Special Master Appointed in 'Muscle Car Murder' Case

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County judge has appointed a special master to review the contents of a cellphone seized from one of the defendants charged in connection with the shooting death of a woman after tracking down her stolen Dodge Hellcat.

The special captain – an outside legal expert – was called in after it was discovered that the phone contained confidential text messages between the suspect and his lawyer.

Judge Michael G. Bush on Thursday appointed Kelly Francisco, one of seven attorneys on the State Bar’s Special Master List for Kern County.

Prosecutor Christine Antonios said she has no interest in the attorney-client text messages but wants to know what information, if any, the phone contains that is relevant to the case.

The phone in question belongs to Joseph Bush IV, who is charged along with David Tyrone Thompson and Giovanni Garcia-Viscarra in connection with the March 2023 shooting of 61-year-old Victoria Anna Marie Hampton.

In October, Antonios received a download of the phone’s contents and found messages between Bush and Eric Le — an attorney at the law firm of Mark Anthony Raimondo, according to a court filing. She immediately stopped reading and contacted Le.

Raimondo then filed a motion to remove the District Attorney’s Office from the case; if approved, the attorney general’s office will likely take over.

On Thursday, after hearing from all attorneys involved in the case, Bush scheduled a hearing on the motion for next month and postponed a preliminary hearing until January.

Hampton was found injured on March 19, 2023 on Ginger Drivenorth of White Lane and west of New Stine Road, and died on April 1, 2023.

Police say Hampton’s Dodge was stolen and she tracked it using an Apple AirTag and was then shot while confronting the suspects.

Thompson, the accused shooter, is charged with murder, carjacking and auto theft. Garcia-Viscarra and Bush are charged with carjacking, auto theft and conspiracy.

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