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NATHAN EUGENE MATHIS, 67, pleaded guilty this year to fatally stabbing 75-yearold Richard Finney of Es-

condido. Courtesy photo

Man gets 15 years to life for ’86 killing

By City News Service

ESCONDIDO — A man who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a retiree in Escondido more than 35 years ago was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison.

Nathan Eugene Mathis, 67, was arrested in April 2018 at his home in Ontario in connection with the death of 75-yearold Richard Finney, who was stabbed around three dozen times at his East Mission Avenue apartment.

On the morning of Nov. 13, 1986, Finney was found dead in a living room chair at his home, according to Escondido police. Money, jewelry and other miscellaneous items belonging to the victim had been stolen.

Though knives, fingerprints and blood were located inside Finney’s apartment by investigators at the time, the case went cold until technological advances allowed for further examination of the evidence.

According to Deputy District Attorney Tom Manning, Mathis was tied to the crime scene by a bloody handprint and a fingerprint found on the knob of a sink inside Finney’s home.

After Mathis submitted his fingerprints for a job application as a security guard, investigators were able to match his prints to those left at the murder, the prosecutor said.

The case was reopened about two years prior to Mathis’ arrest. Earlier this year, Mathis pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder count.

At Mathis’ sentencing hearing, two of Finney's granddaughters spoke of the impact the killing had on them and their family, particularly their mother and uncle who died before knowing the outcome of the investigation.

“You had 30 years of living after you killed my grandpa,” Gina Curry told Mathis, who did not make a statement at the hearing. “You had a life, a marriage, family and career. Did you ever think of my grandpa or our family?”

Curry said her mother and uncle “never got over” their father’s death, which

By Samantha Nelson

VISTA – School board trustees have moved forward a plan to use Measure LL facility bond funds for construction of much-needed upgrades at Bobier Elementary School.

In 2018, voters approved a $247 million bond initiative to repair and upgrade classrooms across the Vista Unified School District. The board has already committed $128 million of those funds to various projects.

In late July, the board approved using Measure LL bond funds to move Bobier Elementary School into the construction phase of its long-awaited upgrades, work that’s expected to cost about $57 million.

Trustee Rosemary Smithfield said moving forward on Bobier was a “no brainer” given the many problems facing the campus, noting ceiling blocks falling on students and past problems with mold.

“I don’t want us to stop again on Bobier,” Smithfield said. “It’s bad.”

During the design phase of Bobier, the process was paused due to roadblocks that required further geotechnical analysis.

“Now with more information we’re bringing it back to an active phase,” VUSD Superintendent Matt Doyle said.

The board is also considering using some or most of the remaining Measure LL money on upgrades at Beaumont Elementary School. Like Bobier, Beaumont’s campus has required further geotechnical analysis due to a stormwater runoff problem allowing water into the classrooms.

Both Bobier and Beaumont are expected to have portable classrooms replaced by permanent structures. Beaumont, however, will require additional work to address roofing and mold issues in its existing building.

For now, the plan is to gather additional information on next steps for Beaumont before the board commits Measure LL money to the project.

Staff is also expected to bring back additional details about the district’s fire alarm and communication systems as well as its sewer systems to determine if those areas also need to be prioritized for funding.

SAN MARCOS 14U, 1OU ALL STARS GO TO WESTERN NATIONALS

The San Marcos Girls Softball 14U All Stars, above, went 4-2 at last week’s B Western Nationals, a 25team tournament in Corona. The team qualified with its performance at the state tournament in Lancaster earlier in July. Right, to raise funds for their trip Western Nationals to Salem, Oregon, the San Marcos 10U All-Stars sold flowers last month at an Albertsons in San Marcos. The team finished 2-2 at last week’s tournament.

Courtesy photo (above); Photo by Laura Place (right)

Vista ‘wish list’ items to get boost from state

By Jacqueline Covey

VISTA — In a lucky draw of available state funding, two unfunded capital improvement programs are getting construction schedules a little bit faster.

