Thread: Jury Recommends Death For Cop Killer

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Sides rest their cases in cop killing


Expert says shooter wasn't psychotic
By Jose Luis Jim�nez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 3, 2005

VISTA – An Oceanside man's ability to shoot a police officer, realize the officer was still breathing and use the officer's gun to shoot him again shows that the killer was not in a psychotic state and understood what he did, an expert testified yesterday.

Psychiatrist Daryl Matthews was the last witness called by prosecutor David Rubin as the prosecution and defense rested their cases in the criminal phase of Adrian Camacho's trial over whether he murdered the officer.

Both sides agree that Camacho, 30, fatally shot rookie Oceanside police Officer Tony Zeppetella 13 times during a traffic stop at the Navy Federal Credit Union in Oceanside on June 13, 2003.

The prosecution says it was murder and will ask that Camacho be executed if he is convicted of first-degree murder. The defense contends that Camacho's heavy drug use left him incapable of comprehending his actions and is asking the jury to convict him of a lesser crime and keep him off death row.

Matthews was called to rebut the testimony of Pablo Stewart, a psychiatrist who testified for the defense Monday. Stewart concluded that Camacho suffered from three mental disorders the day of the shooting and said Camacho would have had trouble understanding his actions.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday. If jurors convict on the first-degree murder charge, the trial will switch to the penalty phase for Camacho, who the prosecution said was a gang member, illegal immigrant and small-time drug dealer who killed the officer to avoid being sent back to prison.

Deputy Public Defenders Kathleen Cannon and William Stone conceded at the beginning of the trial that their client shot and killed Zeppetella, 27, but argued that it took place during a drug-induced psychosis from a mixture of heroin, methamphetamine and the antidepressant drug Paxil that Camacho had taken that day.

Matthews agreed that Camacho suffered from three mental disorders, but his conclusions differed from Stewart's. Matthews found that Camacho suffered from heroin addiction, methamphetamine abuse and anti-social personality disorder.

To support his conclusions, Matthews repeatedly pointed to Camacho's behavior in devising an escape route and remembering the location of his mother-in-law's residence, where he fled.

While at the home, Camacho called his wife, said he shot a police officer and was able to negotiate with a SWAT team before surrendering, Matthews testified.

Camacho could not have done those things if he had been in a psychotic state, Matthews concluded.

"He was as smooth as a whistle in terms of his ability to cooperate with officers," Matthews told the jury. "It's a strong indicator of being normal at the time."

Matthews criticized Stewart for basing his conclusions mostly on his interviews with Camacho and less on the evidence collected by police during the investigation. Stewart also based his conclusions on recent medical writings that focus on new and unproven theories, Matthews testified.

During cross-examination, the psychiatrist conceded that some of the paranoid and delusional behavior Camacho exhibited in the months before the shooting could be considered symptoms of psychosis, but he questioned whether the behavior actually occurred since it was not cited in Camacho's extensive medical record.

"I think a lot of the things Mr. Camacho says aren't true," Matthews said.

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Jury Returns Verdict In Cop Killing Trial
Camacho Found Guilty Of Killing Officer

POSTED: 2:22 pm PST November 14, 2005
UPDATED: 4:31 pm PST November 14, 2005

VISTA, Calif. -- A jury has found Adrian Camacho guilty of first-degree murder for the death of a rookie Oceanside police officer during a traffic stop.

The seven women and four men on the panel were tasked with deciding whether to convict Camacho, 30, for the slaying of Officer Tony Zeppetella during a traffic stop on June 13, 2003.

The jury also had to weigh special circumstances allegations of murder to avoid arrest and murder of a peace officer, along with charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of drugs for sale.

The trial will now move into the penalty phase, and the same panel will be asked to recommend the death penalty or life in prison for Camacho. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 28.

The jurors got the case Thursday and deliberated for less than three hours before going home for the Veterans Day weekend.

Camacho's two public defenders concede their client was the gunman but contend the shooting in the parking lot of the Navy Federal Credit Union at 4180 Avenida de la Plata was not premeditated.

They argued the defendant suffers from psychosis brought about by a long addiction to heroin and methamphetamine and was incapable of planning the killing.

