Jon David Guerrero, 39, made his first court appearance Tuesday after being charged with killing three homeless men and injuring two others and the prosecutor announced the death penalty may be sought if he’s convicted.
Guerrero’s attorney Dan Tandon, asked the arraignment be delayed until Aug. 2, and San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Maguire granted it. Guerrero remains in jail without bail.
Guerrero was arrested Friday by San Diego Police only an hour after the attack on a fifth homeless man occurred in
Golden Hill by a man on a bicycle. Guerrero lives in downtown San Diego.
This follows the July 7 arrest of Anthony Alexander Padgett, 36, of Chula Vista, as the prime suspect, but authorities released him July 11 saying they could not connect him to any of the crimes. Padgett was arrested in part because he was convicted of mayhem in 2010 upon another homeless man and was sentenced to four years in prison.
The first victim was Angelo De Nardo, 53, who was killed before his body was set on fire underneath an Interstate 5 bridge near Mission Bay on July 3. The second victim, 61, was found in the Midway District, and remains in the hospital.
The third victim, Shawn Mitchell Longley, 41, was found dead near tennis courts at Robb Field in Ocean Beach on July 4. Dionicio Vahidy, 23, was found critically injured July 6 downtown, and he died on Sunday in a hospital.
Attorneys said they couldn’t talk about the facts of the case since Guerrero was not arraigned and a motive remains unknown.
