Judge finds enough evidence to hold man on murder charge
William McConnell, 53, of the Frenchman Lake area was held to answer on a murder charge and an enhancement for the alleged use of a firearm in the commission of a felony at a preliminary hearing Thursday, Sept. 17.
McConnell was arrested in August in connection with the shooting death of Eduardo Campos.
The hearing began with Deputy District Attorney III David Hollister calling Plumas County Sheriff's Office Detective Mike Smith to the stand.
Smith said he went to Chilcoot after being advised by dispatch of a possible crime. The detective said he met a man there who led him to 9051 Dixie Valley Road.
Smith told the court William McConnell was standing on the front porch of a residence there with his hands in the air.
The detective said he also saw a white pickup truck in a ditch with a person lying outside of it near the front left of the vehicle.
Smith said the man on the ground had no vital signs.
The detective said he talked to McConnell about the deceased and the defendant said he knew the young man, identified by the sheriff's office as Eduardo Campos, a sheepherder in his early 20s.
McConnell allegedly told Smith that Campos had watered his sheep at a creek on the defendant's property the year before and that the two men had shared a beer on the road in front of McConnell's house on another occasion.
Smith said McConnell also told him there was a language gap between the two men, which made it difficult for them to communicate.
McConnell allegedly told the officer that Campos arrived near his property the night of the shooting, when the sheepherder's ATV broke down on the road nearby.
The detective said the defendant described drinking vodka that Campos had with him for about 90 minutes when suddenly the young man struck him on the side of the head, knocking him out of his chair.
McConnell also allegedly claimed that the victim tried to punch him several times while he was on the ground.
Smith said McConnell told him he knocked Campos off the porch and retreated to his house, where he experienced difficulty getting his dog inside.
At this point, the detective said, McConnell described grabbing his gun when he heard his pickup truck driving by. Smith said the white pickup truck didn't require a key to start.
The detective said there was a lack of clarity in McConnell's story as to what happened next.
He said the defendant originally reported grabbing a rifle immediately, and told the story that way several times, but changed it to say he grabbed a handgun and may have fired it at the truck on his final relation of the story.
Smith said that in the first story McConnell described walking with his rifle to the pickup truck, which Campos had crashed into a ditch, and firing a shot at the victim, believing he shot him in the chest.
McConnell allegedly said he walked over, looked at Campos, turned off the truck and tried to call 911 on a couple of cell phones he had.
At this point, the detective said, McConnell told him he stayed up for another 90 minutes and then went to sleep.
McConnell allegedly went on to say he got up early the next morning, drank some vodka and retrieved a quad at a nearby residence, which he used to drive to another house and report the story to the man who eventually led Smith to the scene.
Smith said McConnell told him Campos didn't have any weapons but that he shot him out of fear that he would come back and get him.
Smith also said that McConnell mentioned the victim kicking his dog at one point.
The detective also said McConnell had placed several guns on his front porch when law enforcement arrived and was standing next to them with his hands up.
Finally, Smith described his experience at Washoe Medical Center, where Campos's autopsy was conducted.
Smith said the person conducting the autopsy told him the young man died from a gunshot wound.
The bullet allegedly entered through the back side of the left triceps, just below the shoulder, traveled into the armpit near the fourth rib, and had nearly exited on the right side of the torso, near the eight rib, where the bullet was protruding under the skin.
Cross-examination
The detective told him McConnell reported the crime to his neighbor and seemed to be forthright when telling Smith that he went out of his way to not disturb the scene or evidence.
Smith also said McConnell had been drinking and had a 1.6 blood alcohol level when law enforcement arrived on the scene.
The detective also said McConnell's residence was somewhat remote.
When asked about the relative size of the defendant and victim, Smith said Campos looked to be about 5'8", 185 pounds and McConnell was about 5'10", 165 pounds.
Smith said McConnell described the victim as having gone "psycho" when he allegedly hit the defendant in the side of the head.
