Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of landscaper in California
A 70-year-old man has been charged with murder after a confrontation with landscapers this week in Southern California turned deadly, according to authorities and a landowner.
Michael Anthony Burke was being held without bail Friday in San Diego County’s Vista Detention Center in connection with the death of Martin Lucas Esteban, according to jail records and a criminal complaint.
Esteban, an immigrant from Guatemala, was working at a property in Fallbrook, a community about 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles, before Monday’s shooting, according to Alan Hsu, the property’s owner.
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. following an argument, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said. One man was killed and a second man was treated for a gunshot wound and released from the hospital, according to the release.
Burke was charged with murder, attempted murder and shooting into an inhabited vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Each allegation includes a recommended sentence of 25 years to life, if convicted, the filing states.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday, according to plea documents obtained by NBC San Diego.
It is unclear whether Burke has retained an attorney. The local public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cellphone video of the apparent incident shows a man holding a shotgun and standing next to a pickup truck.
The video, which was verified by NBC News, does not clearly capture the entire discussion and does not appear to show what preceded the argument between the man with the shotgun and the two inside the pickup.
In the video, the gunman can be heard threatening the men in the truck.
“I have a lot of friends in the police, in the highway patrol. It doesn’t matter. Do you want to die today?” said the man. Someone can be heard asking him what he said.
“You want to die today? I’m going to kill you right now. Don’t make fun of me. OK? You know? Do you know in Spanish or English?” said the man with the gun, using the Spanish word for “know.”
Then the man with the shotgun points it inside the truck’s cab and the passenger grabs his barrel, the video shows. A fight ensues, the gun goes off and the man with the gun eventually says, “See, you did some stupid things,” according to the video.
San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Juan Marquez said investigators were aware of the video and prosecutors had reviewed it.
“The sheriff’s homicide unit is conducting a thorough and complete investigation into this matter,” he said via email.
Hsu, the owner of the property being landscaped, a vacation rental, said Burke was the caretaker of an adjacent property and lived on the parcel.
He described the suspect as exhibiting “angry behavior.”
“He wasn’t the friendliest person in the world,” Hsu said.
The victim’s daughter, Martina Lucas, said her father was invited to the location to help a friend with landscaping, which Hsu confirmed. He said Martin Lucas had previously worked at the property.
Martina Lucas said her father was a good father.
“This guy didn’t have a heart that was killing him,” she said in court Thursday for the suspect, according to NBC San Diego. “My father didn’t deserve to die.”
