Local prosecutors believe they are now handling a record number of capital cases, a phenomenon they attribute largely to scientific advances that have made new cases and cold cases solveable.
The San Diego District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty against seven men, and that number could rise to nine or more by midsummer.
One of the defendants is Scott Erskine, who has been convicted of the molestation, torture and murders of two South Bay boys strangled in 1993. His fate may be decided within the next week as the retrial in the penalty phase of his case concludes.
The others charged with capital crimes are awaiting trial. Many will not be judged until next year.
"I think it's just a statistical aberration that we have the number that we have now," said Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek who heads the office's cold case homicide unit and is now prosecuting the seventh death penalty case of his more-than-25-year career in the office..
Recent advances in DNA technology, he and others say, partly explain the rash of capital proceedings.
"With scientific advances, especially DNA, we can now solve cases that couldn't be solved earlier," Dusek said.
Erskine's case is one of them. The boys' 1993 slayings went unsolved for years until genetic evidence from the crime scene was reanalyzed through new techniques that tied him to the crimes.
Erskine, who was serving a prison term for raping a San Diego woman several months after the boys were killed, was charged in 2001.
Two of the other capital punishment cases also stem from sex crimes committed against children more than a decade ago. Arrests have only recently been made in those cases after advanced DNA testing linked the defendants to the killings.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who is charged with making each decision over whether to seek the death penalty, says it's always a tough choice.
"Any time you're making a decision about death it has to be given the consideration it deserves and it is a weighty decision," she said.
She said she gives defense attorneys the opportunity to convince her to seek the option of life in prison without the possibility of parole. She also always tries to speak with relatives of the victims to see how they feel.
"They are very emotional cases," she said.
Capital cases are expensive and time-consuming. They often take years to get to trial and can monopolize the time of both prosecution and defense lawyers, who almost always work for the county.
The Erskine case alone has cost the District Attorney's Office nearly $200,000 for expert witnesses, psychiatric examinations and related costs. Perhaps the most notorious local death penalty case concluded last year when David Westerfield was sent to death row for the murder of his 7-year-old Sabre Springs neighbor, Danielle van Dam.
That case cost the prosecutor's office more than $269,000, not including salary or other staff costs. The county also paid just over $300,000 toward Westerfield's defense costs.
The most recent death sentence was given this year to an Alpine landscaper, Michael Flinner, after he was convicted of hiring one of his workers to kill his 18-year-old fiancee in order to collect insurance money.
Prosecutor Rick Clabby spent three years on the case and more than $33,000 was spent on witnesses and other costs, according to the District Attorney's Office.
A survey of nearby counties shows the number of active death penalty cases in San Diego – seven – is in line with other large Southern California counties.
Orange County prosecutors are seeking death against six defendants while the San Bernardino District Attorney's Office is prosecuting 10 cases. In Riverside, 12 capital cases are in the works and in Los Angeles "about 20" death penalty cases are active, a spokeswoman said.
The seven San Diego death defendants are all men who range in age from 24 to 48. Three are white, three are Hispanic and one is black.
Three are accused of sexually assaulting and murdering children. Three others are charged with murder during robberies. One is accused of killing a police officer.
They are:
Scott Erskine, 41.
Erskine was convicted last year of murdering 9-year-old Jonathan Sellers and 13-year-old Charlie Keever, who disappeared while riding their bicycles along a path next to the Otay River on March 27, 1993. The jury deadlocked 11-1 on the question of punishment with the majority favoring execution. A retrial of the penalty phase has been under way for the past six weeks before a second jury. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin tomorrow.
George Williams, 48.
Williams is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and strangling 14-year-old Rickieann "Rickie" Blake, whose body was found dumped off a freeway in Barrio Logan 17 years ago. Prosecutors say Williams kidnapped Rickie from her Chula Vista home in the middle of the night. They also say he is a serial rapist and child molester. He was connected to the case by DNA evidence last year. An August trial date has been scheduled.
Daniel Gonzalez Berumen, 24.
An illegal immigrant, Berumen is accused of murdering Kimberly Hope, 48, of Jacumba, who was beaten to death during a residential robbery in April 2003. A trial date of Oct. 25 has been scheduled.
Adrian Camacho, 28.
Camacho is accused of murdering Oceanside Police Officer Tony Zeppetella, 27, during a traffic stop in June 2003. Prosecutors say Zeppetella was pistol-whipped and shot 13 times. Camacho is acting as his own lawyer. A trial date in January has been scheduled.
Jeffrey Young, 29.
Young is one of two men charged in the fatal shootings of two Lindbergh Field-area parking lot workers during a robbery in 1999. He is accused of killing Five Star Park Shuttle & Fly Manager Jack Reynolds, 44, of National City, and exit-booth operator Teresa Perez, 31, of San Ysidro.
The victims may have been killed because the robbers forgot to bring rope to bind them, according to court testimony. Both victims were shot in the back of the head while lying on their stomachs. Prosecutors say Young was one of the gunmen. A trial date in January has been scheduled.
Manuel Bracamontes Jr., 40.
Based on reanalyzed DNA evidence, Bracamontes was connected last year to the murder and sexual assault of 9-year-old Laura Arroyo in 1991. Laura was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death a day after she disappeared from her family's Otay Mesa condominium after answering the front door. An October trial date has been scheduled, but as with many of these cases, a postponement is likely.
Eric "Stressed Eric" Anderson, 30.
Anderson is one of four men charged with murdering Cajon Speedway promoter Steve Brucker, 51, during a robbery at his home near El Cajon last year. Prosecutors say Anderson was the gunman. A trial date has not been set.
In addition to these seven cases, the district attorney, Dumanis, is expected to decide whether to seek death against several other men within the next few months.
Mark Brown, 45.
The City Heights man is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Faye Williams, 40, on Valentine's Day 2003 and another woman, Charmaine Cannon, 37, in 1995. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty is expected soon.
Bennette Lee Douglas, 20.
The Escondido man is accused of murdering his 18-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Ross of San Diego, and her friend, Heather Ann Steimer, 18, of Temecula. The bodies of both women were found in Escondido last summer. A decision could be made next month.
Marcos Mendiola, 22.
Mendiola is accused of carjacking and murdering a newspaper carrier for The San Diego Union-Tribune last year. Prosecutors say Antonio Pagayon was shot once by Mendiola, who had been looking for a car to steal for several hours when he came upon Mendiola delivering papers at a Paradise Hills apartment complex. A decision is possible in July.
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
