Jeffrey C. Jonas
As a 32-year "veteran" prosecutor for Los Angeles County, the last 18
as head deputy district attorney in various supervisorial capacities, I
feel compelled to call your attention to several aspects of the People
vs. Stephen Kopy trial, which I prosecuted and your paper covered.
* It took the jury all of 6 1/2 hours, not four days, to return a
verdict of first degree murder, along with two counts of assault with a
deadly weapon.
* The residents of Burbank should know how professional and
restrained, yet compassionate the Burbank Police Department was in
handling a very volatile deadly and intense situation. From the initial
response dealing with the Aramark employees, through the confrontation
with an armed, belligerent and profane suspect to the compassion and care
shown to a dying man, Chief Hoefel and his staff can be proud of how this
entire case was handled. Particular recognition is due detective Carl
Costanza the lead investigator, and officer Joseph Dean who attended and
comforted the victim to his dying breath.
* Lastly, a word about Andy Camarata. He was a faithful, loyal and
devoted husband who was devastated by the death of his wife, Marilyn in
March 1999 due to ovarian cancer. Soon after, he was diagnosed with
prostate cancer and in November 1999 had a prostatectomy and was still
undergoing treatment when murdered in June. He was a beloved husband and
employee whose on "indiscretion" was to become genuinely concerned about
his secretary's welfare when she confided to him that Kopy had threatened
to kill her because she was going to sell the house and file for divorce.
There is a lesson in this for all of us. How easy it is to make
allegations that are meant to be self-serving and to deflect from the
search for truth where the real focus should be. Hopefully, in our search
for truth Mr. Camarata's reputation was restored to the satisfaction of
his family, particularly his 85-year-old mother, Rose, who sat through
this entire trial...and to the employees of Aramark who knew him best.
* Jeffrey C. Jonas is head deputy district attorney for Los Angeles
County.
