By Henry K. Lee
The San Francisco Chronicle
VALLEJO, Calif. — A Vallejo man was convicted today of voluntary manslaughter and a weapons charge but acquitted of murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, an off-duty Richmond police officer.
Quartus Hinton, 29, a parolee with a lengthy criminal record, was accused of killing Kaliah Harper on Nov. 24, 2006. The Solano County jury of eight women and four men deliberated more than three days in Vallejo before reaching its verdict this morning.
Prosecutors had charged Hinton with murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, which could have resulted in a death sentence. But the jury found Hinton not guilty of murder and instead convicted him of voluntary manslaughter.
Judge Allan Carter is scheduled to sentence Hinton on Aug. 22. He could face up to 38 years in prison.
Harper, 28, of Suisun City, was shot numerous times with a .45-caliber handgun outside a memorial at the Fairfield Community Center for two young cousins of Hinton who were killed in a car crash the week before.
Police believe Hinton shot Harper because she had broken up with him. Hinton also told police that Harper had threatened him, saying, “I could put you away for life,” and that he “got fed up with it,” according to videotaped interviews with detectives.
Hinton admitted that he had stolen a friend’s gun and ammunition and shot Harper because he believed she had found out about his complaints about her to the Richmond police, according to court testimony. Those complaints were never substantiated, authorities said.
Hinton’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, said today that the verdict supported Hinton’s assertion that Harper was trying to kill him that day and had reached into her purse for what he thought was a gun. Police, however, did not find a gun.
“At least three jurors believed that Mr. Hinton was reasonable in his belief, and that they were voting for a complete acquittal as of last night,” Ogul said, adding, “I’m disappointed that Mr. Hinton was not acquitted completely.”
In ordering Hinton tried for murder after a preliminary hearing last year, Carter called Hinton’s statements about Harper’s alleged threats “self-serving” and misleading.
Hinton also told police in a videotaped interview played in court that “there’s no excuse for what I did. I was at my wit’s end.”
In another interview played in court, Hinton said, “I was so overwhelmed by jealousy. I was out of my mind. Jealousy threw me over the edge.” He said he was remorseful for what he called a “foolish mistake.”
A witness testified that she had heard two shots in the community center parking, then had seen Hinton shoot Harper repeatedly as she lay on the ground. He drove off, but was seen by two women dumping a handgun in a storm drain less than half a mile away, police said.
Hinton was arrested days later in a public bathroom near the Vallejo Marina after his father called Richmond police to say he was there and wanted to turn himself in.
Harper attended De Anza High School in Richmond and Cal State Sacramento before graduating at the top of her class at Napa Valley College Police Academy. Harper was promoted to the Richmond police narcotics task force while still a probationary hire. She made 350 arrests and received 12 letters of commendation praising her work.
Richmond Deputy Police Chief Ed Medina said today, “We, as a department, are very disappointed in the outcome. We were certainly hoping for something more stringent. It’s a big loss to us. We are glad for a conviction, but certainly not at the level that we got today.”
Medina said the department wanted to convey “continued best wishes to the Harper family.”
Copyright 2008 The San Francisco Chronicle