Bail hiked up for El Cajon man after prosecutor adds 24 new sex charges to case

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An El Cajon man was jailed March 1 after his bail was raised to $1 million after a prosecutor filed 24 new sex charges against him involving a dozen new female victims who say they were assaulted during dental procedures.

Previously, Luis Alfonso Ramos, 36, had been free on $100,000 bond on seven counts of sexual battery of a minor who was undergoing dental work at a North Park office.

An El Cajon man was jailed March 1 after his bail was raised to $1 million after a prosecutor filed 24 new sex charges against him involving a dozen new female victims who say they were assaulted during dental procedures.

Previously, Luis Alfonso Ramos, 36, had been free on $100,000 bond on seven counts of sexual battery of a minor who was undergoing dental work at a North Park office.

The dental clinic owner had surveillance video cameras set up in his offices and the misconduct was allegedly discovered from analyzing the camera footage. Ramos has denied all the charges in San Diego Superior Court.

Most of the victims were anesthetized at the time due to the dental procedures. Almost all the charges are sexual battery, but there are two counts of digital penetration to two women.

An April 5 preliminary hearing has been set. Ramos remains in the South Bay Detention Facility.

Santee gym coach posts bond and remains free

A 25-year-old gym coach at a Santee gym has posted $80,000 bond and remains free on charges he had unlawful sexual relations with a teen-age girl.

Patrick Jay Wehrung, of Santee, has pleaded not guilty to 12 felony counts involving the same girl he had met at Champion Gymnastics & Cheer, a gym in Santee where he used to work. He was fired after his Feb. 9 arrest.

A preliminary hearing has been set for April 19 in San Diego Superior Court. The charges allege four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, four counts of oral copulation with a minor, and four counts of digital penetration with a minor.

Wehrung posted $50,000 bond after his arrest, but it was raised by the judge to $80,000 at his arraignment by Judge Jay Bloom. He has since posted that amount. 

Man deemed mental incompetent in El Cajon murder charges

A judge has committed Erik Enrique Margain to a state mental hospital after a judge determined he was mentally incompetent to stand trial for the murder of his mother in their El Cajon home.

Charges of murder and attempted murder involving his mother and brother are suspended while Margain, 35, is at Patton State Hospital. If he regains his competency, he will be returned to El Cajon Superior Court for trial.

Margain is suspected of fatally beating Martha Margain-Velarde, 64, and also beating his brother Carlos Margain, 37, who was hospitalized on May 17, 2015 at their home in the 1900 block of Hidden Crest Drive.

Margain did not yet have a preliminary hearing and his attorney notified a judge in Nov. that he suspected his client was not mentally competent. San Diego Superior Court Judge Stephen Stone committed Margain Feb. 17 after reading psychiatric reports about him.