Thread: OCEANSIDE POLICE OFFICER SHOT DEAD : 20 DECEMBER 2006

Suspects had ties to slain officer in Oceanside

How pair met unclear, but pasts are similar

By Kristina Davis and Jose Luis Jiménez
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

January 13, 2007

OCEANSIDE – Gang members Meki Gaono and Penifoti “CJ” Taeotui grew up in different neighborhoods and attended different schools, yet somehow they connected.

Their lives became forever entwined on the night of Dec. 20 when, police say, they shot and killed an Oceanside police officer.

Although specifics may differ, the youths' lives mirror each other in many ways.

Both Gaono, 17, and Taeotui, 16, come from fragmented families – Gaono raised by a grandfather and Taeotui by a single mom who is in prison – and both bounced from school to school throughout their high school years.

It is unclear when and how the teens met, but prosecutors say both joined the same Samoan gang, which claims turf in the Mesa Margarita neighborhood of north Oceanside.

And both had connections to Officer Dan Bessant, 25, the man they are accused of gunning down during an unrelated traffic stop on Arthur Avenue.

A few weeks earlier, Bessant had written Taeotui a ticket for being a minor in possession of cigarettes, said Oceanside Lt. Shawn Murray. And Gaono attended a school where Bessant's father is the principal.

Now, both teens wait in San Diego Central Jail, each on $5 million bail, to be tried as adults on murder charges.

The Gaono and Taeotui families declined to be interviewed at length, but information from court records and people who know the families provide a clearer picture of both teens.

Gaono grew up on Arthur Avenue, a street in Mesa Margarita that has been an epicenter of gang warfare for a decade.

He was raised by a grandfather who is well-known among leaders of the tight-knit Samoan community in Oceanside.

Joanne Rush, who runs the San Luis Rey Resource Center a few blocks away from the Gaono home, remembers the teen from several years ago, when he attended the center's after-school program.

As a 10-year-old, Meki Gaono would do his homework, play games and work on the computer along with other kids from his neighborhood.

“He attended off and on for a couple of years,” Rush said. “When he was coming in here, he was always very polite and respectful. Some kids you hear about all the time, if they did something bad, but I never heard anything like that about Meki. I always heard he was quiet.”

He stopped coming after a while, and Rush lost track of him.

“When something like this happens, it hurts everybody. Some of these kids you knew when they were little, and it hurts you,” she said. “I think maybe I could've done a little more or something more.”

Gaono attended El Camino High School but left about two years ago, school district officials said. Bessant's father, Steve Bessant, once was an assistant principal there.

In 2003, Gaono was arrested along with another gang member on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Details of the arrest were not released because he was a juvenile.

The teen moved to Ocean Shores High School, a continuation school, but left in March for an alternative education program at Clair W. Burgener Academy, where Steve Bessant is the principal. Earlier this week, Bessant confirmed that he knows Gaono from the school.

Taeotui also jumped from school to school.

He attended Washington Middle School in Vista and then Rancho Buena Vista High School for his freshman year, according to Vista Unified School District officials.

He switched to Vista High School in fall 2005 as a sophomore but stayed for only the first semester. Coaches at the school say he played on the junior varsity football team.

In April, Taeotui enrolled at Oceanside High School and finished out the year.

And again, he moved, this time to Ocean Shores High School, where he attended until his arrest over Christmas break. Gaono had by then switched from Ocean Shores to Clair Burgener. Staff members at the two schools recalled Taeotui's poor attendance.

His parents, Sally Moimoi and Suifou Taeotui, are felons who split up when he was young. Both parents have had problems with substance abuse, court records show.

Family members said the teen mostly lived with his mother in the Tri-City area.

Moimoi, who in court records listed her occupation as a certified nursing assistant, has had several run-ins with the law, including convictions of burglary and possession of methamphetamine.

She failed a drug treatment program and on Feb. 16 was sentenced to more than three years in prison for violating the terms of a plea agreement, court records state. She is imprisoned at the California Rehabilitation Center in western Riverside County, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Taeotui's father also has a criminal record that includes theft and has been accused of domestic violence against another woman. He was ordered by a judge to attend an alcohol counseling program.

Court records also identify one of Taeotui's relatives, a 42-year-old man, as an Oceanside gang member.