Last month, Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath announced $3 million in state allocations toward a recreation center and electric vehicle charging stations in the city of Vista.

The city has yet to receive the funding pending further instruction from the state, but $1.6 million has been set aside to remake a current substation of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department into a community center at Luz Duran Park. And $1.4 million is slotted for additional charging stations.

The “wish list” projects originated from a list of unfunded capital improvement projects. The city’s Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) budget funds the acquisition, construction and maintenance of all major capital assets and public infrastructure.

Andrea McCullough, the communications officer for Vista, said that the city’s five-year CIP plan generally breaks down major projects into what can be funded and when. Many times the unfunded wish list can be reconsidered with the availability of grants — or Assembly members.

Boerner Horvath reaches out to her district regularly, inquiring about projects the city may want or need, McCullough said.

“We defend our kind of a ‘unfunded wish list’… and what we could do with that [funding], and then she does what she does and we get a notice that it’s been funded.”

Boerner Horvath’s office could not be reached regarding how these projects are going to be funded or why Vista was chosen.

This is not the first time the city received funding from the state for unfunded projects. In 2021, Vista received $5 million to replace the Old Taylor Street Fire Station, $3.5 million for the Civic Center solar project and $600,000 toward Brengle Terrace Park.

McCullough said, however, that funding doesn’t necessarily mean movement on a project.

“It takes a while,” she said. “We just have to wait for the state as it goes through [the] process. When we receive the funds … then we can go out with the RFP,” or requests for proposals.

The state-level process could take several months.

City staff decided to submit the electric vehicle and community center proposals, because of their practicality and alignment with city goals. As the state shifts toward electric vehicles, McCullough said, the need for additional charging stations is inevitable.

“We have state regulations we need to follow and we need more electric vehicle charging stations in the city,” she said. “So this would be great if we could build them in different areas.”

The relocation and revamp of the sheriff's substation was a project that seemingly makes good civic sense. Currently, families that enjoy Luz Duran Park face a law enforcement building that isn’t readily accessible to the public. State money will fund the overhaul of a city-owned building at 986 Vista Village Drive.

In its place, an opento-the-public center will be erected at the Luz Duran Park location. This project is part of a city aim to enhance quality of life through parks and recreation.

“One of the [Vista City Council’s] goals is parks,” McCullough said, “and they were looking at the different parks and they realized that maybe … something open to the public would be better in that area.”

I-15 gunfire, police chase end in arrest

By City News Service

REGION — A motorist suspected of firing a gun at another driver July 25 on Interstate 15 in the far northern reaches of San Diego County, causing minor injuries, was arrested following a freeway pursuit, authorities reported.

The alleged road-rage shooting south of Rainbow Valley Boulevard was reported shortly before 6 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

It was unclear what prompted the gunfire, which left a 57-year-old Murrieta man driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck with cuts from flying shards of glass, CHP public-information Officer Hunter Gerber said.

As officers responded to the reported crime, they saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspected shooter’s car heading south on the freeway near state Route 78 and pulled it over.

Though the suspect, a 28-year-old Rialto man, was initially compliant, he drove off as the CHP personnel approached his silver Mercedes-Benz CLK230C coupe.

The ensuing pursuit passed through the Pala, Bonsall and Hidden Meadows areas before reaching Escondido. There, the fleeing driver — who had two passengers riding in his car with him — exited onto Via Rancho Parkway, where the Mercedes veered across the offramp and crossed onto an adjacent on-ramp, crashed into a Mini Cooper, overturned and struck a guardrail.

Following the collision, the suspect jumped out of his car and made a failed attempt to escape on foot, Gerber said. Officers chased down the man and arrested him on suspicion of felony evasion of police, hit-and-run, possession of illegal narcotics and burglary tools, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Investigators found a loaded gun in the Mercedes, Gerber said,

The driver of the vehicle struck by the suspect's car, a 59-year-old Escondido man, was treated at Palomar Medical Center for minor injuries, according to the Highway Patrol.