A judge set bail at $2 million Nov. 29 for a man suspected of killing a father of five during a road rage incident in Chula Vista.
Rickey Vernon Smith, 60, is charged with murder in the Nov. 27 death of Horace Vernon Williams, Jr., 36, of San Diego. Smith was driving a white pick-up in an intersection near the Chula Vista golf course when Williams’ minivan struck the back of the pick-up.
Smith got out of his pick-up and punched and stabbed Williams in his driver’s seat around 9 a.m. on Sweetwater Road. Paramedics took Williams to a hospital, but later died.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Keri Katz set bail at $2 million at the request of Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey. Smith’s attorney, Brian Watkins, asked for a lower bail figure.
“There was some incident between these two men in their vehicles, but what the defendant then did…he began punching a man who was seated in a car and then began stabbing him,” said Harvey, who described the actions as “very callous and very vicious.”
Watkins told the judge that Smith “was extremely frightened after the individual punched him.”
“He punched back and did have his utility knife on his belt which he did retrieve after he saw the victim reach underneath the passenger seat and continued to come at him,” said Watkins.
Katz set a preliminary hearing for Jan. 24, 2019. A status conference will be held on Dec. 19.
The funeral for Williams will be held Wednesday, Dec. 12 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 2643 Homedale St., in Paradise Hills. A viewing is set for Dec. 11 at Glen Abbey Mortuary in Bonita.
Williams is survived by five daughters, a fiancee, his parents, and four brothers. A GoFundMe page has been posted for help with his family and funeral arrangements, and a number of people have expressed their condolences.
