Murder Trial Ordered in Slaying of Good Samaritan

A judge Friday ordered Timothy Pemberton to stand trial for murder after two witnesses testified that they saw Pemberton shoot a man who tried to rescue a woman from a burglary.

Yigal and Sigal Farkash both identified the 22-year-old Pemberton during his preliminary hearing before San Diego Municipal Judge Nicholas Kasimatis.

The couple identified the victim, 35-year-old Gary Smith, from photos shown to them by Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa E. Chappell.

Smith was shot four times July 18 after chasing a man out of a University City condominium after hearing a woman scream. He never recovered from his coma and died July 24 in a hospital.

Sigal Farkash told the judge that she had seen two men fighting in front of her residence the morning of July 18. She said she turned away from the window, but shortly afterward saw Pemberton pull a gun, lean over and shoot Smith.

“I saw him fire two shots,” Farkash said.

She also testified that Smith crawled onto her front porch, where “he kept saying, ‘Call the police, call the police.’ ”

Yigal Farkash said, “I saw the white guy standing over him and shooting. I saw the last two shootings.” Pemberton is white and Smith was black.

Farkash demonstrated how he saw Pemberton crouching over Smith. He testified that he was “astonished . . . a man was lying there and this guy was just shooting him.”

He also testified that Smith crawled to the front porch, where Farkash, a former military paramedic in Israel, attempted to assist the man.

Also testifying Friday was the woman who said she discovered a man inside her house minutes before the shooting. Christiane M. Chazin testified that she returned home and saw the shadow of a man who was attempting to hide. The man soon revealed himself and instructed Chazin not to move as he showed her a gun, she said.

Chazin could not positively identify Pemberton, but she described a man whose features matched those of the defendant, including his long, light-brown hair.

Chazin testified that she sought help from a black man laying carpet near her home, but told him as he gave chase: “Don’t run after him, he has a gun, he has a gun.”

In addition to murder charges, Pemberton was also ordered to stand trial on three burglary counts, receiving stolen property, auto theft and possession of methamphetamine.

Pemberton, a transient who has previously lived in Ocean Beach, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail in County Jail.

Kasimatis ordered Pemberton to appear Sept. 7 in Superior Court for the setting of a trial date.

The prosecutor said the district attorney’s office is considering filing special circumstances allegations against Pemberton, but none have been filed yet.