Staff writers Dana Littlefield and Lola Sherman contributed to this report.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nort ... spect.html

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Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com

Enlist all of Oceanside in stopping gangs

By: CAROL MITCHELL - Commentary

With the recent murder of Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant in December by a documented young gang member, residents of our city have been put on alert once again about the dangers of these teenage hooligans.

On Jan. 7, North County Times staff writer Yvette Urrea described in great detail the number, makeup and goals of Oceanside gangs. It was a revealing and frightening recitation and cried out for immediate public action.

If these gangs are so well known to law enforcement and the local gang task force, why can't stronger steps be taken against them? Sanctions against some individual members in the past seem to have worked in a few instances, but the number of these cases is woefully small.


This horrendous gang problem is too big for one neighborhood, one task force to handle. The entire city of Oceanside, its residents, schools, social services, churches, fraternal and charitable groups, businesses and professional organizations and Chamber of Commerce members must join with elected city officials and the Police Department to put a stop to this terrible situation. A coordinated effort headed by a small committee could devise a plan of action.

As a first step, may it be suggested that local television station KOCT stage a community forum featuring our police chief, gang task force head, the mayor and council members and our superintendent of schools. Let our police chief describe in detail what is known and just why these young criminals cannot be apprehended before they harm others and destroy their own lives. Publicize this program via fliers, posters, newspaper reports (including the San Diego Union Tribune), etc. Make it a "must" for every thinking citizen to watch.

We have passed school bonds, built an art museum, improved downtown and brought new enterprises into our community. An astounding amount of this was done through the efforts of volunteers. Surely we can put our shoulders to the wheel once more and help to clean up the gang problem in Oceanside.

Carol Mitchell lives in Oceanside.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01 ... _25_07.txt


Comments On This Story

MIKE THE MARINE wrote on January 25, 2007 9:55 PM:"This is the kind of action that is needed...for Oceanside's gang problem, this is a good start and well written Thank you Carol Mitchell....."

Randy wrote on January 26, 2007 4:14 AM:"How is it my problem that someone north of the San Luis Rey river killed a police officer? If someone needs help, they can find it. But I don't think that neighborhood wants outsiders dictating how to solve their problems!"

Ed wrote on January 26, 2007 5:50 AM:"Carol Mitchell first calls for a massive citywide response to the gang problem in Oceanside by creating a "small committee" a laughable suggestion. Then she suggests the local TV broadcaster air a "community forum" comprised of the established community "leaders" otherwise referred to as "all the usual suspects" but egregiously fails to include the other community "leaders", the gang members themselves. Like it or not, our neighborhoods are breeding violent gangs and they are, like it or not, members of our "community". Their POV needs be heard too. The more repressive and economically unequal America becomes, the dangerous it will be."

esteban wrote on January 26, 2007 8:31 AM:"I'll tell you why we can't take stronger steps against gangs. It's because of liberal groups like the ACLU who say gang members right to commit crimes supercede my right to live a peaceful life. Any harsh idea to deal with gang members is met with opposition from minorities and racist groups like La Raza and Jillings' cronies. You don't need the police chief to tell you that you cannot apprehend someone BEFORE they commit a crime. I wish we could jail someone for what they might do. But any mention of that and the NCT, along with La Raza and Jillings, cries racism, civil rights violations, and everything else. With our laws, you cannot stop gangs, you can only hope to manage them. All gang crimes should result in executions...or at least banishment from the USA!!!"

Bob wrote on January 26, 2007 12:37 PM:"Someone beat me to it. But it's worth repeating. ACLU ! Look at what they did to Escondido !"

Dan wrote on January 26, 2007 12:39 PM:"It is not just an Oceanside problem. The police and local elected can only do so much, with so many crackpots in Sacramento and DC. When more people finaly get off their lazy and ignorant rear ends and get some backbone, then maybe we can start to solve many of our nation's problems. "

concerned as hell wrote on January 26, 2007 3:59 PM:"I think Carol Mitchell is on the right track. Also including respected members from the neighborhoods involved would be a good idea. Let's do some collective brain storming and who knows, community pressure couldn't possibly make things worse!!! And anyone who chooses to be negative instead of joining the "try to fix it" bandwagon ought to jump into the hole their head is obviously in........ Negativity never solves anything!"

