East County
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Bail was set at $1 million Wednesday for a Pine Valley man accused of killing his wife and another man in nearby Guatay.
Dennis Leroy Nelson, 38, pleaded innocent to the two murder charges involving the Saturday deaths of Robben Nelson, 31, and Johnnie Cox, 29.
“It is a double homicide, and the district attorney’s office is reviewing the case for (possible) filing of special circumstances,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Walden in court.
If special circumstances are alleged, Nelson could face the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
San Diego Municipal Judge Joe Littlejohn set a preliminary hearing for May 8.
Jealousy may have been the motive in the shootings, sheriffs’ investigators have said. Nelson was estranged from his wife at the time.
Nelson is believed to have burst into his wife’s trailer in Guatay around 9:25 a.m. and shot the victims several times.
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