Jury deliberations will start later this week in the double murder trial of an Eastlake man and his friend in two gang-related slayings.
Closing arguments were set to start Tuesday, but a juror injured her head while rushing to the courthouse, and was not able to attend. The arguments were put off until Wednesday in the trial of Donte Jerome Haddock, 27, and Anthony Constantin Frank, 27.
Both men are accused of killing Xusha Brown, Jr., 22, in 2013 and Darris Walker, 20, in 2011. Haddock is from Eastlake, and Frank is from San Diego.
The trial went into its 7th week on Monday, and it is likely jurors may take some time in deliberations to go over the evidence. San Diego Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian read lengthy jury instructions to jurors on Wednesday before the closing arguments started.
Alaeante Eason, 29, of Chula Vista, testified against both men. Eason pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and faces up to 16 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 20. Frank’s attorney, Zaki Zehawi, told jurors in his opening statement June 3 that Eason is the actual killer.
Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach said Frank “emptied the gun” when he shot at a car in La Mesa on May 5, 2013. Brown, a passenger, was killed and the driver, Malcolm Hune, 27, was wounded. Walker, a Grossmont College student, was shot on April 30, 2011, while sitting in a parked car near the Marie Callender’s Restaurant off Interstate 8 near La Mesa.
Haddock, Frank, and Eason were arrested in 2016 after a long investigation and they all remain in jail.
