Man Charged in Shooting of 2 Los Angeles County Deputies

Prosecutors charged a 36-year-old man Wednesday with a brazen ambush of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies earlier this month, an apparently unprovoked shooting as they sat in a squad car outside a rail station.

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The suspect, Deonte Lee Murray, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges Wednesday during his arraignment. He faces life in state prison if he is convicted.

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The sheriff’s department arrested Murray two weeks ago in connection with a separate carjacking. But officials at the time said it was not related to the ambush case.

Murray has a criminal history including convictions for sales and possession of narcotics, firearm possession, receiving stolen property, burglary and terrorist threats, authorities said. Wednesday’s criminal complaint includes allegations that he associates with gangs.

Investigators on Wednesday did not provide a specific motive for the attack, “other than the fact that he obviously hates policemen and he wants them dead,” said Capt. Kent Wegener, the head of the sheriff’s homicide bureau.

In the shooting — which the sheriff said depicted “the worst of humanity” — surveillance video shows a person walking toward the patrol car, which was parked at a Metro rail station in the city of Compton, and firing a handgun through the passenger-side window.

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The suspect fled in a black Mercedes Benz sedan. Investigators discovered that type of vehicle had been stolen Sept. 1 in a carjacking where the driver was shot. {snip}

On Sept. 15, an investigator spotted the suspect driving another vehicle and tried to stop him. The suspect threw a gun out of the car during a pursuit before abandoning the vehicle in the city of Lynwood. The suspect ran off and was ultimately captured after a nearly nine-hour standoff with police. {snip}

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After the ambush, a handful of protesters gathered outside the hospital where the deputies were treated and tried to block the emergency room entrance. Videos from the scene recorded protesters shouting expletives at police and at least one yelling “I hope they … die.”

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