MARTINEZ — A judge has ruled that a man who murdered his long-term girlfriend nearly six years ago in Walnut Creek was legally sane at the time, clearing the way for a life sentence.
Gregory Prokopowicz, 44, pleaded guilty last year to murdering Roselyn Policarpio, a Walnut Creek resident who had dated Prokopowicz for two years and told family members she was planning to break up with him that day. But Prokopwicz’s lawyer argued he should be found legally insane at the time of the shooting, which would have resulted in Prokopwicz being sent to a mental institution in lieu of prison.
Prokowicz launched an appeal of Judge Charles “Ben” Burch’s ruling last Dec. 21, court records show. His attorney declined to comment.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Piersig, who prosecuted the case, praised Burch’s decision.
“This was a horrific domestic violence-related murder in which a young woman was senselessly murdered,” Piersig said in an email to this newspaper. “Prokopowicz will be serving 25 years to life in prison for his actions. It is our hope that his sentencing will bring a sense of justice to the family members of the victim.”
Under state law, prosecutors must prove that a person understood the nature of his or her act, or understood that it was wrong, in order to establish a criminal defendant was legally sane. Knowledge of wrongdoing can be proved by evidence the defendant tried to cover up the crime or elude police.
In this case, Prokopowicz shot and killed Policarpio at about 1:40 p.m. on April 27, 2017, on First Avenue in Walnut Creek. One of Policarpio’s family members told this newspaper that Prokopowicz was “obsessed” with Policarpio and that her family suspected he was physically abusive.
After the murder, Prokopowicz told Policarpio’s son over the phone that he’d killed her. He fled the area, and was located that evening in Martinez, where police initiated what became a standoff that lasted 19 hours and ended with Prokopowicz’s arrest.
Prokopowicz remains in the Martinez Detention Facility on a no-bail hold, pending transfer to state prison, court records show.
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