Amador County – Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe complimented his staff on a tough job done well this week after a jury returned a guilty verdict Wednesday in the murder trial of Kenneth John Zimmerman of Fiddletown.

A 12-person jury issued a verdict finding Zimmerman guilty of second degree murder and found it true under a special allegation that Zimmerman “personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing the death of John Michael O’Sullivan,” according to statement released Thursday by Riebe.

In the statement, Riebe said “after 14 hours of deliberation beginning Friday morning, the jury informed (Superior Court) Judge James E. Cadle that they had reached a verdict.”

The verdict came just after 1 pm Wednesday, indicating the guilty finding, and also saying “the jury found Zimmerman not guilty of first degree murder and criminal threats, but could not reach a verdict on false imprisonment, resulting in a mistrial on that charge.”

Riebe said he was “very pleased with the verdict,” and “the jury listened carefully to all the evidence and worked hard to uncover the truth of what transpired.” He said they “dispatched their duties in a thoughtful and professional manner under difficult circumstances.”

“Most importantly,” Riebe said, “this verdict holds Mr. Zimmerman accountable for what he did by taking away the life of a husband and father.” Riebe said “hopefully,” the decision “provides some measure of justice for his family.”

Riebe said he had “high praise” for his prosecution team, led by Steve Hermanson. He said Hermanson, co-counsel Joe Gasperetti, investigators Noel Dunne and Gary Stevens, paralegal Kim Holland, and Victim-Witness advocate Harla Ward “lived this case for more than a year and put in hundreds of hours of preparation.” He said “this result is a testament towards their work ethic, professionalism and compassion.”

Riebe also complimented Sheriff Martin Ryan’s office for its work in the initial investigation. He said “it demonstrates, yet again, what fine work our local law enforcement team accomplishes by working together.”

Zimmerman returns to court 2 pm Monday, November 29th for sentencing, Riebe said, and the Fiddletown resident “faces a likely sentence of 40 years to life in state prison.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.