Suspect in Fatal Shooting of Simi Man Charged

Prosecutors on Thursday charged a 19-year-old Port Hueneme man with murder, robbery, cruelty to an animal and a special circumstance that could send him to the gas chamber in the shooting deaths of a Simi Valley man and his dog.

And friends of his alleged victim--Andrew Anderson--clapped, jeered and yelled insults as a judge denied bail to defendant Timothy Chrestman, an unemployed fish-boat laborer whose only other brush with the law was for possessing marijuana.

Chrestman is charged with fatally shooting the 24-year-old Anderson and Anderson’s dog in the mountains above Ojai on March 4 in order to steal the victim’s pickup truck, prosecutors said.

At Chrestman’s arraignment Thursday, about two dozen friends of the victim--including his 22-year-old girlfriend, Lori Quinn--clapped loudly at the judge’s decision to deny bail.

When Chrestman dropped his head in apparent frustration and began walking out of court, some in the crowd screamed insults at him.

A bailiff rushed over and ordered them from the court. Anderson’s parents did not attend the arraignment, which was continued until March 30 to give Chrestman’s lawyers time to review police reports and other evidence against their client.

Chrestman’s parents were seated a row behind the supporters of their son’s alleged victim. When the clapping began, Chrestman’s mother dropped her head and began to sob.

The Chrestman family has received some threats to their safety since Timothy Chrestman’s arrest, Deputy Public Defender Brian Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said Judge Bruce Clark should not have tolerated the outbursts.

“It’s obviously improper to do that kind of stuff,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that the judge “should not allow that to happen without admonishment.”

Outside court, Anderson’s girlfriend, Quinn, said she was happy that the judge denied bail to Chrestman.

“I just hope he stays in jail forever,” said Quinn, tears welling up in her eyes. Quinn said she and Anderson had dated for three years and planned on marrying, perhaps in 1995.

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“I was going to be Andy’s mother-in-law,” said Lori’s mother, Cathy Quinn. “We were looking forward to that, and now it’s not going to happen.”

Lori Quinn said she wants Chrestman to be convicted of the maximum penalty and to receive the maximum sentence.

“I want life without parole or the death penalty,” she said of Chrestman.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael K. Frawley said prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty in the case. But by filing the special circumstance that accuses the defendant of shooting Anderson while robbing him of his truck, they can seek the capital punishment for Chrestman, Frawley said.

Chrestman has one criminal conviction on his record, authorities said. He was found guilty of misdemeanor drug possession last year, they said.

Investigators have said that Chrestman shot Anderson as he stood next to his truck preparing to drive home from his half-day fishing trip about noon March 4. Frawley said Thursday that the victim was shot in the back.

The prosecutor said Chrestman then shot Anderson’s dog--Sheila, an Australian shepherd.

Anderson, described as an avid outdoorsman and a loyal friend, was last seen early March 4 when he left his parents’ home in Simi Valley to go fishing in the Ojai area. He had planned to return by 2 p.m. and was scheduled to work at his job at Blue Cross of California in Westlake by 4 p.m.

At his job and at home, he had often mentioned how popular his 1990 4x4 Toyota pickup truck seemed to be with young people. The truck had a camper shell, a fresh blue paint job and new tire rims, friends said.

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“With all the carjackings that are going on, we had talked about it as a group” at work, said Anderson’s supervisor, Sandy Hogsett. She and another co-worker also came to Chrestman’s arraignment.

“We are a very close-knit group,” said Hogsett. “Yesterday, they had to close part of the office down, the part where Andy worked.”

By the time Anderson arrived at the campground the morning of March 4 for fishing, Chrestman had been at the remote site for two full days, said defense attorney Fitzpatrick.

Chrestman had been dropped off by his father, who planned to pick him up later that weekend, Fitzpatrick said. The defendant had camping gear and food with him.

While Fitzpatrick said the motive in the case is a mystery, he does not believe it is robbery, as the district attorney has charged.

“It’s my understanding that the victim still had his wallet on him with his credit cards,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I think there’s definitely a piece of the puzzle that’s missing in my mind that’s going to take further investigation,” he said. “I don’t think it’s as black and white as the district attorney believes.”

He also said Chrestman is not the type of person who should face the death penalty.

“I don’t see anything in his background at all that would justify that,” he said. “This is a kid who has never before been in any serious trouble and suddenly he finds himself in these circumstances.”

But Cathy Quinn, the mother of Anderson’s girlfriend, said she often heard Anderson say he would never die fighting for his truck.

“He told Lori that if someone ever wanted the truck, he would hand them the keys,” she said.