A man who killed the Oceanside Police Officer condemned

A 36 -year -old man who was a teenager when he deadly killed a police officer on the edge of the ocean was sentenced to life prison on Tuesday without parole – although this does not prevent the potential that he is released one day in parole.

Meki Gaono was 17 years old when he and two alleged gang members opened fire on the officer Dan Being a few days before Christmas in 2006. He was arrested, found guilty of murder and sentenced in 2009 to perpetuity without parole. As a juvenile tried in adulthood, it was the hardest sentence that Gaono could get.

But the law of the state has since changed under proposal 57, demanding a review of the question of whether Gaono should have been judged as an adult and provoking a new look at his sentence. On Tuesday, the judge of the San Diego Superior Court, Peter Deddeh, weighed several factors before giving Gaono a new penalty, which was essentially the same as his sentence more than ten years ago.

“It was an assassination,” said Deddeh. “It was not a shooting. It was an assassination. I just can’t neglect the circumstances of this event. »»

The three teenagers stood in front of a house on Avenue Arthur when another officer made a traffic stop in Arthur and Gold Drive, almost 400 feet. Beeing stopped at some point to help.

The prosecutors argued that the trio looked at the police for about 15 minutes before deciding to open fire. Two of them used handguns. Gaono used a rifle, pulling seven rounds, one of which has pierced the heart of the beast. No one else has been touched.

“He knew who he drew on, and he advanced with this plan,” said Deddeh.

There is another reform of criminal justice in play in the case of Gaono: the parole of offenders. The law now takes into account the age of a person at the time of their offense, and the young offenders who have been sentenced to perpetuity must receive parole hearings by their 25th year of imprisonment – even those who are serving A sentence of life without parole.

GAONO – which was about 45 days shy from his 18th birthday when he killed Being – has been imprisoned for over 18 years. He should obtain his first parole hearing in about seven years.

On the death of Bessant, he was 25 years old and a native of Oceanside, married and the father of a 2 month old boy. Tuesday, his father, Steve Bessant, said that Deddeh’s decision to condemn Gaono for life without parole was “fair”.

“It is a relief, but it is in the short term,” said the father, pointing to the expected hearings of Gaono’s conditional release. “We will take the seven years.”

The elder beener also said “that he has the impression of having drugs through a knot hole because you start this thing again.”

“I don’t have a bad will on Meki,” said Steve Bessant. “I don’t want him to be punished. I just want Meki to be separated. When I think of the luck that Meki is released and my wife is at the bank or the grocery store or at the post office or while walking on the ocean pier and meeting it – it gives me chills. “”

Also at the hearing and also asked Gaono to receive the maximum sentence, the chief of the Oceanside Police Taurino Valdavinos was. He and the beating officer attended the academy together. They were friends. They were also partners but were busy managing different obligations on the day of the death of Bessant. “I should have been with Dan that evening to help protect him,” said Valdovinos.

“The murder by Meki of Dan has broken down confidence between the police service and part of our community,” said the chief. “It took us 18 years to start repairing these relationships, but we will continue to serve our community, the same community that Dan loved so much.”

The case of Gaono was one of the most publicized cases in the region affected by the adoption of Prop. 57 In California in 2016. The change approved by voters was removed from prosecutors The power to directly charge juveniles in adulthood. Now, all cases for minors start to the tribunal court, and a judge examines the case before deciding whether the minor must be tried as an adult.

Last month, to this end, the judge of the Superior Court of San Diego, Kimberlee Lagotta, examined the Gaono file to determine if he should have been tried as a minor. She reaffirmed that Gaono was properly tried in adulthood.

But because the case had a new look, Gaono’s sentence also had to be reconsidered. And that’s what landed in a central courtroom in San Diego on Tuesday.

Gaono and his female “PJ” friends “PJ” Taeutui and Jose understands – also the juveniles at the time of murder – were charged as an adult in 2007. The initial affair against understands was collapsed, but Gaono and Taeutui were then found guilty during separate tests. The two were sentenced to life prison without parole.

In October 2016 – Almost 10 years after the murder – Prosecutors repressed the case against understanding, citing new and uncluttered evidence. He was arrested and again charged in adulthood. He then pleaded guilty of guilty manslaughter. His case is not eligible for the exam.

The case of Taeutu is reviewed. It is still in the early stages, but it must be in the Superior Court of San Diego for a hearing later this month.

Originally published: February 11, 2025 at 6:42 p.m. PST