A man found dead inside a bullet-riddled car in San Diego’s Bay Terraces neighborhood – a car that a passerby said smelled “foul” – has been identified by police, though the investigation into the man’s homicide continues.
The San Diego Police Department said the man was San Diego resident Reginald Mitchell, 23. Witnesses told police they believed Mitchell had been living out of his car in the area for several months.
According to SDPD Lt. Matt Dobbs, a passerby called the police just before 6 p.m. on July 21 to report a “foul odor” coming from a car parked at Casey Street and Appian Drive near Bay Terraces Community Park. The caller said the car appeared to have bullet holes in its window.
When officers arrived, they found Mitchell dead inside the car and confirmed that there were, in fact, bullet holes in at least one of the windows of his car.
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Nearly a week later, the SDPD said there’s still “very little known” about what led to Mitchell’s death. Residents told investigators they had heard possible gunshots in the area in the days before Mitchell was found dead in the car, but no one saw what happened.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with details on this case can call the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.