Sheriff’s Deputy Guilty of Assault for Firing Shots at Bar
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury has found a sheriff’s deputy guilty of assault and other charges Monday for firing into a Rowland Heights bar after a fight with his wife while he was off duty. A man who had tried to break up the fight was wounded.
Deputy Edward Chavez, a 13-year veteran who could get up to 12 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 19, was taken into custody.
According to testimony at the trial, the injured victim, Eric Wolden, 24, had told Chavez to “just relax” after he heard him shouting obscenities at his wife. Later, outside the bar, the deputy fired four shots, one of which ricocheted and struck Wolden. Chavez’s attorney insisted that the deputy was firing in self-defense.
Upon hearing the verdict, Chavez’s wife, Nancy, was forcibly removed by a bailiff after she began sobbing uncontrollably in court.
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