A judge ordered Hans Petersen on May 22 to pay $311,836 in damages to Pacific Beach real estate agent Ron Fletcher and $85,881 to Steven Dowdy, his former neighbor, both of whom Petersen shot in 2013. San Diego Superior Court Judge Leo Valentine Jr. ordered Petersen, 51, of University City, to pay those amounts in a restitution hearing. On May 15, Valentine sentenced Petersen to two consecutive life terms plus 50 years for using a firearm in the Sept. 18, 2013 shootings at the victims’ homes in La Jolla. Fletcher submitted a detailed list of things he sought for restitution. Because Fletcher is self-employed, most of the amount involves loss of income for about a year due to his recovery after suffering a gunshot to the abdomen. Fletcher was hospitalized for 20 days and had multiple surgeries. Fletcher also sought restitution for the loss of the digital DVR and computer equipment that were part of his security system, which was used as evidence in Petersen’s trial. Because Petersen will appeal his attempted murder convictions, that equipment cannot be returned to Fletcher. Petersen was seen in the video breaking a large window with a rock and coming inside the home with a firearm. He knocked on the bathroom door and fired shots through the door before Fletcher opened it and was shot. The video shows the struggle between the two men in the living room, with Fletcher getting the gun out of Petersen’s hands; the gun eventually jammed. Fletcher called police from a cell phone, but Petersen grabbed it out of his hands and stomped on it. Fletcher and his family also sought restitution for counseling, as did Dowdy and his family, which Valentine approved. Among the Dowdy expenses that Valentine approved was $70,247 in security improvements to his home, including a dozen cameras, steel fencing, electrician and painting services, landscaping, glass replacement and locksmith services. Dowdy also sought reimbursement for rental of a hospital bed and a walker that was not paid by health insurance. Petersen shot Dowdy, a professor at the UCSD School of Medicine, in the abdomen. Petersen was convicted March 18 of two counts of premeditated attempted murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, burglary and exhibiting a firearm in a threatening manner to a doctor returning to his La Jolla home after work. Petersen testified he was in a prescription drug-induced blackout during most of the events and had little memory of any of it. He made a brief statement to that effect to the probation department but declined to elaborate on his defense. – Neal Putnam
