Man sentenced for food tampering in beer products

A man who put soapy water in beer products that were returned to an El Cajon store after he received refunds was sentenced Oct. 7 to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay $60,911 in restitution.

Eduardo DeJesus Cossio III, 32, was remanded to jail after he was placed on three years probation and ordered to pay investigative costs to a beer company and stores by San Diego Superior Court Judge Dan Link.

A man who put soapy water in beer products that were returned to an El Cajon store after he received refunds was sentenced Oct. 7 to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay $60,911 in restitution.

Eduardo DeJesus Cossio III, 32, was remanded to jail after he was placed on three years probation and ordered to pay investigative costs to a beer company and stores by San Diego Superior Court Judge Dan Link.

“He was really trying to get free beer,” said his attorney, Daniel Greene. “He was down on his luck. He didn’t think it through.”

“He wasn’t trying to harm individual citizens. He thought the beer would not be re-sold,” said Greene.

Cossio bought 13 packages of beer bottles at the Target store at 2911 Jamacha Road and Walmart stores in Chula Vista and elsewhere in 2014 and 2015. He drank the beer, and then put soapy water, food coloring, and/or cleaning solutions in the bottles before gluing the caps back on.

He got refunds and the products were placed back on the shelves. Other people bought them and took one or two sips before realizing they were tampered with. One man went to an emergency room to see if he was poisoned, but no one was actually injured. 

“Food tampering is very serious,” said Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth McClutchey, who asked for 365 days in jail.

Target employees identified Cossio as he wore a distinctive set of earrings, beard, and hairstyle in store security tapes. He filled out the refund records with his correct name, date of birth, and driver’s license number.

Link ordered him to stay 500 feet away from all Target and Walmart stores and to pay probation costs of $1,433. He was fined $1,484. Link suspended 215 days of jail time that Cossio may have to serve if he violates probation terms.

 Charges involving 29 similar counts were dismissed after he pleaded guilty to three counts of adulteration of a food product. 

Woman convicted of first-degree murder of boyfriend

The girlfriend of a Lemon Grove man who was convicted of first-degree murder was sentenced Oct. 7 to 11 years in prison for her role in the death of a man who was shot to death in a truck.

Angela Elaine Anderson, 37, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Sept. 3, 2015 shooting of Kirk Sampson, 47, whose body was found in Encanto. Her boyfriend, Fredrick Justin Weekly, 36, will be sentenced Oct. 24.

“This whole thing happened because of Miss Anderson,” said Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel. “She manipulates all the men in her life.”

Anderson paid some money for Sampson’s truck, but didn’t have possession of it. She asked Weekly to get the truck, which he did by killing Sampson in it and disposing of the body. The truck was hidden in Lakeside for a while, but was later found in San Ysidro.

Hanoian ordered her to pay $5,000 to the crime victim’s restitution fund, and gave her credit for 375 days in jail. She was fined $3,524. Weekly went on trial and was convicted by 

Preliminary hearing set for Santee murder suspect

A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 18, 2017 for Richard James Gunner who is charged with killing Brandon Deguzman who was found on a Santee sidewalk.

Gunner, who is known as Ricky Gunner, 23, appeared Oct. 5 before an El Cajon Superior Court judge and waived his right to have a speedy hearing. He has pleaded not guilty.

Deguzman, 21, was shot in the face during a robbery on Sept. 24, said Deputy District Attorney Jihan Yacoub. Deguzman was found lying on a sidewalk at 6:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Danny Street outside his residence.

Gunner was acquainted with Deguzman and was with him earlier that morning and the evening prior, according to the sheriff’s department.  Gunner was arrested later that night by the Fugitive Task Force near the Rio Seco Elementary School on Cuyamaca Street in Santee.

Bail is set at $2 million and he remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 70 years to life in prison.