Man accused of murdering Vallejo police officer

A Solano County judge Wednesday afternoon ordered a Fairfield man to stand trial for the murder of Vallejo police Officer James Capoot during a chase after a bank robbery last November.

Henry Albert Smith, 39, has been charged with murder and several special-circumstance allegations including lying in wait and killing a police officer to avoid arrest. He is eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

The ruling was made by Judge Peter Foor at the conclusion of a nearly two-day preliminary hearing in Fairfield.

On Tuesday, Vallejo police Officer Peppino Messina testified that Smith looked directly at him as his Yukon Denali sped past his parked patrol car on Tuolomne Street at about 60 mph with Capoot in pursuit.

Messina also joined the foot chase but said he lost sight of the suspect and Capoot.

"I heard three shots. Two were one after another, then there was a two- to three-second pause and then the last shot," Messina said.

He said he saw the microphone that Capoot had been wearing on his uniform dangling over the top of a fence along the side yard of a home at 124 Janice St.

"I pushed the fence down to get to the backyard. I saw Jim lying face-down in the backyard. His arms were under his body," Messina testified.

Messina said he and his police dog searched the yard for the suspect then returned to help Capoot, who was unresponsive but making moaning sounds, Messina testified.

Messina and another officer who arrived took off Capoot's shirt and vest and began CPR, Messina said.

"I tried to get a carotid pulse, but didn't get anything," Messina said.

Capoot had been shot once in the back, and later died at a hospital.

The first witness to testify Tuesday morning was Jessica Arroyo, a teller at the Bank of America on Springs Road where the robbery occurred prior to the car chase.

Arroyo testified that she saw a man in the merchants' line covering his face with a bank bag, and that his skin looked strange. When he got to her station, she saw that he was wearing a mask, she said.

Bank customer Nabil Saleh testified that the robber walked to the door, then ran when a security guard shouted at him, "Hey."

Saleh testified that he saw the man get into an SUV. The security guard told him to follow the car to get its license plate number, Saleh said.

Horton said he ordered Smith -- who had opened the home's exterior security door and was standing between that door and the wooden front door -- to show his hands and get down on the ground. Smith slowly began to move to his knees, Horton said.

Officer Douglas Wilcox, who had also arrived at the scene, then pulled the security door away from Smith's body as Horton shot Smith twice with a Taser, without effect, Horton testified.

Wilcox also testified Tuesday, saying he grabbed Smith's arm after Horton Tasered him and pulled him to the ground, then handcuffed him.

He said he then pulled Smith to his feet and searched him, and found the handgun in the left front pocket of Smith's pants. The gun had a bullet in the chamber and several rounds in the magazine, Wilcox testified.

Vallejo police Detective William Badour testified that the jeans and tennis shoes Smith was wearing when he was arrested were similar to those worn by the bank robber, who was captured on surveillance video.