Suspect in Slaying of San Diego Police Officer Pleads Innocent

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

Penn, 23, appeared before Municipal Judge J. Richard Haden in handcuffs and wearing a blue prison jump suit. 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. Bailiffs checked each person entering the courtroom with a portable metal detector. Thomas Penn, the youth’s father, and Penn’s grandfather, Yusuf Abdula, were joined in the courtroom by several dozen friends and neighbors who attended to show their support.

Followed Traffic Stop

Penn is charged with killing Officer Thomas Riggs and wounding Officer Donovan Jacobs and housewife Sara Pina-Ruiz, who was participating in a police “ride-along” program. The shooting occurred Sunday when Jacobs attempted to question Penn after a traffic stop.

After Penn and Jacobs exchanged blows, Jacobs wrestled Penn to the ground and fell on top of him. Penn grabbed the policeman’s revolver and allegedly shot Jacobs in the neck and shot Riggs twice in the chest, killing him. He then walked to Riggs’ patrol car and allegedly fired two shots through the window at Pina-Ruiz, who was calling for help on the police radio.

Penn drove away in Jacob’s patrol car and turned himself in to police a short time later.

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