A Jan. 20 preliminary hearing was set at the arraignment of Hauati Faanunu, 41, who is charged with the Jan. 1 murder of his wife, Mary Faanunu, 34, in El Cajon.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein set bail at $2 million after Hauati Faanunu pleaded not guilty Jan. 6. He is also accused of committing six counts of child endangerment involving his six children.
A Jan. 20 preliminary hearing was set at the arraignment of Hauati Faanunu, 41, who is charged with the Jan. 1 murder of his wife, Mary Faanunu, 34, in El Cajon.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein set bail at $2 million after Hauati Faanunu pleaded not guilty Jan. 6. He is also accused of committing six counts of child endangerment involving his six children.
Hauati Faanunu called 911 at 12:34 a.m. Jan. 1 to report he had just shot his wife to death in a home in the 8200 block of Melrose Lane in unincorporated El Cajon, according to the sheriff’s department. Deputies found his wife shot in the head, but no one else was home.
Hauati Faanunu surrendered to El Cajon Police later. The judge ordered him to have no contact with six minors, believed to be his children, while in jail.
“The kids are very safe and with their grandparents,” said attorney Christopher Allred, who said he was the family’s attorney, after the arraignment.
Allred said there was a gofundme.com account established online to raise money for the funeral and expenses of the children. The account, listed as Mary Fa’anunu (Newbold) memorial has raised $61,980 in contributions from 682 people in the first seven days.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Paugh told the judge an 8-year-old child witnessed the slaying. If Faanunu is convicted of first-degree murder and the child endangerment charges, he faces a maximum term of 58 years and six months in prison.
Santee man sentenced for pulling a flare gun on Target employee
David Wayne Smith, 48, of Santee, has been sentenced to four years in state prison for pulling a flare gun on a Target store employee after Smith took a backpack, a tent, and blue jeans without paying for them.
Smith pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and charges of making a criminal threat and robbery to the Target employee were dismissed. The incident took place May 15, 2015 at the store located at 9846 Mission Gorge Road in Santee.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos fined Smith $1,224 and gave him credit for 413 days spent in jail. Smith’s attorney said he was cold, wet, and homeless when he took the items from Target and wanted the tent and pants to be warm and dry.
A Target employee went after Smith after he left the store without paying for the items. Smith pulled a flare gun from his waist and pointed it at the employee while dropping the stolen items. He rode away on a bicycle, but a sheriff’s deputy arrested him minutes later.
Parnell to be sentenced for burglary of the Lakeside River Park Conservancy
Joshua Mark Parnell, 27, will be sentenced Jan. 20 for burglary of the Lakeside River Park Conservancy office building at 12108 Industry Road.
Parnell is expected to receive a split sentence of four years in which he will get two years in jail with two more years under supervision of the sheriff’s department, according to court records. He broke into the office on Nov. 13 and a laptop was taken. Food from the refrigerator was scattered about.
Parnell showed up inside the office building again Nov. 15 and was discovered drinking tea at 7:30 a.m. by arriving employees, who noticed he was the same man depicted on surveillance cameras from the earlier break-in. The loss was estimated at $600, according to the sheriff’s department.
Parnell pleaded guilty to burglary on Dec. 18. He remains in jail.
