Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts of Los Angeles, California and the U.S.

July 28, 2009

Man Convicted of Fatally Shooting Veteran Law Enforcement Officer

LOS ANGELES – A jury convicted today a 26-year-old Los Angeles man of the 2004 first-degree murder of an off-duty Los Angeles County police captain who was fatally shot as he was riding his bicycle in Compton.

Miguel Angel Magallon also was found guilty of the attempted second-degree robbery of Capt. Michael Sparkes. In addition, the jury found true the special circumstances of murder during an attempted robbery and murder during a drive-by shooting, as well as multiple special allegations including murder to enhance a street gang and personal use of a firearm.

The veteran officer was fatally shot on Aug. 10, 2004, as he was riding his bicycle at Redondo Beach and Avalon boulevards in the Rosewood area near Compton shortly after 5:30 a.m.

Deputy District Attorney’s Darren Levine and Phillip Stirling of the Crimes Against Police Officers Section (CAPOS) prosecuted the case.

Prosecutors argued Magallon used an AK-47 assault rifle to murder Sparkes. The veteran officer was on the ground on his cell phone calling 911 when he was hit with a second round of gunfire. Levine said the officer was “assassinated” during an attempted robbery.

The jury deadlocked on the special circumstance of murder of a peace officer. Judge Kathleen Kennedy ruled a mistrial on that one special circumstance.

The jury returns Monday at 10:30 a.m. to begin the death penalty phase of the trial.

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CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER

JOSEPH SHEMARIA

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Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts of Los Angeles, California and the U.S.