North Coastal Station spotted the pair at 4:30 p.m. Friday as they were driving away from Walmart on Leucadia Boulevard in Encinitas. He said they recognized them from the video because they had watched it earlier in their shift.

The deputies conducted a traffic stop and confirmed the man and woman were the ones shown in the surveillance video, Dominguez said.

The suspect, identified as Fredrick Cato, 32, of Carlsbad, was arrested on suspicion of assault likely to cause great bodily injury. Friday evening, he was being booked into the Vista Detention Facility, where Dominguez said he will be placed on a parole hold for alleged violation of parole.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed, was questioned and released by deputies.

The investigation into the incident is continuing, Dominguez said.