After two days of deliberations, a Santa Clara County jury found
former Gilroy resident Otto Emil Koloto guilty of the 2008 robbery
and murder of a South San Francisco man.
After two days of deliberations, a Santa Clara County jury found former Gilroy resident Otto Emil Koloto guilty of the 2008 robbery and murder of a South San Francisco man.
The jury delivered the unanimous verdict Friday afternoon. Koloto, 23, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, said Amy Cornell, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney. He will be sentenced 9 a.m. May 11 in Department 40 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
The trial lasted for about a week as a string of police officers, a friend of the victim, friends of the defendant and Koloto’s accomplice, Donald Robert Lee, 23, testified.
After his arrest, Koloto pleaded not guilty to murder and second-degree robbery charges stemming from the July 2008 shooting death of Philip Lacy, 27. Lee originally faced a murder charge, but pleaded guilty to an accessory charge and was sentenced to one year in county jail followed by five years of probation, according to Cornell.
About 2 a.m. July 13, 2008, Koloto shot and killed Lacy in Palo Alto during a street robbery that spiraled out of control, according to police. Lacy had been waiting in a car with friends near the Palo Alto City Hall parking garage after a night of bar hopping when Koloto robbed and then shot him, police said. Lacy died from his wounds several days later at Stanford Hospital.
After months of searching, police found Koloto hiding out in a South San Jose condominium and arrested him Oct. 2, 2008, for Lacy’s murder, police said.
