Bail for a Chula Vista man who is charged with killing a security guard outside a homeless shelter was doubled to $10 million on Jan. 8 at his arraignment.
The attorney for Johnny Lee Hill, 40, docketed a bail review hearing for Monday, but it was taken off calendar with a status hearing set for Friday, Jan. 17.
Hill pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ernie Buchanan, 44, who was shot several times Dec. 28, 2019, outside a homeless shelter at 17th Street and Imperial Avenue. The shelter was operated by the Alpha Project, and its president, Bob McElroy, said they will name a homeless shelter after Buchanan.
“We all loved him and respected him,” said McElroy, to television newscasts. “It’s a tremendous loss.”
Buchanan was the father of six children and several grandchildren. His brother told a TV newscast he died doing what he loved.
“Somebody who didn’t know him or have any idea—they took the best man from us,” said his wife, Shelly Buchanan, to KNSD-TV Channel 7.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Carberry told San Diego Superior Court Judge Joseph Brannigan Hill and a co-defendant waited for Buchanan to arrive and shot him.
“They gun downed the victim in the middle of the street,” said Carberry.
Carberry said Hill was convicted in 2010 of a gang related assault. Hill is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The co-defendant, Floyd Garrett, has been arrested in Arizona and is awaiting extradition.
A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 22, but it may be delayed until Garrett is extradited.
A motive has not been disclosed. McElroy said the Alpha Project will pay for the funeral expenses.
