Schools
Trial Date to be Set for SDUSD Wrestling Coach Accused of Shooting Assistant Coach
Jeret Thomas Needham faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted of murder charges in the Sept. 24 death of 45-year-old Robert Colegrove.
A trial date could be set Monday for a Madison High School wrestling coach accused of fatally shooting an acquaintance—a former assistant coach—at the victim's Bay Park home.
Jeret Thomas Needham faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted of murder charges in the Sept. 24 death of 45-year-old Robert Colegrove. He'll be asked to enter a plea Monday morning.
San Diego police homicide Detective Desiree Spurlock testified during a preliminary hearing earlier this month that investigators found a bullet hole in the back gate of a residence where Colegrove lived.
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Colegrove's widow, Terra Jones, testified that her husband had worked for Needham previously but quit when he found out that Needham was a "drunk."
Jones testified that about four months before her husband was killed, Needham groped her from behind as she made the bed in Colegrove's room -- a converted garage -- behind the home on Denver Street.
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On Sept. 24, Needham called about 1 p.m. and asked to come over to talk to Colegrove, Jones testified.
She said Needham showed up drunk, pushed his way past her and sat down in Colegrove's chair.
When Needham, 42, refused to get out of the chair, Colegrove slapped him in the shoulder, then punched and kicked the defendant after he fell to the ground, Jones said.
The two wrestled each other before Needham left, according to the witness, who said her husband told the defendant, "Keep your hands off my wife."
About an hour later, Jones said she heard a "big loud bang" and found her wounded husband on the ground in the backyard. Colegrove died at the scene. Investigators found a small knife under his body.
Around 3:30 p.m., police surrounded a home on Firestone in Clairemont and ordered Needham to come out with his hands up. The defendant surrendered peacefully about 6 p.m.
Needham had worked as a "walk-on" coach for the Clairemont Mesa school for the past three years, said Jack Brandais, spokesman for San Diego Unified School District.
—City News Service
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