Robbery Suspect Must Take HIV Test

A suspected robber wounded in a gunfight with Los Angeles police in Newbury Park must undergo a blood test for the AIDS virus because officers were exposed to his blood, a Ventura County judge ruled Monday.

Municipal Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. delayed an arraignment for Robert Wayne Campbell on robbery and murder charges until July 24, but ordered the AIDS test at the request of prosecutors.

“Officers helped remove Campbell from the car,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald Glynn said in making the AIDS-test motion. “One of the officers got blood on his hands.”

Campbell, 31, of Reseda is hospitalized with gunshot wounds and unable to attend courtroom proceedings, his attorney said.

He survived a June 26 shootout with Los Angeles police officers assigned to the Special Investigations Section.

The officers said they followed Campbell and Daniel Joseph Soly, 27, from Los Angeles to Newbury Park, where police said they witnessed the pair rob a liquor store.

The ensuing shootout left Soly dead, two officers wounded and Campbell paralyzed below the waist.

A state law that went into effect Jan. 1 allows judges to order blood tests of suspected criminals, Glynn said. He said investigators have no reason to believe that Campbell has the AIDS virus. But he said he filed the motion as a precaution.

The AIDS virus can be transmitted through contact with blood.

The district attorney’s office has charged Campbell with first-degree murder plus special circumstances for his role in events leading to Soly’s death.

The special circumstances are alleged because Soly’s death came during a robbery.

If Campbell is still not healthy enough to attend his new court date, O’Neill said he would consider arraigning the suspect in his hospital room.

The two wounded police officers have been released from Los Robles Regional Medical Center and are expected to make full recoveries.

Public Defender Gary Windom said part of his defense for Cunningham will be to investigate the secretive Special Investigations Section.

“We plan to look into the unit,” he said. “Why did they come into Ventura County and what were they doing here?”