VISTA (CNS) - A 20-year-old man accused of gunning down two of his neighbors in Oceanside pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and attempted murder charges.
Diego Martinez was ordered held on $5 million bail in the killing last Thursday of 47-year-old Robert Robbins and the wounding of Robbins' 49-year-old live-in girlfriend. Both victims were shot with a rifle at close range, said Deputy District Attorney David Bost.
A woman was reported screaming for help at Calle Solimar and Calle Mariposa around 12:20 a.m., according to Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Mata.
Police found Robbins' wounded girlfriend sitting in a truck that was stopped and facing oncoming traffic east of the intersection. Robbins' body was in a driveway in the 300 block of Calle Mariposa, across the street, Mata said.
Officers went to the home of Martinez, who was arrested without incident after police obtained a search warrant and surrounded his home in the 4700 block of Calle Solimar, near the shooting scene, Mata said. Officers recovered a rifle during the search, but it was not immediately clear if the weapon was used in the shootings, he said.
Police did not immediately establish the motive for the shooting.
Martinez faces 82 years to life in prison if convicted.
Vista Superior Court Judge Marshall Hockett scheduled a readiness conference for Sept. 13 and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 18.
