A young man and a teenager accused of killing a 65-year-old man at Bonita Cove Park in Mission Beach last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder charges.
The defendants, ages 17 and 18, are accused in the death of Michael Shook, whose body was discovered the morning of July 5.
Detectives determined that the victim had been involved in a confrontation with a group of five to six youths at some point in the early morning hours, according to police.
San Diego police Lt. Steve Shebloski, Shook sustained stab wounds and “facial and upper-body injuries that indicated (he) had been beaten.”
Two days later, 18-year-old El Cajon resident Daniel Ruben Martin was arrested during a traffic stop on Sea World Drive. The 17-year-old defendant, whose name was withheld due to his age, surrendered to police at San Diego police headquarters Sunday.
Police have not disclosed how the defendants were identified as suspects.
Martin is being held without bail. The 17-year-old, who appeared for a hearing in juvenile court, will also remain in custody, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Shook’s son, also named Michael Shook, attended Martin’s arraignment at the San Diego Central Courthouse. He told reporters after the hearing that his father was living on the streets and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Shook said the family hails from Vista, and said his father was primarily a fisherman, but also had a number of other jobs throughout his life, including working the bird show at the Wild Animal Park and as a hospice nurse.
When homicide detectives knocked on his door, Shook believed it would be to inform him that his father had died due to the cancer.
“It’s hard to find out the details of how heinous and brutal the attack actually was,” Shook said. “No one deserves to die in that type of manner. It’s kind of more sad that these kids threw away a big chunk of (their) lives and made their family members victims too.”
– City News Service
