A Tulare County judge on Tuesday sentenced a 29-year-old man to 50 years to life in prison for the attempted murder of a Dinuba police officer during a 2017 armed robbery at a gas station.

Samuel Camposeco was convicted in May of multiple felonies stemming from the robbery, including attempted murder of a peace officer with premeditation, conspiracy to commit robbery, and assault with a semi-automatic firearm. The jury also found that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

The charges date back to Jan. 5, 2017, when Camposeco and accomplice Luis Vargas, both armed with semi-automatic weapons, entered a Texaco gas station convenience store in Dinuba. An off-duty officer inside the store noticed the men acting suspiciously and exited to call for help.

A Dinuba police officer arriving for duty spotted the robbery in progress through the store’s windows and entered, identifying himself as law enforcement.

As the officer entered, Camposeco and Vargas opened fire. The officer returned fire and took cover behind his patrol car. Vargas ran toward the officer while Camposeco fled in another direction.

Despite repeated warnings to drop his weapon, Vargas continued shooting and was fatally wounded in the exchange. Camposeco evaded capture for a month before being arrested in Exeter.

In addition to attempted murder, Camposeco was found guilty of robbery, conspiracy, and multiple counts of assault with enhancements for gang affiliation and firearm use. He also has a prior strike for attempted residential burglary in 2016.

The gang enhancement findings were returned on June 3.

—

Connect with Anthony W. Haddad on social media. Got a tip? Send an email.