A man who allegedly fired shots into his ex-girlfriend’s daycare center in Chula Vista in 2017 has been undergoing mental competency tests in jail and a ruling is expected on Jan. 6.
Criminal proceedings against Gustavo Sepulveda, 38, have been suspended for months after his attorney requested a hearing to determine his mental fitness to stand trial for attempted murder and child endangerment.
If a San Diego Superior Court judge finds Sepulveda mentally incompetent, he will be transferred to a state mental hospital for treatment until he regains his mental fitness. If found to be competent, a new trial date will be set.
Sepulveda is charged with 23 felony counts involving the Oct. 2, 2017 incident on Corte Condesa in Chula Vista in which he was the only person hurt. Sepulveda wore flip flops when he allegedly fired shots through a sliding glass door and the broken glass cut his feet so badly he had to be transported in a stretcher to an ambulance.
He is charged with 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, seven counts of child endangerment, being a felon in possession of a firearm, residential burglary, attempted murder, two counts of arson, and shooting into an inhabited dwelling. A garage door was set on fire.
Sepulveda has a prior drunk driving conviction. When he was arraigned in 2017, the injuries to his feet were such that he could not walk, so he appeared in a Chula Vista courtroom in a wheelchair.
The seven children at the daycare facility were ushered into a bathroom during the incident and were not hurt. He remains in the central jail in downtown San Diego without bail.
