Oceanside Cop Killer's Case Will Be In Adult Court's Jurisdiction

OCEANSIDE, CA — A man sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing an Oceanside police officer when he was 17 years old will be in the adult court's jurisdiction, a judge ruled Monday, as changes to state law placed him back in juvenile court, which could have resulted in his release from prison.

Meki Gaono, now 35, was convicted of first-degree murder for the Dec. 20, 2006, gang-related slaying of Officer Daniel Bessant. Prosecutors say that while Bessant was assisting another officer on a traffic stop, Gaono trained a rifle on the 25-year-old lawman from down the street and opened fire, killing Bessant and nearly striking another officer.

Gaono was tried as an adult and sentenced in 2009 to life without parole plus 61 years, but due to recent changes in state law, Gaono's case went back to the juvenile court's jurisdiction and he was granted a juvenile transfer hearing that he didn't receive at the time of his prosecution.

As the juvenile system oversees offenders only until the age of 25, Gaono was expected to be released from custody and placed under a two-year period of probation if his case remained in juvenile court.

Following San Diego Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta's decision to transfer Gaono to adult court, he will be resentenced for the murder and could possibly receive a new prison term that gives him the possibility of parole.

A resentencing date is tentatively scheduled for next month. Gaono may also appeal Lagotta's ruling on the transfer.

During a hearing that spanned a week, prosecutors argued the juvenile court system's resources are insufficient to monitor or supervise an adult, while a defense attorney for Gaono argued his client has demonstrated a capacity to change during an incarceration that has spanned more than half of his life.

The hearing focused on a series of factors aiming to determine whether Gaono was amenable to rehabilitation.

Among those factors are the seriousness and sophistication involved in the offense, with prosecutors emphasizing the steps Gaono took to conceal his role in the crime and highlighting the gang-related motivations behind the shooting -- which occurred during a period when Oceanside police were particularly focused on gang activity in the city's "back gate" area near Camp Pendleton.

Prosecutors also argued Gaono has not performed well in prior attempts at rehabilitation or during his time in custody.

But defense attorney Jimmy Rodriguez said Gaono "reformed himself of his own volition" even before changes to the law afforded him any hope of getting out of prison.

Rodriguez said Gaono renounced his gang affiliations and took a "pact of nonviolence" more than a decade ago because engaging in violent acts was "in his own words, dishonoring the memory of the man whose life he took."

Lagotta commended Gaono for gaining an education and employable skills while incarcerated, but the judge said Gaono's reformative efforts, as well as his childhood trauma and upbringing in an environment steeped in gang- related influences, did not outweigh the gravity of the killing or the shortcomings of the juvenile system to supervise Gaono.

Along with Gaono, two other gang members were convicted and sentenced in the killing, including co-defendant Penifoti Taeotui, who is expected to seek a similar hearing in the future.

— City News Service