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VISTA ---- Oceanside gang member Meki Gaono was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder in the 2006 ambush of Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant. Bessant, 25, was assisting a fellow officer during an unrelated traffic stop in a gang-plagued neighborhood when he was felled by sniper fire on Dec. 20, 2006. Prosecutors had argued that Gaono and two fellow teenage gang members drank beer and watched the police activity for about 15 minutes and then opened fire to make themselves and their gang look tough on the streets. The jury, which deliberated for about 10 hours since getting the case...

VISTA ---- An 18-year-old gang member who took part in a fatal sniper attack on Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, a judge ruled Monday. As he listened to the judge lay out his fate, Penifoti "P.J." Taeotui showed no visible reaction.

VISTA ---- The teenage gang member accused in the fatal ambush shooting of Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant sat motionless Monday afternoon as he listened to the verdict: guilty of first-degree murder. Just feet away from Penifoti "P.J." Taeotui in the Vista courtroom, the slain officer's father blinked quickly and his breathing deepened slightly, but he also otherwise was motionless. "My prayer for this ordeal ... was that the truth would prevail," Steve Bessant said moments later, after the jury left the courtroom and bailiffs hauled Taeotui back to jail. A North County jury found Taeotui guilty of all charges...

OCEANSIDE -- Nearly eight months after a rifleman gunned down an Oceanside policeman during a traffic stop, prosecutors Monday charged a third teenager in the officer's slaying. Alleged Oceanside gang member Jose Compre, 17, is set to be in a Vista courtroom this afternoon to answer to murder and other charges, Deputy District Attorney Tom Manning said. A sniper's bullet killed 25-year-old Officer Dan Bessant on Dec. 20, shortly after Bessant arrived to give a fellow officer backup during a routine traffic stop in a northeast Oceanside neighborhood with a history of gang violence. snip

NORTH COUNTY(San Diego, county California) -- A 16-year-old boy arrested last week in connection with the shooting death of Officer Dan Bessant will be in a Vista courtroom this afternoon to face murder charges, authorities said Monday.... snip Police have arrested three teenagers thus far in connection with the shooting. One of the teens, 17-year-old Meki Gaono, pleaded not guilty two weeks ago to murder and other charges. Authorities said Gaono is an admitted gang member. Another teen -- a 16-year-old who was arrested the day after the shooting -- has not been charged in connection with Bessant's slaying. He...

Law enforcement members gathered last night in Oceanside near North River Road and Vandegrift Boulevard after an Oceanside police officer was shot during a traffic stop nearby. The officer later died. OCEANSIDE – An Oceanside police officer was shot and killed last night while assisting with a traffic stop, officials said. The shooting happened about 6:30 p.m. near Gold Drive and Arthur Avenue. The officer was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he died, Oceanside Capt. David Heering said. A suspect had not been arrested last night. The officer's name had not been released. He had...

An Oceanside PD officer has been airlifted out after being shot in the city. Apparently he was on a ped stop when 6 shots rang out, and 2 suspects ran from the scene.

San Diego police Officers R. Gutierrez, left, and Vernon Kindred deliver flowers for the slain officer at the Oceanside Police Station on Friday. The officers said they were in the area and decided to pay their respects. Jenny Quezada, front, and her mother Connie Marsteller visit the memorial for the slain officer at the Oceanside Police Station Friday. OCEANSIDE ---- Oceanside police officials said Friday they have arrested a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting Wednesday of police Officer Dan Bessant in the northeastern edge of town. A 16-year-old Oceanside boy was arrested Thursday night after he...

VISTA ---- A 17-year-old documented gang member from Oceanside was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on charges of murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting last week of Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant. Meki Gaono of Oceanside is accused of killing Bessant to enhance his standing in an east Oceanside gang to which he belongs, prosecutors said. Bail was set at $5 million for Gaono, whose friends and family members attended the arraignment before Superior Court Judge David Brown. Several of Bessant's friends and family members were also present in the courtroom.