Officer Slain in Fight at Home of Ex-Girlfriend

An off-duty Pasadena police officer was shot and killed at an ex-girlfriend’s Palmdale house early Monday during a fight with one of her friends, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said.

The officer was identified as 40-year-old Corneal Howard Milloy, a father of three daughters, ages 3, 12 and 21. He had been with the Pasadena Police Department for 12 years, according to family and friends. Milloy worked in the patrol division and had received numerous citizen and department commendations, Pasadena Police Lt. Rick Sandoval said.

“He was a fun guy to work with,” Sandoval said. “This is a great loss for the department.”

Authorities arrested Marcus Leron Powell, 27, of Los Angeles on suspicion of murder. Powell was being held on $1 million bail.

Sheriff’s investigators said Powell confronted the off-duty officer when Milloy stopped by the home of his ex-girlfriend.

The two men were involved in a fight that led to the shooting. Milloy was fatally wounded about 6:20 a.m. at the home in the 40300 block of Castana Lane in Palmdale.

Powell fled the scene but was later found at his Los Angeles apartment, investigators said.

In Azusa, where Milloy lived, his family was stunned by the news.

“I don’t believe it,” said sister Ruth Perry, one of Milloy’s eight siblings. “It’s a shock that I can’t describe.”

She said Milloy grew up in Pasadena and always aspired to be a police officer. He graduated from Pasadena High School and attended college in Iowa.

Perry, who has been staying with Milloy, said her brother was an athlete who excelled at the Police Olympics, where he played football and ran track. Most recently, he coached a girls softball team in Pasadena and took up golf.

At the Pasadena Police Department, the mood was somber Monday on an otherwise quiet holiday. Police Chief Bernard Melekian said Milloy was the first Pasadena officer slain since 1969.

“This loss is a tragic one for us,” Melekian said. “The officer was well-respected within the department and well-liked by the community.”

Department officials said they called most of the department’s 350 employees about Milloy’s death. Crisis counselors and a chaplain also were called to help employees cope with the loss.

The department also rallied around the officer’s family. “We want to make sure the family is taken care of and assist them in any way possible,” Sandoval said.