CALIFORNIA - Pair charged in slaying of Acampo man at pot farm

OFF THE WIRE
STOCKTON - A pair charged with the premeditated murder of an Acampo man appeared for their first preliminary hearing Thursday.

San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office reports say that Kevin Jackson, 23, and Molly Wilson, 25, were sought in the shooting of Brian McDaniel, a member of the Vagos motorcycle organization.

According to witness testimony Thursday, Jackson and Wilson were visitors at a marijuana growing operation near the 1400 block of East Acampo Road.

McDaniel, who also was a frequent visitor to the property, drove up on his motorcycle with a friend. Not long after he arrived, witnesses say, he was running from Jackson, who was firing gunshots at him.

"It was a straight ambush," Robert Davis, who had accompanied McDaniel to the operation, said after the hearing.

McDaniel, 31, was placed on life support and later died.

Two days after the incident, Jackson and Wilson were arrested in Elk Grove after a solo car crash in which Wilson was injured.

Wilson also is charged with accessory after the fact.

As Jackson was escorted through the courtroom hallway, he nodded his head toward McDaniel's relatives, causing them to become visibly upset.

"He thinks it's funny," said 35-year-old Deanna McDaniel, Brian's sister. "He thinks he made something of himself. Brian has three kids. They were robbed of their dad for no reason."

The hearing continues today and may spill into next week. At the conclusion, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapudua will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

Contact reporter Jennie Rodriguez-Moore at (209) 943-8564 or jrodriguez©recordnet.com. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/courtsblog.

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