Alexander Rashad Hamilton prison worn and signed shorts.
Guilty Verdicts In East Bay Cop Killing
Jurors found two Antioch men guilty Monday of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater in April 2005.
Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Moffett, both 20, were also found guilty of three counts of second-degree robbery, one count of car theft and multiple firearms and special circumstance enhancements, including killing a police officer in the commission of a robbery and knowingly killing a police officer while he was carrying out his duties.
Hamilton was also found guilty of two counts of attempted murder for firing at two police officers who went to Lasater's aid. Jurors also found true the special circumstances charge that Hamilton intentionally killed Lasater by lying in wait, findings that could bring him the death penalty.
The penalty phase of the trial will begin Monday.
Moffett, who was 17 at the time of the murder, is not eligible for the death penalty. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 12.
The charges stem from a series of crimes that began on the afternoon of April 23, 2005 when Hamilton and Moffett asked a friend to steal a car for them.
In the stolen car, the two teens went to the Raley's supermarket in Pittsburg and robbed it and a Wells Fargo branch bank inside it at gunpoint.
As they were fleeing the supermarket, they crashed the stolen getaway car and took off on foot toward the Delta De Anza trail, which is where Lasater caught up to them.
Moffett jumped a fence and kept running, but Hamilton, who was hiding in the bushes, fired at Lasater, dropping him to the ground.
When two police officers went to help Lasater, Hamilton fired again. According to prosecutor Harold Jewett, Hamilton kept firing until he ran out of bullets and was forced to surrender.
Antioch police caught Moffett a short time later.
The Martinez courtroom was packed today with members of Lasater's family and members of the Pittsburg Police Department. Several of the defendants' family members attended as well, including Moffett's mother, who began sobbing as the clerk read the verdicts.
"My son didn't kill nobody. He didn't kill nobody," Moffett's mother said as she slammed out of the courtroom.
As Moffett was being taken away in handcuffs, he nodded at relatives and then exhaled sharply at Lasater's family and colleagues.
Outside the courtroom, Lasater's mother Phyllis Loya said she wanted to thank the jury "for their hard work and attentiveness." She also thanked everyone who supported her family through the trial.
"Larry had two families - his blood family and his law enforcement family," Loya said.
Alexander Rashad Hamilton prison worn and signed shorts.
Guilty Verdicts In East Bay Cop Killing
Jurors found two Antioch men guilty Monday of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater in April 2005.
Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Moffett, both 20, were also found guilty of three counts of second-degree robbery, one count of car theft and multiple firearms and special circumstance enhancements, including killing a police officer in the commission of a robbery and knowingly killing a police officer while he was carrying out his duties.
Hamilton was also found guilty of two counts of attempted murder for firing at two police officers who went to Lasater's aid. Jurors also found true the special circumstances charge that Hamilton intentionally killed Lasater by lying in wait, findings that could bring him the death penalty.
The penalty phase of the trial will begin Monday.
Moffett, who was 17 at the time of the murder, is not eligible for the death penalty. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 12.
The charges stem from a series of crimes that began on the afternoon of April 23, 2005 when Hamilton and Moffett asked a friend to steal a car for them.
In the stolen car, the two teens went to the Raley's supermarket in Pittsburg and robbed it and a Wells Fargo branch bank inside it at gunpoint.
As they were fleeing the supermarket, they crashed the stolen getaway car and took off on foot toward the Delta De Anza trail, which is where Lasater caught up to them.
Moffett jumped a fence and kept running, but Hamilton, who was hiding in the bushes, fired at Lasater, dropping him to the ground.
When two police officers went to help Lasater, Hamilton fired again. According to prosecutor Harold Jewett, Hamilton kept firing until he ran out of bullets and was forced to surrender.
Antioch police caught Moffett a short time later.
The Martinez courtroom was packed today with members of Lasater's family and members of the Pittsburg Police Department. Several of the defendants' family members attended as well, including Moffett's mother, who began sobbing as the clerk read the verdicts.
"My son didn't kill nobody. He didn't kill nobody," Moffett's mother said as she slammed out of the courtroom.
As Moffett was being taken away in handcuffs, he nodded at relatives and then exhaled sharply at Lasater's family and colleagues.
Outside the courtroom, Lasater's mother Phyllis Loya said she wanted to thank the jury "for their hard work and attentiveness." She also thanked everyone who supported her family through the trial.
"Larry had two families - his blood family and his law enforcement family," Loya said.
