Last month two L.A. Deputy Officers were seriously injured following an ambush shooting that took place outside of a train station in Compton. Now a suspect has been arrested and charged for the shooting.
According to NBC News, Deonte Lee Murray, 36, has been arrested and charged with premeditated attempted murder in connection to the ambush shooting. As previously reported, the officers were shot while sitting in their patrol car outside of the Metro Blue Line station in Compton on September 12th.
Captain Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that Deonte was arrested on September 15th in connection to a carjacking that took place earlier in September.
Investigators learned that after the police shooting, the suspect fled the scene of the shooting in a black Mercedes-Benz sedan. That is when they learned that a matching vehicle had been stolen during a carjacking back on September 1st. During the carjacking, the driver had been shot with a high-powered rifle.
On September 15th, three days after the police shooting, authorities located Deonte in a Toyota and tried to stop him, however, he fled, and the pursuit proceeded. During that pursuit, Murray threw a pistol from his car. The pursuit came to an end when he left the car and fled on foot, he was later found hiding in bushes and arrested for the carjacking.
Days following his arrest, a forensic firearm report was completed and it compared ballistic evidence from the scene of the deputies’ shooting to the pistol that Murray threw out during the pursuit.
Wegener said, “It was determined through ballistic comparison that the pistol recovered was the pistol used to shoot the deputies.”
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a press conference on Wednesday that the two officers underwent surgery and are recovering. He said, “They still face a lot of reconstructive surgery and it’s going to be a lengthy process, but fortunately they’re doing OK.”
Authorities said that Deonte acted alone and there was no suggested motive for the shooting presented. If convicted he faces a maximum of life in prison.
A man has been charged in connection with the ambush-style shooting of two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies earlier this month in Southern California, @CBSLARachel reportshttps://t.co/FdbqI7Bmmd pic.twitter.com/tVy3nSRHWC
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 1, 2020
Want updates directly in your text inbox? Hit us up at 917-722-8057 or click here to join!
TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
