By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Feb. 6, 2003

OAKLAND —One of three men found guilty of the 1998 murder of an Alameda County deputy sheriff will be considered for the death penalty.

Two Central Valley men convicted earlier this week of taking part in a deadly Dublin steakhouse robbery will not face execution for the death of John Paul Monego.

Resolving deadlocks that had threatened deliberations, jurors announced Wednesday their decision that Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, and Hai Minh Le, 24, should not suffer as harsh a punishment as their companion Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 27.

Monday, the jury had announced it found all three guilty of first-degree murder. The jury also agreed that Vasquez, who shot Monego, was guilty of special circumstances -- including intentionally shooting a peace officer -- and should face a penalty hearing for the jury to decide whether he should be executed or be given a life sentence.

They had deadlocked for days on special circumstance charges also against Sifuentes and Le -- murder during commission of a robbery or burglary -- which would determine whether they, too, should face life behind bars or be executed for killing Monego, 33, of Brentwood.

The nine-woman, three-man jury decided quickly after beginning deliberations Jan. 14 that special circumstances charged against Vasquez were true.

Sifuentes and Le will be sentenced later this year and could receive 25 years to life in prison and additional time for being armed during the deadly Dec. 11, 1998, robbery of Outback Steakhouse.

Sitting in the courtroom gallery Wednesday, relatives of Sifuentes and Le wiped away tears as a clerk read the verdicts. They feared jurors would send them to death row, a sentence they felt was undeserved for two who did not fire the fatal shots.

Sifuentes' mother held a hand to her mouth as tears streamed from her eyes. She sat in the courtroom throughout the four-month trial, taking voluminous notes of a proceeding she felt was stacked against her son.

She supported him, going so far as turning over the family's Turlock house to pay for a private attorney rather than have one appointed by the court. She declined comment after the verdict.

Sifuentes' father paraded the perimeter of the courthouse following the verdict. With an arm stretched toward a clear, blue sky, he walked with three others who praised God for sparing the man's son from a possible death sentence.

He also did not wish to comment.

Le's family too, spent many days in the courtroom during the trial. His father sat quietly most days after driving hours from his Sacramento home to the Oakland courthouse where his son was on trial.

They left without commenting after exchanging hugs and smiles with Le's defense attorneys.

Listening to the verdicts from the back row of seats they had occupied during court sessions since the trial began in October, Monego's wife and supporters sat quietly among local law enforcement officials. They have declined to comment until after the case concludes.

Members of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office packed into the courtroom and its vestibule to listen to the remaining verdicts.

The night of the shooting, Monego was backing up a deputy who was called out to investigate a 911 hang-up call from the restaurant. Monego was shot as he walked through the front doors.

Sheriff's department spokesman Lt. Jim Knudsen declined to comment on the verdicts. But many deputies and senior staff on hand were obviously disappointed with the decisions as they discussed the case together outside the courtroom.

The penalty phase of the trial for Vasquez begins today.