Local News in Brief : Man Shot By Police Faces Assault Trial

A 25-year-old Sepulveda man, paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a police officer following a scuffle, was ordered Monday to stand trial for assaulting the officer.

San Fernando Municipal Court Judge Gregg Marcus ruled that there is sufficient evidence to hold Jaime Cardona for trial on the felony assault charge and on a misdemeanor charge of driving in the city with a loaded firearm.

The ruling came despite the testimony of six witnesses who said Cardona did not grab the officer’s gun, as he was accused of doing, and that he was not armed during the struggle with the officer and her partner.

However, Marcus dismissed three lesser charges that stemmed from the March 23 confrontation with the two female officers outside Cardona’s apartment building.

The shooting occurred at Columbus Avenue and Parthenia Place. Police had been called to the area by a passer-by who reported a man with a gun.

Officer Jayme Weaver testified that she and Officer Peggy Moseley followed Cardona’s car to the driveway of his apartment building, where Cardona pulled over. The officers ordered him to come out of the car with his hands up, Weaver testified, but he came toward her and grabbed the barrel of the service revolver she was holding. Weaver then shot Cardona in the abdomen, according to testimony.

Cardona, free on his own recognizance, pleaded not guilty to the charges. No trial date has been set.