Man Killed, Deputy Hurt Near Vista Bar : Victim Shot Twice by Lawman’s Partner; Was Fleeing After Struggle to Arrest Him

One man was killed and a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy was critically wounded Friday during a shoot-out that erupted in a parking lot when the deputy tried to arrest the victim and another man, officials said.

Deputy Dean M. Mesa, 27, was listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for a bullet wound, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Mesa was shot at 3:35 p.m. during a fight with the unidentified victim after the deputy tried to arrest the man outside a bar in the 500 block of Mercantile Street, according to Deputy Jim Mika. The man then tried to flee but was shot and killed by reserve Deputy Fred Mann, authorities said.

After the shooting, Mesa was airlifted to Scripps, where he was rushed into surgery.

Diane Yohe, a Scripps spokeswoman, said the bullet entered through the deputy’s lower right side and bounced off his spine. The shell shattered, and surgeons were unable to remove all of the fragments, she said.

The five-year veteran appears to have retained the movement of his limbs, she said, adding: “He was very lucky. He could have been paralyzed.”

Authorities said the case unfolded after Mesa and Mann--who were on foot patrol--approached the victim, who was sitting in a car in the run-down section of Vista. The area is peppered with bars and apartments frequented by undocumented aliens.

Vista officials have closed one bar in the area during the past year because of problems with drugs, prostitution and assaults.

Another man who had just left the bar approached the scene. The deputies and the men started arguing, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, and the deputies attempted to arrest both men. Authorities said it is unclear why the deputies wanted to arrest the men, but they stressed that such actions are not uncommon in that section of town.

“This area and the bars around here are notorious for the high crime and the number of calls we receive,” Mika said. “The Sheriff’s Department has beefed up its patrols here in the past and considers it by far the worst crime area in Vista.”

When a fight broke out between Mesa and the victim, the second man fled. Mika said Mesa was shot during the scuffle but could not say whether the man had used the deputy’s revolver or another weapon.

The victim tried to run away, but Mann drew his gun and fired twice, killing the man, Mika said.

Deputies arrested the unidentified man who fled about 20 minutes later in an apartment on Terrace Drive about a quarter mile from the shooting, Mika said.

The apartment’s tenant flagged down deputies after seeing the man force his way in.

Hours after the shooting, homicide detectives continued to scour the parking lot, which had been roped off, while residents peered from balconies of nearby apartment buildings.