LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County’s new District Attorney will take the oath of office Monday, signaling drastic change for the largest prosecutors’ office in the country. Over the past month, George Gascón’s transition team has signaled a shake up in the way the county deals with everything from Juvenile Hall to the death penalty.
Activists who helped get him elected say there’s no honeymoon period for the new DA. On Sunday, demonstrators urged Gascón to swiftly file charges in recent deputy-involved shootings, including the June 18 deadly shooting of a Gardena teenager, Andres Guardado.
The Coroner’s office launched an inquest into the shooting Nov. 30 to determine the mode and manner of death, but the investigation was stymied by four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies who refused to publicly testify regarding the case.
“Looking at this from the outside it’s troubling and it suggests that the Sheriff’s Department is not operating in good faith,” said Loyola Law School professor Priscilla Ocen, who is a member of the Civilian Oversight Commission.
The deputy who opened fire, Miguel Vega, was out of the country, despite a subpoena to appear at the inquest. His attorney Adam Marangell told Spectrum News 1 he gave ample notice he was not available the date of the inquest.
“Due to the pending criminal investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Deputy Vega cannot be reasonably expected to give public testimony at this time,” Marangell said. “Deputy Vega has, however, fully cooperated with the investigation thus far, including providing a voluntary statement to investigators.”
Vega’s partner, Chris Hernandez, did not appear at the inquest either. Two homicide detectives investigating the Guardado case as a homicide invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination rather than answer questions.
Criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro is not involved in the case, but says incoming DA Gascón has deputies and officers worried they could face prosecution.
“George Gascon is taking office very shorty and one of his campaign platforms was police misconduct, that he’s going to lead the next generation of DAs into prosecuting officers when they do things they shouldn’t be doing,” Shapiro said.
The Guardado shooting will land on Gascón’s desk, and no one knows whether the investigation will focus on Deputy Vega, or broader allegations of gang-like behavior by deputies at the Compton sheriff’s station, where Vega worked.
“They’re not going to take any chances,” Shapiro said.
Surveillance video obtained by the Sheriff’s Department shows the teen take off running down an ally chased by deputies Vega and Hernandez. The department says there is no video of the actual shooting.
The autopsy revealed the teen was shot five times in the back, and Vega does not dispute the teen was lying on the ground when he opened fire. Marangell said Guardado dropped his gun, following the deputy’s orders and laid face down on the ground.
“The firearm, however, was positioned extremely close to and directly above Mr. Guardado’s right hand. Suddenly, and in direct contravention to these commands, Mr. Guardado clearly and unmistakably tried to grab the firearm. At this point, Deputy Vega had no choice but to redraw his weapon and fire in self-defense,” Marangell said.