A janitor at Campland on the Bay RV Resort in Pacific Beach testified on July 29 that a man handed her a firearm after he said he had just shot someone.

Miriam Romo testified in the preliminary hearing of Michael Lawrence Callahan, 39, who is accused of killing Ryan Abbott, 49, of Pacific Beach, who was shot once in the chest on May 16, 2023.

“I just shot someone,” said Romo, quoting Callahan as he handed the firearm to her. “I had to do it. It was self-defense,” quoting Callahan as saying.

Deputy District Attorney Jessica Sutterley said afterward that self-defense is not a factor in the slaying, noting that Callahan was 40 feet away from Abbott when he fired three shots at him.

Callahan and Abbott were in the park’s hot tub with some women and apparently, Callahan felt some type of “rebuff” from someone, according to witnesses. Callahan angrily left and returned some distance away with a gun.

Abbott was shot in the chest at 10:08 p.m. near the pool area and police began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived. He died at 10:39 p.m. in a hospital.

Abbott was rushed to a hospital, but he was pronounced deceased at 10:39 p.m., according to police. Officers talked to witnesses and they found Callahan inside his motorhome at the park, located in the 2200 block of Pacific Beach Drive.

Detective Christopher Murray said the firearm was a semi-automatic Glock 30 and it was registered to Callahan. Romo said she put the gun in a washer in a nearby laundromat for safekeeping and that is where Murray found it.

Callahan was found in his motorhome at the park, which Murray said was registered to his mother.

Detective Kyle Okeson told San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Parsky that three shots were fired, but only one shot struck Abbott. The second and third shots were fired 31 seconds after the first shot, said Okeson. One shot landed near a pool gate.

In a stipulation between the prosecutor and Callahan’s lawyer, Samantha Greene, a test of Callahan’s hand showed six particles of gunshot residue. His blood/alcohol level showed that Callahan was intoxicated at the time.

“Mr. Callahan started all of this,” said Sutterley. “He turned this into a deadly assault.”

Sutterley asked Parsky to order him to stand trial for murder due to “overwhelming evidence.” Greene said she wanted to save her arguments for trial, so she submitted her case to the judge without argument.

Parsky ruled the prosecution had proven there was probable cause for him to stand for a murder trial. She set an Aug. 28 hearing for a date to set a trial date.

Callahan has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. He remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.