Spring Valley man to stand trial for killing man with car
A judge on Jan. 30 set a March 30 trial date for Darius Watkins, 20, of Spring Valley, who is charged with murder in what is believed to be an intentional ramming of a car into a young man in La Mesa following a fight.
Spring Valley man to stand trial for killing man with car
A judge on Jan. 30 set a March 30 trial date for Darius Watkins, 20, of Spring Valley, who is charged with murder in what is believed to be an intentional ramming of a car into a young man in La Mesa following a fight.
Watkins pleaded not guilty to killing Jorge Alberto-Rocha Osuna, 26, of National City, who was struck by Watkins’ vehicle on June 16, 2014, at 2:30 a.m. following an altercation at an East County McDonalds restaurant. Osuna died two days later in a hospital.
Ten witnesses testified in the preliminary hearing conducted by El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson.
Prosecutor Will Watkins said someone began banging on the victim’s car at the McDonalds drive-thru, which led to a fight between people in the victim’s car and those in Watkins’ vehicle. After Osuna drove off, Darius Watkins followed Osuna to his brother’s home in the 3600 block of Avocado Village Court.
The victim’s brother testified, as did sheriff’s deputies. The medical examiner testified that Osuna died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries. Darius Watkins remains in jail.
Lakeside man sentenced in burglary case
Shawn Richard Barton, 24, of Lakeside, was sentenced Jan. 29 to two years in prison for burglarizing the home of a friend’s mother who was awakened to see a masked man growling in her bedroom.
Barton was ordered to register as a sex offender and El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein banned Barton from contacting the woman for 10 years. Barton was given credits of serving 277 days in jail.
The woman woke up at 2:49 a.m. on May 31, 2014, to see a masked intruder kneeling next to her bed in her Lakeside home. When she asked him who he was, he stood up and made growling noises as he ran off.
Deputy District Attorney Kerry Conway asked for a 4-year prison term while Barton’s attorney urged probation. Barton pleaded guilty to committing a hot prowl residential burglary. Sheriff’s deputies arrested him June 2 for being drunk in public and noticed he matched the description of the burglar.
Alpine man sentenced to 38 years for armed robbery
David Allen Grub, 45, of Alpine, has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for committing three armed robberies and four burglaries in which his ex-girlfriend left an anonymous letter detailing the crimes in the Alpine sheriff’s substation.
Grub was given 20 years specifically for firing a rifle into asphalt that caused chucks of the street to hit a La Jolla man whose home was robbed of jewelry and furs on Aug. 1, 2012. San Diego Superior Court Judge Melinda Lasater ordered Grub to pay $445,200 to all victims who lost expensive jewelry and other items. The jewelry has not been recovered in a daring robbery at a Rancho Santa Fe home in which a housekeeper was handcuffed to the door on Dec. 20, 2012.
Lasater fined Grub $10,490 and gave him credit for serving 787 days in jail since his arrest on Feb. 28, 2013.
A jury found Grub guilty of all charges Oct. 21, 2014. Grub broke into two homes in Rancho Bernardo in which he cut himself and left some blood behind that was later matched to his DNA profile, said Panish. Grub also left his backpack and gloves inside one La Jolla home and his DNA was recovered from those items.
