By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Oct. 16, 2002

OAKLAND —The proprietor of a Dublin steakhouse where a deputy sheriff was killed after a robbery said he was forced at gunpoint to tell a sheriff's dispatcher that everything was fine at the restaurant.

James McGinnis testified Tuesday that he complied with the robber during the Dec. 11, 1998 ordeal at the Outback Steakhouse on Regional Street. With a gun barrel pointed at the back of his head, he spoke briefly with a dispatcher who called to ask about a 911 call authorities had received moments earlier.

"'Answer the phone,'" McGinnis said he was told that night. "'You better be calm, or I'm going to kill you.'"

Prosecutor Jon Goodfellow played a tape of the call for jurors. On it, McGinnis can be heard answering the phone with the restaurant's standard greeting. The dispatcher asked whether there were any problems, and McGinnis replied that there were none and ended the 13-second call.

"'That was a smart (expletive) move,'" McGinnis said he was told, "because he didn't want to hurt anybody."

McGinnis said he tried to keep his outward appearance reserved as the robber ordered him around with the gun.

He said he was asked to give up the restaurant's deposits, which totaled about $4,600 from a busy Friday night. The robber stuffed cash in his pockets at first, then grabbed a bag to finish the job, McGinnis said.

He and about two dozen others were herded into a walk-in refrigerator, where they were ordered to stay put, McGinnis said.

"'I want you to stay in there for three minutes, then I don't give a (expletive) what you do,'" McGinnis testified he was told. "'You can call the police or anything.'"

Moments later, Deputy John Paul Monego was shot in front of the restaurant. He had responded to the earlier 911 call and was investigating the scene when he was fired on, officials have said.

Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 27, Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, and Hai Minh Le, 23, were arrested after a short chase. Authorities believe Vasquez was the group's leader who instructed McGinnis and maintained control over the robbery.

Investigators believe it was Vasquez who fired on Monego, killing the 33-year-old Brentwood father.

Each defendant is charged with one first-degree murder count and special circumstances that could make him eligible for the death sentence.