Football
The season
in review
Page
12»
Pasadena City College
Online edition
pccCourier.com
Facebook
PCC Courier
Twitter
@pccCourier
Volume 104, Issue 13
The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
December 8, 2011
Jury considers fate of ex-student
Verdict in murder trial
may come today
Neil Protacio
Staff Writer
The jury spent more than six
hours Wednesday deliberating the
fate of ex-PCC student Isaac
Campbell, who is facing one count
of murder in the death of his girl¬
friend, a PCC alumna.
Closing statements in his trial
were presented Tuesday at the
Alhambra Superior Court. The
prosecuting team implied that
Campbell was swift with the
cover-up, therefore giving the
impression that Lu's killing was
premeditated. The defense team
argued that there’s a lack of evi¬
dence to support the prosecution
case.
Campbell has spent four years
in jail in the killing of Liya "Jessie"
For the latest news, visit our
website at pccCourier.com
Lu. The long delayed trial ended
Wednesday, however, the jury had
been given ample amounts of evi¬
dence from both sides, including
phone recordings, martial arts
training, and witness testimonies.
Deputy District Attorney Steve
Ipsen presented phone records
which diagrammed the time and
setting of the killing as well as
Campbell’s attempts to cover up
the crime. According to Ipsen,
Campbell was quick in killing Lu,
arguing that there was no conver¬
sation that escalated into a dramat¬
ic scene, as Campbell testified.
"The last phone call was at 12:33
a.m. and she was dead by 1:29,"
Ipsen said to the jury. "That goes to
show you how fast he carried out
Continued on page 10
Louis C. Cheung
/
Courier
Isaac Campbell took the stand on
Nov. 30 in his trial for a murder
charge in Alhambra.
Damage control
Gabriela Castillo
/
Courier
Vic Furriai checks the status of a light right outside of Staff Parking Lot 6 on Dec. 1 after the campus got hit by gusts from
the Santa Anas on the night of Nov. 30. The morning after the windstorm, the custodian crew had a busy day picking up
debris and trees that fell around campus. More pictures, page 6.
Students' cars mangled by awning
Auto repair shop says
business insurance
should cover cost
Sara Medina
Editor-in-Chief
The awning of Accurate
Autoworks, located near the intersec¬
tion of Hill Avenue and Colorado
Boulevard, was tom off by high speed
winds on Nov. 30 and landed on top
of two parked cars that belonged to
students.
Hector Villegas, electrical technolo¬
gy, and Eddie DeFerrari, finance, both
students at PCC, were in class that
night when long pieces of aluminum
sheet metal became entangled around
a light pole and landed on and around
their cars.
"The wind just shredded the whole
thing,” Accurate Autoworks owner,
Jon Smalldridge said in an interview
on Dec. 1. "The frame is still up but it’s
tom into pieces. That wind came here
with a vengeance and lifted it all up
and chucked it all out [into the street].
I’m just glad no one got hurt."
"I usually don’t even park here,"
Villegas said as he waited for authori¬
ties on Nov. 30. "I just want to go
Continued on page II
Pasadena
firefighters
arrive on
the scene
after an
awning
from a
neighboring
building
across from
PCC fell on
Eddie
DeFerrari' s
Nissan
Frontier on
Nov. 30.
Buren
Smith
/
Courier
Clean up
quick on
wind-torn
campus
Judy Lim
Staff Writer
In what is being called the strongest storm in a
decade, the unprecedented high speed winds that
ripped trees from their roots and darkened thou¬
sands of homes have caused much consternation for
faculty and students alike.
On the morning of Dec. 1, many walked outside to
behold the devastation of piles of fallen branches and
cars broken and flattened by collapsed trees.
As far as the damage to the campus, there was a lot
of clean-up and repairs for the facility workers.
"While it did considerable damage to the trees on
campus, it resulted in very little damage to the build¬
ings," Richard P. Van Pelt, the vice president of
administrative services, said.
"In discussions with President Rocha in the very
early hours Thursday morning the decision was to
close the campus and cancel all classes and activi¬
ties," he said. "The decision was made in light of the
determination of the city of Pasadena's declaration of
a state of emergency, as Pasadena was viewed as the
'epicenter' of the windstorm."
Brian Cazares, an electrician from facilities servic¬
es, gave a fraction of a long list of things that have to
be fixed.
"We have trees that have to be removed, and there
are light fixture caps blown out that need to be
replaced," he said. "Behind the LL Building, the two
gates were blown off, and there are doors that caved
in because the wind shattered the hinges. On the
bridge of the R Building, a tree fell and blocked the
entrance to the W Building."
The list of damages continued to go on. "The trees
by the Bonnie entrance fell onto the power lines, and
we also had to pick up a lot of signs and canopies
from vendors," Cazares said. "We're still working on
it right now."
Doug Fogwell, another facility worker, listed many
of the same things. "We had electricians, painters
and a lot of people working. There were Bobcats with
Continued on page 7
Speak out!
Should taxes be raised :
to support education? •
vote at •
pccCourier.com
Holidays
How are
students
celebrating?
Page
11»
BzZzZzZz!!
'Vibrator' play
stimulates
audience
Page
9»
