Call blocker sentenced

A Chula Vista man has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to preventing his girlfriend from reporting to police that he had beaten her in an Aug. 26, 2013, incident.

Alexander Mejia, 21, agreed to accept the three-year sentence by Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Garry Haehnle, said prosecutor Harrison Kennedy. He pleaded guilty without having a preliminary hearing in which the victim, 28, would have been called as a witness.

Chula Vista Police received 911 calls at 4:02 p.m. about a man beating a woman inside an apartment in the 500 block of Telegraph Canyon Road. The woman broke free and ran outside, but Mejia grabbed her and was reported to have been dragging her behind a row of garages to a hill.

Police Sgt. Kelly Harris tackled Mejia after seeing him straddling the victim on her back with his hands around her throat. Harris had ordered him at gunpoint to get off the victim, but Mejia ignored the order. Harris held Mejia until another officer helped handcuff him.

Paramedics treated the victim, who had been seeing Mejia for two years. Mejia’s sister also told officers she had been choked during the altercation and she was taken to a hospital.

Police said Mejia appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Charges of kidnapping and committing domestic violence were dropped after Mejia pleaded guilty to dissuading a witness.