An Orange County personal trainer was convicted Tuesday of executing a man he thought was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend and a woman who looked like his ex in a Huntington Beach condo in 2019.
“Darren Partch and Wendi Miller were executed at the hands of a jealous ex-boyfriend who was hunting for the woman he was obsessed with. This was not a heat of passion crime; this was a systematic and methodical plot to exact revenge and eliminate his rivals – real or perceived,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release.
Jamon Rayon Buggs, 47, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of attempted first-degree burglary, and a sentencing enhancement of personal discharge of firearm causing death, according to the Orange County District Attorney.
Weeks before the slayings, authorities said Buggs was searching for addresses, phone numbers, and pictures of Darren Donald Partch on the internet after accusing him of having a relationship with Buggs’ ex-girlfriend. The DA said Buggs threatened Partch twice, despite Partch not actually knowing Bugg’s ex-girlfriend.
Sue Miller, 48, who “resembled” Buggs’ ex because she had blonde wavy hair, was said to have had no contact with Buggs before the shocking slayings.
Partch and Miller were found dead in a condo in the 2100 block of East 15th Street in Newport Beach April 21, 2019.
The personal trainer accused of a double murder was ordered to be held without bail. Vikki Vargas reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on April 29, 2019.
Hours after the slayings, authorities said Buggs tried to break into another man’s apartment in Irvine, suspecting that he also was sleeping with his ex. A woman saw Buggs climbing down from the balcony and police said when he saw her, he fired his gun. Police set up surveillance at the building after the shooting and the following night, waited for him to drive up in a Camaro.
Buggs led a pursuit and eventually after an hourslong search was detained.
The DA said the gun found on him matched the bullets used in the slayings, as well as DNA on the weapons.
The DA also said Buggs was convicted of assault on a police officer in San Diego County in 1995.
He is to be sentenced June 3. He faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Court records show that Buggs and his ex-girlfriend got into a legal tussle in which the two traded allegations of domestic violence and sought restraining orders against each other.
In January, the ex alleged in a restraining order request that Buggs broke into her Huntington Beach residence. She said that on another date, she heard someone jiggling the door to her bedroom and when she asked who it was, he refused to answer.
"I called 911,'' she says in her court papers. "Jamon's car was down the street. My roommates are terrified and now he stated that he will have someone hurt me if I file a restraining order.''
City News Service contributed to this report.
A 44-year-old ex-con -- already charged with
multiple attempted break-ins in Irvine -- was charged today with two counts of
murder stemming from the killings of a man and woman in a Newport Beach
apartment.
Jamon Rayon Buggs of Huntington Beach appeared before a judge at the
Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on the amended complaint but did not
enter a plea. His arraignment was rescheduled to May 17.
In addition to the murder charges, which include a special
circumstance allegation of multiple murders, prosecutors also filed one count
each of possession of a firearm by a felon and attempted first-degree burglary,
and also added a sentencing enhancement allegation for the personal discharge
of a gun causing death.
The minimum punishment if he is convicted at trial would be life in
prison without the possibility of parole. The special circumstance allegation
makes him eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors have yet to decide
whether to pursue capital punishment.
According to the criminal complaint, Buggs was convicted of assault on
a police officer in San Diego County in 1995.
Court records show that he pleaded guilty to felony vandalism and
possession of a firearm by a felon, both felonies, as well as taking property
from another and brandishing a firearm, both misdemeanors, in September 1996
and was sentenced to 32 months in state prison.
The murder charges stem from the deaths of 48-year-old Wendi Sue
Miller of Costa Mesa and 38-year-old Darren Donald Partch of Newport Beach,
whose bodies were found about 9:30 p.m. April 21 by Partch's roommate in their
unit in the Villa Siena apartment complex in the 2100 block of East 15th Street
near Irvine Avenue.
In connection with the attempted break-ins in Irvine, Buggs is charged
with attempted burglary of an inhabited dwelling, discharge of a gun at an
inhabited dwelling, possession of a firearm by a felon and leading police on a
chase, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of hit-and-run with
property damage and a sentencing enhancement allegation of being armed with a
gun in the commission of a felony.
The initial attempted break-in occurred about 11:35 p.m. on April 20,
but the burglar ran off when a resident who heard the intrusion on a second-
story balcony at 818 Silk Tree made eye contact with the suspect, according to
Irvine Police Department Lt. Dave Klug. While fleeing, Buggs allegedly fired a
bullet into the residence.
Another attempted break-in happened about 5 a.m. the following day,
again in the vicinity of Harvard Avenue and Barranca Parkway. Surveillance
video shows the man leaving when he failed to open the front door, Klug said.
About 12:15 a.m. on April 22, Irvine police patrolling in the area of
the break-ins saw a suspicious vehicle and attempted to pull over the driver,
who refused and led officers on a short chase, Klug said. He said Buggs bailed
from the car and ran off following a minor collision with a parked car. The
suspect then allegedly broke into an unoccupied residence and was taken into
custody about 4 a.m. when he tried to run from the home, the lieutenant said.
Court records show that Buggs and his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Brewers,
got into a legal tussle in which the two traded allegations of domestic
violence and sought restraining orders against each other.
In January, Brewers alleged in a restraining order request that Buggs
broke into her Huntington Beach residence. She said that on another date, she
heard someone jiggling the door to her bedroom and when she asked who it was,
he refused to answer.
``I called 911,'' she says in her court papers. ``Jamon's car was down
the street. My roommates are terrified and now he stated that he will have
someone hurt me if I file a restraining order.''
Buggs countered that he wasn't the one continuously pestering Brewers
and alleged she had been peppering him with social media and text messages and
even emails despite his attempts to block her. He sought a restraining order to
prevent her from contacting him and said he didn't ``trust'' her around his 11-
year-old son and 9-year-old daughter.
Buggs also accused his ex-girlfriend of pestering him to pay back
money he owed her and repeatedly calling Buggs, who is black, a racial epithet.