One more article. I really enjoyed the reader comments on this one.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/11 ... 191235.txt

Jury: Camacho guilty of first-degree murder; punishment yet to be decided

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

After less than 10 hours of deliberation, a Superior Court jury on Monday found gang member Adrian Camacho guilty of first-degree murder in the June 2003 slaying of an Oceanside police rookie.

The jury's job is not done. On Nov. 28, the panel will reconvene to begin hearing testimony that could decide whether Camacho, 30, gets the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing of 27-year-old Officer Tony Zeppetella in a bank parking lot after what started out as a routine traffic stop.

When he heard the verdict, Camacho's shoulders slumped and he hung his head. A short while later, Camacho held his hands to his face and appeared to be wiping his eyes.

Camacho's wife, Stacey, arrived as the verdict was being read. A short time later, she began shaking uncontrollably and crying. One of the only sounds in the courtroom was the nervous tapping of her foot as Judge Joan Webber spoke.

Zeppetella's widow, Jamie, smiled softly when she heard the jury had found her husband's killer guilty of first-degree murder.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that Camacho pumped 13 bullets into Zeppetella to avoid arrest.

The defense contended the heroin addict was in the throes of a drug-fueled delirium. Six hours after the gunbattle, Camacho had a mix of heroin, methamphetamine and the prescription anti-depressant Paxil in his system.

The jury began tackling the case Thursday afternoon after sitting through three weeks of testimony and a day and a half of closing remarks by attorneys. The five men and seven women took Friday and the weekend off before resuming their deliberations at about 9 a.m. Monday.

While Camacho's attorney William Stone had sought a finding of second-degree murder or manslaughter and never argued his client wasn't responsible for the killing, prosecutor David Ruben contended the only rational verdict the jury could reach was first-degree murder.

Zeppetella had pulled Camacho over for a traffic violation early in the afternoon of Friday, June 13. Camacho pulled into the parking lot of Navy Federal Credit Union at Avenida de la Plata and College Boulevard and the confrontation soon ensued.

Camacho attacked Zeppetella as the officer stood next by Camacho's car window. Camacho got off about five shots before Zeppetella could return fire, according to witnesses.

During the trial at the Vista Courthouse, witnesses also testified that Camacho emptied his gun at the disabled Zeppetella as the officer tried to crawl away. He then pistol-whipped Zeppetella and stole the officer's gun, firing the final shots into Zeppetella with that weapon.


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Comments On This Story

Jean wrote on November 14, 2005 8:59 PM:"As a native-born Californian who no longer lives in California, thank God, I think he should immediately be executed in a very painful manner. Burn him alive. This animal deserves no better. He had NO right to be in this country in the first place. He illegally crossed the border. This animal was supposed to be in Mexico, not in the United States. He should have been deported and prevented from illegally re-entering the US. I hope all illegals are deported back to where they came from and forever prohibited from re-entering the US legally or illegally. The only people who should be allowed into the US should be people who have never been in this country illegally. My family has been in this country continuously since 1636 and the American Indian ancestors of mine longer than that. This is MY country, not theirs. Illegal aliens should NOT be in this country. This illegal alien should be fried and sent back to his country; no matter what his country is. And don't accuse me of racism. My Cherokee Indian great-grandmother died because of racism. A white doctor refused to treat her because she was an indian and she died. My grandfather didn't even know what year he was born or how old he was. And I DO speak spanish, and I used to be married to an former -illegal alien. So there"

Rob wrote on November 14, 2005 8:22 PM:"Our country failed, it all begins at the border. This "loser" crossed several times! This guy deserves no mercy. Let him rot in prison. Frying him will only relieve him of the pain he will endure in the slammer. "

Bill wrote on November 14, 2005 8:07 PM:"Great to hear that the jury came to the same conclusion of most people and that is that Adrian shot the police officer in cold blood and he needs to be held accountable for his actions. Sadly his life of crime will ultimately cost him his life. He had numerous chances to change his life around but he chose the life of crime and drugs. Sadly even his kids couldn't make him change his life around and now they have to suffer with a father in prison."

