Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Not Cool

Gary John, co-owner of the Air Conditioned Lounge in University Heights, believes his bar was unfairly implicated in news stories and broadcasts that covered the July 29 murder of 27-year-old Miguel Leon-Fregoso.

In a July 30 SignOnSanDiego story, it was written that “Leon-Fregoso was at the Air Conditioned bar on 30th Street” and was leaving the club around 1 a.m. when he had an altercation with suspect David Barron, 25, of Spring Valley.

According to the press release emailed by the San Diego Police Department, Leon-Fregoso was shot in the alley on the 4600 block of 30th Street, behind the bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“[N]o one told me that [the suspect or victim] were in the bar,” says John. “He was shot behind the bar. The detective made a point to ask all the staff if they had seen anything unusual – any disturbances, altercations, or disagreements – there was nothing here that night.”

John says he heard “…all three of the people were at the same [house] party. The victim and the friend were walking down the alley.… The shooter was in a truck and challenged the guy over something – disrespecting – then I heard the victim told the shooter, ‘You don’t have the balls to shoot me.’ The guy pulled the trigger.”

John says the negative press has caused some nearby residents to point fingers at his establishment, accusing it of attracting troublemakers.

“Before we opened [in 2004], what was next door? This low-budget Sanford and Son used-knickknack store. Next to that was this low-budget coffee shop.… The person who actually lives closest to the bar used to keep a file on Your Place [the previous bar that occupied the address] with the stabbings and the pimps and the drug deals and all that other stuff. He loves Air Conditioned and the customers. I hate people that toot their own horn, but we really have done a lot to help clean up this part of the block.”

It wasn’t the first time Air Conditioned was mentioned in association with a homicide. In 2007, a male and female were shot by a robber one block north of the club. The male died from his wounds, but his girlfriend survived. The SDPD press release said the two had just left a bar near 30th and Adams, but didn’t specify if the couple was leaving Air Conditioned or Kadan, which is directly across the street. The suspected shooter, Michael Mason (also suspected of committing a 2005 home-invasion murder in Southeast San Diego), was recently arrested in Las Vegas after being profiled on America’s Most Wanted.

– Larry Harmon

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Gary John, co-owner of the Air Conditioned Lounge in University Heights, believes his bar was unfairly implicated in news stories and broadcasts that covered the July 29 murder of 27-year-old Miguel Leon-Fregoso.

In a July 30 SignOnSanDiego story, it was written that “Leon-Fregoso was at the Air Conditioned bar on 30th Street” and was leaving the club around 1 a.m. when he had an altercation with suspect David Barron, 25, of Spring Valley.

According to the press release emailed by the San Diego Police Department, Leon-Fregoso was shot in the alley on the 4600 block of 30th Street, behind the bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“[N]o one told me that [the suspect or victim] were in the bar,” says John. “He was shot behind the bar. The detective made a point to ask all the staff if they had seen anything unusual – any disturbances, altercations, or disagreements – there was nothing here that night.”

John says he heard “…all three of the people were at the same [house] party. The victim and the friend were walking down the alley.… The shooter was in a truck and challenged the guy over something – disrespecting – then I heard the victim told the shooter, ‘You don’t have the balls to shoot me.’ The guy pulled the trigger.”

John says the negative press has caused some nearby residents to point fingers at his establishment, accusing it of attracting troublemakers.

“Before we opened [in 2004], what was next door? This low-budget Sanford and Son used-knickknack store. Next to that was this low-budget coffee shop.… The person who actually lives closest to the bar used to keep a file on Your Place [the previous bar that occupied the address] with the stabbings and the pimps and the drug deals and all that other stuff. He loves Air Conditioned and the customers. I hate people that toot their own horn, but we really have done a lot to help clean up this part of the block.”

It wasn’t the first time Air Conditioned was mentioned in association with a homicide. In 2007, a male and female were shot by a robber one block north of the club. The male died from his wounds, but his girlfriend survived. The SDPD press release said the two had just left a bar near 30th and Adams, but didn’t specify if the couple was leaving Air Conditioned or Kadan, which is directly across the street. The suspected shooter, Michael Mason (also suspected of committing a 2005 home-invasion murder in Southeast San Diego), was recently arrested in Las Vegas after being profiled on America’s Most Wanted.

– Larry Harmon

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.