By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Oct. 17, 2002

OAKLAND —Defense lawyers for three men accused of fatally shooting a deputy sheriff during a Dublin restaurant robbery lost their bid Wednesday to look at the medical records of another deputy who responded to the scene.

The attorneys had asked Judge Alfred Delucchi to open the records to determine if former Deputy Angela Schwab suffered from mental problems that may have clouded her recollection of the robbery and shooting.

"Basically we're interested in her account of the events of that evening if there was an account," Pleasanton attorney Harry Traback told Delucchi during a hearing earlier this month. "If she was being treated, that would have affected perceptions at the time of the incident."

Citing privacy issues, Schwab fought a defense subpoena to view the records.

Delucchi reviewed the records privately and determined there was no evidence that Schwab suffered from a mental illness that hindered a clear recitation of the events that night, he said.

Schwab has since left the department. She is expected to take the stand during the trial.

A gag order has barred attorneys from discussing the ruling or the case.

Schwab was taken hostage and stripped of her gun after responding late Dec. 11, 1998 to the Outback Steakhouse. An employee had dialed 911 after robbers stormed the restaurant, but she hung up the phone before talking to a sheriff's department dispatcher, investigators have said.

The dispatcher called back and talked to a manager who said -- while being held at gunpoint -- that everything was fine. Schwab and Deputy John Paul Monego were told of the manager's report before going inside.

Another manager, Jeremy Williams, testified on Wednesday that authorities also should have received a second emergency alert. While being held with a group, Williams activated a device, he said, that silently signaled a call center operator, who reported the message to authorities.

It was unclear whether that information was sent to the officers.

Moments after the alert went out, Monego was shot dead as he tried to enter the building. Alameda County Prosecutor Jon Goodfellow has said that Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 27, then approached the fallen officer outside.

"He actually stands over him and executes him," Goodfellow said during opening statements.

Vasquez, Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, and Hai Minh Le, 23, were arrested after a short chase leading from the steakhouse. Each is charged with one first-degree murder count and special circumstances that could make them eligible for the death penalty.

Their trial is in its second week.