Bail was set at $500,000 on June 5 for Sam Osei Bonsu, 35, a Pacific Beach man charged with murder in the beating death of Nathaniel Ward, 25, following a near-collision involving a taxicab. The suspect’s attorney and friends say he was defending himself after he was attacked.
Wearing blue jail-issue clothing and security chains, Bonsu pleaded not guilty to murder before San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Maguire, who set a status conference for June 12. The incident took place in Pacific Beach on May 24 around 2:20 a.m., and Ward was hospitalized that night. He died in the hospital on May 29.
Ward and Bonsu lived on the same street in Pacific Beach, but they did not know each other. San Diego Police say Ward and some friends got out of a cab in the 4400 block of Bond Street and Bonsu got out of his car and approached them. Bonsu complained about a near-traffic accident minutes earlier. Words were exchanged, and Ward was punched so hard he fell to the ground and his head may have struck the pavement. Bonsu then reportedly left the scene.
Deputy District Attorney Corrine Miesfeld urged the judge to set high bail, saying, “The defendant poses a substantial danger to the community.” She added, “It was an unprovoked, unexpected attack as a result of a minor traffic incident.”
On June 2, Bonsu surrendered to police with attorney Kerry Armstrong, who described it “a very good self-defense case.” Armstrong said he heard something hit his car and pulled over. He then went to the taxi to talk to the occupants, but the cab driver took off.
Armstrong, in an interview with KFMB-TV Channel 8, added: “He got out of the car to see what was going on. Words were exchanged, and all of a sudden he’s surrounded by three guys whom he’s never met and they were cussing at him and coming toward him.”
Some of Bonsu’s friends attended the arraignment and defended him to reporters. “He felt scared. They surrounded him. They kicked the car,” said Sheldon Hunte, in an interview with KGTV Channel 10. “This man is a great man. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“They were intoxicated and Sam was sober and was defending himself,” said another friend, Amy Compton. “He would never have done this on purpose, never. I would trust my life with this man.”
Ward’s family declined to talk to reporters, but a friend, Marie Angeli, said “He was a wonderful person that would never, ever pick a fight with anybody.”
Ward’s girlfriend, Misty Michelle, told KFMB-TV her boyfriend and the others exited the cab and then saw Bonsu approach them.
“They had no idea why. He just came up and it was senseless,” Michelle said.
The taxi driver has not been located, and Armstrong said he hopes the driver can be found because he could verify Bonsu’s story.
Bonsu remains in the South Bay Detention Facility in Chula Vista.