Ed wrote on January 26, 2007 5:31 PM:"Take a look at what is transpiring in Brazil at this very moment if you want to see what building more prisons and treating the public with more repression will get you. Anyone notice since the Bush Administration stole the White House, the murder rate in America is increasing? PROGRESS MEANS DEVELOPING NEIGHBORHOODS THAT DO NOT BREED VIOLENT GANGS. Society creates the crime the criminal commits it."

Finally sanity prevails wrote on January 27, 2007 3:46 AM:"This is a good idea and something that the whole community can get involved with. However, I'm not sure that Council Member Sanchez will approve of anyone undermining her efforts."

Dorothy from Oceanside wrote on January 27, 2007 7:20 AM:"It is people like Esteban who just sit around critizing others for what they attempt to do to help. He quickly attacks others rather than coming up with a solution. Perhaps he does not understand that gang members come in all colors. They are not just Latinos or La Raza as he writes in his comment. It is strange though how he writes this and them complains that someone call him racist. I wish he would read his comment and re-evaluate his choice of words because from where I am sitting he sounds racist. I think Carol Mitchell has a good idea. I think it is the responsiblity of all the community to solve this problem. We can not point our fingers at others and critize others. Most of these kids are going to school or have gone to school with our children. I asked myself this question after reading this article...What have I done to improve or enrich the life of a young person who needs help getting on the right path? Most of us can say our children are great, wholesome, healthy, and will be successful, but until all the youth in our communities are that we have nothing to brag about. I am willing to put my shoulder to the wheel to change the course of our City, what about you?"

To Esteban or Steve wrote on January 27, 2007 9:21 AM:"I am concerned for the safety of whoever this Jillings person is. Every comment you post always has this person referenced. Either you need to get help with your obvious obsession for this person or Jillings needs to get police protection. I think your obession is dangerous. Have you thought of therapy? I hope Jillings realizes the danger of someone like you! To Jillings I say be aware of your surroundings, I am surprised this man has not tried to hurt you physically or perhaps cause damage to your property. I think the police should find out who he is to prevent something like that from happening."

esteban wrote on January 27, 2007 9:40 AM:"Poor, poor Dorothy...so naive and well meaning. Of course gang members come in all colors, but guess what? About 90% of street gangs are minorities...but that's not my point. Gang members can only get out of gangs unless THEY want to. Nothing you or I say is going to change that. And you think I just sit around criticizing instead of offering solutions...I did offer a solution. Execute or banish gang members. That WILL solve the problem. Guess what? Enforcing the law is an ugly business sometimes. Everytime the cops try to get tough on gangs, people like you show up and want to hug everybody instead. You cannot force everybody to love and accept everybody...it is that kind of thinking that is bogging us down in the middle east...people like you have no place in the real world."

esteban wrote on January 27, 2007 9:42 AM:"Oh...and by the way Dorothy...I'm mexican and have been mexican for 54 years. Thanks."

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Teens buy, borrow and steal to get guns

By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ----- Two teenagers are accused of gunning down police Officer Dan Bessant last December during a surprise nighttime attack in Oceanside.

What hasn't been revealed in court hearings yet ---- and might not be known ---- is how and where the suspects, boys 16 and 17 at the time, got the firearms they are alleged to have used.

Tracing a gun used by a juvenile to the source is sometimes difficult to determine, law enforcement officers in north San Diego County say.

"They rarely say where they got it and when they do, they usually lie about it," said detective Sgt. Art Wager of the Vista Sheriff's Station.

Most often, investigators and officers said, the guns are stolen.

"Most of those guns are stolen from somebody, somebody's house, or somebody's vehicle," said detective Lt. Shawn Murray of the Oceanside Police Department.

Investigators said sometimes the weapons were taken from the teen's home or family vehicle, from those of a relative or a friend, or acquired in burglaries.

"Lots of times when kids break into homes, they find guns in drawers and under mattresses," said Wager.

Lt. Derek Clark of the North County Regional Gang Task Force said gang members also use cash or drugs to buy a firearm, "or sometimes they just borrow it" from someone they know who has one.

