Judge Orders Murder Trial in Fatal Police Copter Crash

Even if pilot error led to a two-helicopter crash last year in which three people were killed, the driver of a stolen car being pursued by the helicopters still must be tried for murder, a judge ruled Thursday.

Vincent William Acosta, now 20, of Anaheim, who led police on a chase through Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, then doubled back north to Anaheim on March 10, 1987, could be sentenced to 45 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder in the three deaths.

The pilot of a Costa Mesa police helicopter and his two passengers were killed when his craft collided with a Newport Beach police helicopter over the hills southwest of UC Irvine. The Costa Mesa helicopter apparently was trying to transfer pursuit of Acosta--on MacArthur Boulevard below them, just past Bonita Canyon Road--to the Newport Beach helicopter.

Acosta’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender William G. Kelley, called as an expert witness Menzies Turner, who testified Thursday that the Costa Mesa helicopter pilot who was killed had used improper air safety procedures and probably caused the crash. Turner, a former Federal Aviation Administration official, was identified as a private aviation consultant.

But Central Municipal Judge James M. Brooks said in his Santa Ana courtroom that it did not matter who was responsible--that the two helicopters would not have been anywhere near each other if Acosta had not led police on a high-speed chase through central Orange County.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas J. Borris had already agreed with Acosta’s attorney that the crash was due to some kind of negligence by one or more of the pilots involved.

“The defense brought in an expert to tell us what we already knew,” Borris said. “It really doesn’t matter. The issue is whether Vince Acosta is responsible for those deaths.”

Killed in the collision were Costa Mesa police officers John William Libolt, 39, and James David Ketchum, 39, and Jeffrey Pollard, 27, a civilian from Tustin who was riding with them that evening. Officers in the Newport Beach helicopter landed safely.

Brooks ordered Acosta to stand trial on three counts of murder, one charge of vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and a jail escape. The last charge stemmed from Acosta’s alleged failure to complete a work furlough program.

Kelley vowed Thursday that he will fight the murder charges at a pretrial hearing. Acosta had no way of knowing that his running from the police would lead to the helicopter crash, Kelley said.

“What happened was a bad thing, but it wasn’t any murder,” Kelley said.

Acosta is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on March 25. He remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail.