A 20-year-old El Cajon woman pleaded not guilty on April 12 to the attempted murder of her grandmother who was stabbed in her home.
Elektra Zaya Delsol was arraigned on her 20th birthday before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador, who ordered she remain without bail in Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility.
Delsol had a dispute with her grandmother, Cynthia Whitt, 71, on April 10 and she struck and punched her face, said Deputy District Attorney Will Watkins.
Delsol then put a pillow over her grandmother’s face, said Watkins. She then went into the kitchen of the apartment where they both lived in the 1200 block of North Mollison Avenue and got a knife, said Watkins.
Delsol allegedly stabbed Whitt in the back and abdomen and then rinsed the blood off the knife in the sink, said the prosecutor.
The 911 call at 10:18 a.m. to El Cajon Police was made by Delsol, who reported that her grandmother had been stabbed by a man who burglarized the home. The grandmother also initially said a burglar had stabbed her.
Once in the ambulance – and out of Delsol’s presence – Whitt then told officers and paramedics that her granddaughter had attacked her and not a burglar, said Watkins.
Delsol’s attorney, Yahaira Aristy, asked the judge to set “reasonable bail,” and a bail review was scheduled for this week. Aristy said she has no previous convictions.
A preliminary hearing was set for April 25.
Fugitive arrested
A 22-year-old woman who escaped from the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility in Santee was arrested April 11 after five days as a fugitive.
Destiny Marie Guns was to be arraigned later this week in El Cajon Superior Court on a felony escape charge. She had been in custody on a misdemeanor charge of possessing a stolen car on April 1.
Guns had several misdemeanor cases pending against her when she disappeared around 6 p.m. on April 6 in a field on the southwest side of the jail.
The sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter searched the area of Cotton Wood Avenue and Mission Gorge Road in Santee, but she could not be found. Detectives with the sheriff’s fugitive unit discovered her at 10 a.m. on April 11 and arrested her.
Man pleads guilty to manslaughter
A judge has sentenced Francisco Gabriel Meza, 19, to 14 years in state prison for his role in the Dec. 2017, stabbing death of Kyle Khamphan in El Cajon.
Meza pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and committing the crime to benefit a criminal street gang.
A co-defendant, Luis Mondragon Pedroza, 20, is facing a murder trial on June 3. Pedroza has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail on $2 million bail.
Khamphan, 19, was stabbed Dec. 12, 2017 at 7:38 p.m. in the 700 block of East Park in El Cajon and someone drove him to a hospital where he later died. El Cajon Police said it was a gang related incident.
Meza received credit for serving 1 1/2 years in jail. A murder charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A juvenile had also been stabbed and another juvenile was also arrested.
Sentencing to take place for two attempted murders
Patrick Christian Douglas, 52, will be sentenced April 26 for two attempted murders of women he did not know who were both stabbed minutes apart in East County.
Douglas appeared April 12 before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos and asked to delay his sentencing because he could not talk following recent dental work.
Douglas’ attorney said Douglas wanted to make a statement at sentencing. Douglas attempted to talk to the judge but his words could not be understood.
A jury convicted Douglas of two pre-meditated attempted murder in the stabbing of a woman in Douglas’ car on Nov. 7, 2017, in El Cajon, and the stabbing of a delivery truck driver at a 7-Eleven store in La Mesa.
Douglas was also convicted of assaulting a sheriff’s deputy with his car following a chase. He was eventually arrested in Dulzura.
Because Douglas has prior convictions for assault, robbery, and burglary, he could receive 97 years to life in prison, said Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lazar. He remains in jail.
