14 DAY TRIAL // Two people have been injured in a residential La Jolla neighborhood on a half a mile (0.8 km) radius. The separate incidents took place after 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
48-year old Hans Peterson has been pinpointed as the suspect in the shootings. Police did not confirm the identification but neighbors have recognized the suspect.
“Everybody knows everybody. [...] We keep pretty good tabs on one another,” one of the victims' neighbors, Bill Burke, describes.
According to UT San Diego, Peterson, of University City, is a known biotech executive who has invested in several start-ups.
The victims are Peterson's former business partner, Steven Dowdy, and his brother-in-law, Ron Fletcher.
50-year-old Ron Fletcher's sister is separated from the suspect, and she has not been injured in the attack. Fletcher is a real estate investor whose family have founded several developments in San Diego County.
Dowdy was shot by mistake at about 3 a.m. Peterson used a .45-caliber to fire through the victim's French door window, and he was grazed by a bullet as he got out of bed.
The suspect ran away and hit Fletcher's home at 6:40 a.m. He first got inside the home by breaking a window, shooting him in the abdomen.
A struggle ensued and the victim grabbed the weapon out of the gunman's hands. The police arrived soon after and detained the suspect.
“I noticed a man pacing back and forth in the street. It looked like he was trying to make a decision. [...] There was something menacing about that. That’s when I called the cops,” neighbor Kristen Pernicano has described.
Peterson's wife, Bonnie, has been separated from him for a year. She had a restraining order issued, citing domestic violence and excessive drinking on her husband's part.
Divorce attorney, Lori Clark Viviano, explained that the order expired in January but a second one was requested yesterday.
The judge had no problem issuing one “given that he went to her brother’s home, probably with the intent to kill her,” Viviano added.