OCEANSIDE: Attorneys: No plea deal talks for cop accused in shooting

Frank White faces felony charge for shooting woman, child in March road rage confrontation

By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 3, 2008 8:07 PM PST ∞

VISTA ---- The San Diego police officer accused of shooting an Oceanside woman and her son earlier this year will head to trial in March, four days after the one-year anniversary of the incident.

And attorneys on both sides of the case said Wednesday the case will land in the hands of a jury. No pretrial plea deals are expected.

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Officer Frank White is charged with one felony count of negligent discharge of a firearm and a misdemeanor charge that he brandished his gun during a March 15, 2008 road rage confrontation that left Rachel Silva with gunshot wounds to her arm and her then 8-year-old son with a shot in his left leg.

White was in court Wednesday for a routine re-arraignment on the charges, to which he again pleaded not guilty. After the hearing, he gripped his wife's hand as he left. He is out of jail on his own recognizance.

Attorneys on both sides agreed to a March 19 trial date. After court, both sides said there are no talks under way for a plea deal, nor are there plans for any.

"We are confident that when a jury hears all the evidence in the case, Frank's actions will be exonerated," White's attorney Rick Pinckard said after the hearing.

Prosecutor Julie Korsmeyer said she believes the case will go to trial.

White is the first police officer charged in San Diego County in more than a dozen years for shooting a perceived aggressor. He was off-duty, out of uniform and in his personal car at the time of the incident.

It is uncommon for cases to head to trial without consideration of a plea deal. Since the start of 2007 through November 2008, about 93 percent of all felony convictions won by the San Diego County District Attorney's office have been resolved through plea deals, officials said.

Such a pretrial plea deal resolved the charges brought against Silva, the other driver in the clash. She pleaded guilty last month to felony child endangerment and one count of misdemeanor drunken driving. She faces a sentence of up to four years in prison.

According to authorities and courtroom testimony, Silva tailgated and pursued White during the clash on Old Grove Road in Oceanside, revving her engine, blocking his car, and then allegedly striking the back end of his car. White then fired five bullets through his front driver's side window, striking the mother and son, who lived in Oceanside at the time.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.