San Diego County deputy arrested for driving vehicle through gate of military base, officials say

A San Diego County Sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he drove through the main gate of a military base Friday night without stopping, the sheriff’s department said. The incident occurred at Naval Base Coronado. 

Sgt. Michael Cruz, who has been working for the sheriff’s department since 2006, was off-duty at the time of the incident, the sheriff’s department reported in a news release.

Cruz has been placed on administrative leave, the sheriff’s department said, while the Coronado Police Department and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigate the incident.     

Naval Base Coronado was put on lockdown Friday night after the vehicle went through the facility’s main gate without stopping, a military spokesperson said.

Naval Base Coronado spokesperson Kevin Dixon told KNSD-TV that the driver was taken into custody by base guards after the “gate runner” drove without stopping through the entrance of Naval Air Station North Island, part of Naval Base Coronado.

Several patrol cars surrounded the entrance near 3rd Street and Alameda Boulevard in Coronado around 10:30 p.m., KNSD-TV reported.

Multiple gates at the air station near San Diego were closed while security personnel checked the facility, Dixon said.

A post on the Facebook page of Naval Base Coronado early Saturday morning said, “The main gate at Naval Air Station North Island is currently closed due to a security incident. Please stay away from the main gate while security conducts its investigation.”

Later that morning, another Facebook post read, “Gate 2 (Carrier Gate) is now open for inbound and outbound vehicle traffic. The outbound main gate at 4th Street is open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The main gate inbound remains closed due to security activity.”

Naval Air Station North Island is one of eight U.S. military installations that make up Naval Base Coronado.

In February 2022, a motorist was found with bomb-making materials at the same gate on the base. The materials were not assembled into a device and the driver was detained for questioning, the base said at the time.