By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Feb. 24, 2003

OAKLAND —Witnesses for a Modesto man facing possible execution for killing a deputy sheriff took the stand on Monday, opening the personal world of a man who some said was professional and considerate.

In the continuing penalty phase of the trial of Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 28, former coworkers and school officials spoke of a persistent man who struggled with his education, but worked easily with others.

Called by defense attorney William Cole, witnesses told jurors that Vasquez was a thoughtful, professional coworker, who went so far as to bring chocolates and roses to his colleagues at Farmers Merchant Bank on Valentine’s Day. He followed direction well and even wrote a letter of resignation in the days following his arrest for taking part in the deadly Outback Steakhouse heist, Lori Laessi, a customer service manager at the Modesto bank.

Their words were in stark contrast to the message that prosecutor Jon Goodfellow has delivered to jurors. Last week, he characterized Vasquez as a violent felon who killed John Paul Monego, 33, in cold blood while robbing the Outback Steakhouse on Dec. 11, 1998.

Earlier this month, jurors convicted Vasquez and two others — Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, and Hai Minh Le, 24 — of first-degree murder. However, only Vasquez, the person who shot Monego, was found eligible for a possible death penalty.

Sifuentes and Le face a possible 25-sentence later his year.

A psychologist also testified on Monday that Vasquez likely suffered from attention deficit disorder, making his school life at California State University at Stanislaus nearly impossible. He struggled with math and after four years of enrollment did not even have enough credits to become a sophomore, said Anne Reith, now a psychologist at California Polytechnic University Pomona.

“The fact that he stayed in that long, persevered,” Reith said, “is testament to his amazing psychological courage.”

Alameda County Judge Alfred Delucchi said on Monday that jurors could begin deliberating by Thursday whether Vasquez should spend the rest of his life in prison or be executed for the crime.