Special circumstance charges were added Nov. 3 against a Chula Vista man and his friend who are both charged with killing two men in 2011 and 2013 which allegedly benefited a criminal street gang.
Multiple murders and lying in wait were the special circumstances filed against Donte Jerome Haddock, 26, of Chula Vista, and Anthony Constantin Frank, 26, of El Cajon. They both pleaded not guilty Nov. 3 in San Diego Superior Court.
Both men are accused of fatally shooting Darris Walker, 20, on April 30, 2011, and Xusha Brown, Jr., 22, on May 5, 2013.
Both men were killed in La Mesa.
Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach said her office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against both men or a life term in state prison if they are convicted. They are also accused of the special circumstance of firing into an occupied vehicle on Interstate 8 in Brown’s slaying.
Both men were ordered to stand trial on the murders, attempted murder of the driver in Brown’s slaying, and conspiracy following a 3-week preliminary hearing that was conducted by Judge Louis Hanoian.
Haddock’s mother, Rosemary Haddock, of Chula Vista, attended the lengthy hearing every day and told a reporter her son was falsely accused of the crimes.
A trial date for the pair was set for June 4, 2018. They both waived their right to have a speedy trial.
Brown and the driver were followed from 70th Street in La Mesa onto the Interstate 8 freeway where a gunman in another car fired at least six times. Brown was shot in the head, and the driver was wounded in his arm.
Walker was a passenger in the back seat of a car that was in a parking lot behind a restaurant on Alvarado Road in La Mesa when he was shot at 3:37 a.m. Walker attended Grossmont College.
Meanwhile, Alaeante Eason, 27, formerly of Chula Vista, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter of Brown as well as pandering in encouraging someone to be a prostitute. Eason also pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining prescription medication by fraud.
Eason faces a prison term ranging between four years and four months to 16 years, according to court records. Sentencing is set for Feb. 13, 2018.
The prosecutor called approximately 87 witnesses in the marathon hearing that started Oct. 2. Roach noted that
Haddock’s cell phone pings to nearby cell phone towers show he was near both slaying sites at the time.
Haddock’s attorney, Ricardo Garcia, argued there was insufficient evidence to hold him on either homicide. Garcia said Haddock did not know there would be a shooting before it happened. Haddock didn’t know anyone in the car was armed, said Garcia.
Frank’s attorney, Richard Jayakumar, also argued there was not enough evidence for him to stand trial. Both men and Eason remain in jail.
