FULLERTON : 8 Charged in Slaying of Officer De La Rosa

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed murder and drug conspiracy charges Monday against eight people in the slaying of Fullerton Police Officer Tommy De La Rosa during an undercover drug operation.

The seven men and one woman are suspected members of the drug ring that was being investigated by De La Rosa.

Though not all were involved in the shooting, prosecutors said all eight face murder charges under the state’s “felony-murder rule,” meaning that anyone involved in the commission of a felony--in this case, conspiracy to purchase cocaine for sale--are held accountable for the consequences.

“Once you start going down that road . . . (and) if someone ends up being killed, then you should be held accountable,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Frederick P. Horn said.

De La Rosa, 43, was killed last Thursday in Downey. The officer was shot five times when the gunmen opened fire as he stepped from a car to deliver a promised 200-kilogram shipment of cocaine in exchange for $4 million.

Apparently, the suspects never intended to pay for the drugs and planned to rob De La Rosa, prosecutors say.

Before dying, De La Rosa shot and killed one suspect, Joseph Najera Rodriguez, 35, of Downey.

Those charged Monday in Downey were Omar Yuriar Noriega, 23; Raul Meza, 49; Jerome Leon Sanchez, 29; Jesus Rodriguez Pena, 22; Ydalvys Escobar, 38; Luis Plantillas Benetez, 37; Miguel Leon Escobar, 34, and Frederico Edward Marriott. Horn said they were all Mexican nationals and gave addresses either in Bell, El Monte, Placentia or Downey.

In addition, Noriega, Meza, Sanchez and Pena were charged with two counts each of “special circumstances,” including murder while lying in wait and murder during a robbery. The additional charges make them eligible for the death penalty, Horn said.

On Monday, the defendants all appeared before Municipal Judge Richard C. Cumming in a crowded courtroom where authorities used metal detectors to screen spectators for weapons. Their arraignment was delayed until July 2 to give public defenders and court-appointed attorneys time to prepare their cases.

A Mass was held for De La Rosa, a father of four, Monday evening at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church in Brea. Funeral services are at 11 a.m. today at First Evangelical Free Church, 2801 Brea Blvd. in Fullerton.

After the funeral, a motorcade will proceed to Memory Gardens Memorial Park at 455 W. Central Ave., Brea.

Originally, 13 suspects were arrested but five had been released by Monday. Those released included a woman and a 17-year-old juvenile from Fullerton, Horn said.