Short timeline and still-open questions in the Bonita shooting that left 54-year-old John Wesley Dooley dead. On April 9, 2023, deputies found Dooley, described as a transient in the area, with a gunshot wound in the 3000 block of Equitation Lane in Bonita at about 5:30 a.m. He was taken to a hospital and died shortly thereafter.

About three hours later, San Diego Police responded to a shotgun shooting in the Jamacha-Lomita neighborhood and linked a Chevrolet truck to the earlier Bonita incident. A multi-jurisdictional pursuit ended near East Mission Bay after spike strips caused the suspect’s vehicle to crash; the suspect was captured after attempting to flee and a shotgun believed to be used in both shootings was recovered. Authorities said charges tied to both shootings would be filed when the suspect was released from the hospital. Motive and the relationships among the suspect and the victims were reported as under investigation.

Dooley’s family said he was a San Diego native, the youngest of three siblings, who struggled with addiction and incarceration but was willing to help others and had varied work experience. Does anyone have information about Dooley’s activities or contacts in Bonita on April 9, 2023?