Hearing delayed for 3 defendants in Hellcat murder case

MELANIE NGUYEN, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

A court hearing was delayed Thursday in the case of a woman who prosecutors say was killed after she tracked down her stolen car using an Apple Airtag.

This reason for the postponement in Kern County Superior Court was that an attorney representing one of three co-defendants in the case is busy with a different trial.

David Tyrone Thompson has been charged with first-degree murder, carjacking and taking a vehicle without consent. His co-defendants Giovanni Garciaviscarra and Joseph Bush IV face charges of carjacking, taking a vehicle without consent and conspiracy to commit a crime. All three have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Thompson, who appeared in court in Kern County Sheriff’s custody, is being represented by defense attorney Tim Hennessy, who is engaged in a separate murder trial.

Thompson indicated he did not want to waive his opportunity for a speedy preliminary hearing Thursday morning. Judge Michael Bush set a pre-preliminary date in August in order for Hennessy to finish his other trial and prepare for a preliminary hearing.

Garciaviscarra, who is being represented by Victor Nassar, and Bush, represented by Eric Le from the Law Office of Mark Anthony Raimondo, did not appear in court Thursday.

The three are accused of stealing Victoria Anna Marie Hampton’s beloved Dodge Charger Hellcat. Hampton, 61, was shot on March 19, 2023, in the 5600 block of Ginger Avenue after she tracked her car using an Apple Airtag, according to the Bakersfield Police Department.

Hampton was reportedly on the phone with her friend Teresa Cline, who reported to BPD that she heard gunshots over the phone. Hampton died on April 1, 2023, after being taken to Kern Medical to receive treatment.

The pre-preliminary hearing for Thompson, Garciaviscarra and Bush was delayed to Aug. 12.

In addition to the criminal case related to Hampton’s death, her father Richard Escudero has filed a lawsuit against Cline, the county and the city for failing to tell him his daughter had died.

According to the complaint, he accuses Cline of misrepresenting to the Kern County coroner’s office that she was Hampton’s sister before assuming responsibility for Hampton’s remains. The next court hearing in that case is scheduled for July 8. No trial date has been set.