Officers or deputies from all the North County law enforcement agencies said they try to trace guns confiscated from teen suspects through the usual databases, including those of the National Crime Information Center and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"Every weapon that we come in contact with, we track," said detective Lt. David Mankin, spokesman for the Escondido Police Department.

Carlsbad detective Lt. Kelly Cain said police in the upscale coastal city try to find out where a gun came from in serious juvenile crimes in order "to enhance the violation (and possible sentence) or to return it to the rightful owner, or to dispose of it properly."

However, no agency had statistics readily available about local criminal activity involving juveniles and firearms.

Weapons arrests

The San Diego Association of Governments, the regional planning agency in San Diego County, gathers the crime statistics from law enforcement agencies around the county.

According to the agency's arrest reports for 2005, juveniles represented only 15 percent of all arrests that year in the county.

"However, they represented one in three weapons offense arrests (for everyone)," the report said.

Cynthia Burke, executive director of the association's criminal justice division, was quick to point out that the statistics are based only on the highest and most serious offense committed.

For instance, a murder committed with a gun would be counted only as a homicide. It wouldn't be included in weapons offense arrests.

"You only get one charge (statistically) per arrest," Burke said.

In addition, she said, the category for "weapons offense arrests" includes all kinds of weapons, not just guns.

So, arrests for machetes, nunchuks, throwing stars, brass knuckles, baseball bats, bows and arrows, crowbars, sticks, kitchen utensils and other devices that juveniles have used as weapons in North County are also listed in that category.

When it comes to a teen's choice of weapons, Mankin said, "I would say they're only limited by their imagination."

Felony arrests up

In 2005, the association reported 168 juvenile felony arrests for weapons offenses, including guns, in North County. That was a significant increase over the 112 logged in 2001.

There was a drop, however, in the number of weapons offenses listed under juvenile misdemeanors and other arrests in 2005 ---- 21, compared with the 27 four years earlier.

Escondido topped the North County list both years for juvenile felony arrests for weapons offenses with 58 in 2005 and 39 in 2001, according to the planning agency.

Last year, Mankin said, a 17-year-old boy used a shotgun to commit a street robbery in the inland city.

"He also had body armor," the lieutenant said. "He's in custody."

In spite of the statistics, officers and deputies said, there are relatively few juvenile cases involving guns.

"We don't find a lot of guns on juveniles," Wager said. "It does happen, but it's not that common. If we walk up on a group of kids, sometimes we'll find guns in the bushes after they run."

Offenders, gangs

Usually a teen with a gun is a boy, age 14 to 18, although Mankin said Escondido has had armed suspects as young as 12.

Teens most often use guns to rob, assault, intimidate or threaten someone, said the authorities. Wager said that when girls are caught with guns in Vista, the offense is usually illegal possession of the weapon.

When girls have guns in gang-related activity, Clark said, usually they're driving a car to deliver or hide a gun.

He said older gang members who commit a crime also often use children to hide guns.

"The gangs are probably responsible for a substantial number of the armed robberies," Clark said. "A good number of people that are arrested in the armed robbery cases have some association with gangs."

And with about two dozen gangs across North County, gang-related crime involving guns isn't uncommon.

"We had maybe six cases last year involving juveniles with guns," Cain said. "I would say most of them would have been gang-related with brandishing a firearm."

Sheriff's detective Sgt. Rich Hendrickson said there's usually not even one case a month of a juvenile with a gun in remote, rural Fallbrook. Still, he said, sometimes the offenders are gang members.

"Generally, what you'll find is a kid carrying a concealed weapon," Hendrickson said.

The amount of gang-related gun activity varies in the region.

Oceanside is home to about half of the North County gangs. Bessant was killed in an area known for gang violence, so many residents weren't surprised when prosecutors said the two slaying suspects are alleged gang members.

"There's a strong percentage of those juveniles with guns (in Oceanside ) who are gang members or gang associates," Murray said.

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

Officials emphasize the need for guns to be securely locked up in order to prevent most juveniles from getting their hands on them.

"Buy a gun safe," said Sgt. Greg Barnett of the sheriff's juvenile diversion program. "Lock the firearms and ammunition away. Do not allow your children to watch you as you put your guns away or take them out. Don't let them know the combination to the safe."

Additional safety tips include:

---- Secure guns in a safe or at a firing range that provides storage services.

