Man Who Shot Officers Gets 22-Year Term

A suspected drug dealer who shot two Los Angeles police officers, paralyzing one, during a 1983 raid on his apartment was sentenced Thursday to a maximum term of nearly 22 years in state prison.

“If a higher or longer sentence could be imposed, the court would impose it. . . ,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Berg said as he sentenced Edwin P. Donelson to 21 years and eight months in prison.

A Superior Court jury last Jan. 22 found Donelson, 27, guilty of two counts of assault on a peace officer, two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and one count of assault with a firearm, in connection with the shooting of a passer-by.

The charges stemmed from a Dec. 1, 1983, incident at Donelson’s apartment, in the Hyde Park district, that began when 16 police officers investigating narcotics sales attempted to serve a search warrant.

Several of the officers testified at Donelson’s trial that they loudly and repeatedly identified themselves as police and ordered Donelson to open his door, but got no response. As the officers began breaking into the apartment, five shots were fired from the inside, the officers testified.

Lodged Against Spine

One .38-caliber bullet lodged against the spine of Officer Norman R. Eckles, 37, who, as a result, was paralyzed from the chest down. Eckles retired from the police force last Nov. 8 on a disability pension.

A fragment from a second bullet struck Officer Louie C. Nettles, 46, in the forehead, inflicting a minor wound. A third bullet hit Laverne Pennie, a neighbor, in the left leg.

Donelson later told a probation officer, according to a report made public Thursday, “I hate that I injured the police officer. I don’t pray a lot, but I do pray for him because a lot of his life has been destroyed.”

In giving Donelson the maximum term, Berg adopted the sentencing recommendation of Deputy Dist. Atty. George Knoke, who prosecuted the case.

Donelson’s attorney, Jay Jaffe, argued for leniency, suggesting that the judge should order concurrent terms for the separate offenses. Berg rejected that request.

“I think the judge feels that the sentence is appropriate,” Jaffe said, “but I think his sentence, much like the verdict, reflects a certain amount of pressure that a judge feels and a jury feels when a police officer is the victim.”

Jaffe said he will file an appeal.

During the trial, Jaffe argued that his client had been asleep in his living room and did not know that the men breaking into his apartment were police officers.

“He was awakened by the sound of his front window breaking,” Jaffe told the jury. “At the time Mr. Donelson shot at the window, he shot out of fear, feeling that his apartment was being broken into.”

However, the probation officer’s report states that Donelson told police immediately after his arrest that he heard the officers identify themselves but did not believe that the intruders were actually police.

Denied Hearing Warning

During a subsequent interview with the probation officer, Donelson denied that he heard the officers’ warnings. Donelson told the probation officer: “I wish that God could have taken the witness stand, because only God, me and the police know what happened.”

In addition to the assault and attempted manslaughter charges, Donelson also was found guilty of firing into an inhabited dwelling and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.

He was acquitted of a cocaine possession charge. Knoke has said that a Los Angeles police chemist determined that traces of the drug found in two plastic bags in Donelson’s apartment were too small to measure.

According to the probation report, Donelson has a criminal record dating back to 1973, when, at the age of 15, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. As an adult, he was twice convicted of receiving stolen property.

In 1979, he was convicted of robbery and rape and sentenced to state prison. Three years later, after his release, Donelson was convicted of drug possession. He was on probation in the drug case when he was arrested.