Murder Is Charged in Motorist’s Death After Argument

A Pacific Beach real estate agent was charged Monday with murder in the shooting death of a National City man after a minor traffic dispute involving his daughter.

Howard F. Barton Jr., 47, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. San Diego Municipal Judge William Woodward scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 5 for Barton, who was allowed to remain free on $500,000 bail.

“There is plenty of strong evidence to indicate that this is a murder, pure and simple,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Chappell said.

Barton, who lives in La Jolla, is accused of gunning down Marco Anthony Sanchez, 24, on Feb. 22 on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. Sanchez had argued with Barton’s daughter, Andrea, 20, when the woman’s car stopped in traffic at Grand Avenue and Ingraham Street.

Defense attorney Clyde Munsell alleged that Sanchez attempted to run Andrea Barton off the road and threatened her during the argument.

According to a police report of the incident:

Andrea Barton drove to her father’s real estate office in the 4900 block of Cass Avenue and told him of the altercation with Sanchez. The two then drove to the 1000 block of Garnet, where they found Sanchez shopping in a store.

Howard Barton confronted Sanchez, and an argument ensued. The two men continued arguing when Sanchez got back in his car.

Munsell said that Sanchez, who was sitting in the car, used a knife to threaten Barton, who was standing by the vehicle. Barton, who had a permit from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to carry a concealed weapon, shot Sanchez once in the back.

“I’ve been working for three weeks to explain to police that it was a case of self-defense,” Munsell said. “This is very definitely not first-degree murder.”

The defense attorney said that Barton had ordered Sanchez to “drop the knife” before shooting him. According to Munsell, Barton did not arm himself with a gun first and then go looking for Sanchez.

“He had a gun in his pocket at the time. The gun had been there for two days. It just happened to be in that particular pair of pants that he’d worn for two days. He didn’t arm himself with a gun to confront Sanchez,” Munsell said.

Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Van Dusen said gun permits are issued to people who “show a need for one.” However, Van Dusen and Munsell declined to say why Barton found it necessary to arm himself with a hidden gun.

Gloria Sanchez, who was pregnant when her husband was killed, gave birth to a daughter March 9. On Monday, the young widow said she wants justice done.

“I just want him (Barton) to pay for what he did. . . . I never had to deal with the justice system. They say it works. Well, we’ll see. . . . If he is guilty, I want him punished,” she said.

After the shooting, TV news footage of Andrea Barton showed her smiling as she sat inside a car, apparently unruffled by the shooting. Munsell acknowledged that the young woman’s appearance gave the impression she was “taking it lightly.”

“It would appear as such, but, from my subsequent meetings with her, I’ve come to believe that it is her general demeanor. She was quite ruffled,” Munsell said.

On Monday, the lawyer alleged that Barton and his family have been subjected to threats and harassment since the shooting. However, he said he advised the family not to report the threats to police and added that he has been reporting them to prosecutor Chappell himself.

When asked why he advised the family against reporting the threats, Munsell said:

“I don’t feel from my 20 years as a defense attorney that the nature of the threats are adequate for the police to do anything about it. However, I have invited the prosecutor to so inform the police. They (police) have definitely not called me, leading me to believe that Miss Chappell and the police aren’t interested in the threats.”

According to Munsell, the threats have included telephone calls “and automobiles.” He declined to give details, but added that he did not believe that Sanchez’s family or friends are making the threats.

Chappell dismissed the threats as “unbelievable” and said it is up to Barton to report them to police “if they are in fact real.” The prosecutor explained the almost monthlong delay before her office filed charges against Barton as necessary so investigators could “track down and interview the many witnesses” in the case.

Meanwhile, Gloria Sanchez said she is still trying to learn what led to the shooting.

“I don’t really know exactly what happened,” she said. “Maybe nobody ever will. I just don’t want Marco dying for nothing. I want something to come out of this.”