Bluffdale Neighborhood Watch Shooter Appears in Court - KSTU

The Bluffdale man charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting one of his neighbors appeared in a West Jordan courtroom Wednesday.

[Brandon Anderson]

I think Campos should be ACQUITED of all charges! Any person would've shot to defend themself, including the district attorney. DA office needs to look at the case as a couple men harassing their daughter late @ night and following them. God Bless Reginald Campos!!

[Cindy Reiser]

If Mr. Serbeck followed your reasoning, Mr. Campos would be a dead man. Campos was not defending anything, he was the aggressor, and he was on the offense.

The man he hunted down and shot was the person in the defensive position, and the Campos family should be thanking their lucky stars that the combat veteran they feel deserved to be shot for talking to a neighborhood girl kept a cool head and didn't exercise his option to DEFEND himself against a neighbor who ordered him from his vehicle at gunpoint.

The police report states Serbeck's gun still had the safety on when they retrieved it from the street, therefor Campos outright LIED on the 911 call when he said the man he shot "cocked" his gun so he shot him.

[Dave Sohm]

It doesn't count as a defense situation if you provoke the threat, like Campos did. Campos went looking for Serbeck, and then forced him to stop, anything that happened after that would be a result of Campos's actions. You are only allowed to shoot someone if they present an immediate threat to you. You aren't allowed to shoot someone just because you are angry with them.

[andy]

I thought I heard the prosecutors say that he was shot in the back, No person is being threatening and gets shot in the back. Having your back to a gun is a sign of submission. I think the charges are harsh on this man, but at the same time he paralyzed another person. This is an good example of why people shouldn't have guns on them, some people just can't control their emotions.

[Fellow Bluffdale neighbor]

I just watched your coverage of this story and I am sickened by the way you represent Campos. Your coverage made it seem like Campos was the victim. Showing family pictures, and showing tears flowing from the 15 year old daughter that is responsible for all of this happening they are not the victims in this story. Campos pulled the trigger on an unarmed neighborhood watch person trying to make not only his family and personal belongings safe but also for the family of Campos and others. The victims in this are David Serbeck and his family. I am disgusted with your coverage Fox 13!

[wesanator]

Still think his daughter needs to be charged as an accessory for instigating this. with out her and her smart ass out at midnight doing something she probably was not supposed to be doing, thats why she called her dad,and got this whole thing started.

[wesanator]

So what was daughter doing out after curfew she is only 15 give her a ticket also, and no dont bless campos he is wrong here and needs to pay for his actions and his daughters lies. we all know that little girls can be pains in the butt and this just proves it.

[Donimus Maximo]

Dave Sohm wrote:

It doesn't count as a defense situation if you provoke the threat, like Campos did. Campos went looking for Serbeck, and then forced him to stop, anything that happened after that would be a result of Campos's actions. You are only allowed to shoot someone if they present an immediate threat to you. You aren't allowed to shoot someone just because you are angry with them.

It does count if Mr. Campose interposed himself between an unknown male and his daughter. If this unknown male then pulled a gun, it would be justified.
Since none of us know whether what the prosecutions alleges is truth, we can only speculate as to what actually happened. There are truths here we can conclude. 1) Mr. Serbeck had no right to take police matters into his own hands. It WAS NOT his job to stop, detain, question or harass these girls. If he was witnessing suspicious behaviour, it was his duty to inform police. Mr. Serbeck put himself in this position by overstepping his role and then pulling out his weapon. 2) Mr. Campos, was within his right to defend himself and his daughter from a man that was allegedly brandishing a handgun. 3) If what the prosecution alleges is true, that Mr. Serbeck allegedly dropped his weapon and slid it away, then Campos should be convicted of attempted murder.
I doubt that is what happened. To me it seems much more likely that Serbeck, drew his weapon trying to play "self-appointed" neighborhood deputy, when Campos interposed himself between a perceived threat and his daughter. Campos, also armed, then got the drop on Serbeck and double tapped him. The call to 911 proves that Campos wasn't just trying to end Serbeck's life. If murder was his intent, why did he no finish him while he was laying there?
We should all note that Serbeck did have his weapon out of his holster. It appears to me, it was Serbeck, that escalated the situation by drawing his weapon and playing deputy and was subsequently shot and dropped the weapon after being stuck and it was either kicked away or slid away in the fall.
The lesson here is that Serbeck should've known better than to draw his gun on someone with no intent of using it. While it's a very unfortunate situation, I think we should all presume that Campos is innocent until proven guilty. Let the system work. Instead of taking up our torches and pitchforks, we should let the system do it's job. After all, this situtation proves that when people take the law in their own hands, people can get hurt or die.

[lostinwyoming]

if the neighborhood watch had of done what their told to do in a situation like this (call police) none of this would have happened.how would you feel if two men followed your daughter around the neighborhood that late at nite? and one with a gun.i think the dad did what any dad would have done.its trajic what happened,but they should have called police when they first spotted the girls walking around,instead of stalking them.and yes the dad should have called the cops too.but when a member of your family calls for help,you dont allways think first,you react.

