Man found guilty of first-degree murder in 2016 shooting death at Oxnard bus stop

Ventura

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include more information about a 2004 robbery discussed during the murder trial.

An Oxnard man was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of the man who allegedly robbed him 12 years earlier.

The verdict in Christopher Gaston's murder trial was read just before 11 a.m. and was followed by the cries of Christopher Camper's family. Jurors convicted Gaston, 39, of gunning down Camper, 32, of Oxnard, as he stood at an Oxnard bus stop on North Ventura Road near Gonzales Road.

Jurors began their deliberations Friday afternoon after nearly three weeks of trial. In addition to the murder offense, they found Gaston guilty of discharging the gun that killed Camper. He was also convicted of lying in wait for Camper until he got out to the bus stop and for shooting Camper while Gaston was in his gray Cadillac.

The jury's decision means Gaston faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced at 8:30 a.m. June 24 in Courtroom 47.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister said he was happy with the verdict.

Gaston's defense attorney David Lehr said he plans to file an appeal.

Camper's family and Gaston's family knew each other before the fatal shooting occurred and acknowledged each other in the courtroom with hand shakes before the verdict was read.

"I feel bad for both families. All families lost a son," Lehr said.

Oxnard police said a gray Cadillac was seen leaving the area after the shooting. Days later, authorities said Gaston, who drove a gray Cadillac, was arrested and charged in Camper's death. The murder weapon was never found, police said.

Although Gaston pleaded not guilty to the allegations, the case was never a whodunit. There was no mystery as to who killed Camper, McCallister argued to jurors during the trial.

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Gaston testified that he shot at Camper in self defense during an exchange in front of the bus stop but only after he saw Camper pull out what he thought was a gun. Gaston had been a victim of a 2004 robbery that Camper was allegedly involved in and he knew Camper carried a gun, Lehr argued at trial.

Camper was never found guilty in the 2004 robbery discussed at trial.

But a gun was never found on or near Camper at the scene, where he was pronounced dead after suffering gunshot wounds to the chest, stomach and shoulder. Witnesses to the shooting testified they didn't see Camper with a gun and they didn't see him provoke the driver of the gray Cadillac, McCallister said.

Evidence of gunfire in the direction Camper would have been shooting was not found on buildings, signs or anything else, and it was also not found on the the outside of Gaston's Cadillac, McCallister said.

A bullet was found on the inside of the Cadillac's door frame on the passenger side and appeared to have gotten there when Gaston was firing at Camper from the driver's seat, McCallister argued.

Surveillance video from the area shows Gaston and friends leaving the nearby Chicago Deli & Mini Mart as Camper arrived. The prosecution argued there was a conversation among the group in the parking lot when Gaston left with friends but minutes later he returns to kill Camper. The video shows Gaston returning to the business and watching Camper.

Gaston, who walks with a limp, was waiting for Camper to get to the bus stop on Ventura Road so he could shoot him and drive off because he couldn't run away from Camper or the scene due to the limp, McCallister argued.

Gaston testified that he went back to the Chicago Deli to look for his cellphone. Lehr argued there were several times his client could have shot Camper before he got to the bus stop, including an opportunity while he was still in the Cadillac, but Gaston did not take those chances.

Megan Diskin is a courts and breaking news reporter with The Star. Reach her at megan.diskin@vcstar.com or 805-437-0258.