Arrest Made in ’87 San Diego Slaying

Nearly 20 years after the brutal killing of a prominent African American newspaper publisher in San Diego, police Thursday announced the arrest of a third-strike felon who they believe attacked the publisher during a robbery attempt.

William Thompson, 61, who owned the only African American newspaper in the city, was stabbed repeatedly in the neck and torso and was left in the bedroom of his two-story home in 1987.

The killing remained a mystery until investigators last year linked DNA blood evidence to Stanley Ray Clayton, 39, who was serving a third-strike prison term for burglary, according to San Diego Police Sgt. Jorge Duran. Further investigation led to the arrest.

Thompson’s death had caused speculation that he was targeted by drug dealers for his efforts to clean up a notoriously dangerous neighborhood in southeast San Diego.

But Duran said Thursday that police “believe it had to do with robbery. There were things missing from the victim’s residence, including the victim’s car.”

Thompson may have known his killer because there was no sign of forced entry, police said. They said he had put up a fierce struggle.

Thompson had been convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public funds and had served more than two years in federal prison. But he later became a respected member of San Diego’s African American community, said Willie Morrow, a longtime friend. Thompson had owned the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint for about two years and was a real estate developer and businessman who opened the first Popeye’s restaurant in San Diego, Morrow said.

“Bill would give you the shirt off his back and never ask for it back,” Morrow said. “He was a leader. If there was anything going on in San Diego, Bill Thompson was at the center of it.”

Clayton, who was moved from Centinela State Prison to a San Diego facility, could face the death penalty if convicted of Thompson’s slaying.