After 11 hours of deliberations over three days, a jury on Tuesday (Jan. 21) convicted a North Park man of first-degree murder in the stabbing of his father’s roommate at a senior citizen facility on Alabama Street.

The seven-man, five-woman jury also convicted Jonathan Camp, 40, of intimidating a witness, who was his father, Robert Camp, 67, who was calling 911 after the stabbing. His father testified his phone was slapped out of his hand by his son and taken away.

The victim was John Baquera, 58, who was stabbed 16 times in his bedroom on July 2, 2023, after Baquera and Jonathan Camp quarrelled about the volume of his TV and music and messiness in the living room where he slept.

Baquera often used a wheelchair to get around and he had placed a roommate ad in 2020 which Robert Camp answered and the two began living together in Alabama Manor. Jonathan Camp moved in temporarily, and slept on the couch in Feb., 2023, but he was under 55 and not put on the lease.

The sentencing was set for Feb. 21 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide. Camp faces a term of 25 years to life on the murder charge. He remains in jail without bail.

Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams asked the jury to convict Camp of first-degree murder while defense attorney Hannah Kuhami sought a conviction for voluntary manslaughter. The attorneys met with some of the jurors after they were discharged and they could not be immediately reached for comment afterwards.

Williams told jurors in her opening statement that Jonathan Camp had “a pretty cushy gig–free rent, free food, free booze.” Before the stabbing, Baquera told Camp to “get out,” with Wiliiams saying “he was tired of him mooching off.”

Jonathan Camp went into his father’s room and announced “I’m going to kill him!” according to Williams. The prosecutor said his father told him to “go chill out.”

Williams said Camp stabbed Baquera in the abdomen with strikes to his lungs and heart. He was found dead on his bed in his room at 11:55 p.m.

Williams told jurors that calling the father as a witness in the case is “one of the hardest things we’ve ever asked a father to do.”

Kuhami told jurors Jonathan Camp’s blood/alcohol after the stabbing was .26, which is more than four times the legal limit. Kuhami said the son acted as “a caretaker” for both men and “he was not mooching” off them.

“He would cook for these two men,” said Kuhami, adding the son did pay rent. “It was manslaughter, not murder,” she said.

Jonathan Camp fled the scene at midnight wearing only shorts, but he returned to Alabama Manor at 4 a.m. where he was arrested. Officers testified about the strong odor of alcohol he gave off and they said he appeared drunk.

“He’s an angry drunk. He gets loud and abusive,” said the defendant’s father, Robert Camp. “He even calls me names. He called me a dick.”

Robert Camp said his son punched a hole in the wall and usually got drunk once a week. He said his son “was obviously drunk” at the time of the murder.

Robert Camp said he found another cellphone in the apartment, but it was not charged, so he had to charge it so it would work. The father said even though there was no money on the phone, 911 calls are free, and he was able to call police once the phone charged up.

The defendant testified the victim did not need his wheelchair that often. “He could get around (by) holding the wall. He could get to the shower,” said Jonathan Camp.

Jonathan Camp admitted on the stand to stabbing Baquera after Baquera grabbed one of the two knives that Camp was holding while in his room.

“He was trying to stab me. He took the knife,” said Camp of one of the two knives. “It was get him before he gets me.”

Crédito de la foto: Pixabay.com