John
Hernandez Felix, was sentenced to death in Palm Springs, California on August
30, 2019. He was convicted of the murders of Palm Springs police officers Jose "Gil"
Vega and Lesley Zerebny.
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[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.kvcrnews.org/post/after-guilty-verdict-monday-penalty-phase-begins-trial-convicted-palm-springs-cop-killer]
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'I hope you burn in hell': Palm Springs cop killer John Hernandez Felix gets death sentence
A judge on Friday sentenced Palm
Springs cop killer John Hernandez Felix to die for taking the lives of two
officers nearly three years ago.
In addition, Felix was sentenced
by Riverside Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos to 368 years to life
for the gun battle in October 2016 that injured several others at his parents'
home.
As Villalobos read his decision,
after first explaining the relevant state laws, the packed courtroom sat in
silence.
Earlier, family members spoke, sharing their
pain, anger and hope that the judge will uphold a jury's recommendation in May
and send Felix to his death in the slayings of Palm Springs police officers
Jose "Gil" Vega and Lesley Zerebny.
Villalobos, who presided over
Felix's murder trial earlier this year, first heard motions Friday from Felix's
lawyers for a new trial and for a lighter sentence, which he rejected.
Felix looked dazed when the
sentence was read, but remained still and quiet. Now sporting a
clean-shaven scalp, he sat between his attorneys, wearing a dark blue suit
and red tie. His face was clad in black, thick-rimmed glasses, the same ones he
wore throughout his trial. He appeared visibly nervous as the hearing got
underway.
“Mr. Felix, there’s not much I
can say that hasn’t already been said," Villalobos said to the condemned
man. "Your calloused actions ruined many lives. I hope that what
little was done here today will bring some peace to these families."
The judge earlier heard from
those family members, whose lives were forever changed by Felix's actions.
Several of Zerebny's family
members spoke, including her sister, Britta Kling. She asked the judge to
uphold the jury's death recommendation.
"I hope he
suffers," she told the judge. "Karma is a bitch and she has the entire Felix family
written on her to-do list."
She added, "You can’t
sufficiently sentence him for what he has done."
She called Felix a dog and asked
the judge to put him down like one.
Felix opened fire on Oct. 8,
2016, when officers were dispatched to his house in response to a domestic
dispute. He fired 21 shots at officers, killing two and injuring several
others. Felix was arrested over 12 hours later when SWAT team members fired
teargas into the home in which he barricaded himself.
Felix
was convicted of first-degree murder in May for shooting
the two officers to death in a premeditated plan to lure police to his parents'
home and open fire. He also was convicted of attempted murder for shooting
at six other officers and three firearms violations. Jurors
deliberated just a few hours before reaching their verdict, recommending Felix
be put to death for his crimes.
Matt
Zerebny, Lesley Zerebny's father-in-law, described to the court the
suffering that her family struggles with every day without her.
He
noted that Felix threatened the officers who arrested him by saying he saw
their faces and that they were next.
“God
saw your face," Zerebny said while looking at Felix. "Vengeance
is his."
Vega's wife Susana Vega took the
stand to give a statement, but it was read by Andrea Murray, one of Vega's
daughters. Susana Vega's statement said she and her daughters miss him dearly.
"I hope this sentence brings
us closure," the statement read.
Nickole Rubio, Vega's
goddaughter, said this case now is about the families who lost their two
loved ones and said she spoke on behalf of the Vega family.
"You maybe ripped those two
out of our hands but you made four families stronger," Rubio said to
Felix. "The Vegas, Zerebnys, Klings and the police department."
Jose Hector Vega told the court
that his fallen brother came from a family of 10, a single mother and no father
in the household.
We weren’t allowed to use bathrooms at
gas stations,” he said, noting how people felt about his family. “Mexicans
hated us, white people hated us because we were brown, other people hated us
because we were farm workers.”
Still, he said, “Gil didn’t turn
out like you. Gil gave people second opportunities.”
Prosecutor Manny Bustamante read
a statement from Dan and Marge Zerebny, who are the grandparents of officer
Zerebny’s husband.
LuAnne Kling, Zerebny's mother,
said her daughter “was so proud to be on the police force and we were proud of
her.”
Her husband, David Kling,
Lesley's father, agreed. He said he owed a debt of gratitude to the Palm
Springs Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, prosecutors
and even the judge. But Kling said he owed the jury his "eternal thanks.”
