San Diego

A transient pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday in the death of a Pacific Beach resident who was run over by his own van during the theft of the vehicle.

Dyrl (Spike) Buckner, 20, admitted killing William Nothomb, 48, by running him down after he tried to steal Nothomb’s van parked outside his Garnet Avenue apartment on Jan. 15.

Buckner, who pleaded guilty just as jury selection was about to begin before Superior Court Judge Robert O’Neill, faces 15 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced July 11.

Victoria Nothomb, 32, identified Buckner in February as the man who drove over her husband.

Nothomb testified she heard the engine of her van start around 1 a.m., looked out the window and saw that the vehicle’s inside light was on. She said she ran outside after waking her husband and ran alongside the van and grabbed the window. The van took off and she fell to the ground.

Then she discovered her husband lying crumpled on the ground. William Nothomb was rushed to a hospital and he died Feb. 2.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bernard Revak said a murder charge was filed against Buckner because Nothomb’s death took place during a robbery.

Buckner remains in County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.