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wo men were sentenced April 15 to 25 and 15-years to life terms in prison for fatally shooting John Milton Francis, 38, in El Cajon in 2014.
All seats were filled with the family and friends of Francis, who was found shot to death Sept. 18, 2014, after he was robbed of his marijuana. He did not know his killers.
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wo men were sentenced April 15 to 25 and 15-years to life terms in prison for fatally shooting John Milton Francis, 38, in El Cajon in 2014.
All seats were filled with the family and friends of Francis, who was found shot to death Sept. 18, 2014, after he was robbed of his marijuana. He did not know his killers.
The gunman, Paul Julian Sosa III, 20, of San Diego, and his friend, Homero Viscarra Palomino, 19, of Chula Vista, both received 15 years to life in prison. Sosa received a consecutive term of 10 years for personally using a gun in a homicide.
They both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Lamborn. He ordered both men to pay approximately $17,000 in funeral and other related expenses as a relative had to fly here from Japan.
Deputy District Attorney Valerie Ryan read letters from the victim’s sister and aunt into the record. Lamborn gave them credit for serving approximately 500 days in jail.
El Cajon Police received a 911 call about a person not breathing at 1:20 p.m. and found the victim dead in the 1400 block of Broadway.
Lemon Grove couple to stand trial for murder
A Lemon Grove couple was ordered April 12 to stand trial for murder of a man who was killed to obtain his truck.
Fredrick Justin Weekly, 35, and Angela Elaine Anderson, 36, were held to answer in the shooting death of Kirk Sampson, 47, whose body was found on a quiet street in Encanto on Sept. 3, 2015.
Sampson was shot in his truck, which was later hidden in Lakeside, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing that was heard by San Diego Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian.
Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel said Anderson wanted Weekly to get the truck for her and they exchanged numerous text messages about it. “This murder is over this truck,” said Vasel.
Anderson’s attorney argued for dismissal, saying that when Weekly texted her with the message “I got it,” Anderson texted “you got what?” back to him.
Hanoian ordered them to next appear in court on April 27, and they have previously pleaded not guilty. Both remain in jail.
House of Hope arsonist sentenced
Francisco “Frankie” Castro, 24, has been sentenced to one year in jail for arson of the House of Hope in Santee where he once lived in 2014.
Castro was given credit for 348 days already served and has been released from jail on three years probation by an El Cajon Superior Court judge. The building at 10320 Prospect Ave. caught fire on Oct. 2, 2014 following an announcement that the halfway house was closing and most of the residents had left.