[Pittgirl]

lostinwyoming wrote:

if the neighborhood watch had of done what their told to do in a situation like this (call police) none of this would have happened.how would you feel if two men followed your daughter around the neighborhood that late at nite? and one with a gun.i think the dad did what any dad would have done.its trajic what happened,but they should have called police when they first spotted the girls walking around,instead of stalking them.and yes the dad should have called the cops too.but when a member of your family calls for help,you dont allways think first,you react.

Exactly you react to emotions. The daughter was in the home, Mr. Campos should have called the cops, Not gone looking for the man, common sense thats just asking for trouble!!! Now you agree with YOUR 15 year old daughter being out at midnight? I have a 14 year old,Common sense again She would never be out that late at night. Yes teenage girls are manipulating, and sneaky. How many times do you hear in the news teenage girls crying wolf???? The point is the dad grabbed his loaded gun went out looking for confrontation, FOUND the two men ordered them out at gunpoint, Knowing how to handle a gun and let be known he was armed laid the gun on the ground to resolve the situation. Dad was mad and upset let emotions control him not common sense a plucked off three rounds. I believe Mr. Campos should pay for his actions, and not be allowed his gun back.

[Alison]

I hope he rots in jail. Who says it wasn't his daughter breaking into cars in the neighborhood? The fact that she's a girl doesn't mean she is incapable of getting into trouble or shouldn't be considered a suspect if she is out at night. Besides, what happened to teaching your children to respect the authority of adults? Children have no place in the streets in the middle of the night; she should have obeyed Mr. Serbeck, scurried home, and kept her whiny mouth shut.

[Alison]

P.S. Isn't everyone glad that guys like Campos are now legally entitled to have a loaded gun in their car or place of work at all times? That's safety Utah style! Now 'loving family men' everywhere can take justice into their own hands!

[Janine]

Could not agree more. I may not watch fox after the way the covered this story, seems that fox is more concerned about how Campos and his family are than with Serbeck? Serbeck may never walk again, But Campos is a good man? Cant follow the logic.

Fellow Bluffdale neighbor wrote:

I just watched your coverage of this story and I am sickened by the way you represent Campos. Your coverage made it seem like Campos was the victim. Showing family pictures, and showing tears flowing from the 15 year old daughter that is responsible for all of this happening they are not the victims in this story. Campos pulled the trigger on an unarmed neighborhood watch person trying to make not only his family and personal belongings safe but also for the family of Campos and others. The victims in this are David Serbeck and his family. I am disgusted with your coverage Fox 13!

[dad]

It is amazing how fox news has not said anything about dave serbeck. We have put many posts on here that they won't post on here because they are in daves favor someone in fox news must be in camposes ward.

[Harpo]

Bad deal all the way around. Neighborhood watch guy mishandles situation, overprotective dad hunts down the guy and shoots him. Vigilantism is a poor excuse for law enforcement. One simple call by either man to the police would have led to resolving the issue without several lives being permanently damaged for the worse. One man spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair and the other likely gets jail time. Both families suffer due to poor decision making. I would bet neither man would handle the situation the same if given a second chance. The gun didn't go off by itself, a series of reactionary choices, all easily correctable, and...

[Mary in Bluffdale]

I am also disgusted with the news about Compos. Serbeck and his family are the victims here. The brat daughter will have to live the rest of her life for her fat mouth. Not only did Compos have a gun but gave one to her. Yeah what great situation would that have been if she started firing at Serbeck too. I do not give a rat's patute if Compos is a "good man". He should have called the police. THAT is what good men do!

[Mary in Bluffdale]

Truly a DADDY-DAUGHTER date gone bad!!!!

[mimi]

I dont think anyone should judge in this situation until it is taken to court with all evidence. We don't know what happened other than what is being said on the news. I dont see anything wrong with posting Reggie Campos side of the story. I believe there are 2 sides to the story. Lets all wait until all documents are brought up in court.

Fellow Bluffdale neighbor wrote:

I just watched your coverage of this story and I am sickened by the way you represent Campos. Your coverage made it seem like Campos was the victim. Showing family pictures, and showing tears flowing from the 15 year old daughter that is responsible for all of this happening they are not the victims in this story. Campos pulled the trigger on an unarmed neighborhood watch person trying to make not only his family and personal belongings safe but also for the family of Campos and others. The victims in this are David Serbeck and his family. I am disgusted with your coverage Fox 13!

[Brenda]

Well, looks like Reggie will get his day in court now. I wish I could be on that jury. My daughter's father was very protective and I would NEVER have let him out of the house with a gun if he thought his daughter had been wronged. The guy didn't grab his shoes..., but grabbed his gun?! Clearly he was going hunting and now he gets to pay the piper. No tears from me. I recently saw Mr. Serbeck sitting on his deck in his wheel chair. Now THAT makes me cry.