Crime & Safety

Stanley Lloyd Jr. Trial Begins; Carioscia's Mother Released from Jail to Testify

Christopher Carioscia's parents ran a drug ring, using their son to fill prescriptions, according to the prosecution and defense. Christopher was found dead on Barona Indian Reservation in 2010.

The homicide trial got under way Tuesday in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Carioscia, an El Capitan High School student whose body was found last year on the Barona Indian Reservation.

Stanley Virgil Lloyd Jr.—a Barona tribal member—is accused of first-degree murder in the death of his former elementary schoolmate.

"You'll hear about Chris' life," Prosecutor David Williams III told the jury in his opening statements at the El Cajon courthouse. "And frankly it wasn't very good. You'll hear from his mom, Monika Pyskata ... and she will tell you that she and Chris Sr.—Chris' dad—were involved in a prescription drug ring in East County. She will look like a wreck. She's got a very bad drug problem.

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"The parents were giving Chris Jr. the Xanax and he was selling it," Williams said. "It's not the life of a typical teenager. It was pretty bad. You won't hear about sports or academic achievements. Even though Chris was 16, he was going to the casino."

Christopher disappeared Oct. 26, 2010, after calling his mother from Barona Casino to say he was going to see friends before coming home to their Santee apartment, Pyskata told authorities last year. The casino's matchbooks were found in Christopher's pockets when his body was found about six weeks later southwest of Barona Speedway, according to the autopsy. The report showed Chris' body was . He had been shot numerous times with a pistol, believed to have been a .357 revolver. Several shots had been fired into his back.

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On Tuesday, the court was shown a picture of Chris' body, which was found in a creekbed in the Skunk Creek area.

"The defendant left Chris to rot in a spot so secluded it took the Sheriff's Department a month to find him," Williams told the jury. "He was shot in the groin, twice in the back and once in the shoulder."

Defense attorney Roland Haddad of La Mesa told the jury that, although there were accounts in the preliminary hearing of Lloyd bragging about killing someone and disposing of the body, "Lloyd drinks, he does drugs and he talks nonsense. There was no way Lloyd had physical contact with Chris that night."

Haddad also argued that Lloyd never had the murder weapon—a .357 revolver—in his possession.

Pyskata—Christopher's mother—was booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility last month on charges related to the possession of narcotics for sale. Her court appearance on those charges is scheduled for Thursday in the El Cajon courthouse.

A state Department of Health and Human Services investigator testified Tuesday that she arrested and prosecuted both of Chris' parents for their involvement in the drug ring.

"Monika had stolen prescriptions from the three psychiatrists she worked for and Chris Sr. was helping to write them," Lisa Lee Amman said.

Defense attorney Haddad told the jury the doctors' office was in Alpine.

Amman said, "Chris Jr. had filled multiple scrips for hydrocodone and Xanax. About 80 prescriptions had been processed this way and about 40 people had filled them and then been given some drugs to keep for themselves."

Prosecutor Williams told the jury that in spite of Pyskata's drug problem, "she loved Christopher."

Pyskata testified for the prosecution in the Lloyd trial early Tuesday afternoon.

A Drug Enforcement Agency special agent also is due to testify for the prosecution in the trial. Williams said the agent will talk about Lloyd selling Soma, Xanax and "thousands of dollars worth of marijuana." He said wire taps were used to gain information.

A key witness for the prosecution—Lloyd's cousin Dustin Montiel—now 18, as a minor under immunity, through a deal made with the District Attorney's Office. At the time, he was in Juvenile Hall. He will not testify in the trial, but the jury will see his preliminary hearing transcript. in October on charges related to possession and sales of narcotics and using false identification. His name no longer appears on the Sheriff's Department custody list for the jail. Bail was set at $50,000. Prosecutor Williams would not comment on Montiel outside the courtroom.

Williams told Patch this month that investigators are still researching whether others were involved in Christopher's death. There are no reports of any more arrests.

If convicted, Lloyd faces 50 years to life in prison, due to the special allegation of using a firearm.

Judge John M. Thompson is presiding over the case in Dept. 16.


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