A man suspected of killing a woman at a Midway Drive adult bookstore stood silently in court on Nov. 2 and was ordered to remain in jail without bail.
A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of Shaun Douglas Ward, 39, by his attorney in the Oct. 29 death of Diane Spagnuolo, 65, who worked as a clerk at the X-Spot adult bookstore at 3600 Midway Drive.
Ward refused to say a word or answer questions during his arraignment by San Diego Superior Court Judge Maureen Hallahan. She asked Ward to state his name and date of birth for the record and he refused to say anything.
Ward also refused to sign a statement saying his attorney Raymond Aragon had advised him of his Constitutional rights. Aragon told the judge he was “non responsive” when he read his rights to Ward.
Hallahan then read a page of his rights to Ward in open court, but he refused to acknowledge that he had heard them. She read into the record that she had advised him and he gave no response.
“He has been non verbal. He did not say he was not Shawn Ward,” said Hallahan.
Ward is charged with murder and robbery of the clerk, who had worked at the X-Spot for 24 years.
“It was a robbery. She happened to be there, wrong place and wrong time,” said the victim’s daughter, Alexis Wylie afterwards.
“I want this man to be held accountable for what he has done,” said Wylie.
Wylie said her mother also worked for the Salvation Army for 16 years and was the assistant manager of her mobile home park in El Cajon.
“We were very close. It is a sudden shock as to what happened,” said Wylie. “She was a kind person. She was a very considerate person.”
The prosecutor did not go into the facts of the case in court or say how Spagnuolo was killed. Someone walked into the store at 1:45 p.m. Oct. 29 and called 911 after finding Spagnuolo with trauma to her upper body.
Hallahan set a preliminary hearing for Nov. 16. Ward remains in jail.