A judge ordered two people to stand trial for murder and accessory in the case of a Chula Vista man whose body was found stuffed inside a 55-gallon drum in San Diego Bay.
Attorneys for Timothy John Cook, 53, and Derrick Jefferson Spurgeon, 38, asked Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag to dismiss the case against them, but she said there was enough circumstantial evidence to implicate them in the death of Cook’s roommate, Omar Medina, 28.
Cook is charged with murder in the October 2017 death of Medina, who was stabbed 66 times. Spurgeon is accused of being an accessory to murder in piloting the boat used to dump the barrel into the bay.
Sontag heard several days of testimony in the preliminary hearing before ruling on July 25. Deputy District Attorney Cherie Somerville said there was “plenty of circumstantial evidence” to warrant a trial.
Cook’s home in the 500 block of McIntosh Street in Chula Vista was searched by police, although no blood was found, possibly because of the extensive remodeling work going on inside. The kitchen sink was missing, as was part of the floor, and sections of the walls in Medina’s bedroom were gone.
Somerville said the remodeling work was no coincidence and it was “an obvious clean-up” of a possible crime scene. She said Cook talked about Medina negatively.
Chula Vista Police officer LeVar Brown testified a copy of Medina’s credit union balance of $80,000 was found in Cook’s possession. However, Somerville said afterwards there was no theft committed from Medina’s credit union account.
The judge reviewed multiple surveillance videos that showed the journey of Spurgeon’s boat from his property in El Cajon to the J Street Marina in Chula Vista. The white barrel can be seen faintly on surveillance video and it showed two men getting into the boat. After an hour in the bay, the two men returned, and the barrel was no longer on the boat, according to the video.
Brown testified he talked with a neighbor who said he heard machinery at night at Cook’s residence during the remodeling. Medina was last seen on Sept. 30, 2017, and a missing person’s report was filed by his sister. Police talked to Cook, who said Medina had moved out. His clothing and other belongings were found in his car parked four blocks away.
Brown testified the blanket that was found in the barrel was similar to another blanket in the Cook residence. Cook’s attorney, Kara Oien, argued that it was not unusual for roommates to share bedding.
“We don’t know where or when Mr. Medina was killed,” said Oien, adding the medical examiner was not able to fix a date of death. “There is no evidence it happened in the house.”
Spurgeon’s attorney, Roland Haddad, said there was no evidence Spurgeon was aware there was a body in the barrel or that he assisted in the slaying.
Both men pleaded not guilty at the hearing’s conclusion and Sontag set an Oct. 1 tentative trial date. Both remain in jail without bail.
Another preliminary hearing for Spurgeon started Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court where he is accused of kidnapping for robbery and assault of a man from an East County Indian reservation.
