Defense: Client guilty, but spare his life

Skylar Deleon killed a Newport Beach couple for their boat and money and slashed a man’s throat in Mexico for $50,000 in 2003, but that doesn’t mean he should be sentenced to death, Deleon’s defense attorney, Gary Pohlson, told a jury during opening statements Tuesday.

In a move that raised more than a few eyebrows in the audience, Pohlson nonchalantly agreed with most of the prosecutors’ statements that Deleon murdered three people in 2003 and 2004. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

“I want to make one thing very clear to you, right from the beginning. Our goal, my goal, is simply to save Skylar Deleon’s life. Skylar Deleon is guilty of all three murders,” Pohlson said. “As far as I’m concerned, the way the defense is approaching this, the penalty phase is starting now. That’s all this trial is, it’s a penalty phase. It’s really important to listen to the evidence.”

Deleon, 29, of Long Beach, is accused of killing Newport Beach couple Tom and Jackie Hawks in 2004 and John Jarvi in 2003 and leaving his body in the Mexican desert. If convicted, Pohlson aims to have Deleon sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said afterward he was not surprised by Pohlson’s defense.

A portion of the case is about Tom and Jackie Hawks, the Newport Beach couple looking to settle in Arizona and spend time with a newborn grandchild but instead were sent to the bottom of the ocean begging for their lives, he told jurors during his opening.

For now, though, Deleon’s trial is going to focus on the first murder for which he’s accused.

Prosecutors called in several witnesses Tuesday afternoon to set the foundation for their case that Deleon murdered John Jarvi in December 2003 for $50,000.

Witnesses testified that shortly before his murder in Mexico, Jarvi had received a $50,000 loan from his bank, something Deleon tricked him into doing on the premise it would be used in a get-rich-quick scheme south of the border, prosecutors said. Deleon sought help from his cousin, Michael Lewis, in the killing, Murphy said. Lewis is expected to testify today.

Jarvi fell victim to Deleon’s charm — something the Hawkses would fall prey to nearly a year later, Murphy said during opening statements.

Prosecutors argue Deleon tapped two other men, both also set for trial next year, to help him with the murders. Together the three used stun guns, duct tape and empty promises that they would spare the Hawkses’ lives to overpower the couple and convince them to cooperate with their demands.

The couple were ultimately tied to the anchor and thrown overboard, the entire time Tom Hawks stroking his wife’s hand to calm her down as she cried and begged for her life, Murphy said.

After their deaths, Deleon even brought family onto the boat for a fishing trip, Murphy said.