Accomplice Guilty in Officer’s Slaying
One of the participants in a bungled armed robbery in Inglewood last year that led to the shooting death of an Inglewood police sergeant has been convicted of first-degree murder in Torrance Superior Court. A separate jury continued deliberations Thursday in the case of one of his alleged accomplices.
A jury on Wednesday found Van Otis Wilson, 22, responsible for Sgt. George Aguilar’s death even though police accused another man, Leslie Holget, of pulling the trigger. Police said Holget killed himself hours after Aguilar’s death as officers moved in to arrest him after a 45-mile chase.
Wilson will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge John P. Shook Oct. 27. He faces 25 years to life in prison for murder and robbery.
Meanwhile, deliberations continued in the case of Joevone Elster, 23, who is charged with murder and robbery.
Another alleged accomplice pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony against Wilson and Elster. The fifth participant was sentenced to the California Youth Authority for first-degree murder.
Prosecutors accused Elster of planning the five-man robbery of a gas station money courier. Aguilar, an undercover narcotics officer, spotted the robbery and was chasing one of the three getaway cars when he was shot.
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