The Region : Man Who Shot Officers Gets 22 Years

A suspected drug dealer who shot two Los Angeles police officers, paralyzing one, during a 1983 raid on his apartment was sentenced 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. Donelson’s attorney, Jay Jaffe, argued for leniency, suggesting that the judge should order concurrent terms for the separate offenses. Berg rejected that request.