Dismembering suspect appears in court

A San Bruno man suspected of shooting his neighbor to death and then dismembering the body made his first appearance in San Mateo County Superior Court Monday, prosecutors said.

During the court appearance, arrangements were put in place to provide David Stubblefield, 50, with a court-appointed lawyer, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Stubblefield’s bail was set at $10 million, and a further arraignment in which Stubblefield will enter a plea was scheduled for April 24.

The victim, whose remains were found by police Thursday inside and outside of Stubblefield’s San Bruno home, has been identified as 77-year-old Benjamin Roybal, Wagstaffe said.

Roybal and Stubblefield were neighbors and friends. Both men lived in the 3000 block of Pacific Heights Boulevard, according to prosecutors.

On March 11, the two allegedly argued about the price of a space heater Roybal had agreed to buy from Stubblefield.

Stubblefield sprayed Roybal with pepper spray and then shot him to death. Stubblefield cut up Roybal’s body and tried to get rid of it using chemicals, prosecutors said.

After discovering Roybal’s remains on Thursday, police detained Stubblefield and took him to the police station to be interviewed.

Once at the station, officers arrested him on suspicion of homicide, robbery, burglary, the illegal use and possession of tear gas and possessing a gun as a felon, before booking him into the Maguire Correctional Facility, where he remains in custody.

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