Preliminary hearing set for ‘Bridal Bandit’

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A March 7 preliminary hearing is set for the Bridal Bandit, a 50-year-old woman who allegedly stole credit cards from brides and others during wedding ceremonies in Santee, La Mesa, and elsewhere.

Denise Louise Gunderson, who is also known as Denise Burns, has pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court on 25 counts of grand theft, identity theft, and burglary. She was arrested in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 after allegedly stealing a wallet from a church and extradited here.

A March 7 preliminary hearing is set for the Bridal Bandit, a 50-year-old woman who allegedly stole credit cards from brides and others during wedding ceremonies in Santee, La Mesa, and elsewhere.

Denise Louise Gunderson, who is also known as Denise Burns, has pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court on 25 counts of grand theft, identity theft, and burglary. She was arrested in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 after allegedly stealing a wallet from a church and extradited here.

Gunderson dressed up like a guest at weddings at the Carlton Oaks Golf Course in Santee, and other weddings at Coronado and Fallbrook golf courses. She allegedly slipped inside changing rooms and stole the brides’ credit cards.

She is also accused of stealing credit cards of three wedding attendants at one event and is also charged with stealing a wallet from an employee at a La Mesa bridal shop. Another count involves the theft of a wallet of a wedding coordinator in Santee.

Court records say Gunderson used the credit cards at the Target store at Grossmont Center and other stores and service stations. Gunderson has a criminal record of thefts. She remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on $250,000 bail.

Man plead not guilty in Samurai sword killing

A 3-foot long Samurai Sword was used to kill a Pine Valley man during a fight with his housemate, a prosecutor told a judge at the arraignment.

Bail was set at $2 million for Douglas Michael Kell, 20, who pleaded not guilty to killing Donnie Chip, 28, on Jan. 21. Chip’s body was found in the yard of the house in the 8000 block of Valley View Trail.

Deputy District Attorney John Cross said the two men fought after an argument after they had been drinking alcohol. Kell got the Samurai sword from his room and stabbed Chip with it, he said.

Kell’s sister was dating Chip at the time. A gofundme.com page was created to raise funds for the funeral. A May 17 preliminary hearing was set in El Cajon Superior Court.

El Cajon woman who threatened Cajon Valley School District employee

Julie Rae Moore, 53, of El Cajon, is awaiting a March 15 preliminary hearing on a felony charge she threatened an employee of the Cajon Valley Union School District.

Moore has pleaded not guilty to the single charge in El Cajon Superior Court. The threat was conveyed over the phone at 8:20 a.m. on Dec. 18, according to El Cajon Police. No one was injured.

Moore was convicted of threatening an El Cajon Police officer in 2011 after she was declared “a habitual traffic offender” by a judge, according to court records. Moore was placed on probation in 2012, but her probation was later revoked and she got a 2-year state prison term.

Moore remains free on $25,000 bond on condition she has no contact with school district employees.

Warrants issued for Lemon Grove couple for alleged use of fraudulent credit cards

Warrants for the arrests of a Lemon Grove couple have been issued after they failed to show up in court for allegedly using fraudulent credit cards.

Lazaro Fernando Quijano, Jr., 30, and Bunthi Im, 30, were both free on their own recognizance, but didn’t show up as they promised last month in El Cajon Superior Court. 

They are charged with identity theft, possessing forged driver’s license, and possessing methamphetamine when they were stopped by Home Depot store security on Oct. 27, 2015. A search of their vehicle found credit card making materials, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a stolen handgun, according to the sheriff’s department.