---- Use gun locks to make it more difficult for thieves to use weapons.

---- Register your firearms with the Sheriff's Department or an authorized gun dealer.

---- Know the make, model and serial numbers of your firearms.

---- Store ammunition separately from guns, and keep as little ammunition on hand as necessary.

---- Inventory your weapons frequently to make sure you still have them.

---- Don't ever leave a firearm in a vehicle.

---- Follow the state gun laws for securing weapons.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02 ... 110029.txt

Thanks for helping us grieve for Dan Bessant

By: The Bessant and Kirchmeier families - Commentary

On Dec. 20, we were plunged into a deep well of sadness, the depth of which we could not have imagined. Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant was shot and killed while backing up another officer on a traffic stop. We are his family.

During this dark and painful time, we have been blessed by an outpouring of love and action from people across our community and beyond. We would like to give thanks.

First of all, we thank the Oceanside Police Department. Dan's brothers and sisters in blue raced to his defense and began the long process of bringing his attackers to justice. They continue to protect our community despite their own pain and anger.


We will never forget the compassion and courage of Chief McCoy and Captain Grigsby, who bravely fulfilled the tough duty of informing us of Dan's death.

We thank the paramedics from the Oceanside Fire Department, who, along with Dan's fellow officers, carried him out of the line of fire, where they courageously fought to save his life. We thank the air ambulance crew and the medical staff at Scripps who continued that fight.

More than 200 officers responded to the call to protect our Dan, some from as far away as Coronado and Chula Vista.

We thank our family and friends, and the pastors and members of North Coast Church who formed a ring of protection around us during those first days of searing pain and who continue to support and care for us.

All of the people mentioned above have done the unimaginable ---- they moved toward the danger that Dan was in, and toward the pain that overwhelmed us in the aftermath of his death. Your courage and faith have blessed us.

We thank all the teachers, pastors, coaches, parents and friends who taught, guided and encouraged this joyful and energetic boy over the years ---- he became the wonderful man he was because of how you poured yourselves into him as he grew.

And our gratitude extends beyond the people we know, to those of you we might never know, whose gestures of care and support we have felt in great measure. Beyond our home church are the churches who welcomed us during those days ---- Ambassador Family Church and New Venture Christian Fellowship. And beyond our ability to imagine, the generosity of our community has astounded us. We thank you for the food and the flowers, the donations and the expressions of sympathy.

When we looked from the windows of the limousines on the day of Dan's memorial service, we were not prepared for what we saw. Hundreds and hundreds of people watched and waved. Many held signs of support, and others stood saluting or with hands on hearts. We were deeply moved during that heartbreaking drive, as it signified to us that our loss is shared by a grateful community, the community Danny sought to protect and serve.

Above all else, we thank those who have pleaded to God on our behalf during this time. We know now, more than we ever before imagined, that prayer is powerful and that God is good. We know that Dan is with his true Father and that all is as it should be, in the perspective of eternity. We are, therefore, eternally thankful for that assurance.

Our hearts are broken nonetheless, for we loved Dan greatly.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02 ... _13_07.txt

Third teen arrested in OPD officer slaying 17-year-old suspect due in court today

Monday, August 13, 2007 11:44 PM PDT

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

OCEANSIDE -- Nearly eight months after a rifleman gunned down an Oceanside policeman during a traffic stop, prosecutors Monday charged a third teenager in the officer's slaying.

Alleged Oceanside gang member Jose Compre, 17, is set to be in a Vista courtroom this afternoon to answer to murder and other charges, Deputy District Attorney Tom Manning said.

A sniper's bullet killed 25-year-old Officer Dan Bessant on Dec. 20, shortly after Bessant arrived to give a fellow officer backup during a routine traffic stop in a northeast Oceanside neighborhood with a history of gang violence.

The shot that killed Bessant came from near the mailbox in front of Compre's home on Arthur Ave., more than a football field's length away from the officer, Manning said.

Compre, who became a suspect within hours of the slaying, joins two other teenagers also charged with murder in Bessant's death. All three teens also face gang allegations.

None of the accused teens was an adult at the time of the crime, thus none is eligible for the death penalty.

Manning declined to comment on what led to Compre's arrest on Saturday, nearly eight months after the slaying.

