Gang Member Ordered to Stand Trial in Officer’s Slaying

After a two-week preliminary hearing and testimony from dozens of witnesses, police officers and criminal experts, Stacy Don Butler was ordered Friday to stand trial for murder in the slaying of a rookie San Diego police officer.

The 25-year-old gang member is suspected of shooting Officer Jerry Hartless in the head Jan. 9 as Hartless was about to catch him during a foot chase through a Southeast San Diego neighborhood.

Had Just Been Paroled

Butler, who had just been paroled from prison on a grand-theft conviction when the shooting occurred, is to be arraigned Sept. 29 in Superior Court. A trial date will be set then.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Keith Burt said his office is still weighing whether to add special-circumstances allegations to the case and seek the death penalty for Butler if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

Butler was also ordered by San Diego Municipal Judge Robert Stahl Jr. to stand trial on two charges of being an ex-felon in possession of a weapon. Two guns reportedly were found under a lemon tree behind a house where Butler was hiding. Butler was arrested in a back room of the house shortly after Hartless was shot.

Key witnesses in the lengthy preliminary hearing testified that they saw Butler sweating heavily and out of breath when he appeared at the house on Manomet Street, just minutes from the shooting scene.

Willie Godine, 39, testified that Butler hurriedly handed him two guns and said, “Get rid of these.” Godine said he threw the guns under the tree.

Butler’s attorney, William Nimmo, argued for a dismissal of the case.

“There’s just a lot of question about this evidence from beginning to end,” Nimmo said.

“To base this on the word of Willie Godine would be putting an innocent man in front of a jury that will feel pressure to reach a conviction for the murder of a police officer.”

Nimmo contended that the slaying occurred too suddenly to warrant a charge of first-degree murder.

‘Enjoyed Apprehensions’

Nimmo characterized the 24-year-old Hartless as “a young guy just out of the Marine Corps who I think was enjoying making apprehensions a bit too much.”

But the prosecutor said Hartless was standing still when he was shot.

“What you can clearly infer from that is that Officer Hartless caught him and then was shot, clearly making it a first-degree murder,” Burt said.

The prosecutor said Butler knew that, if he was caught with a firearm, his parole could have been revoked and he could have been sent back to prison.

In other testimony, Eugene Wolberg, a weapons expert, said the bullet recovered from Hartless’ forehead was compared to a round fired during a ballistics test from one of the recovered guns, and that it had the same grooves.

Hartless’ partner, Officer Johan Schneider, testified that Hartless ran after a man wearing green clothing shortly before midnight. Minutes later, Schneider said he heard one shot.

Schneider said he found Hartless lying face down on the ground in the 5000 block of Manomet Street. The officer’s gun was still in its holster, but the strap holding it was unfastened, the officer said.

Schneider was unable to identify Butler as the man Hartless was chasing. However, other witnesses said Butler had been wearing a green-and-white sweat shirt.

Butler remains in custody at County Jail downtown in lieu of $1 million bail.