CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / VISTA
A San Diego County Superior Court jury began deliberations Thursday in the case of a San Diego police officer charged in an off-duty shooting that left a mother and her 8-year-old son wounded.
Officer Frank White, now on unpaid leave, is charged with one felony and one misdemeanor in the March 2008 shooting in an Oceanside parking lot. White fired five times, hitting Rachel Silva, 28, in the right arm and her son in the leg.
White testified that he feared for his life and that of his wife when Silva drove her car aggressively toward him in a “road rage” incident.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff Dusek said White panicked and should be convicted of felony gross negligence and brandishing a firearm, a misdemeanor.
Silva also was charged. Tests showed she had marijuana in her system and enough alcohol to be considered drunk.
She pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment and misdemeanor drunk driving and is set to be sentenced July 23. She was driving on a suspended license during the incident.
-- Tony Perry
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