Man Who Shot 2 LAPD Officers Is Sentenced to 32 Years in Plea Deal

A 47-year-old man with a history of depression pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting two police officers with a semiautomatic weapon, in a deal that will send him to prison for 32 years to life.

Reynaldo Rivera shot LAPD Officers Donald Boon and Manuel Solis with a now-banned Colt AR-15 assault rifle as they responded to a domestic-violence call at the defendant’s Lake View Terrace home. Although Rivera was able to shoot only one round before his weapon jammed, both officers were wounded.

Deputy Public Defender Karen Richardson said her client agreed to the deal because it offered him the hope of parole. Even with credit for time served and the possibility of early release, Rivera will not be eligible for parole until 2025.

“It’s better than four life sentences,” which is what he faced if he had lost the trial, Richardson said. “He’s happy.”

In exchange for the plea agreement, Deputy Dist. Atty. Darren Levine dropped charges of attempted murder.

Levine said he agreed to the deal because Rivera had no prior record and had a history of mental illness, which would have become an issue at trial. He was also extremely drunk at the time of the shooting, with a blood alcohol level of .30. The legal definition of intoxicated, for driving purposes, is a level of .08.

“We’re pretty confident that he’s never getting out,” Levine said.

Wearing a bright-yellow jail uniform and thick glasses, Rivera admitted his guilt plainly, answering a series of questions about the rights he gave up, but without otherwise addressing the judge.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles Peven sentenced Rivera to the agreed upon prison term of 12 years for one count of assault on a police officer with a fire arm and 20 years for a special allegation of using a gun.

Levine said a mental-health worker called police Jan. 15, 1998, to report a “male mental domestic violence with a gun” at Rivera’s house on Kathyann Street. Rivera had apparently threatened to kill his wife and son, according to authorities.

Rivera, who Levine said had a history of depression, was suffering from financial difficulties in the weeks before the shooting, according to friends. Police described him as an unemployed laborer.

When the Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived about 10:30 a.m., Rivera was standing at the window. The officers ordered him out. He moved from the window, but rather than walk out the front door, Rivera appeared at the side of his house, pointed his weapon at the officers and pulled the trigger.

The rifle malfunctioned, releasing one round from its 30-round magazine, Levine said. Police found a total of 180 rounds of ammunition for the Colt on Rivera and in the house.

Boon, 33, was hit in the hip and hospitalized for days. Solis, 25, received minor injuries on his face from flying bullet fragments or cinder-block particles.

Solis dragged his partner to safety as other officers fired at Rivera. The defendant was not injured.

A friend said Rivera’s depression had turned into anger and violence toward those he perceived to be his enemies, including his wife.

Authorities said they never knew why Rivera decided to shoot the officers. Richardson, his lawyer, said she was not free to discuss what motivated the assault.