Robert Walter Scully
Facts of the Crime:
On March 29, 1995, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Deputy Frank Vasquez Trejo saw an occupied pickup in the parking lot of the Santa Rosa Saddlery at 5338 Highway 12, west of Santa Rosa. The business was closed so Deputy Trejo stopped to investigate. In the vehicle were Robert Walter Scully, a recently paroled inmate from Pelican Bay State Prison with an extensive criminal history and also a member of the infamous prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. A female companion, Brenda Kay Moore, was also in the vehicle. Scully and Moore were casing a tavern next to the closed business, intending on committing an armed robbery. As Deputy Trejo was walking toward the suspect vehicle, Scully pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and confronted him at the rear of the pickup.
Scully shot Deputy Trejo in the face with the shotgun, killing him instantly. Scully then took Deputy Trejo’s gun and fled the area. Scully and Moore forced their way into a house a short distance away and took a family hostage. The Sheriff’s Department was notified of the hostage situation and quickly set up a perimeter around the house with patrol deputies and the S.W.A.T. Team. After several hours, Scully and Moore surrendered to deputies. Scully was convicted of first-degree murder and sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison to await execution. Moore was convicted of numerous felony offenses associated with this incident and sentenced to 14 years in state prison. Deputy Trejo was awarded a posthumous Gold Medal of Valor for his sacrifice. Deputy Trejo was a 35-year law enforcement veteran, serving as a Police Officer in the cities of Lompoc and Tiburon before being hired by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department 15 years before his death.
Scully was sentenced to death in Sonoma County on June 13, 1997.
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