$2 Million Awarded In Wrongful Death

After Jack "Steve" Cornejo was shot to death outside a Fair Oaks apartment during a fight in 2005, Fairfax County authorities decided the gunman acted in self-defense and let him go without charges.

But this week, after hearing from a crucial new witness, a Fairfax civil jury saw things differently. The panel ordered the gunman, Brandon P. Gotwalt, to pay Cornejo's father nearly $2 million in damages and an additional $16,588 for funeral expenses.

The verdict, which came Wednesday after a three-day wrongful-death trial, was the latest step in the Cornejo family's pursuit of its own justice for the fatal shooting. They still want Gotwalt prosecuted for murder.

"The money is not too important in this case," said Austin Cornejo, 48, of Falls Church, Steve Cornejo's father. "Justice is what we're looking for. I can't sleep at night; I have headaches. I don't understand why they never arrested him. Why?"

Legally, Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. could reopen the case. In July 2005, for only the third time in his 40 years as Fairfax's chief prosecutor, he let a grand jury decide whether to bring charges. The grand jury declined to indict Gotwalt after hearing testimony from the lead investigator, homicide Detective Chester Toney.

Horan did not return a call yesterday seeking comment.

Gotwalt, who testified that he acted in self-defense, could not be located for comment yesterday. His attorney, John A. Keats, said there was "little or no chance" that the Cornejos could collect the jury's award of $1,954,400, because "he's a guy who makes about $60,000 a year. He doesn't own anything." Gotwalt works for an electronics company in Fairfax, Keats said.

On the witness stand Monday, Gotwalt, 28, recounted the same story he told police on the morning of June 25, 2005. He claimed he had seen and heard Cornejo, 23, yelling at and shoving a young woman outside his apartment on Pender Creek Circle, just off West Ox Road, at 4:30 a.m.

Gotwalt told a friend to call police, then went outside with a .38-caliber revolver loaded with "snake shot," small pellets designed for hunting small animals. Gotwalt said he thought he could use it in self-defense.

According to Gotwalt, Cornejo's argument with his friend had ended, but he and Gotwalt began exchanging words. Then they started fighting. Gotwalt said he struck Cornejo in the head with the gun and as they wrestled on the ground, the gun went off and hit Cornejo in the back.

Horan said in 2005 that Cornejo was the aggressor, was "getting the best of" Gotwalt in the fight, and that Cornejo was "very, very drunk," with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20, more than twice the legal definition of intoxication.

But Gotwalt acknowledged in his testimony that he returned to his apartment, shredded and then flushed his shirt down the toilet, flushed the shell from the shooting and washed his pants. When police first visited his apartment, he denied any knowledge of the incident. More than two hours after the shooting, he returned to the scene and provided his story. Police found Gotwalt's glasses and sandals on the ground near Cornejo's body.

But Giuseppe Amodeo, a neighbor who saw the fight, provided a different story. He testified that Gotwalt repeatedly hit Cornejo in the forehead with the gun, then shot him in the back as he stood behind Cornejo, not while they were wrestling. Keats said Amodeo had not told that story to police previously.

Toney testified that the wound in Cornejo's back was a contact wound and couldn't have been fired from any distance because the small pellets in the shell did not leave marks on Cornejo's body or clothing.

Malik K. Cutlar, Austin Cornejo's attorney, wondered in an interview how a man could shoot someone in the back, flee, destroy evidence and lie about his involvement -- and not be charged with a crime. "The overall investigation into this matter was just awful," Cutlar said.

Keats said that Fairfax police had done an exhaustive investigation and that Gotwalt would appeal the verdict.