‘91 Proving to Be a Year of Violence and Death : City: San Diego charts a record 145 criminal homicides, the highest since 1988, and the year isn’t over yet.

With two months left in the year, San Diego has already set a record of 145 criminal homicides with the shooting death Sunday of a 22-year-old man, surpassing the old record of 144 set in 1988.

San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen blamed the increase on reasons he said are not surprising: more drugs, more gangs, more drive-by shootings and lack of jail space.

“Until we can do something about the drugs associated with gangs on the street, I’m not encouraged about the crime rate,” Burgreen said.

Augustin Rodriguez, the city’s record-setting homicide victim, was shot late Sunday night in a dispute concerning drugs, San Diego Police Lt. Paul Ybarrondo said.

Police went to the 200 block of 27th Street to investigate a call about gunshots heard in the Logan Heights neighborhood and found Rodriguez dead on the sidewalk. He has been shot in his back and chest. His killers are suspected to be two Latino men who were seen driving away in a two-tone car, Ybarrondo said.

There were 24 drug-related homicides in 1991, according to Police Department statistics covering the period from January through Oct. 18 of this year. Police say an increase in gang violence is responsible for 26 homicides. Domestic homicides ranked third with 22. Deaths from robberies and burglaries make up the rest.

Officials differentiate between criminal homicides, which are intentional, and non-criminal homicides, where death was accidental. Non-criminal homicides, which include police shootings, stand at 154 for 1991.

Of the criminal homicides so far this year, 40% of the victims are Latino; 29% white; 21% black; 6% Asian, and 4% other ethnic groups. The same statistics for the period show that, of the known suspects, 36% are black; 34% Latino and 30% white.

Half of those slain in criminal homicides this year were from 26 to 54 years old; 26% were 19 to 25; 16% were under 19 and 8% were 55 or older.

Eighty-four of the criminal homicides, or 60%, were committed with firearms and 34 with knives. The balance involved the use of hands, clubs or other blunt instruments.

Rising Trend

Annual statistics for criminal homicide in San Diego: 1981: 94 1982: 72 1983: 77 1984: 103 1985: 96 1986: 101 1987: 96 1988: 144 1989: 118 1990: 135 1991: 145 Source: San Diego Police Department