Crime
Trial under way for man accused of killing his wife
VISTA — The man accused of fatally shooting his wife last New Year’s Day at their Oceanside home while their children were inside will learn his fate at his murder trial that began Jan. 9. The trial for Dontaye Henderson, 29, is expected to last two weeks as the prosecutor reveals a violent past history [...]
Salesman pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges
VISTA — A door-to-door salesman pleaded not guilty in court Dec. 29 to 14 charges that allege he bound and sexually assaulted two sisters at knifepoint after being let inside their Escondido home to show a demonstration of a cleaning solution. Joshua Thomas Nitkin, 21, who is 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs 145 pounds, was said [...]
Bank robber blames illness for crime
ENCINITAS — A man wearing a Santa hat and white sunglasses who claimed his kid was dying robbed the California Bank and Trust at 135 Saxony Road, and jogged away with a green bag full of money on Dec. 16, just before 2 p.m., according to the FBI, San Diego Division. The suspect approached a [...]
Holiday Watch now in effect
By Shelli DeRobertis COAST CITIES — Deputies, city staff members and volunteers are working the streets and busy shopping centers as part of Sheriff Bill Gore’s Holiday Watch that aims to keep citizens safe and reduce crime during the holiday season. The countywide program began Nov. 25 and ends on New Year’s Day, and includes [...]
Trial date set in fatal alleged DUI crash
CARLSBAD — A judge found enough evidence at a hearing Nov. 9 for a young woman to stand trial for the alleged drunken crash that killed a 64-year-old man as he bicycled to his job at a nearby hotel. Authorities say Julianne Elyse Thomson, 23, was driving while intoxicated on July 27 when her Ford [...]
County district attorney commits suicide
OCEANSIDE — A distraught district attorney shot herself in the head in her car near a Starbucks at the 2100 block of Vista way on Nov. 10, at 6:36 p.m. as a Carlsbad Police officer talked to her through the driver’s window of her vehicle. Authorities said that Christine Trevino, 51, of Escondido, made threats [...]
Henderson recants insanity plea
VISTA — Dontaye Henderson, 29, was back in court Oct. 25 for a readiness conference after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity at a hearing the previous week. But he changed his plea, again. “Today he withdrew his NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity) plea and changed it to a regular not guilty [...]
Stutzman to stand trial Nov. 3
VISTA — A sex offender parolee was ordered to stand trial at a hearing Oct. 19 on charges he raped two young women and kidnapped one of them overnight before dropping her off at the apartment complex where he and both victims lived. San Diego County Superior Court Judge K. Michael Kirkman made a finding [...]
Two-year-old case to be retried
VISTA — The district attorney’s office is retrying a case more than two years after a judge declared a mistrial for the woman accused of a drunken head-on collision that killed two North County couples traveling home from Pala Casino. Jurors previously deadlocked in favor of guilt that Deanna Fridley, 27, had been under the [...]
Man must stand trail for murder of bargoer
VISTA — The man arrested in Indiana four days after the March 25 murder of an Oceanside man outside of a Carlsbad bar must stand trial on a murder charges, a judge ruled Oct. 12. During a preliminary hearing at the Vista Courthouse, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Runston Maino found enough evidence for [...]
