Innocent Plea in Slaying of Officer; Bail Is $250,000

Sagon Penn pleaded innocent Wednesday to one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder stemming from a weekend shooting that left one policeman dead and another officer and a civilian ride-along wounded.

A frightened Penn appeared before Municipal Judge J. Richard Haden. Penn, 23, a karate expert, was handcuffed and dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit.

Haden set bail at $250,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for May 7. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Carpenter had asked that bail be set at $500,000.

Security was heavy in the crowded courtroom. Friends, relatives and supporters of Penn were allowed into the courtroom one at a time, and bailiffs checked each person with a portable metal detector. Thomas Penn, the suspect’s father, and Penn’s grandfather, Yusuf Abdula, also were in the courtroom.

Penn is charged with killing Officer Thomas Riggs and wounding Officer Donovan Jacobs and ride-along Sara Pina-Ruiz on Sunday. The shooting occurred in Southeast San Diego when Jacobs attempted to question Penn after Penn had pulled his truck into a dirt driveway.

Witnesses have said that Penn and Jacobs exchanged blows and then fell to the ground, with Jacobs on top. They said Penn then grabbed the policeman’s revolver. Jacobs was shot once in the neck and Riggs was fatally wounded by two shots to the chest. Witnesses said Penn then walked over to Riggs’ patrol car and fired two shots through the window at Pina-Ruiz, who was calling for help on the police radio.

Some witnesses have told The Times that Jacobs struck Penn without provocation. But homicide investigators say that, based on interviews with dozens of witnesses, they have concluded that Penn struck Jacobs first.

After Wednesday’s brief hearing, Carpenter said that prosecutors have not decided if they will ask a jury to convict Penn of first-degree murder and find special circumstances in the shooting. If Penn is convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances, he could get the death penalty. But Carpenter said that, as of Wednesday, prosecutors were still studying the facts in the shooting.

“It’s too early to tell if we are going to ask for special circumstances,” Carpenter said. “Normally, we make that decision when we have all the facts in a case. And right now we’re still trying to get all of the facts.”

However, Carpenter and defense attorney Robert Slatten said that it will be up to a jury to convict Penn of first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter. Manslaughter and second-degree murder convictions do not carry the death penalty.

Slatten expressed disappointment at the high bail for Penn and said that his background and ties to the community qualified him for release on his own recognizance.

“As a practical matter he could have been released without bail,” Slatten said. “He’s never been in trouble before. The entire family is highly respected in the community, as is Sagon.”

The Police Department disclosed Wednesday that Penn had applied to become a San Diego police officer in April, 1983. Penn passed a physical but failed the reading comprehension portion of the application exam.

Police spokesman Bill Robinson said Penn had been scheduled to take a written test today to become a San Diego community service officer. Such unarmed officers assist regular police patrolmen by issuing parking tickets and taking reports.

“He was supposed to take the test for CSO, but I don’t think he’ll make it,” Robinson said.

As Penn remained in the County Jail Wednesday, his friends and acquaintances continued to offer testimonials in support of a man who they insisted would never become violent unless provoked.

One longtime friend, Roberto Rivera, 21, a teacher’s aide at Lincoln High School, said Penn had no knowledge of firearms. “I doubt he ever fired a gun before,” Rivera said.

Rivera said he and Penn often double dated and took martial arts instruction together. Rivera described Penn as a “shy, very observant person who is very, very self-disciplined. I never, ever saw him lose his temper over anything. . . . He was always going out of his way to help someone. He’s not like a lot of people you meet. He’s really a nice guy.”

“He was really good in karate and he won all kinds of trophies, like more than 20, and the little kids in the neighborhood would come over and admire them,” Rivera said. “I came over to his house one day, and all but one of the trophies were gone. Sagon gave them away to the little kids.”

Penn’s arrest has stirred a wave of support for him in the black community. Kathy Rollins, executive director of the Black Federation of San Diego, said the group is looking into the possibility of establishing a defense fund for him.

“People are already coming in and giving a dollar or so. They’re concerned about how this (the shooting) is being portrayed in the media, and they question whether or not his actions were justifiable,” said Rollins.

Rollins called the shooting “an unfortunate situation for everyone” and said that she wants to meet with Police Chief William Kolender.

“I want to express my condolences to the chief,” Rollins said. “The loss of the officer is a great loss to the community. I hope that both sides can learn from this tragic incident and that a tragedy like this doesn’t happen again.

“One thing that I want to discuss with the chief is the deteriorating relations between the community and the Police Department. . . . In this case nobody has been able to find anything bad to say about Sagon.”