MURRIETA (CNS) – The prosecution is slated to rest this week in the
trial of a 25-year-old Anza man accused of gunning down his father when the
victim tried to intervene in a dispute between the defendant and his
girlfriend.
Anthony David Holguin is charged with first-degree murder, illegal
possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury
allegations for the 2019 slaying of 40-year-old David Jose Holguin in the 39000
block of Cary Road.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office opened its case at the
end of last week, and prosecutors are expected to call their final witness
before Friday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Holguin is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility
in Banning.
According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, the defendant was
living in a trailer on his father’s property at the time of the attack,
sharing the space with his girlfriend, whose identity was not disclosed.
Holguin and the woman were engaged in an ongoing dispute about her
lack of attention to her pets, including a dog that died, culminating in a
confrontation in which the defendant slapped her on the afternoon of Nov. 13,
2019, while high on methamphetamine, court papers said.
The woman, in turn, became physical with Holguin, prompting others who
resided on the property to get involved and request assistance from the
young man’s father.
“David Holguin went over to the trailer where the two were
fighting,” according to the brief. “David knocked on the door, and the
defendant answered it holding a camouflaged shotgun. The defendant pointed it
at his father, who said, ‘Are you going to shoot me?’ The defendant fired once,
and David went down. While he was on the ground, the defendant fired again.”
The victim suffered a massive chest wound, as well as wounds to his
hands, an autopsy later revealed. He died within seconds.
The defendant allegedly ran away holding the shotgun, which he
attempted to conceal in bushes a few hundred feet from the trailer, prosecutors
said.
Both sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers were
sent to the property in response to 911 calls. A CHP officer encountered
Anthony Holguin standing near the trailer and arrested him, though he tried to
bolt, according to the brief.
During interviews with investigators, Holguin changed stories multiple
times regarding what transpired, once claiming that his father was hitting
him when he opened fire with the shotgun, and later saying he feared his father
was armed with a pistol and intended to use it when he walked over to the
trailer, leading the defendant to shoot first, according to court papers.
However, David Holguin was not armed, and witnesses did not support
his son’s claims, prosecutors said. Anthony Holguin ultimately admitted that he
had “not slept for four days because he was using methamphetamine, smoking
marijuana and drinking,” the brief said.
“He was angry and wanted to leave the trailer, but his father would
not let him,” the narrative said, referring to the defendant’s statements.
“The defendant said he just wanted to leave, but he felt trapped and ‘when I
feel trapped, I do what I have to do.”’
Doctors familiar with Holguin said the young man had a troubled past,
going back to when he was in elementary school and diagnosed with
“intermittent explosive disorder,” resulting in destructive temper tantrums,
according to the brief. Despite this, psychologists determined the defendant
could distinguish between right and wrong and knew what opening fire with a
shotgun would do to another person.
According to court records, Holguin has multiple undisclosed juvenile
convictions. He additionally has an unresolved felony case pending for
allegedly obstructing a correctional officer, as well as a misdemeanor case
pending for allegedly carrying a loaded firearm in public without a permit.
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
