Cove sea lion set free SeaWorld and lifeguard rescue workers joined forces on March 9 to save a California sea lion trapped in a knot of fishing gear. The juvenile sea lion was perched on the rocky area between La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Cove known as the Devil’s Slide. A rescue team from SeaWorld was dispatched to the site after Lifeguard Services contacted them for assistance. The team rappelled down the cliff and netted the animal, estimated to weigh about 175 pounds, disentangled it from fishing line and cut a fishing hook from its lower lip. Once free from the gear, the sea lion quickly ran back to the ocean and swam away. Alleged murder-for-hire plot unfolds A certified public accountant and his limousine driver are in jail after they were charged with witness tampering involving an alleged murder-for-hire plot to kill a La Jolla woman. Federal agents arrested the men on March 2 and 3 before any attempt on the woman’s life occurred. She is a witness in a previous federal case against Steven Martinez, 50, who was indicted in 2011 on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, Social Security fraud, money laundering and identity theft. A trial date in federal court was looming against Martinez, who had been free on $350,000 bond and was working out of a Sorrento Valley office. According to court documents, Martinez asked a former employee to kill the La Jolla woman and another woman who lived in Rancho Santa Fe — both of whom remained unnamed during open court proceedings. The former employee contacted the FBI after hearing Martinez’s proposal in late February. Martinez allegedly gave a detailed description of the two women and suggested he use two different pistols to shoot them, preferably with a silencer. Martinez also allegedly gave his former employee color photos of the La Jolla woman’s condominium that included the patio, gate and sliding door with the notation that she normally kept her gate unlocked. Martinez allegedly told his ex-employee to talk to his limo driver, Norman Russell Thellmann, 64, of Santee, to arrange payment for the murders. With the FBI listening to the call, the ex-employee called Thellmann and asked about getting paid for an undisclosed task. According to court records, Thellmann initially reacted as though he didn’t know what the caller was talking about. He later said he would pay the worker some money, but only if he gave him a code in person. FBI agents searched Thellmann’s house on March 3 and found $42,000 in cash inside a cereal box in the kitchen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Orabona said the former employee was told by Martinez he would be paid $40,000 and later $60,000. Martinez and Thellmann have pleaded not guilty. They remain in custody and have hearings later this month. —Neal Putnam
La Jolla-area smugglers plead guilty Two men pleaded guilty on March 5 to bringing in illegal aliens by boat in an incident west of La Jolla — before being stopped by the Coast Guard — last April. Lazaro Tapia-Pacheco, 41, will be sentenced May 7, while Angel Rincon-Diaz, 40, who piloted the boat, will be sentenced June 18. Both men also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring undocumented aliens for financial gain in the April 5 incident. There were 14 people being smuggled, but there were not enough life preservers for all passengers, according to court records. None aboard were injured, but there have been fatalities in similar smuggling ventures by boat. Both men each face five years in federal prison and remain in custody on $20,000 bail. —Neal Putnam
