The Superior Court in El Cajon, Chula Vista, San Diego, and Vista was closed March 17 following an emergency proclamation about the spread of the coronavirus.
They will reopen on Monday, April 6.
Presiding Judge Lorna Alksne issued the closing order following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration of a state of emergency as well as a declaration of a local health emergency by the health officer for San Diego County.
All proceedings–traffic, criminal, civil, family, probate, small claims, and Juvenile Court are suspended.
Arraignments are usually done within 48 hours of arrest, but the period of time, March 17 through April 3, will be considered a holiday.
There are limited emergencies that can be considered by a judge and it is recommended to seek more information at www.sdcourt.ca.gov.
All of the cases previously scheduled during this time will be automatically delayed to another date. Temporary restraining orders will be automatically extended by 30 days.
Electronic filing of civil and small claims matters have been suspended. Jurors with a summoned date during this time are not to report to the courthouse and their jury service will be considered filled.
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A judge has ordered the release of another sexually violent predator with conditions by April 3 to a house in Jacumba Hot Springs.
The written ruling by San Diego Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom on the release of Michael James Poulsom, 60, could not be reviewed before the courthouse closed March 17 due to the emergency proclamation about the spread of the coronavirus.
Deputy District Attorney Nicole Roth confirmed the ruling had been issued after Bloom took the matter under submission on March 6. The DA’s office was opposed to Poulsom’s release.
Bloom told a courtroom audience on March 6 that he personally drove out to view the house on Old Highway 80. Bloom said the site is on mostly vacant land for 1-2 miles and there were two abandoned houses somewhat nearby.
Poulsom has signed a 17-page agreement of conditions. He waived his court appearance and has been housed at Coalinga State Hospital after finishing his last prison term.
Poulsom has been in custody since 1995 when he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for molesting a girl. He molested two other girls in 1985 and 1989. Bloom said he was due to be released in 2011, but the DA’s office successfully got a judge to classify Poulsom as a sexually violent predator(SVP).
The only person in favor of his release was his attorney.
Opposed were County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Jacumba resident Alice Keyser, and a relative of Poulsom who said he molested her two cousins.
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A federal jury has convicted a San Diego man of robbing two stores in Spring Valley and a La Mesa liquor store.
The jury deliberated about a day before determining March 11 that Juan Marquis Holiday, 27, was guilty of interfering with commerce by threats or violence, brandishing a firearm, and discharging a gun during a crime of violence.
Sentencing is set for June 8 by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Battaglia. Holiday remains detained without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Holiday faces a life sentence in federal prison. A co-defendant, Don Wayne Jones III, pleaded guilty in 2018 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
“When someone uses a firearm and repeatedly terrorizes community members, bringing that person to justice is a top priority,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer in a press release.
Holiday was convicted of 20 counts which included hold-ups at the Eastridge Liquor store on University Ave., G&M Market, at 8903 Jamacha Road, and a 7-Eleven store at 9365 Jamacha Blvd., both in Spring Valley.
There were 37 witnesses who testified in the trial including more than a dozen who were held up in the 4-month spree in 2017.
