Resentencing possible for Lampkin: Man who was accessory to 1998 double murder could be set free

Aug 13, 2023

Nearly 25 years after being convicted of first-degree murder, Leon Lampkin Jr. has appealed for resentencing, after having played a role as an accessory to the robbery and murders of brothers Leoncio and Alejandro Jimenez in the 1990s.

According to Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry, Senate Bill 1437 modified California’s felony murder rule as it pertained to persons who did not directly commit a killing. This change ensures that liability for murder is not imposed on someone unless they were the actual killer, acted with intent to kill or acted as a major participant in an underlying felony with reckless indifference to human life.

The California Legislature chose to make this change retroactive, which has reopened thousands of murder convictions, including Lampkin’s.

“We are now required to go back and try to determine if the evidence supports Lampkin's murder convictions under the new definition. If the court finds that the evidence does not support conviction under the new definition of murder, the two murder convictions would be reversed and the life sentences would be vacated, leaving only the convictions for attempted robbery and burglary. Lampkin would be a free man,” Curry said.

According to Appeal archives, on March 18, 1998, Lampkin, then 22, and Michael Owens went to the Jimenez residence in Linda with the intent to commit robbery. Owens was reportedly armed with a 9-mm pistol and Lampkin was armed with a short-barreled shotgun.

After arriving at the Jimenez residence, a gunfight erupted which resulted in the brothers’ deaths and Owens being shot three times, once in the abdomen and once in each leg. He was found lying in the road by authorities.

Investigators reportedly found backpacks filled with duct tape, bullets, shotgun shells and other items outside the home after the incident.

During Owens’ trial, the defense argued that Owens, then 25, had been walking by the Jimenezes’ home on the roadway when he was shot by someone inside the house. He claimed to have fired back in self defense.

Lampkin, unlike Owens, was not found at the crime scene, the Appeal previously reported.

During his trial, defense attorney Roberto Marquez argued that Lampkin was nowhere near the crime scene on the night of the incident, claiming that he was eating pizza at his apartment. However, the prosecution argued that business records from Pizza Hut on March 18, 1998, did not show Lampkin’s home phone number given for delivery.

The prosecution also maintained that after the gunfight, Lampkin escaped the scene through a broken window, leaving behind traces of blood.

Both Lampkin and Owens were found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. Lampkin, who was 24 at the time, was not found to have personally discharged a firearm during the crime while Owens was, Curry said.

Lampkin was sentenced to serve 37 years and two life terms.

Owens was sentenced to serve four life terms plus 79 years, and maintained his innocence during sentencing, believing that there were other people "out there on the streets literally getting away with murder.”

"I don't know justice. Nor do I expect to ever fully know it during my time on this earth," Owens told the court during his sentencing. "This trial has been a travesty, a sick mocking of the justice that alludes me. Is my skin my only sin? Or is it the actions of the man I used to be in 1994? Maybe it's a combination of the two."

Both Lampkin and Owens filed appeals for their cases, but Lampkin’s conviction was affirmed in 2002, Curry said. Owens’ application for habeas corpus was denied in 2006.

Lampkin applied for resentencing in 2019 and was initially denied. After successfully moving through the appeals process, the California Third Circuit Court of Appeals mandated in January that his case be heard by the Yuba County Superior Court.

Although he has previously maintained his innocence, Owens has applied for clemency and provided details about his and Lampkin's actions during the robbery and murders as part of his application.

As noted by the DA’s Office, Owens indicated in a “statement of insight” that he had previously instructed Lampkin to “do all the talking” during the robbery because he was fluent in Spanish.

Owens also wrote that on the night of the incident, Lampkin walked into the kitchen with his gun trained on Alejandro Jimenez. When he tried to grab Lampkin's shotgun, the victim had almost "complete control" of the gun. Lampkin reportedly pulled the trigger causing the shotgun to discharge into the ceiling.

“These are facts that were not available to us at the time of the trial. We do intend to eventually call Owens as a witness in Lampkin's case to try to help fill in some of the details of exactly how Lampkin participated in the robbery and murders,” Curry said. “The Lampkin resentencing is yet another example of how the California Legislature is recklessly experimenting with public safety. Making retroactive changes to the definition of serious crimes, such as murder, puts an unfair burden on the public. Lampkin and Owens murdered these men 25 years ago. The case was presented to a jury at a time when the memories of witnesses and the evidence was fresh. The evidence presented and arguments made to the jury were based on the definition of murder in 1998. Retroactively changing the rules was a terrible decision."

‘So many discrepancies’

As preparations are underway for an evidentiary hearing regarding his possible resentencing, Lampkin’s friends and family encourage the courts to take a closer look at evidence and testimony that were used against him.

Bertha Felix, Lampkin’s sister, maintains that much of the evidence proving her brother’s involvement in the crime is inconclusive at best and reflective of prejudices of the time.

According to Felix, after the Jimenez brothers were killed and Owens was found at the scene, investigators were looking for a 5-foot-10-inch Hispanic male based on eyewitness testimony. Lampkin is 6-feet tall, and while he and Felix are both Black and Latino, Felix reports that neither of them were considered Latino at the time.

“I grew up there. I went to Lindhurst High School. When my brother and I were going to school there, there was no diversity, so people looked at us as Black. We weren’t looked at as Latino. The only people who knew we spoke Spanish were very close friends,” Felix said.

According to findings from the California Court of Appeals in 2006, Marisol Jimenez, a daughter and niece of the victims, testified to arriving home at 10 p.m. on the night of March 18, 1998, and seeing a “Hispanic-appearing” man in the entryway holding a gun to her uncle’s head.

When shown a photo of Lampkin during the trial, Marisol Jimenez testified that he had the same skin color as the man she saw, but could not positively identify him.

Mary Scales, a neighbor of the victims, also testified to hearing a shooting the night of the incident and seeing a thin, 5-foot-10-inch Hispanic male jumping the fence near her house.

According to court documents, “like Marisol, when Scales was shown photos of Lampkin she said he had the same skin color as the man she had seen, but she could not identify him.”

“That kind of stuff would never fly today. Half of the stuff they did would never fly today. Back then, to say that you’re the same skin color as someone did fly in Yuba County,” Felix said.

Investigators also found blood near the broken window and other items at the crime scene, which did not belong to Owens or the victims. The Court of Appeals maintained that these blood samples “could have come from Lampkin,” but Felix believes that the court failed to prove that the blood belonged to her brother.

“We tried to get DNA, and to the best of my knowledge, they said that there’s not enough DNA. If they spin it, they’ll say, ‘We have blood.’ They have his toothbrush, which proved that in one of trillions it could be (Lampkin),” Felix said. “They have the excerpts, which we have asked for the attorney to grab where it shows that (the DNA test) was inconclusive. He would be one in so-many-trillions if he were Black or Hispanic. He’s of mixed blood.

“… There’s just so many discrepancies going on. At the end of the day, the issue at hand right now is that (SB 1437) is directly written for people who are guilty by association. He was charged regardless. He served 25 years. It’s not as if you’re letting someone go scot-free. This is 25 years of someone’s life.”

An evidentiary hearing for Lampkin is scheduled at 9 a.m. on Sept. 8 at the Yuba County Superior Court.

Sunny to partly cloudy. High around 95F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Updated: August 31, 2023 @ 8:12 am

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