"It's an ongoing investigation," Manning said.

Within a day of the fatal shooting, police detained two teenagers -- Compre, then 16, and Meki Walker Gaono Jr., then 17, -- in connection with the attack.

Although Compre was not initially charged with the shooting, a probation violation has kept the teenager in juvenile hall since police picked him up for questioning in December.

However, prosecutors quickly charged Gaono; Manning said Gaono told investigators that he peered through the telescopic sight of a rifle as he pulled the trigger.

More than two weeks later, police arrested a third teen, Penifoti "P.J." Taeotui, then 16, and prosecutors quickly filed murder charges against him. Manning said Taeotui was standing next to Gaono and fired a handgun at Bessant.

Gaono and Taeotui pleaded not guilty, and remain jailed in lieu of $5 million bail. Both are due back in court this week for a conference to check the status of their cases, and possibly to set dates for a key hearing known as a preliminary hearing.

Compre's weekend arrest came two days after police raided homes near the same corner where the officer was shot, the culmination of a six-month gang investigation that started in the wake of Bessant's slaying.

Authorities said the crackdown -- dubbed "Operation Bloodhound" -- was intended to target two Oceanside gangs actively involved with drugs and violence in the city. Police arrested more than a dozen people, mostly on allegations of drug activity and probation violations.

Compre's home, which was searched the day after Bessant's shooting, was not among those targeted in last week's crackdown.

It was unclear Monday whether Compre's arrest was related to the raids.

Bessant, a three-year Police Department veteran, was called to the scene to assist Officer Karina Pina, 28, who had requested backup during what began as a routine traffic stop at Gold Drive and Arthur Avenue. Pina had a woman riding along with her at the time.

Manning said Bessant was standing near the back of a patrol car when "a shot rang out." Pina, he said, turned and fired back.

The prosecutor said the sniper shots came from 320 feet away, and that investigators found a number of gun-shell casings near the mailbox in front of Compre's home.

Bessant was shot in his left armpit and died later that evening. Investigators believe the fatal shot, which struck Bessant near the edge of his bullet-resistant vest, was fired from about a half-block away.

A three-year member of the Police Department, Bessant was married and the father of a 2-month-old son when he died.

The three defendants each face one count of murder as well as two counts of attempted murder for allegedly also shooting at Pina and the civilian woman who was accompanying her when the attack took place.

-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08 ... _13_07.txt

Police: No reports of gunfire before Oceanside officer shot to death

Friday, August 17, 2007 11:31 PM PDT

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- No one called police to report hearing gunfire or seeing three teenagers who were allegedly shooting at streetlights in the moments before an Oceanside police officer was killed, a police spokesman said Friday.

Prosecutor Tom Manning has said neighbors later told investigators they spotted the teenagers outside of Jose Domingo Compre's home, drinking alcohol and shooting at streetlights shortly before Officer Dan Bessant was fatally shot.

Police have no record that anyone called to report the gunfire before Bessant's death, Oceanside police spokesman Sgt. Leonard Mata said Friday.


Bessant, 25, was shot and killed around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 20, shortly after he arrived to back up a fellow officer during a traffic stop in a northeast Oceanside neighborhood with a history of gang violence.

Meki Walker Gaono, 18, Penifoti Taeotui, 17, and Compre, 16, are charged with murder in Bessant's death.

On Friday, the three young defendants sat at the same table in a Vista courtroom, their first time together in court to face charges in the slaying.

In court, Superior Court Judge Runston G. Maino set Nov. 27 as the date for a preliminary hearing. That's when Maino will decide if enough evidence exists to send the teenagers to trial on murder and other charges, including allegations that all three are gang members.

Charged as adults, all three have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody on $5 million bail. They face life in prison without parole if convicted.

Gaono was charged within days of the slaying; Taeotui was charged in January. Compre was not charged until earlier this week.

The case against the alleged shooters has been in somewhat of a holding pattern. On Friday, Maino said in court that he doesn't want to postpone the preliminary hearing again.

"The public has a right to get going on this case," Maino said.

Maino said Compre's preliminary hearing could come later than November, if necessary, since his attorney has some 2,000 pages of documents to pore through.

The shot that killed Bessant came from near the mailbox in front of Compre's home on Arthur Avenue ---- more than a football field's length away from the officer, Manning said.

