A Dissent to a Reversed Conviction

In response to “Conviction Is Upset in O.C. Copter Deaths” (Aug. 2), I am inclined to write my own dissenting opinion to those of the appeal judges involved in this case.

To refresh your memory, in 1987 defendant (and appellant) Vincent William Acosta, driving a stolen car, led police on a chase through four different cities at speeds up to 90 m.p.h. During the aerial part of the pursuit, police helicopters from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa collided, killing all three occupants in the Costa Mesa helicopter.

The appeals court reversed the murder conviction of Acosta, saying that he could not have foreseen that his actions would cause a helicopter crash (although the court said that if someone on the ground had died, Acosta would be liable).

Frankly, I see no difference between a police pursuit on the ground and one in the air when a chase lasts 45 minutes. The risk of those in the air was far from “minimal” as the court stated, since more than one helicopter was involved. The court also implied that Acosta’s actions weren’t even inherently dangerous when it said that there wasn’t a high probability that a death would result from them.

Acosta was a fleeing felon who was seen smiling at those pursuing him and at times drove with his lights off on the wrong side of the road to elude the helicopters. To add insult to injury, the defense attorney for Acosta made an even more ignorant mistake than the judges did in saying that the crash was caused by a flying error on the part of the Costa Mesa pilot.

It is commonly held that the victim’s negligence is no defense to a homicide determined to be caused by the defendant. In my opinion, Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald was right on the button when he sentenced Acosta to 45 years for second-degree murder. Unfortunately, another criminal seems to have temporarily escaped through a loophole in the system, but he’s not free yet. Acosta may still be tried on a manslaughter charge or the prosecution could appeal the case to a higher authority--the state Supreme Court.

RANDALL J. DeBOER

Buena Park