Two Santee brothers face long terms in prison after they pleaded guilty to beating and killing a homeless man in Santee in 2016.
Austin Larry Mostrong, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault in the April 24, 2016 beating of George Lowery, 50, who was hogtied with bungee cords and found unconscious under plywood in the San Diego River bottom.
Two Santee brothers face long terms in prison after they pleaded guilty to beating and killing a homeless man in Santee in 2016.
Austin Larry Mostrong, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault in the April 24, 2016 beating of George Lowery, 50, who was hogtied with bungee cords and found unconscious under plywood in the San Diego River bottom.
Preston Autry Mostrong, 21, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and mayhem. A murder charge was dismissed against him.
Austin Mostrong faces 20 years to life in prison while Preston Monstrong will receive a stipulated 24-year term, said District Attorney spokeswoman Tanya Sierra.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 12, 2018 in El Cajon Superior Court. Both brothers remain in jail.
Lowery was found mortally injured in the river bottom west of Chubb Lane in Santee.
Both brothers were on probation at the time of the assault. Austin Mostrong pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery upon another homeless man and Preston Mostrong pleaded guilty to a theft-related charge, a prosecutor said.
The motive for the assault remains unknown. Both men were ordered to stand trial for murder and torture following a 2-day preliminary hearing in November 2016. The torture charge was dropped when they pleaded guilty to the other charges.
Alpine man sentenced for molestation
Brandon Lightcloud Alto, of Alpine, has been sentenced to 45 years to life for molesting three girls he was babysitting.
Alto, 31, was expected to receive credit for two years spent in jail before he was sentenced in El Cajon Superior Court on Sept. 28.
Alto pleaded guilty to molesting the girls in 2014 and 2015 and approximately 15 sex charges were dismissed involving similar contact with the same girls.
The incidents all took place on an East County Indian reservation.
A co-defendant, Christopher Thomas Harper, 25, also of Alpine, pleaded guilty to oral copulation and lewd acts with two girls. Harper was also a babysitter with Alto.
Judge Daniel Goldstein indicated that he would sentence Harper to a range of 15 to 21 years to life in prison, according to court records.
Harper will be sentenced on Oct. 27. Harper was arrested after he moved to Simi Valley in March 2016, and he remains in jail.
Preliminary hearing in Spring Valley attempted murder, kidnapping case
Jaquan Donte Ramsey, 30, has a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 23 on charges of attempted murder, assault, and kidnapping a woman in Spring Valley.
Ramsey is accused of shooting a woman in the 8400 block of Paseo Iglesia on Aug. 29. The woman was wounded in her right hand and left arm.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call at 2:51 p.m. about the shooting. Deputies set up a perimeter and searched several apartment complexes. Ramsey was arrested and a handgun was recovered.
An El Cajon Superior Court judge set bail at $1 million. Ramsey has pleaded not guilty and he remains in jail.
Preliminary hearing for Alpine woman delayed
An Alpine woman accused of fatally shooting Lorenzo Alejandro Rodriguez had her preliminary hearing delayed until Jan. 24, 2018.
The attorney for Angela Marie Meza, 48, asked an El Cajon Superior Court judge to delay the hearing and it was granted.
Meza has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the May 16 slaying of Rodriguez, 42. Meza remains at the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on $4 million bail.
Sheriff’s deputies received a 911 call at 6:35 p.m. from someone who claimed there was a suicidal man on Viejas Grade Road that is west of the Viejas Reservation.
Rodriguez was unresponsive after being shot in the torso. Paramedics began life saving measures, but he died at the scene. Deputies found Meza inside the residence and arrested her.
