Lucas Pleads Innocent to 3 More Counts of Murder

David Allen Lucas, already charged with killing three women and attempting to kill a fourth, pleaded innocent Monday to three additional murder charges.

Lucas, 29, was arraigned in Municipal Court on new charges of killing Suzanne Camille Jacobs, 31, and her son Colin, 3, in their Normal Heights home on May 4, 1979. He was also charged with killing real estate saleswoman Gayle Robert Garcia in Spring Valley on Dec. 8, 1981.

Lucas, a self-employed Spring Valley carpet cleaner, was returned to the County Jail, where he was already being held without bail and awaiting trial on charges that in October he murdered Rhonda Strange, 24, and Amber Fisher, the 3-year-old child she was baby-sitting. He will also be tried in the November killing of Anne Catherine Swanke, 22, and the June kidnaping and attempted murder of Jody Santiago, 30, of Seattle. He has pleaded innocent to those charges.

Judge Laura Palmer Hammes set a preliminary hearing on the latest charges for April 22. That hearing is expected to last about two weeks; a trial date for the earlier charges could be set Friday.

Kentucky drifter Johnny Massingale had been charged with the Jacobs murders, but he was later cleared of the charges and released. The district attorney’s office said the throats of all of the victims were slashed.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Dan Williams said after Monday’s arraignment that he hopes Lucas will be tried in San Diego County on all seven charges at once. Publicity over the cases, however, will make a change of venue almost certain, he said.

The difficulty of finding people who have not already formed opinions about the case could extend jury selection to three months, Williams said, and the trial could last anywhere from three to five weeks. Williams said he will seek the death penalty if Lucas is found guilty.

Private attorney G. Anthony Gilham is defending Lucas on the first four charges, and public defender William Saunders is representing him on the most recent charges.

Saunders said he could not discuss the latest charges because more publicity would only increase the likelihood of a change of venue, something he said he wants to avoid.

“It is my position that publicity can only injure Mr. Lucas,” he said. He accused the media of publishing “inflammatory and inaccurate” articles about Lucas, “all of which seem to prejudice his right to a fair trial in San Diego.”

Saunders had asked Hammes to exclude the press and public from the arraignment, and to issue a gag order forbidding all court officials from talking about the case. Hammes refused those requests but did ban cameras from the courtroom, and allowed Lucas to appear in civilian clothes and without shackles.

Saunders had earlier asked the state Court of Appeal to overrule Hammes and close the hearing and issue the gag order, but that request was denied Monday morning. Saunders said he will ask the California Supreme Court to issue a gag order.