Local News in Brief : Man, 19, Convicted in Officer’s Murder
A 19-year-old Sun Valley man was convicted of murder Tuesday in the shooting death of a rookie Los Angeles police officer.
The verdict by a San Fernando Superior Court jury came despite prosecutors’ acknowledgment that Alberto Hernandez’s 16-year-old accomplice actually shot the officer. Hernandez was tried under a California law known as the felony-murder rule in which an accomplice can be charged with a murder committed during a serious crime.
The jury deliberated for three days before finding Hernandez guilty in the June 7 slaying of Officer James Beyea after the burglary of a North Hollywood electronics store. Hernandez could receive 26 years to life in prison when sentenced Jan. 13.
Authorities said Robert Steele shot Beyea with the officer’s own gun during a struggle that occurred after the two had broken into the store on Lankershim Boulevard and stole several car stereos.
A few hours later, Steele was killed by four police officers in an abandoned North Hollywood house.
Deputy Public Defender James Coady argued that Hernandez had been hiding in the bushes while Beyea was shot. Calling the verdict “an outrageous result,” Coady said he planned to file an appeal.
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