Hung jury in trial of ex-LAPD officer who killed man in Costco
With jurors deadlocked, a judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the trial of a former Los Angeles Police Department officer charged with manslaughter for the fatal shooting of a man in a Riverside County Costco in 2019.
Salvador Alejandro Sanchez, 33, of Corona was charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, in addition to the count of manslaughter. His trial started at the Larson Justice Center in Indio in December, and jury deliberations were called off on Dec. 29 due to an undisclosed scheduling issue.
The jury resumed deliberations Thursday morning, but sent the judge a note in the afternoon saying it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors had already told the judge back in December that they were having trouble reaching a verdict on the manslaughter charge.
The prosecutor, Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy, said he needed to speak with his office before saying whether he planned to seek to take Sanchez to trial again.
“I’m disappointed in the resolution, or the lack of resolution,” Murphy said.
Sanchez declined to comment. Michael Schwartz, his attorney, said he hopes prosecutors don’t pursue a second trial.
“We’ll find out what the attorney general wants to do,” Schwartz said outside the courthouse. “Hopefully he won’t waste any more taxpayer money on a case that should be put to rest, a case where all parties can realize it was a tragedy, but it wasn’t a crime and everybody can move on.”
Sanchez fatally shot Kenneth French, 32, at Costco in Corona on June 14, 2019, after the two had a brief confrontation. While what triggered the confrontation is unclear, neither legal team disputes
that French struck Sanchez in a food sample line. Within seconds, Sanchez, who was holding his infant child, pulled a firearm from his waistband and shot French four times and each of his parents once.
Russell and Paola French survived after substantial medical treatment and testified that they attempted to push their son away and tell Sanchez he was suffering from mental health issues.
Schwartz told the jury his client believed he had been shot when he was struck from behind. He had not been shot and was the only one armed at the time.
“While holding his son in his arms, in parental bliss, feeding him, he was brutally and inexplicably attacked from behind,” Schwartz said. “He acted to defend himself and his son.”
Sanchez was off duty at the time of the shooting, but was later fired by the LAPD.
The prosecutor, Murphy, argued to the jury through the trial that Sanchez's decision to open fire in a crowded store was both reckless and illegal.
“Without hesitation and without a warning, the defendant aimed his gun at the French family and pulled the trigger 10 times,” Murphy said.
The California Office of the Attorney General announced it would prosecute the case after the Riverside County District Attorney's Office declined to.
The French family filed a civil suit against the city of Los Angeles, its police department and Sanchez at the end of 2019, alleging civil rights violations. A jury ruled in their favor, awarding the family $17 million in damages.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.