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Friday, September 2, 2005
Last modified Thursday, September 1, 2005 11:20 PM PDT


Accused cop killer says he will refuse evaluation by prosecution psychiatrist

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- Heeding his attorneys' advice, an accused cop killer on Thursday told a Superior Court judge he will refuse her order to let a psychiatrist of the prosecution's choosing evaluate him for his upcoming murder trial.

Prosecutor David Rubin characterized Adrian George Camacho's refusal as "a very significant development in the case," and told Superior Court Judge Joan Weber he objected "in the strongest terms."

Thursday's pre-trial hearing in Vista for Camacho's fast-approaching trial included rulings on a host of issues, including decisions to allow jurors to see insolent jailhouse letters written by the defendant and to bar cameras from the courtroom for the lion's share of the trial.

Camacho faces the death penalty if convicted of gunning down and killing Oceanside police officer Tony Zeppetella during what began as a routine traffic stop on June 13, 2003.

His state of mind at the time of the slaying is central to the defense, and two weeks ago Camacho's attorneys told Weber the question isn't whether or not Camacho pulled the trigger, but why it happened.

Deputy District Attorney Rubin has been asking since January for permission to have his handpicked psychiatrist meet with Camacho to evaluate him for the criminal trial, which is set to begin this month.

In August, after the defense made it clear they would focus on Camacho's state of mind at the time of the slaying, Weber OK'd Rubin's request.

Defense attorneys fought the evaluation, arguing that Camacho's mental state at the time of the slaying two years ago was at issue, not his mental state now.

Camacho had heroin and methamphetamine in his system when he was arrested after a stand-off at his in-laws' home about four hours after Zeppetella was shot. The four-time felon, who suffers from depression, had also slit his wrists during the stand-off.

In court Thursday, defense attorney Kathleen Cannon told Weber that her client's refusal to meet with the prosecution's psychiatrist was based on advice from her and co-counsel William Stone.

"To shield a client with 'On the advice of counsel,' we object in the strongest terms," prosecutor Rubin told the judge.

Weber said the ultimate decision to refuse the court order fell on Camacho's shoulders alone.

Weber then asked Camacho directly if he planned to decline to meet with the doctor.

The tattooed defendant, dressed in a green jail uniform, replied, "Yes, ma'am."

Weber said that higher courts have found that defendants do not have a right to refuse such court-ordered evaluations, and that she will notify the jury of Camacho's refusal to comply.

In other issues decided Thursday, Weber agreed to allow jurors to see two jailhouse letters in which Camacho allegedly made threats against his jailers.

Rubin alleged in court documents that in one letter, Camacho made references to sending his jailers home in a "bodybag." In another, Rubin claims Camacho allegedly wrote of his ability to have his jailers killed.

Camacho's attorneys fought to keep the correspondence out of the trial, arguing that Camacho wrote the letters two months after the slaying, and that he wrote them out of frustrations with alleged harassment by his jailers.

But Rubin argued that jurors should see the letters because they show Camacho's "animosity and animus toward law enforcement."

Also on Thursday, Weber decided to bar news cameras from the courtroom during witness testimony in the upcoming criminal trial, which will run about two months.

Also not permissible for the jury's ears: any mention of Camacho's membership in a street gang or his status as an undocumented immigrant.

The first round of jury selection for Camacho's trial will begin in less than two weeks; witness testimony is expected to begin in mid-October.