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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Hopland man who shot at two California Highway Patrol officers following an attempted vehicle stop in October 2013 is facing life in prison after being convicted of the officers' attempted murders and involuntary manslaughter for the death of a man who jumped from his vehicle.
A jury returned the verdict Friday afternoon in the trial of William Edward Steele, 41.
The jury found Steele guilty of 22 felony charges, including four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a firearm, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of discharging a firearm from a vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, violating a restraining order by possessing a gun, shooting at an inhabited car, reckless evading, evading a peace officer causing death or serious injury, and more than 30 special allegations relating primarily to firearm use as well as causing great bodily injury.
He was found not guilty of murder but convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Jeremy John, and not guilty of the kidnapping of Gavina Delgadillo, but convicted of her unlawful imprisonment. The jury deadlocked on a charge of hit and run, which was dismissed.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe prosecuted the case, with Fort Bragg attorney Patrick Pekin representing Steele.
At about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 19, 2013, CHP Officers Shane Roach and Glen Thomas pulled over Steele, who was driving a Chevy Tahoe, in the area of Highway 29 and Cruickshank Drive in Kelseyville because they were concerned he was driving under the influence.
According to the investigation, Steele panicked and pulled a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun and shot at the officers before taking off.
In the area of Live Oak Drive, not far from the CHP headquarters, Steele pulled over, made a U-turn and shot at the officers again.
Riding with Steele at the time were John and Delgadillo. In an attempt to get away from Steele, authorities said John jumped from the SUV and hit his head on the pavement, never regaining consciousness and dying several days later at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Deputies took Steele into custody later that morning, finding him in the area of Wilkinson Road and Highway 29. He had ditched the SUV on Highway 29 and Sand Hill and attempted to flee on foot.
Steele, found to be exhibiting symptoms of chronic methamphetamine use, told investigators “somewhat elaborate alleged conspiracies of law enforcement officers involving ritualistic murders,” alleging that law enforcement officers previously had taken $16,000 from him and threatened his life, according to court records.
According to court records, Steele is a member of the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians of Healdsburg, which owns the San Pablo Lytton Casino. He received $480,000 in per capita payments from the casino in 2013, according to Grothe. Steele claimed to have had $30,000 on him at the time of his arrest, telling investigators he usually carried even more cash.
Grothe previously had dealt with Steele while a deputy district attorney in Mendocino County. In 1992, he successfully prosecuted Steele for assault with a deadly weapon.
In separate cases, Steele had felony convictions in Mendocino County in 2004 and 2005 for assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury, respectively, and in 2012 in Lake County was convicted of violating a domestic violence restraining order.
Those previous felony convictions played a part in this case, as Steele was charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Grothe said the trial began March 4, with the jury getting the case last week and deliberating a total of about two and a half days.
He explained that Steele was charged with four counts of attempted murder – twice for each officer at the two different shooting locations.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence about the handgun that Steele used, which was manufactured by Ohio-based Hi-Point Firearms.
Grothe said Hi-Point makes a unique marking on every firearm, the equivalent of creating on each weapon its own fingerprint.
When investigators found the brass from the bullets at the shooting scenes, they were handed over to the Department of Justice firearms expert who looked at them and easily identified them as coming from the Hi-Point handgun Steele had used.
“I'd never seen that before,” Grothe said of that particular firearm evidence.
Grothe said that when Steele is sentenced on May 18 he's facing four life sentences for the four attempted murder charges, plus the potential for substantially more time for the numerous other convictions.
However, Grothe said just how much time Steele will face at sentencing will be determined in part by the Probation Department sentencing recommendation which will be prepared in the case and considered by the judge.
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