Santee
A former Santee man was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges of committing 58 robberies throughout the county.
Paul Bresney, 38, is accused of being the “Walk to the Back” robber, in which the bandit told his victims in various stores to go to the back of the store while he made his getaway.
Many of the victims were teen-agers or young adults who were working alone at the time of the hold-ups, which began Jan. 3 and ended with Bresney’s arrest April 21 in North Park.
For each day of the seven-day preliminary hearing, dozens of witnesses lined the hallways waiting to testify. San Diego Municipal Judge Charles Patrick set a June 20 arraignment and trial-setting appearance in Superior Court for Bresney, whom police have identified as a transient.
The judge continued bail at $100,000, and Bresney has not been able to post it so far. Patrick dismissed seven counts because of insufficient evidence after three counts were added to the original 62 charges.
About one-third of the hold-ups occurred in East County, but some occurred in Clairemont, Poway and North County.
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