"Because we are talking
about here is justice, that's what's been missing from our lives for two
years," Kling said. "Because what we are talking about here is
justice.”
He then spoke to Felix, “I don’t
know if you know where you are going, but San Quentin is a living hell.
“You're gonna be sitting in that
cage for a long time. My only message to you is: “I hope you burn in hell,
Felix.”
He then stepped down, concluding
the statements being made by relatives of victims.
Felix's trial began on April
17, and lasted for more than a month as witnesses testified in graphic
detail about the shooting and friends and family shared heartfelt
testimony of their loss.
The prosecuting attorneys,
Michelle Paradise and Manny Bustamante, ultimately built a case that Felix had
intentionally lured the officers to his house to kill them after he had gotten
into a fight with family members.
On the last day of the trial,
Paradise held up the AR-15 Felix used to fire at the officers that arrived
at his house after his mother had called the police reporting her son was
acting erratically.
"The police were called
there to help a family with a domestic disturbance,” Paradise said. “And what
did they get for their effort? Bullets through the heart."
John
Dolan and Jacke Devane, Felix's attorneys, told the jury that Felix had a drug
problem and a mental and intellectual deficiency. They attempted to make
the case that Felix did not deserve the death penalty in light of
these problems.
"John
Felix deserves to be punished, should be punished and he will be punished,”
Devane said. “Death is not the answer in this case, ladies and gentleman."
On
May 30, the jury returned their unanimous death sentence recommendations for both murder
counts within hours.
Friday
the judge complied. After the sentence was read, Chief Deputy District
Attorney Michelle Paradise and Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes spoke to
reporters.
Paradise
said justice had been served.
"Make
no mistake, the only reason he killed Officer Zerebny and Officer Vega is
because they were doing their job," she said, adding that violence against
law enforcement officers has been on the rise.
Reyes
said if there was one key takeaway from the day's sentencing hearing, it's the
importance of the sacrifice of first responders.
Sherry
Barkas and Shane Newell contributed to this report.
Dig Deeper
Police killing
aftermath
Desert
Sun reporter Christopher Damien covers crime, public safety and the criminal
justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow
him at @chris_a_damien.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2019/08/30/palm-springs-police-slaying-case-ends-john-hernandez-felixs-sentencing/2158311001/
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On October 8, 2016, Palm
Springs Police Officers Jose "Gil" Vega, 63, and Lesley Zerebny,
27, were shot and killed by John Hernandez Felix, 28, with an AR-15
rifle during a domestic disturbance call at Felix's family home on
the 2700 block of Cypress Avenue.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.kesq.com/news/man-convicted-of-killing-pspd-officers-to-be-sentenced-friday/1114879335]
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Families confront cop killer sentenced to death for shooting 2: 'I hope you burn in hell'
A
California man
was sentenced to death Friday for the “planned and calculated” killings of two
Palm Springs police officers
during a standoff in 2016, according to reports.
John
Hernandez Felix fatally shot Officers Jose "Gil" Vega and Lesley
Zerebny and injured several others with an AR-15 rifle when they responded to
his home on a domestic violence call, authorities have said.
“Mr. Felix, there’s not much I
can say that hasn’t already been said," the judge said as Felix sat in
silence. "Your calloused actions ruined many lives. I hope that
what little was done here today will bring some peace to these families," the Desert Sun reported.
Last
spring, a jury found Felix guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and the
attempted murder of six other officers. They recommended the death penalty. He
was additionally sentenced to 368 years to life for the murders.
"I hope he suffers,"
Zerebny's sister, Britta Kling, said in court while asking the judge to uphold
the jury’s recommendation, the Desert Sun reported. "You
can’t sufficiently sentence him for what he has done."
"You're gonna be sitting in that cage for a long time," Zerebny's father, David Kling, told the
killer. "My only message to you is, 'I hope you
burn in hell, Felix.'"
Vega
was a 35-year veteran who planned to retire within a year and Zerebny was a new
mother.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-man-sentenced-to-death-in-fatal-shooting-of-2-police-officers
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The verdict for the
murders of Officers Gil Vega and Lesley Zerebny was confirmed today...Death
Penalty plus 368 Years. Thank you to all who supported us through this long
process.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://twitter.com/PalmSpringsPD/status/1167556336814415872]
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OTHER
LINKS:
POLICE
OFFICER LESLEY ZEREBNY (END OF WATCH: OCTOBER 8, 2016)