Man Killed In Beating With Stick At East County Strip Mall

EL CAJON, CA – A predawn argument between two men at an East County strip mall escalated Wednesday into a bludgeoning that left one of them dead and the other under arrest, authorities reported.

Patrol officers responding to a disturbance in a commercial parking lot in the 300 block of North Second Street in El Cajon about 2 a.m. found a man suffering from a severe head injury, according to police.

Medics took the victim to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was withheld pending family notification.

Witnesses to the fight provided a description of the other involved person, and an officer found the alleged assailant about a block to the north, Lt. Walt Miller said. The suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Gary Eugene Rayford, address unknown, surrendered peacefully.

The eyewitnesses told police the two men were arguing when Rayford knocked the victim out with at least one blow to the head from a roughly 3-foot- long stick, according to Miller.

"Investigators are trying to determine if the suspect and the victim knew each other prior to the incident and what may have led to the attack," the lieutenant said.

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--City News Service