Gaono admitted to peering through a scope on a rifle as he pulled the trigger, while Compre and Taeotui fired handguns at Bessant, Manning has said.

Because the teens were juveniles at the time of the slaying ---- Gaono turned 18 six weeks after the shooting ---- they are not eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

A number of neighborhoods in the northeast area of Oceanside, known as the "back gate" area for its proximity to a back entrance of Camp Pendleton, have been affected by gang-related violence for many years.

Not far from the corners of Arthur Avenue and Gold Drive, near where Bessant was slain, is the recently renamed community of Libby Lake.

Resident Joe Diaz, who said he has spent years fighting to get his neighborhood cleaned up, said Friday that it came as no surprise to hear that no one reported hearing gunfire just prior to the shooting of Bessant.

"They were probably afraid to report it because of retaliation (from gang members)," Diaz said. "I know when I started my Neighborhood Watch, these residents were afraid (to call police)."

Bessant was an Oceanside native who joined the police force in 2003. He was married and the father of a 2-month-old son at the time of the shooting.

Gunmen have killed two on-duty Oceanside police officers in the last four years. Adrian George Camacho, convicted of murder nearly two years ago in the June 2003 death of Officer Tony Zeppetella, is now on death row.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08 ... _17_07.txt

We are going through something similar in Broward County as a deputy was shot in the head by an man who now has an immigration hold on him. The deputy is on life support and will never be as he was before the shooting. Another deputy was shot and killed days later. There have bee no arrests at this point and it will be on America's Most Wanted tonight.

Prosecution: Officer Targeted for Leading Stronger Enforcement in Gang Area

By: JAMES R. RIFFEL - North County Times wire services
September 28, 2007 4:16 PM PDT

VISTA - An Oceanside police officer was killed because he coordinated a stronger law enforcement presence in the violence-ridden neighborhood where he died last December, according to court documents obtained today.

In the months prior to the Dec. 20 shooting of Officer Dan Bessant, the Oceanside Police Department stepped up enforcement in the so-called "Back Gate" area of the city to combat crime and other neighborhood problems, Deputy District Attorney Peter J. Cross said in a court filing.

"Officer Bessant was the Neighborhood Policing Officer for the area and the individual who had the primary responsibility for coordinating the effort," Cross wrote. "This is believed to be one of the motives for Officer Bessant's murder."

The statement was in a document filed in opposition to a defense motion to compel the prosecution to turn over certain evidence in the case.

It's the first time any statement regarding a motive for the shooting has been made by authorities. Numerous search warrants served in connection with the case have been sealed by Vista court judges.

Deputy District Attorney Tom Manning has previously released some details about the evidence in the case.

Three alleged gang members, Meki Gaono, 18, and Penifoti Taeotui and Jose Compre, both 17, are charged with murder and attempted murder. They face life in prison if convicted.

The prosecutor alleged Gaono fired a scope-equipped rifle and Taeotui and Compre fired handguns from about 300 feet away from where Bessant was backing up a traffic stop by another officer at Gold Drive and Arthur Street about 6:30 p.m.

Compre's DNA was found on the scope of the rifle, Manning said.

A bullet penetrated Bessant's left armpit, barely missing his protective vest, and he died at a hospital several hours later. The 25-year-old officer left behind a wife and infant son.

The lawyers for Gaono and Taeotui, William Stone and Wilfred Rumble, filed the motion to compel discovery because information they received from the prosecution came with redacted witness names, addresses, telephone numbers and other personal information.

The attorneys claim not having that information unfairly increases their workload, meaning it will take more time to piece together their cases.

In response, Cross argued that witnesses could be subject to intimidation.

A hearing on the defense motion was scheduled for today, but was postponed by Judge Runston Maino to Oct. 22.

A preliminary hearing remains set for Nov. 27. However, the judge said that during an in-chambers discussion, Compre's lawyer, Mary Ellen Attridge, informed him she would not be ready on that date and would ask for a postponement.

Compre was not charged with Bessant's murder until Aug. 14.

