The man accused of carrying out a four-day spree of violent attacks on homeless men — killing three men, and critically injuring a fourth — was scheduled to face criminal charges in Superior Court Monday.
A third homeless man died of his injuries Sunday. Dionico Derek Vahidy, 23, was pronounced dead at a San Diego hospital just before 1 p.m. today. He was homeless and from San Diego.
The suspect in the attacks, Anthony Alexander Padgett, 36, was arrested Thursday in Chula Vista after a four-day police manhunt and pleas to the public for help locating him. He was jailed on suspicion of crimes related to the series of violence, during which two of the victims were set on fire, according to San Diego police.
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department jail records indicate Padget was booked at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder and one count of arson.
The charges could make him eligible for the death penalty, if special circumstances allegations are filed by the District Attorney’s Office.
Padgett was held at the Central Detention Facility in downtown San Diego with a no-bail hold. He was scheduled to appear in Felony Arraignment Court on the 1:30 calendar Monday.
San Diego Police did not offer a motive for the attacks during a Thursday news conference, announcing Padgett’s arrest earlier that day.
About 8 a.m. on July 3, Padgett allegedly killed Angelo De Nardo, 53, of San Diego and set his body on fire under the Claremont Drive exit overpass next to northbound Interstate 5 , according to police. An autopsy determined that De Nardo had been killed before being set ablaze.
Shortly before 5 a.m. on Independence Day, transient Manuel Mason, 61, was found bleeding from wounds to his upper body near the Valley View Casino Center in the Midway district. He remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Less than 90 minutes after the assault on Mason was reported, 41-year-old drifter Shawn Longley was discovered dead at a park on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach.
About 5 a.m. Wednesday,Vahidy was gravely injured in the area of Broadway and State Street downtown, and a towel he was sleeping under was doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze, according to police.
San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman described the attacks as “evil acts of violence” that “are some of the worst that I have seen in my 34 years in law enforcement.”
— City News Service
