Oxnard Officer Drawn Into Murder Trial

An Oxnard police officer is under investigation for allegedly hiding the murder weapon reportedly used in the apparently random shotgun slaying of a young man who was walking his dog the day after Christmas, officials revealed in court Friday.

The revelation came during the preliminary hearing of Joaquin “Jack” Ayala Jr., 21, who is accused of shooting Josue Salazar Carrera in the throat.

Prosecutors allege that Carrera, 21, was walking his dog in front of Ayala’s house on Hemlock Street in Oxnard when the two exchanged words and Carrera was killed. During the hearing, prosecutors accused a police officer, who is a brother-in-law of Ayala, of hiding a weapon used in the attack, although the officer has not been charged with a crime.

Ventura County Municipal Judge Thomas J. Hutchins ordered Ayala to stand trial on the murder charge, which could result in a life prison sentence if he is convicted.

Ayala was arrested in February after a two-month investigation by Oxnard police, who believe that the two men did not know each other. Investigators said they were able to arrest Ayala after receiving a tip through the Crime Stoppers program.

Prosecutors called 10 of Ayala’s friends and family members to the witness stand during the daylong hearing Friday. Together they told the story of a young man who had been drinking and driving around Oxnard, firing a shotgun into the air at least three times before pulling up in front of his parents’ home just before the fatal and apparently chance encounter with Carrera.

“I just blasted some fool in front of my house,” testified John Saffa, who said he was quoting Ayala on the night of the slaying. Saffa said his friend Ayala appeared at his house about midnight and asked Saffa to provide an alibi for him. Saffa initially agreed to lie to investigators but declined Ayala’s offer to join him in drinking a beer that night, he testified.

But Saffa said he decided to break his promise to Ayala when investigators threatened to charge him as an accessory if he continued to lie, he testified.

But the most startling revelation came early in the hearing when Patrol Officer Gary Zamberletti invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination and refused to testify about his alleged involvement with Ayala in the hours immediately after the killing. Zamberletti is married to Ayala’s sister, Brandy.

Prosecutors allege that Ayala and Zamberletti were drinking beer at Zamberletti’s Oxnard home in the hours before the 8:30 p.m. slaying, Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael K. Frawley said.

Frawley said Ayala, who has past drug and drunk-driving convictions, returned to Zamberletti’s home after the shooting. Frawley alleged in court that the police officer may have assisted Ayala in disposing of the murder weapon, which has never been found.

Zamberletti may be “an accessory after the fact, that is what he is under investigation for,” Frawley told Hutchins. “We have not decided if we will charge him with a felony or not.”

Zamberletti invoked the Fifth Amendment when Frawley asked him whether he put the shotgun in a plastic bag and hid the weapon after the murder. He even declined to testify when Frawley asked if Ayala was his brother-in-law.

Zamberletti remains on duty, but is assigned to a desk job pending the outcome of the investigation, Assistant Chief Stan Myers said. Myers, who declined to discuss the investigation further, said Zamberletti joined the force in January 1995.

Correspondent Andrew D. Blechman contributed to this story.