Driver Faces 3 Murder Counts in Copter Crash

Three second-degree murder charges were filed Thursday against Vincent William Acosta, the 19-year-old Anaheim man suspected of leading police on a high-speed chase in which three people were killed when two police helicopters collided.

Deputy Orange County Dist. Atty. Tom Borris said Acosta’s conduct in the chase “was so reckless” that prosecutors will argue that he acted with malice and thus is guilty of murder even though he did not intentionally kill anyone. Borris said Acosta’s alleged theft of a car and flight from police “set the stage” for Tuesday night’s collision.

Acosta will plead innocent at his arraignment April 3, his attorney, deputy public defender William Kelley, said.

In another development Thursday, federal investigators said the Newport Beach police helicopter was flying level when the Costa Mesa police aircraft--a larger and faster turbine-powered model--ran into it from below and behind.

The two helicopters collided near the campus of the University of California, Irvine, killing the three people aboard the Costa Mesa helicopter: two police officers and a civilian observer. The helicopters were aiding officers on the ground who were chasing a suspected stolen car.

Jim Wall, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said Thursday that it may never be known if the Costa Mesa copter was rising when the collision occurred, but “according to the pilots of the (Newport Beach copter), they were in level flight.”

Wall said he had interviewed the two survivors of the collision and made preliminary inspections of the wreckage. There are still witnesses to be interviewed, he said.

The Costa Mesa police helicopter “came up from the back of the Hughes 300 (Newport Beach police helicopter) and hit it from below,” Wall said. “We determined that the Hughes 300 had its landing gear taken off by the rotor blades” on the Costa Mesa helicopter.

Acosta also was charged Thursday with auto theft and possession of stolen property. His bail was set at $500,000.

The defendant made a brief appearance in a Santa Ana courtroom, where his mother, several of his nine brothers and sisters and at least half a dozen friends went to show their support.

Several of Acosta’s friends, who said they heard the sirens and the commotion and walked outside to witness the arrest, only blocks from Acosta’s home, accused police of using unnecessary force.

Stephanie Williams, 19, and others said they saw police handcuff Acosta and place him in a police car, take him out again, beat him, tie his wrists and legs and carry him off “like an animal.”

Kelley said his client “clearly was roughed up.” He has “a bad abrasion” on the upper right cheekbone, another on the lower right cheekbone and swollen wrists. “I think he was struck by bricks in some fashion.”

Anaheim Police Chief Jimmie D. Kennedy said that Acosta resisted arrest and that officers had to use restraining cuffs on his hands and feet. “If there are allegations that there was excessive force used, we’ll certainly look into it.”

Killed in Tuesday’s helicopter crash were Costa Mesa police officers James David Ketchum, 39, and John William (Mike) Libolt, 39, and Jeffrey A. Pollard, 27, a civilian flight instructor from Tustin. Two Newport Beach police officers in the second helicopter were pilot Robert Oakley, 35, and Myles Elsing, 40, a pilot riding as observer.

Oakley was treated at a hospital and released, and Elsing was in stable condition Thursday at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

Acosta has a juvenile record, according to Kennedy, and was convicted last year of auto burglary and last month of selling cocaine. On Feb. 2, he was sentenced to three years’ probation and 90 days in jail on the cocaine charge. He was released to a community work program on Feb. 12.

Michelle Munoz, 19, mother of Acosta’s 19-month-old daughter, Christina, said her former boyfriend is “hurting” because of what happened. “He would never hurt anybody. Vince has a big heart,” said Munoz, who added that Acosta visits with their daughter at least three times a week.

Costa Mesa Sgt. Jim Watson said funeral services for Ketchum and Libolt are scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Calvary Chapel in Santa Ana.

Funeral services for Pollard are scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tustin. He is survived by his wife, Becky, and their 21-month-old daughter, Christy.

Becky Pollard said her husband had been eagerly anticipating the ride in the Costa Mesa police helicopter.

“He had never been on a helicopter before. He was very excited,” she said. “He went along as an observer. A friend of his arranged it. He was just going for the ride.”

Aviation was her husband’s consuming passion, she said. “It’s all he’s ever wanted to do--to be a pilot.”