San Diego, CA

Misconduct allegations in OC murder prosecution center stage in San Diego courtroom

Published

2 years ago

April 14, 2024

Misconduct allegations in OC murder prosecution center stage in San Diego courtroom

In a San Diego courtroom, the Orange County district attorney’s office and a defense lawyer are set to clash this month over sweeping allegations that top prosecutors have for more than a decade hid evidence of law enforcement misconduct.

Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders will be asking a San Diego County Superior Court judge to order a special hearing on whether a former high-level Orange County prosecutor — now a judge — withheld evidence in a murder case and covered up the county’s illegal use of jailhouse informants.

Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt opposes Sanders’ request for a hearing, saying the allegations are part of a personal vendetta by the defense attorney against the former prosecutor and have no bearing on the real issue, which is the retrial of Paul Gentile Smith. Smith is accused of killing his boyhood friend and marijuana dealer in Sunset Beach.

Smith’s conviction was thrown out after revelations that ex-prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh failed to turn over evidence that might have been beneficial to the defense. Sanders now wants the charges dismissed entirely based on the argument that the actions of Baytieh and others constitute “outrageous government conduct.”

Sanders and Hunt are scheduled to argue before Judge Daniel Goldstein on April 19 on whether the special hearing should be held. The Smith case was transferred to San Diego because Baytieh is a sitting judge in Orange County.

In his latest motion, Sanders accused Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer of failing to fully investigate accusations against Baytieh and failing to inform defense attorneys under the Brady notification system about law enforcement officers engaged in the illegal use of jailhouse informants.

Because of Spitzer’s alleged inaction, Sanders contends, Smith cannot get a fair trial.

“The refusal to investigate obvious wrongdoing undermines any reasonable faith that all favorable evidence will be disclosed in this case,” Sanders wrote in his motion.

Spitzer responded that he commissioned an independent probe on Baytieh’s conduct and terminated him as a result.

“It defies logic that I’m trying to protect Brahim when I fired him,” Spitzer said. “I’m happy to litigate any issues Mr. Sanders wants to raise in court.”

Spitzer added that he now must personally approve the use of jailhouse informants by his prosecutors, and no request has been made under his administration.

Spitzer took office in 2019 pledging to reform the agency after revelations that prosecutors and Orange County sheriff’s deputies were violating jail inmates’ civil rights by using a secret network of in-custody informants. Sanders launched a crusade to unmask the network, leading to a federal investigation that confirmed the illegal use of the informants.

Sanders now contends Spitzer is not following through with his promise of reform and is instead behaving like former District Attorney Tony Rackauckas in trying to protect Baytieh to save the murder case.

Sanders wrote that the D.A.’s office is now engaged in an office-wide effort to do “damage control” in the Smith prosecution.

Baytieh was fired from his top job in the district attorney’s office in February 2022 for not turning over the evidence. Baytieh’s supporters contend he was actually fired for whistleblowing on racially charged statements made by Spitzer in an unrelated double-murder case.

Sanders alleges Baytieh failed to disclose evidence that multiple informants were used in getting incriminating statements from Smith instead of the single informant disclosed to the defense. He added that more than a dozen other pieces of evidence that might have been helpful to Smith’s defense also were withheld.

Sanders has claimed that Baytieh, in his top position at the D.A.’s office, denied the existence of the informant network for years to keep anyone from finding out about his own misuse of the snitches.

He also alleged Baytieh did not include in the required Brady notifications the deputies who aided him in the illegal use of informants. Those deputies went on to participate in nearly 100 other cases in which defense attorneys were unaware of their alleged exploits and unable to use that information to question their credibility, Sanders said. Almost all of those cases ended in convictions.

After his firing, Baytieh was elected to the Orange County bench with substantial backing from other judges.

If granted the special hearing, Sanders could subpoena Baytieh to testify.

In the past, Sanders has used the evidentiary hearing process to unmask the surreptitious use of jailhouse informants, leading to one of the largest criminal justice scandals in the nation. By the time the dust settled, Sanders had gotten the district attorney’s office removed from the case against mass killer Scott Dekraai, who fatally shot eight people at a beauty salon in Seal Beach.

Because of the misconduct, Dekraai was given multiple life terms in prison instead of the death sentence.

Sanders now represents Smith, who was convicted in 2010 of stabbing Robert Haugen 18 times and torching his body in Sunset Beach. That conviction was dismissed because sheriff’s deputies indicated they would refuse to testify about allegations they had illegally used the informants.

In previous motions, Sanders said three informants were used by the prosecution and sheriff’s officials to engage Smith in a day room at the Orange County jail. Only one of the informants was disclosed to the defense, with no hint that it was an organized operation with two other informants.

In a recorded interview, one of the informants laid out the illegal plan to get Smith to incriminate himself. Although Sheriff Don Barnes has said the CD recording was properly booked into evidence by deputies, Baytieh did not turn it over to the defense.

Baytieh did not return a telephone message seeking comment Friday. A spokesman for the court has said judges are not allowed to speak to reporters on cases.

