Teen charged as adult in Escondido knife-attack case

ESCONDIDO — A second teenage girl accused in the vicious home invasion attack on a 14-year-old girl was arraigned Dec. 24 on a multitude of charges, including attempted murder, a prosecutor said.
Like her co-defendant — 14-year-old Jovana Gudino — Karina Amador is charged with attempted murder, torture, assault with force likely to product great bodily injury, residential burglary and dissuading a witness relating to the May 3 attack on the teenager in her Escondido home on Goldenrod Street.
Amador faces an additional count of misdemeanor battery relating to an incident the week prior to the knife attack, Deputy District Attorney Kristie Nikoletich said. Because of the torture charge, each girl faces up to life in prison if convicted, Nikoletich said.
A third suspect’s case, a 14-year-old boy accused of participating in the assault, will remain in Juvenile Court. While he faces the same charges as the girls, he would only be held in custody until he was 25 if convicted of all the charges.
Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers ruled Dec. 22 Amador’s case was unfit for Juvenile Court.
Prosecutors allege the attack stemmed from Amador and the victim liking the same boy. Nikoletich said it was Amador who asked the two other suspects for help with the attack. After rushing into the victim’s house, Nikoletich said both girls repeatedly punched the victim in her face and head. Once in the victim’s bedroom, Gudino pulled out a knife and dragged it down the victim’s thigh, the prosecutor said.
Nikoletich said Amador is the one who stabbed the girl. The lawyer said the victim suffered at least three stab wounds — two in the abdomen and one in the back. Following the attack, Nikoletich said Amador told the victim “not to snitch or that the next attack would be worse.”
The victim, who has recovered from the attack, was treated at Rady Children’s Hospital for life-threatening injuries.
Amador and Gudino remain in custody on $2 million bail. Their next scheduled court appearance is Jan. 15. A preliminary hearing date was set for Feb. 3.