Man who shot former boss in Point Loma is convicted of second-degree murder

A man who fatally shot his former boss at a Point Loma auto repair shop more than a decade ago was convicted Sept. 24 of
second-degree murder.

Nicolas Brito Rosales, 57, is scheduled to be sentenced in December for killing Jalal “Joe” Abou.

On the morning of April 19, 2011, Abou, 63, was found lying in a parking lot at his Rosecrans Street business, Joe’s Auto Repair. Several good Samaritans performed CPR until paramedics took over the lifesaving attempts, but Abou — an Iraq native and father of three who lived in Rancho San Diego — died at the scene.

Witnesses told investigators that they had seen a man parked near the business in a dark green sedan with primer spots on it before the shooting and saw him driving away immediately afterward.

At the time of the shooting, Rosales had not worked at the victim’s business for about six months, though the circumstances behind how he left the job were unclear.

Rosales was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the United States in late 2017, but he was ruled incompetent to stand trial the following year, meaning he was found to be unable to understand the charges against him and assist his attorney at trial. He also was ruled incompetent at a bench trial in 2019.

A judge found Rosales competent to stand trial earlier this year.