Alexander Hamilton

Case information

Alexander Hamilton (20) was an Antioch man convicted in Contra Costa County for fatally shooting Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater during a bank robbery and associated crimes.

Timeline

• April 23, 2005 — Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Moffett robbed a Raley's supermarket and a Wells Fargo branch bank inside it at gunpoint, then crashed a stolen getaway car and hid along the Delta de Anza Regional Trail; Officer Larry Lasater chased them, Hamilton shot at Lasater from hiding in the bushes, and Hamilton fired again when two police officers went to help Lasater.
• August 13, 2007 — A jury convicted Hamilton of first-degree murder and robbery for killing Lasater.
• October 12, 2007 — Andrew Moffett was scheduled to be sentenced.
• November 2, 2007 — Alexander Hamilton was sentenced to death; the formal sentencing was to take place in the Martinez courtroom before Superior Court Judge Laurel Brady.
• September 12, 2007 — A Contra Costa County jury opted for the death penalty for Hamilton.
• August 14, 2007 — Jurors found Hamilton and Andrew Moffett guilty of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Officer Larry Lasater in April 2005.

Background

Officer Larry Lasater, 35, of Pacheco was with the Pittsburg Police Department for three years when he was shot to death.

Hamilton and Andrew Moffett were 20 at the time of the crimes described, and Moffett was 17 at the time of the murder, which made him not eligible for the death penalty. The case involved Hamilton and Moffett robbing a Wells Fargo branch bank inside a Raley's supermarket in Pittsburg, followed by a chase and their hiding along the Delta De Anza trail, where Lasater encountered Moffett and Hamilton fired.

The offence

Hamilton and Moffett asked a friend to steal a car for them. They used the stolen car to go to the Raley's supermarket in Pittsburg and robbed the supermarket and a Wells Fargo branch bank inside it at gunpoint.

As they fled the supermarket, they crashed the stolen getaway car and fled on foot toward the Delta De Anza trail. Lasater came across Moffett in a field but did not see Hamilton lying in the brush and armed with a 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol. Hamilton fired four shots, with the first hitting the officer in the neck, and dropped Lasater to the ground.

When two police officers went to help Lasater, Hamilton fired again. Prosecutor Harold Jewett stated that Hamilton kept firing until he ran out of bullets and was forced to surrender.

Investigation

Prosecutor Harold Jewett described Hamilton’s actions during closing argument as follows:

"He gets bushwhacked," Jewett said during his closing argument. "He gets ambushed, literally and figuratively. (Hamilton) shot him, and he shot him again when he was down."

Jewett also described the events during the penalty discussion that Hamilton kept firing until he ran out of bullets and was forced to surrender.

Trial

A jury found Hamilton and Moffett guilty of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater in April 2005.

Hamilton and Moffett were also found guilty of robbery-related counts and firearm-related and special circumstance enhancements. The jury findings included:

• First-degree murder for the killing of Lasater.
• Robbery counts: jurors found three counts of second-degree robbery for Hamilton and Moffett.
• Car theft: jurors found one count of car theft.
• Firearms and special circumstance enhancements, including:
  • killing a police officer in the commission of a robbery
  • knowingly killing a police officer while he was carrying out his duties
  • intentionally killing Lasater by lying in wait, which could bring the death penalty
  • enhancements for firing a weapon and special circumstances for murdering a police officer
  • murder during the commission of a robbery and lying in wait
• Attempted murder: Hamilton was also found guilty of two counts of attempted murder for firing at two police officers who went to Lasater's aid.

The jury deliberated less than a day before reaching the death-penalty decision for Hamilton.

Andrew Moffett, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was not eligible for the death penalty. He was convicted of similar crimes and was scheduled to be sentenced on October 12.

Moffett’s mother reacted during the reading of verdicts. She said:

"My son didn't kill nobody. He didn't kill nobody,"

Moffett nodded at relatives and then exhaled sharply at Lasater's family and colleagues as he was taken away in handcuffs.

Sentencing

At the penalty phase, Hamilton faced a death-penalty outcome. Hamilton showed no reaction when the verdict was read in the Martinez courtroom of Superior Court Judge Laurel Brady.

Hamilton’s attorney, Kim Kupferer, cried and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue as relatives of Officer Lasater reacted. Superior Court proceedings included formal sentencing scheduled for Nov. 2.

The death-penalty verdict was announced on September 12, 2007, and Hamilton was sentenced to death on November 2, 2007.

Appeals

No appeal information was included in the provided case record.

Outcome

Alexander Hamilton received the death penalty for the fatal shooting of Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater.

Andrew Moffett was not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the murder, and he faced life in prison.

Aftermath

Members of the Pittsburg Police Department and Lasater’s family attended proceedings, including Lasater’s widow, Jo Ann, and his mother, Phyllis Loya.

Jo Ann Lasater hugged prosecutor Harold Jewett. Jewett told her:

"Justice was done today,"

and she said:

"The jury came to the right decision,"

She also stated:

"We appreciate their time and effort."

She said:

"it just doesn't change things."

Phyllis Loya said:

"I think how my son lived is more important than how he died. My son lived with a profound sense of duty and honor."

She said the verdict was:

"borne of justice,"

and she also said:

"Alexander Hamilton destroyed our lives,"

Loya said to Hamilton’s killer:

"I think Mr. Hamilton has to answer to God. He doesn't have to answer to me."

Chief Aaron Davis said:

"very strong message to the community and thugs like Hamilton."

Lasater was described as having two families:

"Larry had two families - his blood family and his law enforcement family,"

Loya said she wanted to thank the jury for their hard work and attentiveness and thanked everyone who supported her family through the trial.

Prosecutor Harold Jewett told Lasater’s widow that justice was done today, and he said the jury came to the right decision.

Andrew Moffett was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 12 and faced life in prison.

Other details

Chief Aaron Davis, including buttons with pictures of Lasater at various times of his life, attended.

Also present were members of Lasater’s family and relatives of the defendants, including Moffett’s mother.

The crimes were described as beginning on the afternoon of April 23, 2005, when Hamilton and Moffett asked a friend to steal a car for them.