OCEANSIDE — A young man who authorities allege was murdered by his friend at an Oceanside apartment complex had gotten into several physical altercations in the hours leading up to the fatal stabbing, the defendant’s former roommate testified Nov. 23 at a preliminary hearing.
Adam Schmidt only lived with his roommate Kade Joseph Kundrat four to six days when he became a key witness in the murder of David Allen Jacobson at the Seaview apartment complex on South Pacific Street in Oceanside.
Authorities found Jacobson fatally wounded sitting in a pool of blood near a staircase that led to a parking lot of the apartment complex around 2:30 a.m. July 13.
Schmidt testified he had met Jacobson the previous afternoon and throughout the day witnessed Jacobson get into three physical altercations, including one with him and the victim’s girlfriend, “Juice.”
After Jacobson “sucker punched” Schmidt breaking his nose shortly after midnight, Kundrat kicked Jacobson out of his apartment, he testified. Then, Schmidt said Kundrat said he was going outside to talk to Jacobson.
Approximately 15 minutes later, around 1 a.m., Schmidt testified he heard screaming and then Kundrat returned to the apartment, shut off all the lights and ordered the few people hanging out in the apartment to close their eyes and walk to his bedroom.
Kundrat’s toddler son was also in the apartment that evening.
During this time Schmidt said he heard water running in the kitchen sink and said he believed Kundrat had changed his clothes.
Further, because Schmidt wasn’t able to leave Kundrat’s bedroom, he said he had to urinate in a corner of the bedroom.
According to Schmidt, Kundrat said, “I hurt that kid.” Schmidt testified Kundrat also told him, “I was even for what was done to me, and Juice was also square for what happened to her.”
Deputy Public Defender Sloan Ostbye questioned Schmidt about discrepancies in his police statements, one of which he told police he got the broken nose from falling into an open door.
Schmidt said during his first two interviews with police he was afraid to come forward with information because he was intimated by Kundrat and one of the defendant’s friends who he lived with following the murder.
After several hours of testimony, Superior Court Judge Joan Weber found enough evidence to order Kundrat to stand trial on a murder charge. Kundrat, who remains in custody, pleaded not guilty.
He faces life in prison if convicted.
Following the hearing, Ostbye said acquaintances of the victim and police officers that knew him testified Jacobson had a propensity for fighting and had a lot of enemies.
“I have reason to believe that anybody could have killed him,” Ostbye said.
Additionally, Ostbye said DNA lab results relating to the blood police described finding in the kitchen, bedroom and on rags in the apartment, all of which she said could have come from Schmidt’s broken nose, are still pending.
“I think there is a lot of missing evidence that we need to know (about),” Ostbye said.
Both Kundrat and Jacobson served time for drug-related offenses.
At the time of the murder, Kundrat was on parole from a 2008 felony drug possession conviction. Prior to that, he served three prison terms dating back to 1999 for convictions out of San Diego County, his last being for vehicle burglary and grand theft auto in May 2005.
Meanwhile, Jacobson had been released from jail June 9 after committing a series of probation violations relating to a June 2007 conviction for possessing marijuana for sale, a felony. A condition of his release was that he had to complete a 12-hour anger management program.
Weber set a trial date for Jan. 12. Kundrat’s next scheduled court appearance is a Dec. 21 readiness conference.
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