By
Scott Thomas Anderson
Strange details are beginning to emerge about a neighborhood feud that ended with the slaying of an Irish-born resident Aug. 16.
The victim, 47-year-old John Michael O'Sullivan, was a well-known personality in the county who had hopes of becoming a major developer. O'Sullivan's killing marked Amador's first homicide of the year.
The incident became known to law enforcement around 7:45 p.m., when emergency dispatchers learned that a potentially serious confrontation was brewing in the countryside above Fiddletown. Officials from the Amador County Sheriff's Office said that dispatchers had received a call from Kenneth John Zimmerman, a 56-year-old man who lives on Jura Lane in a rolling terrain of secluded woods and fields. During his emergency call, Zimmerman reported that his neighbor, O'Sullivan, had broken through his gate on a tractor. Zimmerman went on to tell the dispatchers that O'Sullivan had struck him in the face with an open hand and then attempted to run him over with the tractor.
Zimmerman ended his phone call by telling authorities that the sheriff's office better hurry up and get there "before I shoot him."
Thirteen minutes later - as sheriff's deputies were rushing to the scene - dispatchers received a second call from O'Sullivan's wife, Krista Clem. Clem was worried because she'd heard several gunshots. She told the 911 operator that she couldn't find her husband.
Sheriff's deputies were on the scene within 10 minutes of Clem's phone call. They arrived to find Zimmerman blocking the roadway with a vehicle. When questioned, Zimmerman told the deputies that they could find O'Sullivan near the gate he'd destroyed. The officers soon discovered O'Sullivan dead on his tractor in a cluster of brush near the side of the road - the apparent victim of multiple gunshot wounds.
Zimmerman informed the officers that the pistol he'd fired was in his house. He was arrested and booked into the Amador County Jail on suspicion of murder.
On Sunday and Monday, detectives from the sheriff's office executed a search warrant on Zimmerman's property and home.
On Tuesday morning, neighbors of Zimmerman and O'Sullivan were feeling the shock of what had taken place. More than seven residents of the area told the Ledger Dispatch that the feud between the men had been going on for more than three years. Most neighbors said the hostility had started over an easement that Zimmerman had a legal right to use in order to enter the property he lived on. That easement crossed the land O'Sullivan lived on. O'Sullivan's family members denied on Thursday that the easement was the cause of the problems between the men.
Neighbors reported that shouting matches between Zimmerman and O'Sullivan became frequent and grew worse over time.
More than eight residents with homes on or around Jura Lane expressed dismay over the shooting and characterized Zimmerman as mild-mannered, friendly, helpful and nice. "I've known Ken for 34 years and been friends with him that whole time," said Tim Mangan. "In all that time I have never known him to get involved in an altercation, let alone a fight. He's helped older folks in town when they've been in jams. He's the kind of person who'd be there in a heartbeat if you needed him."
Kelly Zaccaria, who lives nearby on Fiddletown Road, painted a similar picture. "He's a very sweet man," she said. "My husband and I have been friends with Kenny a long time. I woke up this morning thinking about him and we're just really concerned for what might happen to him now." Zaccaria pointed to a large stack of wood Zimmerman had recently helped her husband cut and stack without accepting anything in return.
"That's the kind of guy he is," she said.
The loss of O'Sullivan has sent despair through the lives of his family and friends, particularly in his homeland of Ireland where there has been significant media attention regarding his homicide.
O'Sullivan leaves behind Clem and four children: Tessie, Michael, Lydia and Jacob. O'Sullivan's family describes him as "gregarious" and "a visionary" on issues such as green building. Clem said she is devastated by what happened Sunday night. "John was the most honorable, passionate, full-of-life man I've ever met," she told the Ledger Dispatch Thursday. "There are no words to describe what I'm feeling right now."
Clem confirmed that reports in the Irish media that O'Sullivan would be buried in his homeland were true.
In terms of the criminal case against Zimmerman that now moves forward, Clem commented: "Although there's much I'd like to say so the truth can be known, it's not the appropriate time. I believe what really happened will be clear in a matter of time."
Zimmerman is currently being held in the Amador County Jail without bail. Because O'Sullivan and Clem had a pending federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Amador County's District Attorney, Todd Riebe, at the time of O'Sullivan's death - which stemmed from a case Riebe handled alleging fatal neglect of a horse - it remains unknown who will handle the possible prosecution of Zimmerman's case.
