Man Denies He Played a Role in Officer’s Death
A Fountain Valley man pleaded not guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter stemming from the 1997 shooting death of a Glendale police officer.
Ronald Davey, 50, was indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury for his alleged role in the slaying of Det. Charles Lazzaretto, 30, who was shot to death in a Chatsworth warehouse, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.
Davey allegedly lied to police and told them an attempted murder suspect, Israel Gonzalez, 28, was not in the warehouse when authorities came to the door.
Gonzalez then ambushed the officers and killed Lazzaretto during a seven-hour standoff with police, Gibbons said. Two Los Angeles police officers, Jewd Bella and Kevin Foster, were injured before the killer shot himself.
Davey pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and a second count of harboring a wanted criminal Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. A trial has been scheduled for April 29 in San Fernando. He is free on $25,000 bail.
Glendale police had gone to the warehouse on May 27, 1997, to arrest Gonzalez for the attempted murder of his live-in companion, Mischell Bowen.
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