GARDEN GROVE : Officer Facing Trial in Slaying Resigns

A police officer awaiting a murder trial in Riverside in the fatal shooting of his wife has resigned from the department, police said Wednesday.

Derrick Tucker, 32, submitted his resignation Friday after being notified that steps were being taken to have him fired for violating the department’s policy on handling weapons, Capt. David Abrecht said.

Tucker was arrested last month in the slaying of his wife, Simona Tucker, 21, in the bedroom of their Moreno Valley home on Mother’s Day. The couple was married in 1991 and have a 9-month-old daughter.

Tucker, on the Garden Grove force since 1990, told investigators the shooting was an accident that happened while he and his wife were “playing with the gun” in bed. Police said investigators later discovered discrepancies in his story and he was arrested.

“This is obviously a very serious case,” Abrecht said. “(Tucker) violated his responsibilities as far as handling weapons. We were moving to terminate him and he decided it was in his best interest to resign.”

Tucker is being held at Riverside County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 1 in Riverside County Municipal Court.