Vista
Man convicted for assault
VISTA — Danny Vinci, 44, was convicted July 21 of four felony counts, including assault with a caustic chemical when he threw gasoline on his ex-wife and tried to light her on fire outside of an Oceanside dance studio in March 2010. Vinci, a felon who has been in and out of prison several times, [...]
Motorist guilty of hit-and-run
VISTA — A judge found a motorist guilty July 12 of a hit-and-run that killed an Encino bicyclist in the 1200 block of North Coast Highway 101 as the cyclist rode in the center of a single line with his fiancée and a friend at about 1 a.m. April 10. Joseph Ricardo Fernandez, 46, of [...]
Boys found, didn’t handle rabid bat
VISTA – On a Sunday afternoon, three boys found a sick bat and put him in a take-out food container and brought him to a pet store with the hopes of saving the bat’s life. The county health department tested the bat and determined it was infected with rabies. Those officials had been trying to [...]
Coach pleads guilty to child pornography
VISTA — An ice skating coach who secretly filmed a 12-year-old figure skating student while she showered at his San Marcos home was sentenced June 28 to a three-year probation term and must also register as a sex offender. In May, 41-year-old Marc Romain Mandina pleaded guilty to the felony charge of possession of child [...]
Bluegrass coming to Rancho Buena Vista Adobe
VISTA — The eighth annual Bluegrass Festival and Ice Cream Social will tune up from 4 to 6:30 p.m. July 24 at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, 640 Alta Vista Drive, in the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe’s courtyard. Lonesome Otis Bluegrass Band will provide the music, while guests enjoy a cool ice cream sundae or [...]
Elementary school shooter pleads insanity
VISTA — The man accused of shooting at kids and staff at a Carlsbad elementary school, wounding two second-grade girls, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. On June 9, the day before defendant Brendan Liam O’Rourke turned 42, he entered the plea in a Vista courtroom. Witnesses testified at an earlier court date [...]
Suspects in murder case plead not guilty
VISTA — Three men with ties to gangs were arrested in connection with the double teen homicide at an Oceanside park in May. All three suspects pleaded not guilty at the June 13 court hearing. AL’C Robert Bejaran, 19, a documented gang member, was arrested for the murders June 9 while already in prison serving [...]
Man pleads not guilty to murder charges
VISTA — Alexander John Twedt, 29, pleaded not guilty June 2 to attempted murder charges, alleging he slashed the throat of his transgender lover following an argument over Twedt’s criminal past. The victim suffered two life-threatening injuries but had been treated at Palomar Medical Center and releasedseveral days after the May 30 attack. Twedt has [...]
Man could face 307 years in prison for rape
VISTA — A Vista parolee sex offender pleaded not guilty in court June 2 to charges that he raped two young women, kidnapping one of them, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Jeremy Ryan Stutzman, 33, faces up to 307 years in prison if convicted of all the charges presented against him during his arraignment, [...]
Sentencing postponed in murder of boxing trainer
VISTA — The June 3 sentencing of a boxing club trainer convicted of first-degree murder was delayed, pending the outcome of an internal investigation in which the defendant claims a search of his jail cell resulted in the confiscation of attorney-client privileged papers. Mark Anthony Diaz, 50, of Carlsbad, was found guilty of first-degree murder [...]
