Murdered Marine's family in Victorville asks: 'How was convicted killer set free?' Mike Cruz, Staff Writer Created: 08/05/2010 08:44:23 PM PDT After a cable technician was brutally attacked and killed with a hammer inside a Victorville home in November, his family questions how the suspect - a man who had a history of violence in the Inland Valley - was ever walking free. Trevor Neiman was on the job and installing cable television when a man who was visiting the home, Johnny Acosta, suddenly picked up a hammer and bashed Neiman's skull. Neiman, 25, and the 46-year-old Acosta did not know each other. No words were exchanged between the two. To say that Neiman's family and friends miss the young man, a former U.S. Marine who deployed on three tours in Iraq and an avid dirt bike rider, is an understatement. The pain of their loss has been excruciating, said Neiman's grandmother Victoria Hardesty. Family members go to Riverside National Cemetery, where Neiman was buried, and to the My Hero sub shop in Phelan, where Neiman and his wife would visit with friends. A photo memorial is on one of the shop's walls. More than 200 people even drove out to Husky Monument, a memorial to local dirt bike riders near Cuddeback dry lake, to remember Neiman. But as family members learn more about Acosta, the man charged with Neiman's death, they're left with an unanswered question: How was Acosta walking free after going on an apparent crime spree in 1992 that left an Upland woman dead? "They let him out, and now he has another murder on his hands," Hardesty said. "Now it's -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- another family that will never, ever be the same." Testimony from law enforcement officers at a preliminary hearing in July 1992 in West Valley Superior Court, in Rancho Cucamonga, revealed that Acosta sliced a man's throat in Montclair, choked a 21-year-old woman unconscious in her parents' La Verne home, and then raped and killed Patricia Gonzalez in Upland - all between June 20 and July 11 of that year. Upland detectives said Raymond Moreno, 26, had his throat sliced June 20 while playing dominoes with friends in the 4700 block of Bandera Street. Acosta was slicing lemons with a 9-inch kitchen knife when he slashed Moreno's throat, a detective testified. The victim needed stitches but didn't want to press charges. Acosta choked Adriane Dubinec, without provocation, until she was unconscious July 2 at her parents' home in the 1900 block of Fifth Street, a La Verne detective said Dubinec told them. Then on July 11, Upland police said they responded to a domestic disturbance call in the 300 block of West 11th Street where they found the 30-year-old Gonzalez inside an apartment. She later died at a hospital. A police dog found Acosta, who had fled the apartment and ran through backyards. Evidence at the 1992 hearing showed the defendant lived at the apartment, which Gonzalez shared with another man. Acosta's lawyer said his client had been taking methamphetamine but didn't intend to do harm. Coincidentally, testimony at the hearing in Neiman's death revealed that Acosta's sister had confronted the defendant about using crystal meth just before he allegedly grabbed the hammer and attacked Neiman. Court records show Acosta took a plea bargain July 16, 1993, for Gonzalez's death and the Montclair slashing. He pleaded guilty to four felony counts and was sentenced to 22 years in state prison, followed by three to four years of parole, according to the agreement. But records from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation show Acosta was released on parole after serving only 11 years. The reason: Acosta received 50 percent credits, also known as day-for-day credits, for each day he served, corrections officials said. "That reduced the time he spent in prison," said Terry Thornton, a corrections spokeswoman. Acosta was then on parole for three years and was done, she said. But the November incident wasn't the first time Neiman crossed paths with someone who had a criminal past since he had come home after serving in the military. In May 2009, Mark Fredrick Harris, Richard Monroe Harris and Elizabeth Ann Evans were arrested after Neiman was stabbed six times at a housewarming party at his home. Richard Harris, 37, was on parole at the time of the attack, which left Neiman with a punctured lung, broken ribs and slash marks on his arms and legs. State corrections records show Harris had been in and out prison many times, most recently for an assault case. He has past convictions for corporal injury to a spouse, vehicle theft, vehicular manslaughter and discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling. A jury found Harris guilty in December of assault in the stabbing of Neiman. Judge Miriam Morton later found five prior offenses that were charged to Harris true and three prior strikes true, according to court records. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in Victorville. Neiman's family laments what they see as a revolving-door justice system that enables violent criminals to get back out on the streets. "The revolving door has got to stop and slam shut on people like that," Hardesty said. She plans to write to state officials, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., to seek change. Neiman's father, who has worked for decades with Charter Cable, said his son wasn't a violent person and he hopes justice prevails. The younger Neiman loved his wife, sister and family and had bought a home, Neal Neiman said. The family even rode dirtbikes together in Randsburg with other families. Neiman was a fun-loving young man who liked to go camping and fishing. He also had a 1965 Volkswagen and a 1976 Chevrolet truck. With uncles and grandfathers who were Marines, Neiman joined the U.S. Marine Corps on the early entry program, straight out of high school, his father said. "We really miss him a whole bunch," Neal Neiman said. At a preliminary hearing July 14 in Victorville Superior Court, Judge Larry Allen ruled that sufficient evidence existed to hold Acosta for trial on murder charges in Neiman's death. He pleaded not guilty at formal arraignment July 22, according to court records. Acosta returns to court Friday for a pretrial hearing. A jury trial has been scheduled for Aug. 30, but family members say they have been told to expect delays. Everybody should get together and do a memorial ride for this fallen dirt bike rider and hometown hero and get donations for his family he left behind due to some coward with a hammer. Let me know what you think about this.
Stories like this make me sick and furious. If I were in your neck of the woods, I would definitely be up for attending a memorial ride in honor of Trevor.
Sad story and happens all to often in our country ... common sense seems to be fading to the background and replaced with 'who cares' attitude ... I wish everyone well that knew Trevor ...
