Crime & Safety

La Mesa Attorney Defending Tribal Member in Barona Homicide Case

Roland Haddad represents Stanley Virgil Lloyd Jr., accused of first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Carioscia.

A La Mesa attorney with a history of taking on challenges is fighting for a Barona tribal member in a homicide trial that got under way Tuesday in El Cajon Superior Court.

Stanley Virgil Lloyd Jr. is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Christopher Carioscia, 17, an El Capitan High School student whose body was found last year on the Barona Indian Reservation

Lloyd, who was 19 when arrested in March, was a former elementary schoolmate of Carioscia.

Defense attorney Roland Haddad of La Mesa told a jury Tuesday that while the preliminary hearing had accounts of Lloyd bragging about killing someone and disposing of the body, “Lloyd drinks, he does drugs and he talks nonsense. There was no way Lloyd had physical contact with Chris that night.”

Haddad also argued that Lloyd never had the murder weapon in his possession—a .357-caliber revolver.

Haddad has offices at 8844 La Mesa Blvd. and a record of taking on tough cases in East County.

  • In 2005, Haddad defended Rodney Barno, a Poway man accused of stalking and threatening six people. He was was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
  • In 2007, Haddad defended Kenneth Arthur Ziemann, accused of killing City Heights businessman Abdulahad “Abdul” Nehme during a January 2000 robbery.  Ziemann was convicted of first-degree murder.
  • In January 2011, Haddad defended David G. Ronquillo, a personal injury attorney accused of stealing at least $124,000 from clients over five years.  Ronquillo received probation and a year in custody.

In opening statements Tuesday, Prosecutor David Williams III told the jury: “You’ll hear about Chris’ life. And frankly it wasn’t very good. You’ll hear from his mom, Monika Pyskata ... and she will tell you that she and Chris Sr.—Chris’ dad—were involved in a prescription drug ring in East County. She will look like a wreck. She’s got a very bad drug problem.

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“The parents were giving Chris Jr. the Xanax and he was selling it,” Williams said.

“It’s not the life of a typical teenager. It was pretty bad. You won’t hear about sports or academic achievements. Even though Chris was 16, he was going to the casino.”

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Christopher vanished Oct. 26, 2010, after calling his mother from Barona Casino to say he was going to see friends before coming home to their Santee apartment, Pyskata told authorities last year.

The casino’s matchbooks were found in Christopher’s pockets when his body was found about six weeks later southwest of Barona Speedway, according to the autopsy.

The report showed Chris’ body was laced with methamphetamine, morphine and marijuana. He had been shot numerous times with a pistol, believed to have been a .357-caliber revolver. Several shots had been fired into his back.

The court was shown a picture of Chris’ remains.

“The defendant left Chris to rot in a spot so secluded it took the Sheriff’s Department a month to find him,” Williams told the jury. “He was shot in the groin, twice in the back and once in the shoulder.”

Pyskata—Christopher’s mother—was booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility last month on charges related to the possession of narcotics for sale. Her court appearance on those charges is scheduled for Thursday in the El Cajon Courthouse.

A state Department of Health and Human Services investigator testified today that she arrested and prosecuted both of Chris’ parents for their involvement in the drug ring.

“Monika had stolen prescriptions from the three psychiatrists she worked for and Chris Sr. was helping to write them,” Lisa Lee Amman said.

Defense attorney Haddad told the jury the doctors’ office was in Alpine.

Amman said, “Chris Jr. had filled multiple scrips for hydrocodone and Xanax. About 80 prescriptions had been processed this way and about 40 people had filled them and then been given some drugs to keep for themselves.”

Prosecutor Williams told the jury that in spite of Pyskata’s drug problem, “she loved Christopher.”

Pyskata is due to testify for the prosecution in the Lloyd trial early Tuesday afternoon.

A Drug Enforcement Agency special agent also is due to testify for the prosecution in the trial.

Williams said the agent will talk about Lloyd selling Soma, Xanax and “thousands of dollars worth of marijuana.” He said wire taps were used to gain information.
A key witness for the prosecution—Lloyd’s cousin Dustin Montiel—now 18, testified at the preliminary hearing as a minor under immunity, through a deal made with the District Attorney’s Office.

At the time, he was in Juvenile Hall. He will not testify in the trial, but the jury will see his preliminary hearing transcript. Montiel was booked into San Diego Central Jail in October on charges related to possession and sales of narcotics and using false identification. His name no longer appears on the Sheriff’s Department custody list for the jail.

Bail was set at $50,000. Prosecutor Williams would not comment on Montiel outside the courtroom.

Williams told Patch this month that investigators are still researching whether others were involved in Christopher’s death but there are no reports of any more arrests.

If convicted, Lloyd faces 50 years to life in prison, due to the special allegation of using a firearm.

Judge John M. Thompson is presiding over the case in Dept. 16.


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