By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Feb. 19, 2003

OAKLAND —The parents, wife and sisters of slain sheriff’s deputy John Paul Monego will take the stand today, allowing jurors what will almost certainly be an emotional glimpse into lives absent a beloved son, husband and brother.

In what is expected to be the final day of prosecutor Jon Goodfellow’s penalty phase presentation, Monego’s survivors will tell of how the deadly robbery that claimed the Brentwood father has forever changed their lives.

Jurors will consider relatives’s words when they begin deliberating the fate of Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 28, the sole member of a three-man crew convicted Feb. 5 of gunning Monego down outside of the Dublin Outback Steakhouse.

After nearly two weeks of actual discussions, jurors decided that Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, and Hai Minh Le, 24, should not face a possible death sentence for the Dec. 11, 1998 robbery and killing. They could receive at least 25 years to life in prison when they are sentenced later this year.

But for Vasquez, the possible punishment could be far more severe. Jurors will weigh mitigating and aggravating circumstances surrounding the crime in deciding whether he should spend the rest of his natural life behind bars or be executed for the killing.

On Tuesday, Goodfellow called three witnesses to the stand to offer what he believes is further evidence supporting a death sentence. One-time employees of Mallard’s restaurant in Stockton told jurors of a Dec. 8, 1998 robbery there that was strikingly similar to the steakhouse incident that claimed Monego’s life three days later.

Former restaurant president Jerry Ramar testified that he locked himself in an office after spotting what he believed was the early stages of a potentially deadly heist. He said the robber kicked furiously at the door as he talked to a 911 dispatcher.

“I thought he was shooting at the door,” Ramar said.

Assistant manager Javier Quezada said he had just dropped in for a hot chocolate when one of the robbers approached him from behind.

“I felt a tug to my shirt and felt some pressure to my lower left side,” Quezada said. “I thought it was an employee joking around with me.”

Goodfellow maintains that Vasquez, Sifuentes and Le tried to rob the restaurant but left empty handed after Ramar refused to come out of the office. Quezada and four dishwashers, one of whom also testified on Tuesday, were ordered into a freezer until the robbers were gone.

The men were arrested shortly after the Outback robbery and have never been prosecuted for the crime at Mallard’s.