CHP Arrests 58-Year-Old Man in Connection with 163 Freeway Shooting

Officials have arrested 58-year-old Stephen Dragasits in connection with a shooting on Route 163 earlier this month that injured a college student and missed a Rancho Bernardo man.

Police said they have not yet determined a motive.

Dragasits, who told police he used to serve in the U.S. Navy, was arrested around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of a Walmart near Interstate 805 and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. He faces six charges, including two counts of attempted murder in the first degree. Officials said Dragasits became a suspect early on due to a recent conviction in connection with a rock throwing incident near the site of this month's shooting.

The suspect lives in an RV and officials have physical evidence that indicates he was in the area when the shooting occurred, said Capt. Richard Stewart of the California Highway Patrol. Video from a recording device mounted in a motorist's vehicle captured images of the suspect's RV near the scene of the shooting, Stewart said.

Police have not obtained any video showing Dragasits shooting at vehicles, he said.

The shooting, in the 7 a.m. hour on Tuesday, April 5, on southbound Route 163 near Balboa Avenue, left a 21-year-old University of San Diego student with a bullet wound to her rib area. She was taken to the hospital and given a good prognosis. Later, a 42-year-old Rancho Bernardo man who had been traveling in the same area around the same time discovered that his vehicle had a bullet hole. He was not injured.

Stewart said he did not know the student's current condition.

Investigators believe a Winchester 190 .22 caliber long rifle was used in the shooting, but no weapons were found in the suspect's RV during a search. However, DNA on shell casings found at the scene of the shooting matched DNA on file for Dragasits from the rock throwing incident, Stewart said.

Officials did not specify what type of DNA evidence was found. However, Mike Grubb, director of the crime lab, said sweat, mucus, blood and other bodily fluids would leave behind DNA that could be used to identify suspects.

Grubb said investigators did find partial fingerprints on the casings, but they are unusable.

Stewart said Dragasits became a suspect due to the rock throwing incident, even before the DNA connection was discovered. One car was struck by the rocks but no one was injured, he said. Dragasits has been under surveillance for about a week, Stewart said, and officials waited until they could get him outside of his RV to arrest him, which happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Dragasits' RV was near Ruffner Street and Balboa Avenue, but he had biked over to the Walmart less than a mile away, Stewart said. Police arrested him in the parking lot without incident, he said, adding that Dragasits did not appear to be surprised by his arrest.

Officials are still exploring other leads. Stewart said no one else lives with Dragasits.

Anyone with video from that area of the freeway near the time of the shooting is asked to contact the police department.