A Jan. 31 preliminary hearing was set Dec. 18 for a Spring Valley man who first came to the public’s attention because he video recorded himself practicing a mass shooting then posted the video online.
Six felony charges were filed against Steve Homoki, 30, include three child endangerment charges and three counts of possessing an assault weapon in his home.
He isn’t charged with anything for making the videotape from a downtown San Diego hotel.
Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick said it was dangerous to Homoki’s three children to have three illegal loaded weapons unsecured in his Spring Valley home.
Homoki allegedly rented a hotel room and videotaped himself pointing weapons out the window on March 22, but apparently nobody noticed it until he posted the video on YouTube in Sept.
Someone who saw the video reported it to the FBI, and agents seized 14 weapons on Dec. 5 when they visited the home, said Patrick.
The prosecutor said the 14 guns were all legally purchased, but three were modified to become assault weapons.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Joseph Brannigan set bail at $1 million, saying Homoki showed “obvious danger to the community” by practicing a mass shooting.
Homoki pleaded not guilty and he remains in jail.
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Sentencing is set for Jan. 24 for Scotty Leon Richardson after a jury convicted him of attempted murder of an El Cajon motel clerk who was injured after Richardson drove his car into the motel office.
The El Cajon Superior Court jury also convicted Richardson, 63, of drunk driving and domestic violence of his wife in a Jan. 10 incident at the Budget Inn Motel on East Main Street.
The motel’s employee, Nate Creekmore, evicted Richardson for the disturbance with his wife, saying he was just doing his job.
Creekmore moved quickly when Richardson drove his car into the office, but he was injured and taken to a hospital.
Jurors deliberated about eight hours over three days before also convicting him of felony assault by a vehicle, domestic violence, and violation of a restraining order.
Richardson, who remains in jail, could get at least nine years in prison.
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Gustavo Flores, Jr., 39, of Lemon Grove, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing Juan Martinez, 47, who was found mortally wounded after knocking on someone’s door.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call in the 7600 block of Lemon Avenue in Lemon Grove after Martinez tried to summon help after he had been stabbed on June 21, 2018.
Flores pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a murder charge was dismissed. El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador imposed 11 years for manslaughter plus one year for the use of a knife. He added another year for Flores’ prior conviction of domestic violence in 2017, according to court records.
“I killed Juan Martinez because of a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion because I was provoked, and as a result of the provocation I acted rashly without due deliberation,” wrote Flores and his attorney on a court document.
Deputies found Martinez, of Lemon Grove, unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m. at the scene by paramedics.
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A March 10 trial date has been set for a 20-year-old woman accused of stabbing her grandmother in El Cajon.
The 71-year-old grandmother testified at a preliminary hearing that Elektra Zaya Delsol stabbed her on April 10 in their home in the 1200 block of North Mollison Avenue.
Initially, the grandmother said a burglar had stabbed her in the back and abdomen while in the presence of Delsol. Once in the ambulance, the grandmother said it was her granddaughter who stabbed her and not a burglar.
Delsol has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and she remains in jail.
