Plea Bargain of Killer, Hostage Taker Rejected

A judge refused to accept guilty pleas Thursday from admitted killer and hostage taker Robert Wayne Jacobsen because other charges that could lead to the death penalty would be dropped in the proposed plea bargain.

Superior Court Judge William D. Mudd said he did not have the authority to dismiss special-circumstance allegations against Jacobsen, 35, who took four people hostage at the ReadiCare medical clinic in Chula Vista in February.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gordon Paul Davis is seeking the death penalty after charging Jacobsen with killing a longtime neighbor during a robbery and burglary.

William Warden, 74, was fatally shot Feb. 18 when he apparently surprised a burglar in his home. Jacobsen was arrested 11 days later after escaping into the medical center, where he took the hostages, while being chased by police. He later admitted to the slaying.

Defense attorney Victor Eriksen submitted paperwork earlier this week indicating that Jacobsen was prepared to plead guilty to murder and nine other crimes related to the slaying and to the Feb. 28 hostage standoff.

However, Jacobsen had pleaded not guilty at previous court appearances.

Mudd said he refused to accept the change of plea because the special-circumstance charges would be dismissed and the prosecutors’ right to seek convictions on those counts would be restricted.

“It takes two to tango (in a plea bargain),” Mudd said, “and if the D.A. says, ‘Nuts to you,’ that’s it.”

Attorneys on both sides will meet again Monday to try to hammer out a plea bargain.

The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 19.