Freeway, Ramp Closures Today For Fallen S.D. Officer DeGuzman's Memorial Processions

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA – Grieving family members, law enforcement colleagues and political leaders will gather today to bid farewell to a San Diego police officer killed last week in the line of duty.

Gov. Jerry Brown and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plan to join the mourning relatives and police officers at a midday public memorial service in El Cajon for 16-year SDPD veteran Jonathan "J.D." DeGuzman.

A motorcade procession to Glen Abbey Memorial Park will follow the church ceremony.

The 43-year-old lawman and his gang-unit partner, Officer Wade Irwin, 32, were shot during a pedestrian stop in Southcrest late on the night of July 28.

The pair of funeral processions for DeGuzman will create periods of congestion on several area freeways this morning and afternoon. The first of the two ceremonial motorcades will begin about 9 a.m. and necessitate a closure of eastbound Interstate 8 from I-15 to Greenfield Drive in El Cajon, where a midday memorial ceremony is planned.

The second will require a shutdown of westbound I-8 from Greenfield Drive to southbound state Route 125 to westbound SR-54 into Bonita for about an hour, beginning around 1 p.m., according to Caltrans.

Freeway connectors and onramps along the freeways also will be closed until the processions have passed. Delays are expected to last between 15 and 30 minutes. Signs will be posted at various highway locations to alert motorists to alternate routes, Caltrans advised.

DeGuzman was gunned down July 28 during a pedestrian stop in Southcrest. His partner, Irwin, suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound.

DeGuzman was struck by five rounds while seated behind the wheel of his cruiser. Irwin suffered a serious but non-life-threatening wound. The alleged assailant, 52-year-old ex-con Jesse Michael Gomez, was critically injured by Irwin's return fire and remains hospitalized.

On Tuesday, Gomez pleaded not guilty at UCSD Medical Center to charges of murder, attempted murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $5 million bail. A special- circumstance allegation of murder of a police officer makes Gomez eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted.

Authorities have disclosed no suspected motive for the deadly shooting.

The San Diego Police Officers Association is collecting money for DeGuzman's family. Donations can be mailed to the San Diego Police Officers Association, 8388 Vickers St., San Diego, CA 92111, or made online at sdpoa.org/about-widows-orphans-fund/.

SDPOA officials asked donors to include "Officer Jonathan DeGuzman" in the notes of the online donation or on the memo lines of their checks.

Contributions to aid in Irwin's recovery expenses can be made at gofundme.com/irwinfamilyfund.

Previous coverage:

• Slain San Diego Police Officer to Be Laid to Rest
• Man Accused in Fatal Shooting of San Diego Police Officer Arraigned in Hospital Bed
• San Diego Police Chief on Officer Shot Dead, Another Wounded: 'I Am Heartbroken'
• Memorial Services, Fund for Slain San Diego Police Officer Announced
• San Diego Officer Killed in Shooting; Second Expected to Survive [UPDATE]

--City News Service/Images via SDPD