San Benito High School Superintendent Stan Rose said today the
district is still investigating court testimony from a food service
attendant who works there in which she admitted to playing a role
in the 2006 murder of a San Jose man.
San Benito High School Superintendent Stan Rose said today the district is still investigating court testimony from a food service attendant who works there in which she admitted to playing a role in the 2006 murder of a San Jose man.
“All I can say is we are still conducting our investigation,” Rose said. “We obviously want to get this matter taken care of as soon as possible.”
Nancy Polizzi, who works at the high school, testified in a Santa Clara County courtroom March 27 in the murder trial of Francisco Vega, 23, of Fresno, according to attorneys involved with the case. She testified that she drove Vega and Joshua Joseph, 26, of Hollister, to Fresno to purchase the .22 caliber handgun Joseph used in August 2004 to kill David Owens in his San Jose home, the attorneys said.
District officials have been quiet on whether Polizzi will keep her job at the school’s cafeteria. Brenda Pinsonnault, SBHS food service supervisor, would not confirm whether Polizzi had been at work in the last few days. She said she had been instructed not to discuss any information about Polizzi and referred calls to the school’s human resources department director, Michael Potmesil, who did not immediately return phone calls.
Santa Clara Deputy District Attorney Daniel Carr, who handled Vega’s prosecution, has not indicated whether Polizzi could be charged for her role.
Vega’s defense attorney Adrienne Dell has contended that Polizzi should be charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Joseph, a suspected Norteno gang member, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in 2006. He admitted to shooting Owens several times at his San Jose home in August of 2004. He also admitted beating to death his Santa Clara County Jail cellmate, Joseph Boos, a rival gang member, in 2006. He is now serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Vega took his case to trial where Dell argued Vega had no idea Joseph was planning to kill Owens and that although both men drove to Owen’s home the night of the murder, Vega stayed in the car unaware Joseph was planning to kill Owens. A jury saw otherwise and last week convicted Vega of first-degree murder, a special circumstance of “lying in wait,” along with an “arming allegation,” attorneys said.
Vega will be sentenced May 23 to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the only penalty allowed for his crimes. Dell said she planned to file an appeal.
