Road Rage Killing: `In 2 Minutes That Man Took My Whole Life Away'

Roshell Morgan said she will never forget her final moments with her boyfriend, who was stabbed to death in a in Livermore. 

It's something that haunts the Newark resident daily since the March 9 fight that left Ricky Ziesmer of Fremont dead.

"He looked at me with a look I've never seen before," she said of Ziesmer after he was stabbed. "A 'fear for my life' type look."

That look would be the last time she would see the 48-year-old Ziesmer, who after he was stabbed got back in Morgan's car and drove himself to a nearby hospital, leaving her behind.

Charged in the killing is Livermore resident , who has .

His attorney, Eric Schweitzer, said the stabbing was in self defense.

Schweitzer, based in Clovis, is awaiting toxicology reports because he suspects Ziesmer may have been under the influence during the fight.

Ziesmer has a criminal history of in several East Bay cities, including Pleasanton, Newark and Hayward, according to court records obtained by Livermore Patch.

Morgan, 48, who has known Ziesmer for four years, said she is confident nothing will be found in the toxicology reports.

Ziesmer had stopped using methamphetamine recently and was focused on getting his life together so that he could move to Arkansas to be with his mother, Morgan said.

He had been released on Dec. 5 from prison after serving a sentence for violating parole, Morgan said.

Ziesmer then voluntarily enrolled into Seventh Step, an in-house drug rehab program in Hayward that supports and guides men in the criminal justice system who are substance abusers.

"Ricky was there complying with their rules and doing what he was supposed to be doing," Morgan said. "He had a drug problem, but that didn't make him a bad person."

In an email to Livermore Patch, friends and family said Ziesmer was beginning to write and publish poetry on several blogs and social networking sites, reflecting his transformation and the new life that he had found and begun to live on a daily basis.

On March 9, Ziesmer was taking a break from the program on a day pass.

Morgan picked him up in her 2002 gold Chevrolet Cavalier at 9 a.m. and the two ran several errands before Ziesmer suggested they visit a friend in Livermore.

After the visit the two were riding down First Street from Springtown toward downtown.

Ziesmer, who was then driving Morgan's car, merged into a lane when a driver of a  2003 grey Chevy Silverado pickup behind them blared the horn, Morgan said.

That driver would later be identified as Holbrook, a 41-year-old software programmer and married father of two.

"(Holbrook) kept screaming that we cut him off," Morgan said. "Ricky said, 'I didn't cut him off. Didn't he see my blinker?' "

The two would exchange several more words until they pulled into a parking lot on Old First Street downtown near the and . Ziesmer and Holbrook then got into a fight, Morgan said.

"Ricky didn't see a problem with two men handling it in a fist fight," Morgan said. "But he was not the person to go looking for it or bring a weapon to a fight. He didin't do that. He didn't believe in weapons. Ever."

Police said Holbrook stabbed Ziesmer in the upper torso with a dagger that he had in his car.

After Morgan realized that Ziesmer was stabbed she got out of her car.

"I saw that Ricky was hurt and I yelled at (Holbrook), 'You stabbed him?' " she said. "He said, 'That's right I stabbed him. He hit me.' "

Ziesmer got back into Morgan's car and and headed to on East Stanley Boulevard in Livermore, leaving Morgan behind.

The health center does not offer emergency services, which are based at ValleyCare's Pleasanton facility.

Ziesmer was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, a higher level trauma center, where he died.

A filed in court by tells Holbrook's story.

Holbrook told police Ziesmer started the incident by drifting into his lane several times and nearly colliding with him. He said Ziesmer punched him several times when they got out of their cars and started arguing.

Holbrook told investigators that when the two men were stopped in adjacent lanes at a light, he "flipped off" Ziesmer and asked him "why he was driving like a d---."

According to the statement, Holbrook said the two men cursed at each other and Ziesmer threatened to harm him, saying, "I have no problem putting you down."

The two men eventually pulled their vehicles into the downtown parking lot. A police detective said that "instead of sitting in his vehicle, rolling up his windows, locking the doors or driving away, Holbrook chose to get out of the vehicle" and wound up in a confrontation with Ziesmer.

Ziesmer punched Holbrook in the face twice, knocking him to the ground, according to the statement.

As the confrontation continued, Holbrook reached into his driver's door compartment, retrieved a dagger and stabbed Ziesmer in the upper chest, the statement said. He also stabbed the driver's side rear door of Ziesmer's car to prevent him from leaving.

In an interview two weeks after the fight, during visiting hours at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Holbrook's injuries still were visible.

"I think about every minute of that day. It's one of those things on my mind, among other things," Holbrook said. "I think about how I survived and I wonder how my family is doing."

Morgan said she thinks about her loss every day.

"In two minutes that man took away my whole life," she said. "I don't even know what to do. I sleep most of the time because I don't want to think about it."

Morgan also said now she is fearful whenever she drives.

"I don't even look at people driving down the street. I roll up my window," she said. "Don't pull over. Don't say anything. Let them go. Let them go. It's not worth it. Your whole life can change in a matter of seconds."

Ziesmer was born in Duluth, Minn. He was raised in Vista in San Diego County.

He is survived by his mother, Marilyn Lee of Okolona, Ark.; his grandmother, Sylvia Brovin of Duluth, Minn.; stepdaughter, Roxanna Slife of Reno and her son, Micheal; three sisters and their husbands, Debbie and Richie Del Gatto of Escondido, Becky and Howard Hedricks of California, and Wendy and Robert McClure of Okolona; and a brother-in-law, Steve Hill.

Holbrook is scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 9 a.m. April 22 in Dept. 703 of the Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton.

He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.