The attempted murder trial continues for Jon Ralph Dibble who is accused of trying to torch three units in a Chula Vista motel with gasoline in beer bottles.
Opening statements were heard Jan. 21 by a five man, seven woman jury and four alternates and Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag.
“He wanted to burn the whole motel down with the people inside,” said Deputy District Attorney Ryan Karkenny.
“Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
Dibble, 27, of Chula Vista, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, attempted arson, burglary, and four counts of possession of Molotov cocktails. The incident at the Riviera Motel at 372 Broadway occurred Sept. 30, 2013 in the early morning hours.
He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury will first determine if he committed the crimes and in the sanity phase will consider if he was insane at the time.
Attorney Damian Lowe said Dibble checked into the motel and noticed he could “see things in the television” even when it was off. Dibble claimed he saw a woman with tape around her mouth and “saw men who were controlling her,” said Lowe.
“These men were demon possessed,” said Lowe, quoting his client, and he added that Dibble’s intent “was to save the woman.” Lowe also told the jury “the evidence will show Jon Dibble saw things that no one else saw.”
Cable was looped around three door handles which might have prevented people from leaving the room. One couple heard noises at their door while they were being intimate, and got so spooked, they checked out after calling 911.
Chula Vista Police officer David Rivers identified Dibble as the man whom he saw at the motel with beer bottles in his pocket and fluid inside that could start a fire. Dibble had a green lighter in his front pocket.
“He believed his girlfriend was being held against her will,” said Rivers.
The motel’s former manager, Bernarda Chairez, testified she saw Dibble “walking back and forth and talking to himself.” She said she warned him against bothering other tenants after getting the couple’s phone call.
Veronica Maldonado testified she became afraid after seeing the doorknob move while she and her boyfriend were in bed. When her boyfriend opened the door, Maldonado said she said “a wire around the door (knob).”
Maldonado’s 911 call was played to the jury in which she told police “someone tried to break into our room.” She told a dispatcher that a man had connected an electric wire to several rooms including hers.
She identified Dibble as the man outside, saying “he was screaming something about his money.”
Dibble remains in jail on $3 million bail.
