Hearing postponed for suspects in Victoria Hampton’s death

Jason Kotowski
·1 min read

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A preliminary hearing won’t occur for at least another month in the case of three men charged with stealing a Dodge Hellcat from a woman who was fatally shot after tracking down the vehicle.

Noting the prosecutor on the case is in trial until mid-April, defense attorney Timothy Hennessy asked for a status conference later that month. Judge John W. Lua scheduled a hearing for April 18 to set a preliminary hearing date.

Next hearing in CDCR counselor’s slaying set for April 2

Hennessy is representing David Tyrone Thompson, 19, who is charged with murder in the shooting death of 61-year-old Victoria Hampton.

Hampton was found wounded March 19, 2023, on Ginger Drive, north of White Lane and west of New Stine Road. She died on April 1.

According to police reports, Hampton tracked down her stolen vehicle through an Apple AirTag.

The other defendants, Joseph Bush IV and Giovanni Garcia-Viscarra, are charged with carjacking, vehicle theft and conspiracy. For more on the Hampton case, read “Muscle Car Murder” by 17 News reporter Robert Price.

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