Men Accused In Mission Beach Robbery, Rape Appear In Court

SAN DIEGO -- A man charged in the Mission Beach home-invasion robbery of four college students and the rape of two of them told a detective that he and two others committed the sex crimes, the detective testified Tuesday.

San Diego police Detective Javier Padilla testified in a preliminary hearing for Donald Duante Smith, Willie Louis Watkins and Antonio Washington that Smith told him that all three of the men sexually assaulted the 17- and 18-year-old female victims during the break-in.

Smith told Padilla that he and a bunch of his "homeboys" decided to commit a robbery in a residential beach area the night of Oct. 15.

Smith told the detective that Washington and a man he called "Chill" carried BB guns into the residence.

Once upstairs, the three men sexually assaulted the females before leaving, the detective said Smith told him.

One of the male roommates testified that he and others were watching TV when three men broke into the residence of San Fernando Place and ordered him and another man into a bathtub.

The roommate said he heard some moaning from one of the females then saw the intruders leaving with a television set.

Smith, 19, Watkins, 31, and Washington, 18, are charged with forcible rape while acting in concert, sexual assault, and kidnapping for robbery. Each defendant faces up to 300 years to life in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza.

Two juveniles were also charged in the case.

At an arraignment last year, Espinoza alleged that Smith and Watkins, along with six to eight others, were in Mission Beach on Oct. 15 committing street robberies.

The defendants and others separated from the larger group to steal property from the San Fernando Place apartment, the prosecutor said.

Once inside, the defendants robbed two men and carried out a "predatory, callous sexual assault" on the 17- and 18-year-old female victims, Espinoza said.

All of the victims were University of San Diego students.

The preliminary hearing, held to determine if there is enough evidence for the defendants to answer the charges at trial, is expected to continue Wednesday in the courtroom of Judge Kerry Wells.