Posted on 10/18/2005 5:49:12 PM PDT by bkwells
Murder trial opens in death of officer
By Jose Luis Jiménez STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2005
VISTA – Standing in the ATM line outside the Navy Federal Credit Union in Oceanside, Matthew McClure figured the loud noises from the parking lot were firecrackers or a car backfiring.
CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune Prosecutor David Rubin showed the jury the pistol used in the killing of Oceanside police Officer Tony Zeppetella in his opening statement in the trial of Adrian Camacho. "I saw everybody scrambling, and it clued me in that I should hide because it was gunfire," said McClure, who served in the military.
He ducked behind a Jeep that June 13, 2003, afternoon and then ran to the side of the building. The shooting ended and he heard tires squeal. He returned to the parking lot to find a police officer on the ground and his patrol car gone.
McClure was one of six witnesses who testified yesterday during the first day of the trial of Adrian Camacho, a former gang member and illegal immigrant charged with murder in the death of rookie Oceanside police Officer Tony Zeppetella, 27, during a traffic stop in the credit union parking lot.
If the jury convicts Camacho of first-degree murder, the trial will enter a second phase, during which jurors would consider whether Camacho, 30, should be executed.
During his 40-minute opening statement, prosecutor David Rubin described Camacho as a street-level drug dealer with narcotics in his car when Zeppetella stopped him. Determined to stay out of prison, Camacho killed the officer to escape, Rubin said.
CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune Adrian Camacho (left) is charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted of the 2003 shooting. "At any cost, he was not going to be arrested by this officer," Rubin told the jury. "(Camacho) has a special malice toward law enforcement."
Deputy Public Defender William Stone said there was no doubt his client killed Zeppetella, but it was not first-degree murder. Camacho had a "psychotic break" when he shot the officer, fueled by a mix of heroin, methamphetamine and the prescription drug Paxil, taken earlier that day, the defense attorney said during his 30-minute opening statement.
"This is not a whodunit," said Stone, who is being assisted in the trial by Deputy Public Defender Kathleen Cannon. "The issue in this case is your understanding of Mr. Camacho's mental state."
In the parking lot, 34 shots were fired from Camacho's stolen gun and Zeppetella's service weapon. The officer was struck 13 times, Rubin said.
McClure and three other witnesses testified they heard three to five shots, a pause and then a barrage. During that pause, one of the witnesses testified he saw Camacho hit Zeppetella at least twice with a gun as he lay mortally wounded.
Zeppetella was able to fire 14 shots, striking Camacho in the leg, Rubin said. As Zeppetella tried to crawl away, Camacho shot the officer several times in the back, the prosecutor said.
The entire incident lasted just less than two minutes.
Camacho then drove the patrol car to his mother-in-law's Oceanside neighborhood to hide, Rubin said.
After breaking into her home, he slit his wrists and scrawled a suicide note on the bathroom tile in his blood, said Stone, who showed the jury a picture of the writing. The words "I'm sorry," "I (heart) my wife and kids," and "Help me Ordas," can be seen, with the last phrase a message to Camacho's psychiatrist, Stone said.
About four hours later, he surrendered to a SWAT team that surrounded the home.
After his arrest, Camacho wrote letters threatening to kill his jailers, which Rubin showed the jury.
"It's gonna be a big surprise when I send one of 'em home in a (expletive) body bag," Camacho wrote in a letter.
Rubin said the notes show Camacho's hatred toward law enforcement and explain his motives for the slaying.
"(Zeppetella) was shot 13 times in a cool, deliberate act of murder," Rubin told jurors. "There were never any voices raised. It just started."
Stone said the letters represented his client's frustration about his treatment in jail.
"This was not premeditated," Stone said. "This was craziness."
The trial continues today and is scheduled to last through mid-December.
Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7578; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
Cop Killer illegal ping.
"Camacho had a "psychotic break" when he shot the officer, fueled by a mix of heroin, methamphetamine and the prescription drug Paxil, taken earlier that day..."
Yeah, right.
Same thing happens to me all the time when I mix heroin, methamphetamine and the prescription drug Paxil.
Luckily, I'm able to keep my sanity by washing them down with a few beers...
Oceanside Police Officer Tony Zeppetella was killed in the line of duty on June 13, 2003.
Officer Zepetella is survived by his wife, Jamie, son Jakob, parents Tony and Renate, brother George and sister Renate. A memorial fund has been established by the OPOA and donations can be made at any Washington Mutual Bank branch.
Are we supposed to give this sick bugger a break because he abused drugs and killed a cop? Hang him!
Are we supposed to give this sick bugger a break because he abused drugs and killed a cop? Hang him!
I like the way you guys think...on a Saturday, from the goal posts at the local high school football field, with beer and hot dogs served for free.
Trial by firing squad.
Oh yes and here comes MALDEF, La Raza, and the ACLU to cry and try to get him out of the States Hands to freedom.
It sounds ridiculous, but a guy just wishes I had been there on my way to the local shooting range. I'm sure every cop in Oceanside wishes he had been there 5 minutes before the event occurred.
Can't play God, but we can see justice done. This gang-banger had a record a mile long. He was murder waiting to happen - a "2 strikes" con. But knowing California, it's only a 50/50 proposition that he'll ever seen the inside of a prison (maybe a mental hospital, but no prison), let alone death row.
Yeah.. Camacho needs to die so that justice is served. And his lawyer is a great justification for reverse "Affirmative Action" in law schools. A conservative can't get into the best law schools unless he's got an 180 I.Q. and hides his political leanings for all four years of law school. But that's another outrage...
God Bless the Zepetella family!!
SFS
Execution sounds about right. Make it PUBLIC!
I'll volunteer to be part of the squad. This guy is a shining example of the scum that is being imported into America (with our government's permission).
A result of this president's and the last president's policies towards our borders.
Anybody over there in the White Palace read this? Are you feeling compassionate today, GW?
He needs to swing bump
Hang 'em High!
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
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