Carjacking suspect who sparked hours-long manhunt in Lynwood is charged

Los Angeles County prosecutors on Thursday filed charges against a carjacking suspect who was arrested after a nearly nine-hour standoff in Lynwood earlier this week.

Deonte Lee Murray, 36, was charged with one felony count each of carjacking, second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. The charges include allegations of association with a criminal street gang, discharging a rifle inflicting great bodily injury, and personal use of an AR-15.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges during an appearance in a Compton courtroom, the district attorney’s office said.

The massive police presence in Lynwood on Tuesday triggered speculation that the Sheriff’s Department had cornered the gunman who shot two deputies four days earlier. But sheriff’s officials said at the time that was not the case.

“At this time,” Sgt. Bob Boese said in announcing Murray’s arrest, “there is no information that would lead us to believe that he is involved in the shooting of our deputies.”

The deputies, a 31-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, were sitting in a patrol car outside a Metro station in Compton when a gunman approached and fired multiple rounds into the vehicle, striking them in the head, face and arms. They survived and are recovering. One was released from the hospital Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, Boese said, deputies in Compton responded to a carjacking in the 500 block of Essey Avenue and found a 51-year-old victim whose car had been stolen and who had been shot in the leg.

Gang investigators obtained an arrest warrant and began searching for Murray, who was spotted Tuesday near the intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Bradfield Avenue, Boese said. Deputies attempted to stop him in his Toyota Solara, Boese said, but Murray took off, with the deputies in pursuit.

Murray ditched the car in the 3000 block of Carlin Avenue in Lynwood and hid in a home before he was taken into custody, Boese said.