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San Diego, CA

Barricaded individual in custody following police response in Mission Valley

Published

11 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Barricaded individual in custody following police response in Mission Valley

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Police responded to a barricaded individual in the Mission Valley area Thursday afternoon, prompting a heavy law enforcement presence.

The Nexstar Media video above details resources for crime victims

The department confirmed around 1 p.m. that officers were on scene in the 1400 block of Hotel Circle North, and are working to safely resolve the situation. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area and allow officers the space needed to conduct their operations.

Police described the incident as a domestic violence restraining order violation. At this time, it’s unknown if the person is armed.

No injuries have been reported.

The suspect was taken into custody within an hour.

Further details about the barricaded person were not immediately released. Police say updates will be shared as more information becomes available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano

Published

23 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano – San Diego Union-Tribune

LUIS CAMPUSANO

Position(s): Catcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 27
Height / Weight: 5-foot-10 / 232 pounds
How acquired: Second round of the draft in 2017 (Cross Creek HS, Ga.)
Contract status: Will make $900,000 after agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration; Will not be a free agent until 2029.
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.4
Key 2025 stats: .000 AVG, .222 OBP, .000 SLG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0 steals (10 games, 27 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

1 — The number of plate appearances for Campusano while in the majors between June 1 and June 13 and the one at-bat resulted in a weak, pinch-hit groundout against a position player (Kike Hernandez) on the mound in mop-up duty. Campusano was recalled to the majors four times in 2025 but did not get a real opportunity get settled after he went 0-for-6 with four walks and a strikeout in three straight starts as a DH in early May. Of course, hitting .227/.281/.361 with eight homers over 299 plate appearances after getting the first real chance to start in 2024 likely informed how the Padres viewed his opportunity in 2025.

Down — Called up a final time on the last day of the regular season, Campusano balked at the idea that the season did not go the way he wanted. “I had a great season,” he said as he and his teammates packed for the NL Wild Card Series in Chicago. And he did … for Triple-A El Paso. He hit more home runs than ever (25), drove in more runs (95) and finished with a career-high 1.036 OPS, tops among all qualifying Triple-A hitters. The disappointment inferred in the question posed to Campusano was that he was not able to impact the big-league team in any way in 2025, which began with the team choosing to bring in a 40-year-old Yuli Gurriel a chance on the opening day roster over a homegrown product. Once billed as the catcher of the future, Campusno did not catch a single game in the majors, nor did he get any hits, although the opportunity to play was sporadic after getting three straight starts as a DH in early May (see stat to note). The Padres even lost back-up catcher Elias Díaz to an oblique injury over the final weekend of the regular season, but Campusano — who played out the string for a Triple-A El Paso team that did not make the playoffs rather than participate in the majors as a September call-up — was added to the postseason roster more as a right-handed bat than a third catcher (Martín Maldonado was also re-added to the team for the playoffs as the defensive back-up to Freddy Fermin). Campusano, of course, was not asked to help the team in either capacity before the Padres were eliminated in three games.

2026 OUTLOOK

Campusano is finally out of minor league options this year, so the Padres will either have to carry him on the roster, trade him or expose him to waivers. He has fans in the organization, but two big-league staffs headed by Bob Melvin and Mike Shildt seemingly lost faith in his ability to catch a game and all the responsibilities that come with that. It remains to be seen what impact the arrival of robo umps will have on how new manager Craig Stammen views Campusano’s ability behind the plate, but he’s been a potent minor league hitter who has yet to truly get on track in the majors beyond the second half of 2023 (.875 OPS, 6 HRs). Campusano has dabbled at first base in recent years in the minors (12 starts total), so perhaps he settles into a role as a second catcher/right-handed DH/first base option to start 2026.

Luis Campusano #15 of the San Diego Padres and Nick Pivetta #27 walk to the dugout during a practice before the Wildcard series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 29, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

ROSTER RANKINGS

22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

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San Diego, CA

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two San Diego County eateries were named among the most beautiful restaurants that opened last year in the country.

Carlsbad-based Lilo was ranked No. 4 and La Jolla-based Lucien was ranked No. 9 on Robb Report’s list of the most beautiful new restaurants in the U.S. for 2025.

Lilo, which opened in April, features a multi-course tasting menu served around a 24-seat chef’s counter.

The restaurant, co-owned by Chef Eric Bost and John Resnick, earned a Michelin star just months after opening its doors. The eatery was also the only one in San Diego to land on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in America.

Lucien, which opened in July, also offers a chef’s tasting menu, with more than a dozen courses. The 30-seat restaurant, is owned and helmed by Northern California native Chef Elijah Arizmendi, along with partners Brian Hung and Melissa Lang.

“I’m very grateful for the recognition from Robb Report,” Arizmendi told Patch. “Lucien is deeply personal to me, and the space was designed as an extension of my philosophy — one centered on intention, hospitality and the joy of sharing something meaningful to others.”

The list spotlights 21 restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and other cities across the country. View the full report here.

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