October 28, 2004

Anniversary reveals unhealed wounds

Remembering officer Jeffrey Fontana three years later

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

A recent Santa Clara County court ruling has not only delayed a high-profile death-penalty trial, it has also, for the third time, delayed closure for the Fontana family as they reflect on the life of their son, rookie police officer Jeffrey Fontana, who was shot to death three years ago today on a quiet Almaden cul-de-sac.

For Sandy and Tony Fontana, it’s like an open wound that refuses to heal.

“I lost a son who was a really special young man,” said Sandy. “Not that you can ever get over the loss of a child and these days can make you very raw. Thank God we have our support group with the cops. It’s hard to get through until justice is served, for us, the police dept, the community—everybody.”

Fontana says that according to reports, her son was fatally shot in the face by 24-year old convicted felon DeShawn Campbell shortly after 4:00 in the morning on Oct. 28, 2001.

“He had outstanding warrants and didn’t want to go to jail,” she says.

After a citywide manhunt, Campbell was captured and found guilty of prior offenses. He is currently serving 18+ years in prison, while awaiting the capitol murder trial, now set for May 16, 2005.

“It’s a very frustrating situation,” Fontana admits. “I’ve always believed in our justice system, but it really lets the victims down. Those rights only seem to apply to those accused. We’ve been told it’s not even our court case. It’s the county’s trial.”

“It’s not their court,” agrees Depute District Attorney Lane Liroff. “Crimes are against the people of the state, not individuals. I work on behalf of the District Attorney and the people of Calif., but that doesn’t mean I don’t consider their feelings and opinions.”

And yet, Fontana is confident that Liroff will eventually get a conviction, and agrees that however painful and drawn out the process might be, making the conviction stick remains a top priority.

“They don’t want do anything that might mess this up,” she says. “But I’m afraid that if we don’t have this trial for four years, no one is going to remember what happened and everyone will be gone. At least they did a very thorough preliminary investigation and I only hope those testimonies can be used.”

“The case that we’ve charged Mr. Campbell with is a death penalty case and they take a long time to get to trial in Calif.,” Liroff explains. “We have an abundance of caution with these cases. If I were in the Fontana’s position, I imagine I would be saying the same thing. The delays are all too true and I wish it were the other way around. On the other hand, nobody wants a justice system that doesn’t work and I want to make sure that whatever conviction I get, I make it stand.”

Liroff admits that he came close to a trial last year, but efforts were thwarted when he discovered that Public Defender Charlie Gillan had been working on a civil suit filed by Tony and Sandy Fontana against Campbell and his father Robert.

According to the suit, Robert Campbell offered his son the gun and car that investigators believe were used the night of the shooting. Although Gillan claims that his office provided no legal advice and only performed clerical services, the question of conflicting loyalties raises concerns that it opens the door for an appeal if Gillan were to cross-examine Campbell during his son’s trial.

“He was wrongly providing legal services for the defendant’s father in a civil suit filed by the Fontana’s,” Liroff explains. “He was not only providing defense for him, but his father as well and it would be a conflict once the case got to trial. Somewhere down the line I saw the potential for a reversal if we got a conviction—no one wants that 10-20 years later.”

On Nov. 7, 2003, a Santa Clara County judge ruled that Gillan created a potential conflict of interest by working on both cases and on Dec. 15, Judge Marc Poche removed Gillan from the case, as circumstances created almost certain grounds for appeal if Campbell is convicted.

In February Ed Sousa was selected from a pool of court-hired private attorneys to represent Campbell, as conflict-of-interest regulations kicked in, prohibiting another public defender from taking the case.

Last month, Sousa filed for and was granted the continuance, so that he could wade through thousands of documents and interview witnesses in an effort to further prepare his case.

“That’s a short amount of time to get prepared for a case this large,” admits Liroff. “That’s what has necessitated the delay.”

Tyree Washington, 23, is scheduled to appear with Campbell and has been charged with accessory after the fact for helping the fugitive elude capture following the shooting. He will also have a new attorney because his attorney recently retired. Jim Leinenger has been appointed to continue the case.

Although the next hearing is scheduled for May 16, 2005, further delays could last years and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in the meantime.

Liroff continues to work on the now three-year-old case and remains confident that he will get a conviction.
“We did locate the person who said he destroyed the gun at Campbell’s request,” he says. “When we searched the house, we found a spring that would fit in the magazine of the type of gun we believed he used. I feel I’ve got a strong case and expect to convict Mr. Campbell.”

Tonight, a candlelight remembrance
While today, October 28, marks the third anniversary of that fateful night, Sandy Fontana quietly prepares for a candlelight ceremony at the park named after her son—near the bronze sculpture that bears his image and now provides his family with a place that pays homage to the sacrifice he made for the Almaden community.

Fontana’s life was cut short just four months after becoming a San Jose Police officer and less than two weeks after taking solo patrol assignments when he was found shot to death near his squad car on Calle Almaden. The shooting motivated residents who, with the help of Vice Mayor Pat Dando pushed to rename the nearby park in his honor and formed a public art task force to work with the city to commission and install a life-size statue that represents Fontana’s dream of public service.

“We’re thrilled with the sculpture and the park,” she says. “It gives us a place to remember him—as long as they remember Jeff.”