Man pleads not guilty in Spring Valley murder case
Bail was set at $1.5 million Oct. 30 for the driver who is charged with killing Jacob Greenwald, 20, who was walking home from work on a sidewalk in Spring Valley when he was struck by a hit and run driver.
Some of the victim’s family members and friends attended the arraignment of Jason Michael Palmer, 34, in El Cajon Superior Court. Palmer pleaded not guilty.
Man pleads not guilty in Spring Valley murder case
Bail was set at $1.5 million Oct. 30 for the driver who is charged with killing Jacob Greenwald, 20, who was walking home from work on a sidewalk in Spring Valley when he was struck by a hit and run driver.
Some of the victim’s family members and friends attended the arraignment of Jason Michael Palmer, 34, in El Cajon Superior Court. Palmer pleaded not guilty.
Palmer was released from jail on Oct. 8 on an auto theft conviction from 2012, said Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright. She said Palmer has a prior hit and run conviction involving alcohol in 2000 and been convicted of attempted robbery and receiving stolen property.
Greenwald was walking home on a sidewalk on Campo Road at 3 a.m. on Oct. 27 when Palmer was driving his grandfather’s SUV. The vehicle traveled onto the sidewalk, killing Greenwald. He was a graduate of Monte Vista High School.
Bright said Palmer faces 20 years in prison if he is convicted because of his prior record. A preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 13.
The whereabouts of Palmer spent before the crash has not been determined, and he was arrested more than 6 hours afterwards. The California Highway Patrol has asked that anyone with information about Palmer’s whereabouts on Oct. 27 to call the CHP office at 401-2000 in El Cajon and ask for officer Mike Edwards.
El Cajon arsonist may head to state mental hospital
The man who torched the St. Gregory of Nyssa Greek Orthodox Church on Jan. 27 in El Cajon pleaded guilty to arson and a judge determined he was legally insane at the time. A stipulation was entered in the record between the prosecutor and defense attorney for Darin Wayne Williams, 39, on Oct. 21 as both sides agreed with the findings of court appointed psychiatrists that Williams was insane.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson will likely commit Williams to a state mental hospital for treatment on Nov. 19. Williams could be held for seven years and four months plus several 2-year extensions of commitment.
Williams also pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit mayhem for attacking his cellmate on Jan. 31 and he was determined he was insane at that time. Williams remains in jail.
The blaze caused more than $250,000 in damages to the Christian church, located at 1454 Jamacha Road. The motive was not determined as Williams was staying with someone from the church at the time.
Spring Valley man sentenced for murder
A judge sentenced Roshawn Lamar Broadnax, 22, of Spring Valley, to 17 years in prison on Oct. 21 for fatally beating his girlfriend, Deazjnae Banks, 19, on July 10, 2012.
Broadnax pleaded guilty Sept. 6 to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to a 17-year sentence from El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein. Broadnax received credits of 592 days served in jail and a murder charge was dismissed.
Sheriff’s deputies showed up following a 3:48 p.m. 911 call made by Broadnax about an injured woman who had stopped breathing in the 9500 block of Piedmont Street in Spring Valley. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to both sides of her head, according to court records.
