Photo: Laguna Beach Police Department
SANTA ANA (CNS) - A 26-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday to kidnapping and beating to death a San Clemente woman with a fire extinguisher.
Dino Fabrizio Rojasmoreno of Laguna Hills was charged Friday with special circumstances murder during a kidnapping with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. The weapon was a fire extinguisher, the criminal complaint alleges.
Rojasmoreno's attorney, Chris Bou Saeed, entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of his client and a pretrial hearing was set for Jan. 30 in the Central Justice Center. Rojasmoreno is being held without bail.
Rojasmoreno is accused of killing 27-year-old Tatum Goodwin on Nov. 12.
Goodwin's body was found by a construction worker in a secluded area on Sunday near the 200 block of Ocean Avenue in Laguna Beach.
Rojasmoreno, who is a bartender, allegedly approached the victim in a parking lot near the crime scene about 1 a.m., according to prosecutors. The two worked in the same area, but it was unclear if the defendant was working that evening. Sources say the defendant worked at the Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill, but only for a short time.
When her body was found, a sandbag had been placed over her head, prosecutors said. Investigators suspect he dragged the victim to the rear of the parking lot and down an alley behind a movie theater that is under construction, where he allegedly beat her to death with the fire extinguisher, prosecutors said.
It's unclear if or how the two may have been acquainted.
Goodwin was a popular assistant manager at Carmelita's restaurant in Laguna Beach near the corner of Broadway and Coast Highway. The restaurant staff organized a fundraiser through the online site GoFundMe to benefit her family. A memorial with flowers and candles in her honor was created near the site where she was killed.