A man was found guilty by a jury on Thursday in connection with a series of crimes, including the attempted murder of two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies outside a transit station in September 2020, according to prosecutors.
Deonte Murray, aged 39, has been convicted on 10 charges, including three counts of attempted murder, carjacking, robbery, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, and illegal possession of firearms, as announced by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office on Thursday.
Murray shot at two sheriff's deputies while they were seated in their car outside a Metro station in Compton, California, on September 12, 2020, as reported by authorities. He was apprehended three days after the shooting, which triggered an extensive manhunt, while the officers underwent surgery and recovery.
In the days leading up to the shooting of the officers, Murray committed other crimes. On September 1, 2020, in Compton, he shot the owner of a Mercedes-Benz in the leg with a high-powered rifle before stealing the car, according to prosecutors.
Initially identified as a suspect in the carjacking, police arrested Murray on September 15, 2020.
During a police pursuit on that day, Murray discarded a firearm from his car, which was later determined to be the same gun used in the shooting of the deputies, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Kent Wegener. The firearm was classified as a ghost gun, a term used for a weapon that is typically challenging to trace because it's assembled from various parts.
Following his arrest in the carjacking case, authorities identified Murray as a suspect in the shooting of the deputies.
Surveillance video captured the deputies' shooting, showing a gunman approaching the passenger door of their squad car parked outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Transit Center, opening fire, and then fleeing the scene.
Murray is now facing a potential life sentence in prison, as stated by the district attorney's office in a news release on Thursday. Murray's attorney declined to comment on the conviction.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon remarked, "This verdict reaffirms our commitment to protecting those who serve and sends a clear message that acts of violence will not go unpunished."
In another news, the teenager responsible for the tragic school shooting that claimed the lives of four students at Oxford High School has been declared eligible for life imprisonment without parole, the harshest penalty allowed in Michigan. See detailed story here
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