SAN DIEGO (CNS / CBS 8) - Three San Diego firefighters were arrested on suspicion of robbery and assault in connection with a weekend run-in with two brothers on a Normal Heights roadside, authorities disclosed Tuesday.
Vadid Cisneros, 36, Andrew Brennen, 29, and Gregory Econie, 26, allegedly attacked the siblings, ages 44 and 46, following an exchange of words near the intersection of Adams Avenue and 34th Street shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, according to San Diego police.
During an ensuing scuffle, the suspects allegedly punched and kicked the brothers, whose names were not released, and stole their billfolds and cell phones, SDPD public-affairs Lt. Andra Brown said.
"Apparently when (a) wallet was taken ... there was a comment made of, `We know who you are; we know where you live,"' the lieutenant said.
One of the alleged victims also reported having been beaten with a rock or a bottle and losing consciousness momentarily.
Patrol officers responding to a report of a disturbance in the area found the brothers and the three firefighters near the scene of the alleged crimes a short time later. The suspects surrendered without incident, Brown said.
The siblings were treated for apparently minor injuries, including scrapes, bruises, a bloody nose and a twisted ankle.
"One had pain to his face, a minor laceration above the eye, a bloody nose and a bloody mouth," Brown said.
The victims told investigators the dispute was sparked by an insult one of the firemen shouted at one of the brothers, who were riding their bicycles through the area at the time. The lieutenant declined to disclose the nature of the alleged slight.
"It was a derogatory comment," Brown told reporters. "I'll just leave it at that."
The suspects, who apparently had been drinking prior to the altercation, were booked into county jail on suspicion of robbery and assault, Brown said. They have since been released on bail.
Cisneros is a captain and 11-year veteran with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. He works in the agency's dispatch center, SDFRD spokesman Maurice Luque said.
Brennen, a 10-year department veteran, works out of a southeastern San Diego station. Econie has been with the department for four years and is assigned to a Kearny Mesa firehouse.
All three suspects remain on duty, Luque said.