Steve wrote on November 14, 2005 6:00 PM:"Finally, I hope you rot in h#@! life in prison is too good for you"

Sue wrote on November 14, 2005 5:54 PM:"Couldn't agree with you more!! Adrian Camacho is a Cold Blooded MURDER!!!! Finally some justice! "

832 ret. wrote on November 14, 2005 4:38 PM:"Adrian Camacho will finally get the just deserts earned through a life of crime. Moreover, William Stone should hang his head in shame for attempting to beguile the jury, as well as the public, with such a ridiculous, self-serving defense. Who in their right mind would ever forgive cold-blooded murder by excusing someone’s actions because they were under the influence of anything? Nevertheless, before Mr. Stone’s dishonor, the criminal justice system failed all of us, Officer and Jamie Zeppetella tragically so, by allowing, time and time again, for this animal to walk among us. How many times did the courts require him be convicted before they finally meted out punishment that fit the crime, and did not reduce the time in custody just because they could? The Immigration & Naturalization Service failed us by, time and time again, by allowing this animal to return, unfettered, illegally from Mexico. So, Stacy Camacho began shaking uncontrollably and crying when she heard the verdict. Well, tough! Mrs. Camacho, you married the murderer. You knew what he was capable of, you choose to stay by his side, and I have no problem watching you shake, and cry, while I feel nothing. I will save my sympathy for Jamie Zeppetella. With nobody present to report her reaction, we can imagine the living hell she went through, and how she reacted when she was told her husband had been savagely murdered. I for one cannot imagine the depth of her pain and can only hope I do not some day experience it. So long Adrian. Say “Hi� to Westerfield, Peterson, and Avila. Wave “Bye� to Tookie when he is the “dead man walking� and picture yourself there soon enough. Mr. Stone, you stay right where you’re at, I like having the likes of you in the Public Defenders Office. "

Me wrote on November 14, 2005 4:32 PM:"There is justice!!!!!!"

linda wrote on November 14, 2005 4:09 PM:"fry'em"

Don wrote on November 14, 2005 3:47 PM:"Halfway there. Now the jury needs to set a punishment appropriate to the conviction -- the death penalty. In California, it's the same thing as life with possibility of parole, considering the appeals process. But it sends the correct message to thugs who commit such horrendous crimes. Too bad we don't employ death by firing squad in this country."

If only there was a rule of law in this country.

www.nctimes.com

Officer's killer in jail fight

By: North County Times

VISTA ---- The man convicted of slaying an Oceanside police officer was over the weekend in a fight with two other prisoners at the Vista jail, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

On Nov. 14, a Vista jury found Adrian George Camacho, 30, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2003 slaying of Officer Tony Zeppetella.

Zeppetella, 27, was shot 13 times by Camacho, a convicted felon and illegal immigrant.

Capt. Glenn Revell, Sheriff's Department spokesman, said that Camacho and three other prisoners are allowed to use a common area in the jail's administrative segregation area.

On Saturday, Revell said, Camacho scuffled with two of those inmates.

"There may have been some bruises, but no one's claiming serious injuries," Revell said.

Capt. Yolanda Collins, Vista jail commander, said Camacho was checked by nurses "and there were no injuries."

Revell said the fight is under investigation, and it isn't known yet what started it. No prisoners lost their privileges, he said.

Camacho's attorney, William Stone, said he wasn't in a position to comment.

The same jury that convicted Camacho is due to start hearing testimony Monday that will help them decide whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/11 ... _26_05.txt

Convicted killer spent much of his life behind bars

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- Adrian George Camacho's defense attorneys say he had each foot in a different world: one steeped in a life as a married father with two little kids, the other stuck in the world of a heroin addict sinking deeper into depression.

It was that addiction, his attorneys say, that drove Camacho into a drug-induced rage on the afternoon of June 13, 2003, when he emptied his gun into rookie police officer Tony Zeppetella in a crowded bank parking lot in Oceanside, pistol-whipped the officer and took his gun, fired more shots, and then drove away in Zeppetella's cruiser.

Inside Camacho's car, which he left at the scene of the gunbattle, police found syringes, plastic bags often used for packaging drugs and a scale associated with measuring drugs for sale on the streets.


They also found photos of his wife and children.

