Charges Filed in Slaying at HomeBase

A parolee charged in the point-blank gunshot slaying of a HomeBase store manager hid his face under a file folder Tuesday as he appeared in court on charges that carry a possible death sentence.

Prosecutors are still deciding whether to seek the death penalty against Daniel Carl Frederickson, a 33-year-old unemployed Garden Grove man with a 15-year history of felony convictions.

Frederickson was charged Monday with murder and attempted robbery in the slaying last week of Scott H. Wilson, 30, of Costa Mesa. The charges also carry a special-circumstance allegation that the murder occurred during the commission of a robbery, meaning the defendant could face a death sentence if convicted.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Tanizaki declined to comment on details of the case.

The public defender’s office was appointed Tuesday to represent Frederickson, who was ordered back to Municipal Court in Santa Ana on July 12 to enter a plea to the murder charges.

The victim’s brother said he hopes prosecutors seek the death penalty.

“Actually, I would like worse than the death penalty,” Kirk Wilson, 40, said Tuesday outside the courtroom. “Unfortunately, that’s all I can get.”

Kirk Wilson said his brother never would have struggled with a robber, and said he was disappointed he couldn’t see the face of the accused killer. Municipal Judge Donna L. Crandall, citing the ongoing investigation, ordered that the defendant’s face be shielded from press photographers.

“My brother was very intelligent,” Kirk Wilson said. “He had dreams, he had goals for his life, unlike this man who is so pitiful that his dream for his life is to sit in his cell and read science fiction books.”

Scott Wilson, an aspiring television producer who was set to attend Orange Coast College this fall, was shot as he walked with $50 in change from the safe in the front of the Santa Ana store toward a cashier.

Police allege Frederickson had been wandering through the Santa Ana store June 13 for at least 30 minutes before he shot Wilson, a customer service manager who had recently transferred to the Bristol Marketplace store from Vista, where he had worked since 1993.

The assailant apparently was trying to rob Wilson of the $50 he was holding, police said.

Funeral services are today at 3 p.m. for Scott Wilson at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, 3800 S. Fairview Road, Santa Ana.

Frederickson, most recently convicted in 1991 for stabbing a man over a $50 debt, is being held without bail.