Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey spoke at Wednesday’s press conference announcing the arrest of the man that authorities believe ambushed and shot two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies on September 12. Her comments are a refreshing change of pace from what we’ve been hearing of late (and yes, she’s a Democrat, so they’re even more surprising).
Granted, since Lacey has been personally targeted by Black Lives Matter for more than two years and had a mob of protesters show up on her front porch in the middle of the night not too long ago demanding to “speak” with her, she has little patience for BLM melodrama or lies and isn’t looking to be in their good graces.
In announcing the charges Lacey expressed the sentiments so many law enforcement officers across the country want to hear – that the people they are working to protect are grateful, and that the District Attorney will have their back.
“They [LASD deputies] became victims of a violent crime for one reason: They were doing their job and they were wearing a badge. These two people have committed their lives to protecting our community, and for their service and sacrifice, I want to thank them and their families. Now it’s our turn to seek justice on their behalf.
“As you know, the deputies were seated in their patrol car outside a Compton train station when they were ambushed and shot at close range. What you may not know is that Deputy District Attorneys assigned to the Crimes Against Peace Officers division rolled out to the scene that night. Since that time we have been working alongside detectives from the Sheriff’s Department to identify the perpetrator and file these criminal charges.
“We’ve all seen the shocking surveillance video of the shooting and the heroic actions of the wounded female deputy as she drags her partner to safety. That video plus other compelling forensic evidence are the basis for this prosecution. Today my office charged Deonte Murray with two felony counts of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer.
“Before I close, I want to thank Sheriff Alex Villanueva and his team for their hard work and dedication to investigating and solving this senseless crime. Too often, we take for granted the inherent danger present each and every time a law enforcement officer reports for work.”
As Lacey said later, that charge carries a sentence of life in prison, period, full stop. Since Murray’s charges in the carjacking incident were upgraded Wednesday to include the attempted murder of that victim, Murray is facing three life sentences. In the counts involving the LASD deputies, if convicted Murray must serve at least 15 years before being eligible for parole. Based on my experience working in the criminal justice system in another state, I believe it’s reasonable to assume that the judge would sentence Murray to consecutive terms and not concurrent, meaning that Murray would have to serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.
It’s extremely important to contrast Lacey’s comments and actions with those of Soros-backed DA’s such as Diana Becton in Contra Costa County, CA, because Lacey is facing a Soros-backed opponent in this year’s election. Radicals like BLM-Los Angeles founder Melina Abdullah didn’t think Lacey, a Democrat whose top priority growing up in South Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood was to just get home from school safely, knew what it was like on the streets, fighting against “the man.”
Working with Soros-backed groups they recruited George Gascon, a former LAPD officer whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba and settled in Los Angeles, to run against the county’s first Black District Attorney, which is more than slightly ironic. Don’t let that description fool you, though: Gascon’s most recent job was as San Francisco’s District Attorney, so apparently Gascon went through his own transformation at some point.
Voters in Los Angeles County should know that there’s a very real possibility that charges against Murray could be severely downgraded should Gascon win the election. Voters should know that the Crimes Against Peace Officers division would likely be shuttered and replaced with some type of Critical Race Theory-inspired division bent on “transforming” the justice system. Voters in Los Angeles County should know that if they elect George Gascon the focus will be on excusing away the behavior of criminals. Above all, voters in Los Angeles County should know that if George Gascon is elected there will be an exodus of good police officers and deputies like they’ve never seen, and law-abiding citizens will be forced to attempt to defend themselves. It sounds drastic, but it’s really not that big of a leap from the societal chaos already caused by the three socialists on the LA County Board of Supervisors, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LAPD Chief Michel Moore.