Camacho was found guilty two weeks ago of first degree murder. A jury will reconvene Monday to hear testimony about whether he should be put to death for the crime.

His wife and his attorneys have declined to be interviewed during his trial.

But an abridged account of his life can be gleaned from trial testimony, court documents and immigration officials and arguments made in court proceedings thus far in the 2 1/2 years since he killed Zeppetella in the surprise shootout.

For the most part, court records reflect only the time Camacho spent in trouble, and shed little light on his day-to-day life.

But what emerges from snapshots of his run-ins with the law is a picture of a man who got into trouble as a teenager and stayed there. He spent much of his adult life behind bars or on supervised release.

Residency granted, revoked
Camacho was born in Mexico but came to the United States in 1976 when he was just 11 months old. His attorneys say Camacho has had no contact with his biological father since Camacho's mother brought him across the border.

Just after Camacho turned 6 years old, immigration officials in the United States granted him legal residency, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack.

But the federal government yanked his legal residency when he was 20, citing his criminal conviction for drug possession.

In the years that followed, immigration officials ordered Camacho deported three times: in 1996, 1998 and 2002.

On the day in 2003 Zeppetella walked up to his car window, Camacho allegedly knew he faced anywhere from two to 20 years in federal prison if he was caught in the United States again.

A string of convictions
As a child, Camacho lived on a ranch in Oceanside with his mother and grandparents, Camacho's attorneys have said in court.

He attended El Camino High School for a time and later earned his high school equivalency diploma.

By the time he was 15, Camacho ---- known on the streets as "Chubbes," according to court files ---- was a documented member of an Oceanside street gang. It's also the age when he first took heroin, his attorneys have said.

Camacho was convicted as a juvenile in 1991 for the felony of carrying a loaded firearm. As a teenager, he was accused but acquitted of involvement in a drive-by shooting in Oceanside.

His first arrest as an adult came just days after he'd turned 18.

According to a 1994 California Department of Corrections report viewed by the North County Times in 2003, police went to Camacho's home with a warrant. They found Camacho sitting in the yard in Oceanside with a needle, methamphetamine and a cooker.

While serving his sentence, Camacho enrolled in a vocational welding program and apparently did well.

But more felony convictions followed. By 1999, Camacho had offered up guilty pleas and served prison time for a number of offenses, including fleeing from a traffic stop, carrying a loaded stolen gun and multiple drug charges, including heroin and methamphetamine.

Addicted to drugs
Camacho married an 18-year-old Stacey Camacho ---- who coincidentally had the same last name as her husband-to-be ---- just after Christmas Day in 1997 while he was behind bars. The couple now have two children.

During Stacey Camacho's emotional testimony at her husband's trial, she spoke of his battle with heroin addiction and his descent into depression in the year before he attacked Zeppetella.

"He was crying a lot because he wanted to stop using so bad and he couldn't," she said.

Jurors heard a similar account from Lonnie Roybal, who worked with Camacho on construction jobs, hanging beams and laying plumbing pipes, during the year leading up to the shootout.

Roybal characterized Camacho as "a good, hard worker," and said they had become friends and often shared rides to work.

Camacho, Roybal testified, would cry as he spoke of his heroin addiction. "He was pretty sad about it," he said. "He wanted help."

For 13 months leading up to the gunbattle, Camacho sought help. He had four hospitalizations for drug rehab during that time.

Dr. Dennis Ordas, the psychiatrist who treated Camacho before the gunbattle, testified that Camacho was "highly motivated" to get off drugs. Ordas also said the longest Camacho was able to stay away from heroin had been about 10 days.

Stacey Camacho testified that her husband's behavior at home had grown increasingly bizarre in the year before the attack. He heard voices and reacted to phantom sounds. He accused her of spying on him with cameras in her platform shoes, and would cut up her headbands out of fear she wore wires in them to spy on him.

He was suicidal. Through tears, the young woman told the jury that her husband had threatened to take her car and crash it to kill himself.

From rage to remorse
Stacey Camacho was at work when her husband pumped 13 bullets into Zeppetella, pistol-whipped him four times and then fled with the dying Zeppetella's gun and patrol car.

