A young man and a teenager accused of killing a 65-year-old man at Bonita Cove Park last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder charges.
The defendants, ages 17 and 18, are accused in the death of Michael Scott Shook, whose body was discovered the morning of July 5.
Read more:
Shook sustained stab wounds and "facial and upper-body injuries that indicated (he) had been beaten," SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski, said.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Detectives determined that he had been involved in a confrontation with a group of five to six youths at some point in the early morning of July 5, according to police.
Two days later, 18-year-old El Cajon resident Daniel Ruben Martin was arrested during a traffic stop on Sea World Drive. The 17-year-old defendant, whose name was withheld due to his age, surrendered to police at SDPD headquarters on Sunday.
Police have not disclosed how the defendants were identified as suspects in Shook's killing.
Martin is being held without bail. The 17-year-old, who appeared for a hearing in juvenile court, will also remain in custody, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
Shook's son, also named Michael Shook, attended Martin's arraignment at the San Diego Central Courthouse and told reporters after the hearing that his father was living on the streets and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“He was sick on the streets, and he wanted to be there," his son told NBC7. "He wanted to just die somewhere on a tropical beach, just have some umbrella drinks, and do his hospice in a different type of plan than most would.”
"It's hard to find out the details of how heinous
Michael Shook, son of Michael Scott Shook whose body was found July 5 in Mission Beach
and brutal the attack actually was"
Shook said the family hails from Vista, and said his father was primarily a fisherman, but also had a number of other jobs throughout his life, including working the bird show at the Wild Animal Park and as a hospice nurse.
When homicide detectives knocked on his door, Shook believed it would be to inform him that his father had died due to his cancer.
"It's hard to find out the details of how heinous and brutal the attack actually was," Shook said. "No one deserves to die in that type of manner. It's kind of more sad that these kids threw away a big chunk of lives and made their family members victims too."
NBC7's Dana Williams contributed to this report.
