Kevin Eugene Cartwright began his murder and robbery trial on May 23 in which he is charged with killing and robbing the owner of a downtown flooring business and also holding up a Point Loma adult bookstore.

The trial is expected to last until mid-June in San Diego Superior Court and it involves the slaying of Ghedeer “Tony” Radda, 49, who was shot three times on Oct. 10, 2018, in his Bottom Price Flooring store, located at 1015 G Street.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide told jurors not to visit the store that she acknowledged “is very near, close by” the downtown courthouse because jurors must only consider evidence and photos presented in court.

Cartwright, 55, is also accused of being the masked bandit with a gun the day before at the Adult Depot, at 3487 Kurtz St. in Point Loma, at 5:30 a.m., which was robbed.

Jurors looked closely at surveillance camera footage inside the store as it was played during Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco’s opening statement. Greco said Cartwright was the man wearing an “old lady” mask who snuck into the business after a woman with purple hair distracted Radda and led him towards the back of the store.

Greco said Radda had played cards with Cartwright in his store once before and had given Cartwright some work. The woman with purple hair was Lorena Espinoza, 38, who was sentenced to 16 years to life after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Jan. 21.

Cartwright’s attorney, Jeremy Thornton, told jurors the government’s case was “opinions, not facts,” adding “He’s not guilty of these crimes.”

“Mr. Cartwright did not kill Mr. Radda. He is not the person who robbed Adult Depot,” said Thornton in his opening statement.

“The government will cloak these opinions as facts,” said Thornton, referring to the prosecution’s case.

Thornton said four hours after the slaying someone with Radda’s credit cards tried to use them later and it was not Cartwright. He said Espinoza was seen casing the store two weeks earlier with two black men and she had done business in the store before. Cartwright is also black.

The prosecutor said Radda owned a gun that was later found in Cartwright’s backpack in Cartwright’s vehicle that was apparently taken during the robbery of “a couple thousand dollars.”

The camera footage showed the masked man used a crowbar to forcibly break into the cash register, which took some effort to do, with coins spilled onto the floor.

The murder weapon and the “old lady” mask were never found, said Greco, but a photo of the mask was taken when San Diego University State Police went through Cartwright’s possessions when he showed up to give a buddy a ride a few weeks earlier.

Greco showed jurors how the man in the “old lady” mask left the store and continued walking many blocks while still wearing the mask. He said in 2018 it was not well known that police had installed cameras in street lights.

The video showed the masked man walking until he at some point took off the mask in a shaded area, which Greco said shows that it was Cartwright who committed the murder.

The first witness was Fernando Jaco, Jr., who took over the Bottom Price Flooring Company. Jaco was also a close friend of Radda, and had lunch with him the day he was killed.

Cartwright is also charged with the special circumstance of murder during a robbery and burglary, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Cartwright has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail.