John Luebbers convicted of first-degree murder with gun enhancements
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John Luebbers, the Placerville school janitor who gunned down a school principal in 2011, has been convicted of first-degree murder with gun enhancements.
At around 1:24 p.m. Monday the El Dorado County jury announced it had reached a verdict in the slaying of popular Schnell School Principal Sam LaCara about two and a half hours after starting deliberations.
Janitor Convicted Of First Degree Murder In Placerville Principal Shooting
The prosecution wrapped up their case last Wednesday after a ballistics and pathology expert took the stand to testify that bullets found in John Luebbers’ .357 magnum matched bullets found in the victim, Schnell School Principal Sam LaCara, 50.
Luebbers, the former head custodian at the school, shot and killed LaCara in February of last year, a few days after the two golfed together. Witnesses say Luebbers was upset he didn’t get enough input into a hiring decision on a night janitor. He entered LaCara’s office and shot him three times with a .357.
Justice was served. Placerville lived up to its name of swift justice, old Hangtown,” one of LaCara’s friends said after the verdict.
But Kara Tracy, a school employee who testified in the case, said the verdict didn’t make things any easier. “It can’t bring our principal Sam LaCara back. His girls are without a father,” she said. “There is no justice.”
But a parent of the school said the first-degree murder verdict was important. “For me and my kids, the fact they see justice actually happens,” Jennifer Winter said. “The worst thing would have been if he had got off.”
The defense wanted the judge to allow the jury to consider a manslaughter conviction, but he rejected that option on Thursday afternoon. Luebbers’ attorney David Cramer already conceded in his opening statement that his client killed LaCara, but he argued that the shooting came in the heat of the moment.
But Cramer didn’t offer any new evidence on Tuesday and didn’t put Luebbers on the stand.
“I just don’t think the evidence would come out the way I wanted it,” he said. “Mr. (Joe) Alexander is a very good DA.”
Sentencing is set for June 15, when Luebbers will face a term of 25 years to life in prison.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/04/24/verdict-reached-in-placerville...
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April 24, 2012
Jurors convict Luebbers of 1st degree murder of principal
By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com
PLACERVILLE - An El Dorado Superior Court jury has convicted janitor John Luebbers of first degree murder in the fatal shooting Schnell Elementary School Principal Sam LaCara on Feb. 2, 2011.
The jurors also found him guilty of allegations regarding the use of a firearm.
Kara Tracy, an instructional aide at the school who testified at the trial, said she still missed LaCara.
"He was a good man. I don't think it does any justice," she said of the verdict. "It doesn't bring Sam back."
The case had gone to the jury before lunch today without Luebbers' attorney presenting any new evidence for the defense after his client declined to testify.
"I just didn't think it was in my client's best interest," David Cramer told reporters after Judge James Wagoner sent jurors to deliberate.
Luebbers told Wagoner that after consulting with his attorney, he'd decided against taking the stand in his own defense.
In his closing arguments, Cramer didn't dispute that his client shot LaCara. Nor did he argue that Luebbers had acted without malice.
Instead, he told jurors that Joe Alexander, the prosecutor, had failed to prove premeditation nor showed that Luebbers had acted deliberately, despite the undisputed evidence that he walked into LaCara's office with a gun and shot the principal three times.
The prosecution rested its case at the opening of court today, relying on earlier testimony about Luebbers' actions.
According to prosecution testimony in the trial, the janitor was angered over a hire that the principal was making, though Cramer disputed that motive in his closing.
Cramer had asked jurors for a lesser, second degree murder verdict.
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2012/04/janitor-doesnt-take-stand...
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April 24, 2012
Jurors convict Luebbers of 1st degree murder of principal
By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com
PLACERVILLE - An El Dorado Superior Court jury has convicted janitor John Luebbers of first degree murder in the fatal shooting Schnell Elementary School Principal Sam LaCara on Feb. 2, 2011.
The jurors also found him guilty of allegations regarding the use of a firearm.
Kara Tracy, an instructional aide at the school who testified at the trial, said she still missed LaCara.
"He was a good man. I don't think it does any justice," she said of the verdict. "It doesn't bring Sam back."
The case had gone to the jury before lunch today without Luebbers' attorney presenting any new evidence for the defense after his client declined to testify.
"I just didn't think it was in my client's best interest," David Cramer told reporters after Judge James Wagoner sent jurors to deliberate.
Luebbers told Wagoner that after consulting with his attorney, he'd decided against taking the stand in his own defense.
In his closing arguments, Cramer didn't dispute that his client shot LaCara. Nor did he argue that Luebbers had acted without malice.
Instead, he told jurors that Joe Alexander, the prosecutor, had failed to prove premeditation nor showed that Luebbers had acted deliberately, despite the undisputed evidence that he walked into LaCara's office with a gun and shot the principal three times.
The prosecution rested its case at the opening of court today, relying on earlier testimony about Luebbers' actions.
According to prosecution testimony in the trial, the janitor was angered over a hire that the principal was making, though Cramer disputed that motive in his closing.
Cramer had asked jurors for a lesser, second degree murder verdict.
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2012/04/janitor-doesnt-take-stand...
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