A stabbing victim and the man accused of killing him last year in Clairemont had an on-again, off-again, strained relationship, a San Diego police lieutenant testified Monday.
San Diego police Lt. Shawn Takeuchi testified as a preliminary hearing got underway for Brandon Ingram, who is charged with murder in the death of 31- year-old Brandon Labastida.
Takeuchi testified that Labastida’s sister — whose husband is Ingram’s brother — told him that Ingram and her brother did things that she didn’t agree with, including drugs, and she kept the two men away from her two young daughters.
Deputy District Attorney Meredith Claterbos said that after midnight on Nov. 21, Ingram went to a home on Channing Street, near Limerick Avenue, where the victim was known to hang out.
Labastida answered Ingram’s knock on the front door and an altercation ensued, and the defendant was hit in the head with a screen door, according to Claterbos. Ingram allegedly pulled out a 12-inch-long knife and stabbed the victim once in the upper body, severing his aorta, the prosecutor said.
Others in the house called 911 and Labastida was rushed to a hospital, where he died about 40 minutes later.
Ingram fled the scene, tried to hide the knife in his clothing, and was arrested later, Claterbos said.
The defendant has a 2012 robbery conviction and his criminal record dates back to 2003, according to the prosecutor. He faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.
At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, which resumes Tuesday, Judge Michael Smyth will decide whether enough evidence was presented for Ingram to stand trial.
–City News Service
