Alpine couple pleads not guilty in death of child

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An Alpine couple denied charges Dec. 15 that they either inflicted lethal injury or endangered an 18-month-old girl who was found dead Dec. 6 in a mobile home in Alpine.

Wiley Foster, 26, was arrested Dec. 9 for murder and assault upon a child that ends in death in the passing of Leah Brown-Meza, who was discovered deceased in a mobile home that was on the property of his relatives at the 300 block of Hunter Lane in Alpine.

An Alpine couple denied charges Dec. 15 that they either inflicted lethal injury or endangered an 18-month-old girl who was found dead Dec. 6 in a mobile home in Alpine.

Wiley Foster, 26, was arrested Dec. 9 for murder and assault upon a child that ends in death in the passing of Leah Brown-Meza, who was discovered deceased in a mobile home that was on the property of his relatives at the 300 block of Hunter Lane in Alpine.

Deputy District Attorney Chantal de Mauregne said the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma. The medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide and the remainder of the autopsy details are sealed.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested the girl’s mother, Lilly Brown, 21, Dec. 12 on three counts of child endangerment. De Mauregne said the three counts refer to three separate injuries.

They both pleaded not guilty Dec. 15 before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein. Foster’s bail was set at $2 million, and Brown’s bail was set at $300,000. Both remain in jail.

A preliminary hearing was set for March 22, 2017. Both charges against Foster carry a maximum 25-year prison term, while Brown faces up to 10 years if she were sentenced consecutively.

A number of family members of the victim attended the Dec. 15 arraignment, but after the prosecutor described some of the injuries, many left the courtroom.

Prisoner convicted for second murder

A prisoner already serving one sentence for murder has been found guilty of killing Mark Vogler, who was shot to death in Lakeside in 2008 a block away from a carnival where he worked.

Destin Lee Withers, 40, was found guilty of first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm. The El Cajon Superior Court jury deliberated about a day before convicting him, said Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Konstanzer on Friday.

Judge Lantz Lewis set sentencing for Jan. 20, 2017. Lewis found the special circumstance charge true that he had committed multiple murders, and Withers faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A co-defendant, Brian Jeffrey Baldino, 32, was granted a separate trial and it is set for Feb. 27. Baldino has pleaded not guilty and both men remain in jail. The motive in the case was not clear.

Vogler, 28, had left a Lakeside bar after working for The Family Show amusement carnival a block away. He was shot at least twice while running through a parking lot in the 12200 block of Woodside Avenue on Feb. 11, 2008 at 10:35 p.m.

Murder charges were not filed against Withers and Baldino until Aug., 2014 following a long investigation by the sheriff’s department. Withers has been in jail since Feb. 2, 2012, when he was charged with the other murder in the Escondido area.

Withers was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of Morayma Denise Rodriguez, 20, whose body was found along a road outside Escondido. A Vista Superior Court jury convicted Withers and the alleged gunman, Jeffrey Steven McCreary, 46.

Withers received a sentence of 33 years to life and McCreary got 100 years. Both claimed they were not involved in her death. Withers has previously faced charges of transportation of narcotics, auto theft, and evading officers.

No bail warrant issued for Eric Earl Patton

An El Cajon judge has issued a no bail warrant for the arrest of Eric Earl Patton, 24, who failed to show up for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to discharging a green laser beam at a sheriff’s department helicopter cockpit.

Patton, of El Cajon, had been expected to get probation and he was screened to see if he qualified for some type of home or work detention, according to court records.

El Cajon Police said the green laser was shined into the cockpit of the ASTREA helicopter for seven minutes on May 31 at 9:20 p.m. The two pilots reported visual impairment. They were assisting El Cajon Police at the timed on a burglary in progress call.

Laser light in pilots’ eyes causes glare in which they cannot see past the light. At high power levels, it can cause temporary flash blindness and after images. The offense is a felony.

The warrant describes Patton as African American, 185 pounds, 6’ tall, with black hair and brown eyes.

Patton had been free on $10,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison. He has a prior auto theft conviction.