Man sentenced to death for killing CHP officer in El Dorado County
By Chelsea Phua, Sacramento Bee
An El Dorado County Superior Court judge on Monday sentenced David Charles Zanon to death for running down and killing California Highway Patrol Officer Scott Russell more than three years ago.
A jury in September recommended the death sentence, after convicting Zanon of first-degree murder in early August.
Zanon, who had a warrant for his arrest, was found outside a burglarized business July 31, 2007, in Rancho Cordova. He sped off, leading officers on a chase on Highway 50 into El Dorado County, where he ran down Russell near the Ponderosa Road exit. Russell had just placed a spike strip on the freeway to stop Zanon.