Day 1: Opening statements

We are finally here!! Opening Statements, wohoo!!

The prosecution was the first to go in opening statements, and outlined what happened during the weekend of October 26-28, 2001. Most of the information was about the night of October 27th and the morning of October 28th. It all started at a Halloween party on Rotterdam in San Jose. DeShawn Campbell, Rodney McNeary, and Ray Ray Yarber all attended as uninvited guests. During this party words were exchanged by others and this group of three guests. Gang signs were flashed and then punches started to fly. During a scuffle Campbell got beat up pretty good. After awhile all three ran out of the house to the car they came in "a black mustang"(there were reports of shots fired at this point, also, rocks and other items were being thrown at the car), driving off fast, hitting cars and a person on their way out of the neighborhood. At this time a car of people from the party jumped into an older car and chased after them. They drove around for awhile until they finally lost the car that was following them. At that point they parked their mustang on Via Almaden(which is across Porta Alegre from Calle Almaden... 130 yards away). Once the car was parked they all ran. Campbell & Ray Ray ran to Tyree Washington's apt. about a mile away. There Campbell got a lift back to his parents house where he retrieved a gun(remember, he got beat up at the party) and his car. So he heads back to the party to make trouble. During that time, police were called to the house party because of the "shots fired", loud music, and cars being hit by another car as it drove away. Those two officers where Ofc. Jeffrey Fontana and Ofc. Recias. After finishing up that call they were driving off to write their reports. Along the way they were passed by Campbell driving back to the party, Ofc. Fontana made a U-turn and followed that car. He followed that car onto Calle Almaden to where he was shot and killed. Jeff had "stippling" on his face meaning he was shot from between 1-2 feet away. Stippling is gun powder residue.
At 4:27am neighbors heard a gun shot and one set of footprints running down the street. CSI found 4 vehicle code violations as reason that Campbell could have been followed but Ofc. Fontana didn't call dispatch at the time he was following Campbell. Also found, was Campbells personal set of keys, clothes in his car, 3 locked doors, and one bullet casing on the ground. CSI tested that bullet casing with one from the Campbell house, and they had the same ejector marks, which points out that the weapon used was the same one missing from the Campbell household. Also pointed out was that a bloodhound was able to follow a scent trail through some backyards almost all the way north to Colman Ave.
9 minutes after the shooting Campbell started to make phone calls from Tyree Washington's apt. (remember it was only about 2/3 of a mile away) and got Tyree's cell phone to use. He called his father 10 times in the next 9o minutes, along with other phone calls to other family members. From there he got a ride to his house, and then was on the run for the next 11 days. During that time he made statements to people that he "f***ed up". He wrote a letter to his family saying goodbye, because he thought they police were going to kill him if they caught him. Also during that time he gave the gun to a family friend who smashed it up and threw it out of his car in different areas on his way to Monterey.
Lane also pointed out that Campbell has had a problems with the police in the past. In 2000 Campbell ran from an officer while he was being searched because he was not wearing a helmet for riding a mini-bike. He later turned himself in, and was charged with possession of weed with intent to sell. Later he tried to break into an off duty police officers truck. He knocked him down then hit him in the head with a mag-lite, causing a laceration that needed 3 stitches. Another incident was when he tried to buy a TV at a Good Guys with stolen credit cards, and resisted arrest and assaulted the officers trying to arrest him.

The defense then got their chance. They conceded every fact of the crime except that Campbell pulled the trigger. They even said he was there, but Rodney McNeary (driver of the mustang) killed Ofc. Fontana. The defense says that it is a cover up by the Police because they are going after Campbell who is mildly retarded. The defense previously stated they wouldn't bring up the fact that Campbell was "found" "mildly mentally retarded". It was agreed to IN COURT in front of the judge that 2nd degree would likely be the charge if no retardation items are brought up during trial. This agreement doesn't count to certain parts if the defendant is going to testify, which the defense claims Campbell is going to do.


Officer Alverez:
He was the officer who tried to pull over Campbell for not wearing a helmet while riding a mini-bike in 2000. The officer had to force Campbell off the road, then during a search of him found weed in his pocket. As the officer pulled out the weed, Campbell pushed back on the officer and then ran. The officer had his ID and 5 bags of weed.

Officer Keppler:
He was the off-duty officer who's truck was being fooled around with. When he went to confront Campbell, he became loud and abusive. As the officer tried to detain Campbell, Campbell used a "leg-sweep" to knock Keppler to the ground, then pulled out a mag-lite and struck Keppler in the head. He filed a report then on the morning of Oct. 28 realized who the suspected car thief was when he saw a wanted flyer with Campbell's picture on it for killing a police officer. Lane rested this witness and the defense will start cross-examination tomorrow.....