2 Killings Linked to Drugs, Court Is Told

The secluded home of a Jamul couple shot to death in May appeared to be the center of a busy drug trade, police investigators said in court Monday.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Jorge E. Alvarado and Jaime A. Hoyos in front of San Diego Municipal Court Judge Michael B. Orfield.

Both men are accused of killing Daniel Magoon, 51, and his 31-year-old wife, Mary, on May 26. The Magoons’ 3-year-old son, Jeremy, was shot once in the back of the head but survived the attack.

Alvarado, 39, of El Cajon and Hoyos, 34, of Tijuana have pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges. Sheriff’s Detective David Weil testified that numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia were found in the Magoon home on Steele Canyon Road.

“As soon as we walked into the garage, I smelled the pungent odor of marijuana,” Weil said. “The garage had numerous items of evidence that indicates to me that drug activity took place there.”

The floor, two empty freezers, and a trash compactor in the garage were littered with marijuana debris, he said. The trash compactor was modified for what Weil said appeared to be compressing marijuana into tightly packed bricks, while the freezers were used to store the drugs.

Alvarado and Hoyos were arrested after a routine traffic stop in El Cajon soon after the murders. El Cajon Police Officer William Pettus said he pulled over Alvarado’s car because of a burned-out license plate light.

Pettus testified that he found 36 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of Alvarado’s 1981 Toyota, including three “ice-cold bricks” of marijuana.

Police also found a 9-millimeter handgun, several rounds of ammunition and a small quantity of methamphetamine inside the car.

Weil said investigators found a secret compartment in the bathroom of the Magoons’ home where an empty box for a 9-millimeter handgun was found, suggesting that the couple were shot with their own gun. Numerous shell casings from a 9-millimeter handgun also were found in the home, he said.

There was no sign of forced entry into the well-secured home, Weil said.

Alvarado and Hoyos are being held without bail. The hearing will continue Tuesday, and Orfield will rule whether the pair will stand trial.