Cold Case: Duo Convicted of 1993 Sailor Shootings

Two men who robbed and shot a pair of San Diego-based sailors from the USS Constellation more than 18 years ago were convicted Monday of first-degree murder charges.

Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Castro Chavez II, both 36, each face life in prison without the possibility of parole when sentenced May 11. The defendants weren't eligible for the death penalty because they were both 17 at the time of the killings, in Otay Mesa.

Jurors who convicted the defendants also found that the Sept. 25, 1993 murders of 20-year-old Eugene "Cliff" Ellis and 23-year-old Keith Combs were committed during a robbery, along with a second special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

Deputy District Attorney Andrea Freshwater said Chavez and Elias robbed the victims of their wallets and ID, then "executed both of them needlessly." Ellis' new Toyota pickup truck was also stolen, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Dan Tandon told jurors that Chavez came upon the victims' bodies, went through their pockets, and drove off in Ellis' truck.

Both victims were shot three times from close range – Combs in the back, side of the head and back of the head, and Ellis in the chest, temple and side of the head.

Their bodies were found about 20 feet apart around 7 a.m. in an area east of Palm Avenue and Interstate 805, where they had gone to have a bonfire and drink beer with other Navy personnel. Evidence showed that Ellis struggled with his killers, Freshwater said.

The prosecutor said Ellis and Combs went to the remote and rugged area about 1:30 a.m. after going to a bar popular with Navy personnel.

Four days after the slayings, Chavez was caught driving Ellis' stolen pickup in Tijuana and was arrested. He was questioned by detectives but they were unable to connect him to the murders, Freshwater said.

In November 2009, San Diego police laboratory personnel notified the department's cold-case investigators of a potential match between previously unidentified biological evidence recovered from the site of the slayings and Chavez's profile in a national database.

Chavez's DNA was found on the inside of Combs' pockets, Freshwater said.

Authorities also got a DNA sample from Elias and his DNA was found on a cigarette near the victims' bodies, the prosecutor said.

Chavez was arrested in July 2010 at his home in Washington state and eventually extradited to San Diego. Elias was arrested and charged last April, Freshwater said.

– City News Service