Navy vet charged with murder after attack on California man known for pro-Trump displays

A U.S. Navy veteran accused of fatally assaulting a Southern California man known for his pro-Trump house decorations was charged Wednesday with murder, the San Diego County district attorney said.

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Thomas Caleb Butler, 32, was charged last month with attempted murder after the attack but before the man’s death.

Kerry Sheron, 69, was assaulted outside his home in Escondido on May 20. Sheron, whose family has identified him as an Army veteran, was hospitalized in critical condition and died four days later.

A hearing for Butler has been scheduled for Friday.

He previously had been charged with attempted murder, elder abuse, criminal threats and battery after the assault.

Butler’s attorney and family declined to comment.

“The violent assault and murder of Kerry Sheron outside his own home has left his family and community shaken and grieving the veteran’s senseless loss of life,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said Wednesday.

“The investigation will continue to seek answers to the relevant aspects of this case.”

Sheron’s cause and manner of death have not been released.

An official with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office previously described the assault as unprovoked.

Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia accused Butler of striking Sheron once in the jaw and continuing to strike Sheron in the head after he fell to the ground, NBC San Diego reported.

Garcia did not identify a possible motive and said it’s unclear if the men knew each other.

Sheron’s stepdaughter, Alejandra Nava, described her father as a caring man who worked as a chef at local retirement homes. His home in Escondido, north of San Diego, was covered in American flags and signs celebrating Donald Trump.

His wife told NBC San Diego that they’d previously been threatened over the decorations.

Butler served in the Navy as an information service technician between 2011 and 2023. He was stationed in Virginia, Florida, California and Illinois, according to his service record, and he earned medals indicating that he was deployed in the war on terrorism and in support of counterterrorism operations.