A judge on Monday dismissed all threat and telephone harassment charges against a Chula Vista man who was accused of threatening St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church where he used to attend.
A felony charge of making a criminal threat and a misdemeanor count of telephone harassment was dismissed against Thomas Martin Escajeda, 61, in a motion by Deputy District Attorney Christopher Blaylock.
Escajeda said in a KGTV Channel 10 jailhouse interview that he wanted to sell coffee and donuts to church members after the All Saints mass on Nov. 1, but he was misunderstood. He told an employee he would “make a killing,” but he meant in sales, not violence.
At the same hearing Monday, Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers granted the church’s civil restraining order against Escajeda that bars him from attending the church at 293 H St. Escajeda is also barred from contacting church employees Amalia Vargas and Adrianna Ceja Melvin.
Escajeda phoned the church on Oct. 30 and asked when the All Saints mass was scheduled. The mass is designed to remember those who have passed away.
Vargas gave him the times of the mass, and Escajeda said this: “I will go to the 8 a.m. mass and make a killing,” according to court documents.
Vargas responded: “What did you say?”
“I will go to the 8 a.m. mass and make a killing, if you permit that,” said Escajeda.
Vargas paused and wrote down the phone number and identification of the caller from the church’s Caller ID screen, she said in her declaration. Vargas said Escajeda then said “hello” twice when she didn’t respond.
“Have a good day, sir,” Vargas replied before she hung up and called the non-emergency number for Chula Vista Police, according to her account. She said Escajeda thanked her before hanging up.
Police visited Escajeda, searched his home and found no firearms, and then arrested him Oct. 30. He was in jail on $100,000 bail until the judge ordered his release two days before Thanksgiving.
The church canceled all of the masses for All Saints Day, and they won a temporary restraining order against Escajeda on Nov. 14 before Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag.
Attorney William Nolan, who represents the Diocese of San Diego, said Tuesday the order barring Escajeda from attending church is good for three years. They can renew it, he said.
“It was handled in accordance as best it could be,” said Nolan. “The Chula Vista Police did an excellent job. They have been very helpful.”
“The District Attorney’s office did what they had to do,” said Nolan. “The outcome was the best we could receive.”
Nolan defended the actions of the church and said Escajeda’s words were “very specific” and “it was interpreted as a threat.”
Escajeda’s attorney, Adam Hepburn, hailed the dismissal of charges as a big win and posted the hearing’s result on the Facebook page of the HHJ Trial Attorneys.
“We quickly realized that our client was talking about making a financial killing because he was planning on selling coffee and donuts after church,” said Hepburn. “We told our client that we believed him and we were going to do everything we can to get him out of jail and get the charges dropped.”
“In negotiations, we told the District Attorney’s office that our client was innocent and we are not negotiating any lesser crimes or punishment. We said we were prepared to go to trial and tell our jury our story,” wrote Hepburn.
Hepburn said after news reports surfaced about the church canceling the All Saints mass and Escajeda’s arrest, his landlord served an eviction notice against Escajeda’s wife. Hepburn said he told the landlord he would be sued by unlawfully evicting a disabled couple without proper reason or notice and they backed off.
“Today we walked into court ready to fight. The District Attorney stepped forward and dismissed all charges,” said Hepburn. “Our client and his wife broke down and hugged each other.”
“As criminal defense attorneys, winning only happens once in a big while, but these wins make everything worth it,” wrote Hepburn. “We also respect the two prosecutors on this case that courageously dismissed the charges in this climate when it would have been easier to let the jury do it.”
