Boy Says He Gunned Down CHP Officer

A 16-year-old boy told police he killed a California Highway Patrol officer in a drive-by shooting to prove himself to a Pomona street gang, authorities said Thursday.

The boy told police he had not targeted Officer Thomas Steiner, but had wanted to shoot any police officer he could find.

Police arrested the teenager, whose name was not released, early Thursday in Pomona. Authorities said he was not a known gang member or associate, but investigators found evidence in a bedroom at his father’s house in Fontana that the youth may have wanted to join the 12th Street Pomona gang.

Detectives were investigating the boy’s statement that he had acted alone.

“This was the ultimate hate crime -- the random assassination of a law enforcement officer solely based on the victim’s status in the community and a uniform worn,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said in a statement Thursday. “Those who commit these crimes and those who aid, abet and encourage the cowardly gang subculture should be condemned.”

The suspect had taken his father’s car without permission, said CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick.

“He was driving around and was allegedly telling people that he was looking for a policeman to shoot,” Helmick said.

Helmick visited Steiner’s wife and children Thursday. He said the suspect had a juvenile crime record. Investigators were trying to determine where the suspect had obtained the handgun he said he had used to shoot Steiner.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday ordered Capitol flags flown at half-staff in the slain officer’s honor.

“Thomas was a true hero and a valiant police officer who spent the last five years of his life protecting the lives of others,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “It is a tragedy to lose Thomas in the line of duty. Maria and I offer our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Prosecutors plan to file capital charges in adult court against the teenager today, accusing him of the willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of an on-duty peace officer. Because of his age, the boy would not be eligible for the death penalty but could face life without parole if convicted.

Pomona Police Chief James Lewis described the killing as a “deliberate, premeditated act.”

Steiner, a five-year CHP veteran, was shot at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday as he walked from a Pomona courthouse after testifying in a series of minor traffic cases. A car stopped nearby and the driver raised a handgun and fired. Steiner, 35, was hit three times, including a fatal shot to the head. He died at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Witnesses reported seeing a red car parked in a yard near the courthouse. Police traced the car to the suspect’s father, an ex-convict on parole, authorities said. Officers searched for the boy throughout the evening.

He was spotted at 2:50 a.m. Thursday in south Pomona and arrested after a short foot chase.

“He had laid low until he thought it was the middle of the night and perhaps he could get on the move,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda Loftfield, who is expected to prosecute the case. “It really was plain, old-fashioned, excellent police work and community help.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Darren Levine said the evidence showed that the suspect had “basically hunted down” Steiner. “We are confident that we are going to be able to prove this case in front of a jury without any problem,” he said.

The 12th Street gang, which has more than 1,000 members spread over several generations, has a deadly history in Pomona.

Gary Hearnsberger, who runs the district attorney’s West Covina office, said the gang is Pomona’s oldest, biggest and most violent. But he said he would be surprised if the gang members required shooting an officer as an initiation ritual.

“You are really asking for trouble, obviously, if you declare war on the police,” Hearnsberger said. It would be more likely that someone would shoot a police officer on his own to make himself “look better or tougher or macho” to a gang, he said.

The murder devastated Steiner’s colleagues at the California Highway Patrol.

“This was a random act of violence,” said Chief Michael Brown, regional chief for the CHP in Southern California. “Unfortunately, it was one of our officers that this individual came upon at the courthouse. We are all trying to work through our emotions right now.”

Steiner lived in Long Beach and worked out of the Santa Fe Springs CHP office, where for 1 1/2 years he had been responsible for ticketing speeding trucks in eastern Los Angeles County.

“He loved his job and he loved his family,” said CHP Officer Eugene Norris. Steiner had a wife, a 13-year-old stepson and a 3-year-old son and was known for his soft-spoken manner and his sense of humor, Norris said.

One colleague, Kevin O’Toole, said he and Steiner had often exchanged stories about raising children.

“Tom was a likable guy,” O’Toole said. “He never said a bad word about anyone. Everyone in the office is taking it very hard.”

As a teenager, Steiner moved from Ohio to Long Beach, where he graduated from Robert A. Millikan High School in 1987. He earned a degree in business administration from Cal Poly Pomona in 1997 and graduated from the CHP academy two years later.

“It’s hard to say enough good about someone who is no longer with us,” said Jim Newkirk, 34, who counsels at the academy. Newkirk said Steiner had stood out as a strong cadet with a positive attitude.

Peter Recatto, Steiner’s college friend and a former CHP training officer, said Steiner was working at a sports bar when they first met in 1992. Steiner later joined Recatto’s fraternity, which produced several future CHP officers. Recatto said he and Steiner occasionally talked about the dangers of police work.

“You have an expectation of certain things happening on the job,” Recatto said. “This isn’t one of them. It could have been any one of us.”

“It’s just so horrific,” said Loftfield, the prosecutor. “Because he wore a badge, he was murdered.”

On Thursday, a makeshift memorial outside the Pomona courthouse had grown to include candles, flower bouquets and a colorful balloon with the words “Thinking of You.”

Donations to the Steiner family can be made in care of Rancho Bank, Steiner Family Trust, P.O. Box 697 San Dimas, CA 91773.

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Times staff writers Carl Ingram and Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.