A Lakeside man was ordered May 1 to stand trial for second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of a man crossing an El Cajon street.
Joshua Colby Ness, 32, will stand trial Oct. 23 in the Oct. 10, 2017, death of Michael O’Rourke, 60, who was struck in the 300 block of North Second Street near Madison Avenue around 10 p.m.
Ness pleaded not guilty immediately after the preliminary hearing, which was heard by El Cajon Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin. He was also ordered to stand trial for hit and run and DUI.
A Lakeside man was ordered May 1 to stand trial for second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of a man crossing an El Cajon street.
Joshua Colby Ness, 32, will stand trial Oct. 23 in the Oct. 10, 2017, death of Michael O’Rourke, 60, who was struck in the 300 block of North Second Street near Madison Avenue around 10 p.m.
Ness pleaded not guilty immediately after the preliminary hearing, which was heard by El Cajon Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin. He was also ordered to stand trial for hit and run and DUI.
El Cajon Police officer Michael Pollard testified O’Rourke was struck and he fell off the car onto a sidewalk after Ness’s Dodge Charger struck a curb.
A crime lab technician, Chelsea Carter, said Ness’s blood/alcohol level was measured at .11 to .16, which at .16 is twice the legal limit for drunk driving.
Ness phoned El Cajon Police afterwards and surrendered to them. Another officer said Ness failed some of the sobriety tests.
Ness has a 2010 conviction for misdemeanor drunk driving and he attended a Mothers Against Drunk Driving impact panel that was required for his probation terms.
Paula Myers, a former MADD official, testified she spoke at the impact panel Ness attended and that she warned the group they could be charged with murder if they drove drunk and killed a person.
“I knew they could be charged with murder if the District Attorney charged it that way,” said Myers to Deputy DA Cally Bright.
Ness remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $1 million bail.
Man accused of murder, girlfriend tried for theft
A 19-year-old Spring Valley man was ordered April 30 to stand trial for murder in the shooting death of another young man.
Alejandro Antonio Pearce is accused of being the gunman in the Dec. 27, 2017 slaying of Candido D. Aragon, Jr., 21, also of Spring Valley.
Aragon was shot at 6:52 p.m. at the intersection of Concepcion Avenue and San Francisco Street in Spring Valley. Pearce was arrested two days later. A juvenile is also charged in the case in Juvenile Court, but his case is not public record.
Pearce’s girlfriend, Makayla Suseberry, 18, was ordered to stand trial for accessory after the fact in which she is alleged to have gotten rid of the murder weapon.
Suseberry was also ordered to trial for grand theft in which she allegedly took 35 pieces of jewelry from her grandmother that were worth $4,000 and pawned them for cash, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Lantz Lewis set a May 14 arraignment date for Pearce and Suseberry in which a trial date will be set. They have both pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Dr. Bethann Schaber testified she performed the autopsy of Aragon, who was shot three times. She said the fatal wound was to the back of his head. He was also shot in the hand and once through the nose.
Schaber testified the bullet to the back of the head fragmented into his brain, causing his death.
Deputy Patrick Farber testified Suseberry took jewelry from her grandmother and pawned them at various shops. Farber said Suseberry’s grandmother did not authorize her to sell her jewelry.
“She put the knife in a dumpster because Alejandro asked her to,” said Farber, who also said it appeared “Alejandro (was) bullying her to get him (something).”
Deputy District Attorney Chris Rhoads told the judge that Suseberry also got rid of the murder weapon, saying “the gun has never been found.”
Attorney Charles Millioen, who represents Suseberry, asked unsuccessfully to dismiss the case against her, saying it was only her statement that she disposed of the gun that is being used against her.
Attorney Amber Kirchenschlager, who represents Pearce, asked unsuccessfully to dismiss the case, saying there was not enough evidence against him.
Pearce is in jail on $2 million bail, while Suseberry is free on $55,000 bond.
