SLO judge denies bail for Grover Beach murder defendant
A Grover Beach man charged with the murder of another city resident made his first court appearance Thursday, where a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ordered that he remain held in County Jail custody without bail.
Appearing in a collared dress shirt, Nicholas Sage Coronado-Watermen was arraigned Thursday morning but entered no plea as court staff searches for a public defender to represent him.
A second arraignment has been scheduled for April 2.
Coronado-Watermen, 25, was formally charged by the county District Attorney’s Office Wednesday with one count of murder for the death of 37-year-old Andres Martinez, also of Grover Beach. The charge carries a sentencing enhancement for the alleged use of a deadly weapon.
The attack allegedly occurred early Monday morning in a strip mall parking lot near the corner of Grand Avenue and Oak Park Boulevard in Grover Beach.
Martinez died as a result of blunt force trauma, according to Grover Beach Police Chief John Peters. Peters said Coronado-Waterman and Martinez knew each other.
After the criminal charge was filed, county District Attorney Dan Dow said the “shocking murder was inflicted by vicious beating, kicking, and using rocks to repeatedly hit the victim’s head.”
If convicted of first-degree murder, the Grover Beach resident will face a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.
