Assailant of Ex-Girlfriend Gets 35 Years

A Superior Court judge sentenced the ex-boyfriend of a San Diego woman to 35 years in prison Thursday for kidnaping and sexually assaulting the woman. The sentence was pronounced after the judge heard, then denied, the defendant’s protracted request for a new trial.

And the victim of the attack, “still a little bit leery,” breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“I’m just in shock,” said Tamra Wimler, 26, who testified against Jerry Gallo during the trial. “I’m glad it’s over, and I’m going to try to forget it for a while.”

Gallo, 36, repeatedly addressed the court over two days, contending that he was being framed by Wimler and her roommate, Jodi Friedman, for the rape and assault. He also repeatedly accused them of perjuring themselves.

“I’m going to have to live with what they have done to me,” he said in a whisper, referring to Wimler and Friedman, without turning to look at his former girlfriend of 18 months.

Wimler, an administrative bank assistant from Arizona, once lived with Gallo. But, after they parted, trouble began and Wimler obtained two temporary restraining orders to keep Gallo away from her, her home and friends.

Wimler said that, despite the restraining orders, Gallo continued to harass, follow, call and threaten her. Gallo, who called himself a salesman, made counter-allegations against Wimler, saying that she stole money from him and, on several occasions, burglarized his home.

“I believe it’s a war between these two,” said Jerry Gallo, the defendant’s father who came from his home in Phoenix for the sentencing of his son.

According to testimony, the conflict between the former lovers culminated July 6, 1987, when Gallo abducted Wimler from her Bay Park home at gunpoint and took her to an abandoned warehouse in Chula Vista, where he raped and beat her. After the assault, he dropped her at a hospital for treatment.

After a three-week trial in March, Gallo was convicted of forcible rape, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of kidnaping and five other counts. The district attorney’s office sought a 77-year sentence for Gallo.

When Judge Norbert Ehrenfreund denied motions for a new trial by both Gallo and his attorney, Nicholas DePento, Gallo said he had been told that he was going to be killed upon entering prison because of the nature of his case and the publicity surrounding it.

“It doesn’t matter if you give me 6 or 60 years,” Gallo said. And, voicing fear of being killed in prison, Gallo said, “I am going to ask the court to order my execution.”

“I was just hoping that he would have done it before the trial,” said Wimler, who described the rape scenario to the court “as more disgusting than you can imagine.”

“I saw myself die,” she said during a presentencing statement. “I (imagined I) saw bullet holes and blood all over me as I lay on the ground. Imagine not only seeing your life pass before your eyes but to witness your death too,” Wimler said.

Ehrenfreund also denied DePento’s request for a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Gallo.

Both Wimler and Daniel Lamborn, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said they were satisfied with the sentence.

Gallo’s father, before sentencing, said he thought his son was being “railroaded” because his son is a man and the courts look more closely at the woman’s side of cases.