Jeffrey Caplan
Luis Bracamontes, who immigrated illegally to the U.S. and whose own lawyer acknowledged that he shot and killed two Sacramento-area sheriff deputies, vowed to break out of prison soon and kill more officers, reports the Sacramento Bee.
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The 37-year-old’s frightening outburst came on the first day of his trial, as he laughed while the prosecutor detailed the crimes he stands accused of. Bracamontes is standing trial at Sacramento Superior Court for the 2014 murders of deputies Danny Oliver and Michael Davis Jr.
“I wish I had killed more of the m***********s,” Bracamontes said to the jury as prosecutor Rod Norgaard gave an account of the violent events.
Offering a broad smile, Bracamontes then added: “I will break out soon, and I will kill more, kill whoever gets in front of me … There’s no need for a f*****g trial.”
The chilling outburst led Sacramento Superior Court Judge Steve White to briefly remove the jury from the court room and then warn Bracamontes against any further interjections.
“You will not disrupt this trial; you will not speak out,” White told him. “If you do, you will be removed from the courtroom,” the Sacramento Bee reported.
Bracamontes has asked for the death penalty before, and his own attorney, Jeffrey Barbour, has questioned his sanity. Barbour asked the judge to consider whether his client was competent enough to stand trial. The judge ruled that the trial will continue even though Barbour opened the trial by admitting his client is guilty, saying, “We are not contesting many of these charges.”
“Let me be clear and up front,” Barbour told the jury. “Mr. Bracamontes is responsible for the death of Deputy Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis. He shot them both.”
Bracamontes’ attorneys are instead attempting to show that their client is mentally ill and was high on methamphetamine at the time of his crimes, causing him to lack the mental capacity to know what he was doing.
Should that defense work out, Bracamontes will not be eligible for the death penalty, and his maximum punishment will be life in prison.
Bracamontes was with his wife, 41-year-old Janelle Monroy, who is a U.S. citizen, on the day of the killing spree. According to prosecutors, the two smoked meth and marijuana while driving to Sacramento from their home in Salt Lake City before starting their rampage in Auburn, California, at a Motel 6.
Bracamontes is charged with killing both deputies, shooting a motorist in the head to steal his car and wounding another Placer County deputy in Auburn. Monroy is accused of assisting him by helping move an assault-style rifle from car to car as the couple fled authorities.
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