The detective also quoted McConnell as saying, "crazy people do crazy things and they come back."
McConnell allegedly gave several explanations for why Campos might have hit him, saying he was telling Campos to keep his sheepdogs away from his dog, which he claimed was impregnated by the victim's dog the year before.
Smith said McConnell also claimed Campos tried to kick his dog or run it over at various times.
The detective indicated McConnell described the victim as being intoxicated when he arrived at his residence.
McConnell and the victim both allegedly drank several shots after that point, with the defendant claiming to have drunk four or five beers earlier in the day.
Smith reported McConnell also claimed that the only illumination when Campos got out of the crashed pickup was the headlights and taillights of the vehicle.
McConnell allegedly claimed that he thought the victim was coming towards him when he exited the vehicle, which he said frightened him.
Prosecution re-examination
At this point Hollister took his turn to respond to Zernich's questioning.
Smith told the prosecutor that in his final interview with the defendant McConnell said he fired two shots with a handgun at the truck as it drove by.
Smith said one tire was shot and another bullet went through the white truck behind the driver's door.
The detective said McConnell told him he didn't think the defendant heard the shots, and claimed at one point that he never saw the truck in motion, but only got outside to see it crashed in the ditch.
Detective Beatley
Hollister called Detective Jeremy Beatley as his next witness.
Beatley looked at several crime photos as Hollister walked him through a series of questions about the evidence displayed there.
Beatley showed Hollister the location of three white paint chips around the same location as a swerve mark in the tire tracks left by the white pickup truck.
He also showed the prosecutor the location of a shoe mark that seemed to match the slippers that McConnell reported wearing the night of the shooting.
Beatley then began explaining the spatial relationship of several pieces of evidence.
The detective used a laser pointer to indicate the location of two .45 caliber shell casings that he estimated were about 20 yards from the front porch of the residence and about 30 yards from the white paint chips on the ground.
At this point, Hollister asked Beatley to tell him about the path the pickup traveled.
Zernich began to object, saying that he was challenging the implication that Beatley was an expert on determining the path that a vehicle took.
Hollister withdrew his question and asked Beatley if he was able to follow tire tracks that began at the back of the truck and went backwards.
Beatley said that he had done so.
Hollister then asked if the tracks led away from the location where the .45 caliber shell casings where.
Again Beatley confirmed that this was the case.
Beatley also reported a rifle shell casing, with a corresponding caliber to the fatal bullet, was found 19 feet from Campos's body.
Beatley was also able to demonstrate that the shell casing was on the opposite side of the pickup truck and uphill from Campos.
The detective also indicated there were no dirt marks on the victim's jeans, which he believed indicated that Campos fell once, didn't crawl and didn't get up again.
Zernich objected that this was speculation, but Judge Ira Kaufman overruled him, deciding that this was a legally acceptable opinion for the detective to voice in a preliminary hearing.
Next, Hollister asked if Beatley timed himself walking from the front porch to the site of the rifle casing.
Zernich objected that this was irrelevant.
Kaufman said that it was up to a jury or judge to decide how relevant that information was.
Beatley proceeded, saying that the distance was about 68 feet and took him 55 seconds to walk.
Finally, Beatley reported he spoke to the neighbor who initially reported the crime and learned that he had a .45 caliber handgun that the defendant gave him recently, telling him that he was going to jail soon and the neighbor should come get the gun if he wanted it.
Arguments
Zernich argued this case called for a charge of involuntary manslaughter or justifiable homicide.
He contended the defendant was scared, thought the victim was "a psycho," had his vehicle stolen and was hit for no reason.
Hollister countered that the vehicle was taken to flee a man with a handgun and also argued the defendant had plenty of time to consider what he was about to do while he walked from the front porch to the site where the rifle shell casing was found.
Kaufman decided a jury should have the option to decide what crime occurred and held McConnell to answer on the charge of murder.
He added that two firearms were involved so the enhancement would remain as well.
