Posted on 11/15/2005 11:20:23 AM PST by radar101
– An Oceanside man was convicted of first-degree murder yesterday in the fatal shooting of a police officer and the jury will now be asked to condemn him to death.
Adrian Camacho's face flushed and his head slumped onto his chest as Superior Court Judge Joan Weber read the verdict. Camacho, 30, opened fire on rookie Oceanside police Officer Tony Zeppetella, 27, and killed him during a shootout June 13, 2003, in the parking lot of the Navy Federal Credit Union near Oceanside and College boulevards in Oceanside. The jury also found Camacho guilty of possession of a controlled substance and of being a felon in possession of a gun. Prosecutors said Zeppetella was shot because Camacho was carrying heroin and other drugs in the car and feared he would be returned to prison.
Defense lawyers did not contest that Camacho killed the officer. Instead, they argued that their client was mentally unstable due to a drug-fueled psychosis and asked the jury to convict him of a lesser crime and spare him the possibility of the death penalty.
Zeppetella's widow, Jamie, was in the courtroom for the verdict. Later, her attorney said that she was pleased with the decision and that she plans to testify in the penalty phase of the trial.
"She's very relieved at this point," lawyer Gregory Emerson said. "She's just emotionally drained and exhausted."
Camacho's wife, Stacey, wept, and paramedics were later called to examine her. Nearly two hours after the verdict was read, she regained her composure and left the courthouse without comment.
The jury spent about seven hours deliberating and reviewing the testimony of Camacho's psychiatrist, Dennis Ordas, before reaching its verdict.
Ordas testified about his attempts to rehabilitate Camacho from addictions to heroin and methamphetamine. In response to a question from the defense, the psychiatrist explained the term "meth-induced psychosis" as referring to hallucinations and paranoia triggered by methamphetamine affecting the brain.
During cross-examination by the prosecution, Ordas testified he had no opinion as to whether Camacho was in a psychotic state during the shooting.
Deputy Public Defenders William Stone and Kathleen Cannon also presented testimony from an expert witness who concluded that Camacho suffered from three mental disorders the day of the shooting, one of which was the meth-induced psychosis.
Prosecutor David Rubin told jurors Camacho was a felon, illegal immigrant and gang member who ambushed the officer.
Camacho shot Zeppetella four times with the officer's gun. Camacho then took Zepetella's patrol car to get away and hide at his mother-in-law's house.
Rubin ridiculed the defense's psychosis theory and showed the jury dozens of decisions Camacho made that day that someone in a psychotic state could not have made, he said.
Weber said the penalty phase of the trial will begin Nov. 28. Attorneys for both sides expect the penalty phase to last about three days.
The jury will recommend whether Camacho should be sent to death row or spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A spokesman for the Oceanside Police Department did not return phone messages seeking comment.
July 25, 2003 Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has urged the Department of Homeland Security to investigate its handling of detained criminal aliens in the wake of the fatal shooting of an Oceanside Police officer allegedly by an alien who was mistakenly released.
The following is the text of a letter Senator Feinstein sent to Asa Hutchison, Undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security: "I am writing to you about a grievous error committed by the U.S. Border Patrol that may have enabled a deported criminal alien to later return illegally to the United States and murder a police officer.
In January 2002, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Adrian George Camacho, a former lawful permanent resident who was removed from the United States in 1999, after being convicted on drug charges. Camacho's criminal record is extensive and includes multiple drug and weapons convictions. He is a reputed gang member who has spent almost all of his adult life in the United States prisons.
Adrian Camacho made his third illegal attempt to re-enter the United States in January 2002. Instead of transporting him to the San Diego Metropolitan Detention Center for prosecution under 8 U.S.C. §1326, Border Patrol agents released him for his return to Mexico at the Tecate Port of Entry. At some time later, Camacho unlawfully re-entered the United States and eventually returned to Oceanside, California, where his family resides.
The failure of the Border Patrol agents to follow procedures may have, in part, led to the shooting of Tony Zeppetella, a 27-year old police officer in Oceanside, California. On June 13, 2003, after a routine traffic stop, Camacho allegedly shot and killed Officer Zeppetella in cold blood. Police called the shooting an "ambush." They said Camacho shot Zeppetella multiple times and then fled in the officer's patrol car.
The United States Border Patrol's Internal Affairs and the Department of Justice's Inspector General are currently investigating the events surrounding the January 2002 deportation of Adrian Camacho. I ask that you personally undertake a review of this incident to determine why Camacho was not detained for criminal prosecution. Once the investigations are complete, I also ask that you provide information on the following:
Some people , like Camacho need to be given a dirt nap....lets hope the bleeding hearts do not fall prey to the Mexican plea for life that is sure to come.
PING
Well, he ets his wish, to stay in the US. For life.
Feinstein supports illegals and their rights.
ets=gets
Came all the way up here to become a drug-addict? He could have done that anywhere.
Ship him home in a box after his execution to them and let that be a lesson to all the illegal ones that are sneaking in that if you commit a crime, you will be held accountable. Of course if his butt had snuck in three times, he should have been in a prison already as a repeat offender and then he would not have killed the cop.
Just doing the jobs Americans don't want to do...
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
The officer was shot with his own gun.
A firearms instructor told me of an interesting and disturbing conversation he had with a Mexican gang member. The gang member said he never had to carry a gun, because whenever he wanted one, he would just call a policeman.
That fine outstanding "immigrant" ought be frogmarched out of the courtroom, tied to a fencepost and shot like a dog. But, that's just a personal opinion.
What?!!?
How about...
A freakin' illegal alien living in Oceanside was convicted of... ??!!??
Deporting him to hell this time will ensure that he will no longer be a threat to society.
"...but...but...it says here in the comic book that I'd get away with it. This is an outrage! Call a lawyer, my rights have been violated!"
As for Feinstein's letter, I have to wonder about her motives. Could she be concerned about this simply because of the bad publicity it gives to illegal aliens, especially the "hardworking, kindhearted" illegals she favors bringing into California?
Oh yes, the great Mexican comic book published by the Mexican government as a guide/bible for future illegal aliens to read... I think it's still being printed.
You're being too kind. DiFi's letter is pure CYA all the way.
By the way, have you ever noticed that when the pro-illegal brigade runs their litany on why illegal aliens should be allowed in the US, they never seem to have any criticisms of Mexico's government? Apparently it's all OUR fault, and to call the Mexican government on the carpet would be "racist"...never mind that the government is run by light-skinned Spaniards who are more racist than we could ever be...
Those are the ones who detest their own people so much that they want to export all of them for us to take care of.
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