Just moments after the gunbattle, she testified, Adrian Camacho called her in a panic. He had broken into her mother's upscale Oceanside home about a mile from the site of the shootout. There, he slit his wrists and scrawled apologetic messages in blood on the bathroom wall.

Camacho's attorneys repeatedly acknowledged the brutal nature of the attack on Zeppetella.

But they also noted that it was bizarre, coming as it did in a very crowded parking lot in broad daylight in front of dozens of witnesses. They characterized it as a drug-fueled psychotic episode for Camacho, who had a mix of heroin, meth and the prescription anti-depressant Paxil in his system the night of the gunfight.

During his trial, Stacey Camacho was at the courthouse every day, even though she spent the first few weeks in a hallway, barred, as were all witnesses, from entering the courtroom until after her testimony.

On the day the jury convicted her husband of a crime that could send him to his death, she broke into tears and trembled violently.

Image of Camacho to the jury
Last week, attorneys battled over what the jury will get to hear during the penalty phase of Camacho's trial, at the end of which they will decide his sentence.

During that courtroom session, prosecutor David Rubin alleged that Camacho had written sexually explicit letters to women other than his wife while he was in jail awaiting trial for Zeppetella's killing. One of the letters contained a marriage proposal, Rubin said.

Also last weekend, Camacho got into a jailhouse scuffle with two other inmates, said sheriff's Capt. Yolanda Collins, jail commander, on Wednesday. Capt. Glenn Revell, sheriff's department spokesman, said there "may have been bruises," but no serious injuries.

Which of these allegations, if any, will reach the jury's ears during the penalty phase of his trial remains to be seen.

Testimony is set to begin Monday morning.

www.10news.com

Jury Recommends Death For Cop Killer

Camacho Convicted Of Killing Oceanside Police Officer

POSTED: 3:58 pm PST November 30, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- A Vista jury has recommended the death penalty for an ex-con convicted of fatally shooting an Oceanside police officer during a June 13, 2003, traffic stop.

Adrian Camacho will be sentenced for the murder of Officer Tony Zeppetella at 9 a.m. Feb. 7 in Dept. 20 of the Vista Courthouse.

The same seven-woman, five-man panel that convicted Camacho Nov. 14 of murdering rookie Oceanside police Officer Tony Zeppetella recommended death for the defendant.

Zeppetella, 27, was killed about 5 p.m. on June 13, 2003, after following Camacho into the parking lot of the Navy Federal Credit Union for a traffic stop.

In addition to finding Camacho guilty of first-degree murder, the panel found true the special circumstance allegations of killing a police officer in the line of duty and killing an officer to avoid capture.

Camacho -- who has admitted to four prior felony convictions -- also was convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun and possession of drugs for sale. He has been deported twice for being in the country illegally.

Camacho's attorney, Kathleen Cannon, asked the jury to consider her client's remorse after shooting the officer. According to trial testimony, he allegedly tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists and also wrote the words, "I'm sorry," in his own blood on a bathtub's wall at his mother-in- law's Oceanside house.

During the trial, several people testified that they saw the officer follow Camacho's car into the parking lot of the Navy Federal Credit Union at 4180 Avenida de la Plata.

After the officer collected paperwork, gunshots were heard, followed by a pause, then more gunfire, the witnesses said.

Witnesses also testified that they saw the defendant hit the mortally wounded officer over the head with a handgun, then shoot at him again before fleeing in Zeppetella's patrol car.

The officer was pronounced dead at Palomar Medical Center.

Cannon said her client was not running away when he went to his mother-in- law's home, where he was arrested about four hours after the shooting, but rather looking for a refuge to ponder on the terrible thing he had done.

The jury rejected defense contentions that the defendant, addled by years of heroin abuse and more recent use of methamphetamine, was unable to form an intent to kill, as required by the law for first-degree murder.

Thank you, Brian, for putting all of this together for us.

Originally Posted by Brian503a

www.10news.com

Detectives later found phrases written in blood on a wall above a bathtub, including, "I'm sorry, I don't know why" and "I (heart) my wife and kids."

I couldn’t imagine if these are really true stories. It really made me scared. But there was a message but I do not know exactly what was this all about though.

Move to NEW Section for "Americans Killed by Illegals."