Man Sentenced for Killing Stranger During a Delusion

Bemoaning the shortage of funding for mental health care, a San Fernando Superior Court judge Wednesday sentenced a mentally ill Korean immigrant who murdered a stranger in a McDonald’s restaurant to 15 years to life in prison.

Roger Pak, 43, of Granada Hills fatally shot Edward Capannelli, 60, in the back of the head on May 10 as Capannelli was eating his breakfast at a McDonald’s in Mission Hills. Police said Pak was suffering from the delusion that Capannelli was having an affair with Pak’s wife. Three months before the murder, Pak was released from Olive View Medical Center, where he had been treated for paranoia and other problems.

Deputy Public Defender Nelda K. Barrett said Pak’s wife did not want him released because she thought he still needed treatment, but hospital officials insisted.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Farrell said the case shows the need for more money for mental health clinics so patients can remain hospitalized longer.

The judge also called attention to the case of Rodolfo Aguero, a former mental patient who bludgeoned two teen-agers with a hammer and said voices had told him that they were laughing at him. The teen-agers were permanently disabled, and Aguero was convicted of attempted second-degree murder.

“It is often overlooked that money spent on mental health would be every bit as helpful as money spent on new prisons,” Farrell said. With the shortage of funds available for mental health, Farrell said, hospitals and clinics cannot give patients the long-term, in-depth treatment they may need.

“It seems like they are just taking people in and putting them back out after a short time with a little bit of medicine,” Farrell said.

During the sentencing hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Guadalupe Y. Gonzalez read an emotional statement from Capannelli’s wife of 40 years, Gae Capannelli. She sat in the courtroom surrounded by her two daughters, her son and several grandchildren.

The statement described Edward Capannelli as a dedicated family man who was actively involved in the lives of his grandchildren. He often picked them up from school, he fixed their broken bicycles and he taught his eldest grandchild how to drive a stick-shift car.

“I lost my friend, my companion and someone to share my life with,” her statement said. “His death has ended the good times, the fun and the laughter, and has left us with an endless stream of tears.

“Please see to it that he is not permitted to destroy any other family like he has ours.”