The rape trial of three men accused of breaking into a Mission Beach apartment and terrorizing four college students at gunpoint continued into its second week with the victims and other witnesses testifying about the horrible crimes.
The men are accused of numerous counts of rape, forcible oral copulation and sodomy involving two female students who attended the University of San Diego. One of the male victims was forced to undress and attempt to have sex with one of the female victims, which added a charge of attempted sexual assault to the suspects’ long list of felony charges.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza told jurors that DNA evidence collected at the scene will prove the defendants are guilty. One defendant admitted his involvement in a taped interview with police after his arrest, Espinoza said.
Lawyers for the trio say the defendants’ so-called friends scheduled to testify against them are liars and looking out to help themselves.
The case was broken after friends of the suspects informed police about their alleged involvement in the crime.
The attack occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2006, when three men entered an unlocked condominium and displayed handguns.
The female students, both 18, were separated from their male friends. The defendants are also charged with robbery in the theft of a television, credit cards, a cell phone and other items, burglary, and four counts of false imprisonment.
If convicted of all charges, Willie Louis Watkins, 32, Antonio Washington, 19, and Donald Duante Smith, 20, could face 400 years in state prison.
One victim testified she had a gun pointed to her head and that the defendants repeatedly ordered her not to look at their faces. Two attackers wore gloves, she said in San Diego Superior Court. The men ordered the women to accompany them outside, but they saw a police car and let the victims go free.
The incident stunned the beach communities. Thirty detectives worked on the case, and police, along with Councilman Kevin Faulconer, organized community meetings to alert the public about the crimes while offering information on crime prevention and protection.
Watkins, Washington, and Smith are being held on $1 million bail each.
The three suspects are held separately in the downtown central jail, the George F. Bailey Detention Facility, and the Vista Detention Facility respectively.