Burbank shooting suspect to be arraigned

Amber Willard and Darrell Satzman

BURBANK -- A man held on suspicion of shooting a La Crescenta resident

in his Burbank office after a dispute with his wife is scheduled to be

arraigned for murder today, police said.

Meanwhile, a neighbor of the shooting victim described him as a

private man and dedicated husband, and suggested the alleged killer was

“delusional.”

After confronting his wife on the third floor of the Aramark building

in Burbank Monday afternoon, Stephen Kopy, 64, allegedly moved on to a

rear office where he shot and killed Andrew Camarata, 63, of La

Crescenta.

Police said Kopy believed Camarata and Kopy’s wife, Martha, 61, were

having an affair, but she told them that the two were merely friends.

“We have no evidence they were having an affair,” Burbank Police Sgt.

Frank Reilman.

Camarata was vice president of Operations and Support for Aramark

Uniform Services and had worked in Burbank since August, 1997, according

to a statement from company officials. His wife died last year, police

said.

Camarata was taken from the scene by paramedics and died at 4:43 p.m.

at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, police said.

Camarata lived on a six-house cul-de-sac where neighbors regularly

gathered for block parties. Next-door neighbor Kathy McGowan, who knew

the Camaratas since they moved into the neighborhood three years ago,

said he was not the type to have an affair.

“That other woman (Martha Kopy) was just a family friend,” said

McGowan, who has been caring for Camarata’s two dogs since his death. “I

think her husband was delusional, a nut case.”

Kopy entered the lobby of Aramark Uniform Services at 115 N. First

Street -- two blocks from Burbank Police Headquarters -- at 3:38 p.m.

Monday, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, police said. Authorities were

unsure how Kopy managed to get on to the third floor, which is only

accessible with an entry card.

Once he was on the third floor, Kopy confronted his wife, Burbank

Police Capt. Gordon Bowers said. When she fled, Kopy went into the office

where he allegedly shot Camarata. There are 15 offices lining the third

floor walls, with about 30 workstations in the center.

Two calls were made to police, one when Kopy entered the main lobby

and another when he walked onto the third floor.

Officers arrived one minute after the initial call came in and heard

the last shot as they entered the third floor, Bowers said.

Camarata was shot at least three times, officials said, once in the

head and twice in the torso.

“All the shots that were fired hit the victim,” Bowers said.

Kopy did not resist officers who arrested him, Bowers said.

Aramark was open Tuesday. Employees leaving the Aramark building

declined comment.

Police said Kopy and his wife are still married and were living

together up until the shooting, although she reportedly had filed for

divorce. Her husband had not been served with divorce papers, officials

said. The Kopys have two children.

Aramark Uniform Services sells, rents and cleans uniforms for other

companies, including American Airlines, California Pizza Kitchen and

Ryder Truck Rental. The corporation also offers services from catering to

janitorial work, job training and facilities management.

The shooting was the first homicide of the year in Burbank.

ALEXA CAPELOTO contributed to this story.