The other lawyers said they might try to have the case split up for the preliminary hearing, which is held to determine whether there's enough evidence to order a trial, and Compre's hearing would be separate.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09 ... _28_07.txt

Community to honor slain officer in vigil

By: MARGA KELLOGG - Staff Writer

December 17, 2007

OCEANSIDE -- Joanne Rush works just around the corner from the spot where Oceanside Police Officer Dan Bessant was gunned down last December 20. Since that tragic day, she said, there's been some positive change in the area, known for its crime and gang activity.

Thursday marks one year since Bessant's slaying.

"Something like that touches the heart of the whole neighborhood," said Rush, a community assistant at the San Luis Rey Valley Resource Center, who has lived in the Mesa Margarita neighborhood near Camp Pendleton's back gate for 39 years. "We're having more people come forward to get involved and try to bring back our community."


Bessant, 25, the married father of a 2-month-old son, was shot and killed last year while assisting another officer in a traffic stop at Arthur and Gold Streets. Three teenagers have been charged in his death.

On Thursday night, the community will hold a candlelight vigil to honor Bessant, who served as a neighborhood officer. The vigil will also remember others who suffered violent deaths in the neighborhood, including Peter Rodriguez, Rusty Seau and Pearl Seau, all victims of shootings.

Rush said that so far more that 100 people have said they would participate.

"We've had so many violent incidents," said Rush. "This vigil is an effort to bring closure, to bring somewhat of an emotional healing."

The latest violent death near the neighborhood occurred Sept. 25, when Rodriguez, a 15-year-old, was shot and killed at the intersection of Oleander Drive and Gardenia Street.

Alleged gang-related attacks have also made headlines over the years, including the June 9, 2005, shooting death of Rusty Seau, 16, killed at the intersection of Vandegrift Boulevard and Gold Drive in Oceanside.

Four years earlier, Seau's aunt, Pearl Seau, 32, was shot and killed while standing in her garage with her fiance, reading her mail. Pearl Seau's death occurred Nov. 12, 2002, in the 400 block of Vandegrift Boulevard.

Both Seaus were relatives of former Charger linebacker Junior Seau.

Thursday's vigil -- which will begin at 6 p.m. at the San Luis Rey Valley Resource Center, 521 Vandegrift Blvd. -- is the second event in the last week to honor Bessant. The San Luis Rey Valley Community Fair on Saturday was dedicated to his memory.

"It was a fabulous event," Rush said of Saturday's fair. "We had so many people there helping who haven't stepped forward before. I think (Bessant's) shooting was a wake-up call. Our neighborhood is moving forward."

Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy said Monday that since Bessant was killed, communication between residents in the Mesa Margarita neighborhood and the police department has improved and more residents are willing to get involved in the crime issue and community activities.

He said that Officer Gary Truscott, who filled Bessant's position after his death, has done an outstanding job.

"Dan set the bar very high in the job he was doing out there, and Officer Truscott has risen to those expectations," McCoy said.

The chief said that a wreath honoring Bessant stands in the front lobby of police headquarters and that it will be taken down Thursday.

At 6:33 p.m. Thursday, the time of Bessant's last radio call, the department will have a moment of silence "to remember him and keep him in our thoughts," McCoy said.

McCoy said that such a moment would take place each year in memory of Bessant and Officer Tony Zeppetella who was killed at age 27 in a brutal gun battle on June 13, 2003, during a routine traffic stop.

McCoy, who took his position with the Oceanside department in January 2006, said that no department ever completely moved on from the deaths of officers.

"I was not here for the death of Tony Zeppetella, and that still lingers in the organization," he said. "Having Dan's death so close to Tony's -- it just enhanced the pain that officers feel from those types of events.

"It's nothing we want to forget," he said. "It can happen to any one of us and we try to continue in a positive light."

Contact staff writer Marga Kellogg at (760) 901-4067 or mkellogg@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/12 ... _17_07.txt

By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 20, 2007

OCEANSIDE – At 6:33 p.m., every police radio in the city will fall silent as officers recognize the moment they lost one of their own a year ago tonight.

It was on a Wednesday, just five days before Christmas, that Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant, a husband and new father, was killed by a sniper in the neighborhood he was trying to help turn around.

The milestone will reverberate across the county as fellow officers, friends and strangers remember the events of that night and the painful weeks that followed.

For the loved ones he left behind, this day has been looming large.

“This is the first anniversary,â€