Posted on 03/29/2006 11:25:21 PM PST by La Enchiladita
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Detectives investigating the fatal shooting of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy determined she was shot by someone else rather than accidentally by her own gun, authorities said Wednesday.
They also said robbery was a possible motive, adding they don't believe Maria Cecelia Rosa was killed because of her law enforcement affiliation.
Rosa, 30, a six-year department veteran, was found slumped over the open trunk of her car early Tuesday with a gunshot wound to her upper body. The shooting occurred in a friend's driveway.
Sheriff Lee Baca initially said the positions of Rosa's body and condition of her gun suggested she may have accidentally fired it as she loaded equipment into her car.
But investigators said Wednesday that Rosa's gun had not been fired and that they found evidence to show that someone else shot her, said Long Beach police Officer Nancy Pratt.
"It is definitely no longer an accidental death," Baca told KCAL-TV.
"We are clear that she received at least two .22-caliber projectiles into her body, which are the cause of her death," Baca said.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Somebody knew where to find this police officer...
It turns my stomach to say to you that..........yes, they do.
Seems it would have taken less than 5 minutes at the scene to determine that her gun had NOT been fired.
It took the coroner or ME to tell them that she died from a .22 bullet? WTF???
" i would think they would go for something bigger"
Nope... A 22 is quite and effective. A larger caliber is over kill and the report draws attention.""
Not only effective, bouncing around the skull and causing irrepairable damage, but often the slug is so damaged it is impossible to match it to any particular gun or prior evidence from other cases.
The .22 is the most popular gun on the streets of LA for gangs and criminals according to a friend of mine who was a cop there for over 20 years.
"Even the bad guys don't shoot people for no reason."
It turns my stomach to say to you that..........yes, they do.""
What is "No reason" to a civilized person is not the same as "no reason" to a savage thug or gangbanger. Often something like this is "initiation" to the gang.
Evil doesn't have to have a reason.
I don't think that you have the personality to handle the internet. You anger very quickly. You are probably not suitable for law enforcement.
LOL
Another LASD deputy was found dead this morning, and again they speculated he mishandled his gun.
That is three dead in a week!
Good morning Karl. Is that the one across from the station?
That sucks. Sounds like the crappy initial investigation probably slowed things down. A lot.
Not flaming ya here but reading the whole piece, after the sheriff got his head out of his butt with further info developed, my first thought was some type of gang initiation/robbery. Staying tuned in for further details....
That was a hit.
Did you see post 49?
NG BEACH, California-- Two young men believed responsible for the slaying of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy remained at large Wednesday, and police asked the public's help in catching her killers.
Officers canvassing the neighborhood moments after Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Maria Cecilia Rosa was shot Tuesday morning talked to witnesses who said they heard multiple rounds fired, then saw two Hispanic males, in their teens or early 20s, running from the scene, said Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts.
Batts, who spoke at a news conference held Wednesday afternoon, said the motive was unclear but investigators had a hunch Rosa was the victim of a robbery.
The chief also said he wanted to clear up rumors and innuendo about what led to the deputy's shooting.
Sheriff Lee Baca speculated Tuesday that the position of the 30-year-old's body indicated she may have shot herself while putting equipment in the back of her car as she prepared to go to work.
After receiving an update on the investigation Wednesday, Baca said he made a mistake and the killing appeared to be a homicide.
"It's definitely not an accidental shooting," Baca said. "She didn't have an opportunity to defend herself."
But Batts said it was too early in the investigation to know if Rosa saw the attack coming.
Rosa was shot twice with a .22-caliber gun as she prepared to leave for work from a friend's Long Beach home around 6 a.m. Tuesday. She was wearing a sweat shirt and jeans, he said. There was nothing to suggest her killers knew she was in law enforcement.
"We are asking your help and assistance in locating two possible suspects," Batts said. "Both suspects were seen near the scene at the time the incident occurred, riding a bicycle."
One was wearing a black hooded sweat shirt, and an abandoned bicycle was found next to the victim's car and taken into evidence. The native of Sonora, Mexico, was found lying on the ground next to her car by a Press-Telegram delivery man who called 911, the chief said.
Johnny Burgos, a district adviser in the Press-Telegram's Circulation Department, said he was helping a paper boy make his rounds after that employee got a flat tire.
It was before 6 a.m. when they drove down the 2900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue and saw the deputy lying on her back, he said.
"At first I thought she had passed out or something," Burgos said. "But when I got up to her, I could see she was dead."
Burgos said he and the delivery boy ran to the house and knocked on the door, then ran back to Rosa to begin CPR. As he pumped on her chest, he said, her half-lidded eyes stared straight ahead and she remained still. Then he noticed a dark stain along the left side of her body, just above her rib cage.
"It looked black," he said. "It looked like a (gunshot wound)."
A good Samaritan who was driving by noticed Burgos' efforts and stopped to help, he said. While that man worked on the deputy, Burgos ran back to the house and pounded on the door with his fists.
A young man came out first, he said, followed by a woman.
"She told me she was a Sheriff's, too," Burgos said. "Then she just started to cry."
That was Sheriff's Deputy Jenny Martin, a longtime friend of Rosa's. Martin owns the home where Rosa affectionately known as "Cessy" often stayed to cut down on her commute to downtown Los Angeles, according to Martin's family.
The two women were friends long before they went through the Sheriff's Academy, said Marta Esquivez. They met while working at a dentist's office.
And Rosa who owns a home in Pomona was very close with Martin's family, spending most holidays and birthdays with them, Esquivez said.
Esquivez said her nephew, who lives with Martin, told his dad they didn't hear anything that morning until they were awakened by Burgos banging on the door.
Rosa, who graduated from high school in Gilroy in 1993, joined the Sheriff's Department in July of 2000. She was assigned to the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles throughout her career, working with inmates as they were received and released from the county's jail system.
She is survived by three brothers and two sisters. Funeral arrangements are pending, said Sheriff's Homicide Capt. Ray Peavy.
Batts told reporters that investigators' strongest hunch was that Rosa was the victim of a botched robbery. They based the theory, in part, on the time of day for the attack. But he did not know if anything was taken.
As for Baca's earlier comments, Batts said his investigators on Tuesday ruled out the possibility the wounds were self-inflicted after ballistics showed, "her weapon had not been fired."
The strain of losing an officer likely added to the confusion, Batts said.
Baca talked about the accidental shooting theory after he was quizzed by reporters at a press conference with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday night, said Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
"But don't forget, it's not our investigation," Whitmore said Wednesday. "That means that second-and thirdhand information was coming in. At the time, (Baca) said it was an accident or a murder, and he was hoping it was accident."
The sheriff acknowledged the error Wednesday morning after speaking at the funeral of Sheriff's Deputy Pierre Bain, a 14-year veteran of the force who was killed in an on-duty motorcycle accident March 23 in Lancaster.
Meanwhile, the LBPD has put every possible resource on the case, Batts said, and is being assisted by the Sheriff's Department.
"We will take this as a loss of our family, and we will not stop until we have followed every lead that's possible," Batts said.
Anyone with information about the killing is urged to call Long Beach Homicide Detectives Bryan McMahon or Patrick O'Dowd at (562) 570-7244.
someone is sensitive. Awww....
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