Arrest Made in ‘Good Samaritan’ Shooting

Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, San Diego police arrested a transient Friday in the shooting of a carpet layer who has been praised as a “good Samaritan” for attempting to stop a burglar earlier this week in University City.

Timothy Howard Pemberton, 22, was arrested outside a residence in the 3300 block of Felton Street about 1 p.m. Friday, said Police Sgt. Dorothy Powell. She said police stopped him without a struggle as he left the home and walked toward a stolen sports car.

Pemberton was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held Friday night in County Jail without bail.

The tip that led investigators to Pemberton may have been provided by someone who learned of Smith’s shooting through the media, Powell said.

“The information was provided by a confidential informant,” Powell said. “I don’t know how it came about. All the publicity had to have helped.”

On Wednesday, 35-year-old Gary Smith was shot four times after he responded to a University City woman’s screams for help by confronting a man who had burglarized the woman’s home.

Smith was laying carpet in a condominium in the 7900 block of Camino Tranquilo when he heard screams coming from the building next door. Smith chased a gun-wielding man about a block down the residential street before he was shot in the face, stomach, left arm and left leg, police said.

He was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he remained in critical condition late Friday afternoon after undergoing five operations since the shooting.

Well-wishers, among them many law enforcement officers, have donated blood and money to aid Smith in his struggle for survival, hospital spokeswoman Dilene Pulsipher said.

On Thursday, representatives of the San Diego Police Officers Assn. announced that they would tap into their account at a local blood bank on Smith’s behalf. On Friday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Assn. donated $1,000 to help with medical expenses, Pulsipher said.

“The response has been overwhelming, but there’s still a dire need,” Pulsipher said. “People have even been walking into our lobby asking, ‘Who do I make out a check to?’ ”

Hospital officials are asking that donations be addressed to: Scripps Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Gary Smith Fund, P.O. Box 28, La Jolla, CA, 92038.

Strong emotional sentiment also carried over to Pemberton’s arrest, Powell said.

“We wanted him really bad,” Powell said. “Everybody feels a lot of sympathy for the Smith family.”

When police arrested Pemberton, they found several items reported stolen in the Camino Tranquilo burglary, Powell said.

Pemberton’s physical appearance closely matches the description witnesses gave police at the crime scene, and he had a .22-caliber handgun, the type of gun used to shoot Smith, Powell said.