Killing Ruled ‘Excusable Homicide’ : D.A. Concludes Man Shot Theft Suspect in Self-Defense

The fatal shooting of a young car burglarly suspect in the Silver Lake area last month was an accident--an “excusable homicide,” in which the burglar in effect caused his own death with a desperate lunge, the district attorney’s office concluded Wednesday.

Robert Cooper, 44, had been holding Henry Velasco, 17, of Eagle Rock at bay on the evening of April 20, waiting for police to arrive, when Cooper fired his small handgun three times. Velasco died 12 hours later.

Cooper had confronted Velasco across the street from an apartment building Cooper owns in the 3200 block of Descanso Drive after reportedly seeing Velasco burglarizing a car owned by a tenant.

Cooper told officers he fired in self-defense, but police arrested him on suspicion of murder because of statements made by three girls who claimed to have witnessed the shooting and took issue with Cooper’s version of the events.

Days later, the girls admitted to police that they had seen only the initial confrontation--not the shooting--and another Descanso Drive resident who saw the shooting corroborated Cooper’s explanation that he fired after Velasco punched him in an attempt to escape, authorities said.

Accidental Discharge

Norman Shapiro, a deputy district attorney in the agency’s complaint division, said no charges will be filed.

Shapiro said investigators concluded that as police units were rolling up to the site of the burglary, Velasco swung at Cooper, whose gun was cocked. When the punch hit Cooper in the face, the gun accidentally discharged, fatally wounding Velasco near the heart.

Shapiro said Cooper was within his rights in holding Velasco at bay and was telling Velasco that he planned to turn him over to police, who had been called by a neighbor. Shapiro also said Cooper owns the handgun legally.

Less clear was the question of why, after the initial shot wounded Velasco, Cooper twice recocked and fired his derringer, striking the young man in the wrist and torso.

“Those were two intentional shots in my opinion,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said the propriety of those shots might have been considered if the case were to be evaluated as a justifiable homicide, in which a person must have a “reasonable and honest” belief that his life is in danger. But once investigators decided that the death was excusable homicide-- brought about by Velasco rather than by Cooper--the issue became moot, Shapiro said.

Police were certain that Velasco had been in the process of a car burglary because they found parts of a car radio in his jacket, Shapiro said.

Fears Retaliation

Cooper, who was held without bail in Parker Center Jail, was released April 24 because the district attorney had not arraigned him within the required 48-hour period. He vowed not to return to his neighborhood because of fear of retaliation from acquaintances of Velasco and has since been unavailable for comment. A friend who lives next door to Cooper’s apartment building said she had not seen him since the shooting.

At the time of his arrest, some residents of Cooper’s neighborhood above Sunset Boulevard complained bitterly, saying that self-defense is necessary to protect themselves against street gang members they believe congregate nearby.

They speculated that Velasco was a member of one of the gangs. But Detective Chuck Salazar, who investigated the case, said he was not.

Salazar acknowledged that Cooper has reason to fear retaliation. Part of the problem, he said, is that the three girls who initially claimed to have seen the shooting apparently “put the word out” that Cooper had fired without reason. The girls are members of a street gang, Salazar said.