Cooley said Jose Luis Orozco was charged with murdering the 35 - year - old deputy on June 24 outside a Hawaiian Gardens apartment .
deputy
cooley say jose luis orozco charge murder 35 year old deputy june 24 outside hawaiian gardens apartment
Cooley said Jose Luis Orozco was charged with murdering the 35 - year - old <m> deputy </m> on June 24 outside a Hawaiian Gardens apartment .
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Hawaiian Gardens Gang Member
Charged with Murdering Sheriff ’ s Deputy
July 26 , 2005
District Attorney Steve Cooley announced today that capital murder charges were filed against a Hawaiian Gardens gang member accused of gunning down Deputy Luis Gerardo ( Jerry ) Ortiz a month ago .
Cooley said Jose Luis Orozco was charged with murdering the 35 - year - old <m> deputy </m> on June 24 outside a Hawaiian Gardens apartment .
The complaint alleged three special circumstances that would make Orozco eligible for the death penalty : murder of a peace officer during performance of his duties , lying in wait and murder to avoid arrest .
“ Deputy Ortiz was killed while investigating a shooting in which the defendant was a suspect , ” Cooley said at a news conference at the Bellflower courthouse .
“ He was shot in the head and left dying on the ground while his killer ran away and tried to hide .
“ Law enforcement officers like Deputy Ortiz are the last line of defense between criminals and the law - abiding citizens they protect .
When one is killed , all of us lose .
We will not let their killers go unpunished , ” the District Attorney said .
Orozco , 27 , was found hiding in a house a few doors away from the shooting some hours after Deputy Ortiz was slain .
He was arrested and remained in custody on a parole hold .
“ The defendant ’ s custody status gave Sheriff ’ s detectives and our prosecutors in the Crimes Against Police Officers Section ( CAPOS ) additional time to fully investigate this murder and the case on which Deputy Ortiz was working when he was killed , ” Cooley said .
“ Having time to do the fullest investigation possible results in a stronger criminal case . ”
Orozco is scheduled to appear in Bellflower Superior Court ’ s Division 3 at 1 : 45 p . m . today for arraignment .
The defendant , who lives in Hawaiian Gardens and also is known by the street moniker of Sepe , is charged in case No . VA089897 filed this morning by Deputy District Attorney Lowell Anger of CAPOS .
Although filed as a capital case , the District Attorney ’ s office will decide closer to trial whether to seek the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole .
Orozco is charged with one count of murder of a peace officer with the special circumstances of murder of a peace officer during performance of his duties , lying in wait and murder to avoid arrest .
It was alleged the defendant personally used a handgun to commit the crime .
The complaint also alleged two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon for the June 24 murder of Ortiz and on June 20 , when a man was shot and wounded in Hawaiian Gardens .
It was that shooting that Deputy Ortiz was investigating when he was killed .
Deputy Ortiz was shot to death outside an apartment in the 12000 block of East 223rd Street .
The deputy was with the Sheriff ’ s gang enforcement unit and was investigating the June 20 shooting .
Authorities said he spotted Orozco shortly after 3 p . m . and chased him to the apartment .
The killer was hiding behind the apartment ’ s front door .
The defendant was arrested five buildings away on 223rd Street shortly before midnight .
A . 38 - caliber revolver believed to be the murder weapon was recovered .
Orozco also was charged with one count of attempted willful , deliberate , premeditated murder in connection with the June 20 shooting .
The victim was shot while doing yard work at a home in the 22000 block of Joliet Avenue .
He was hit in the back , but survived .
The complaint charged that the June 20 shooting was for furtherance of a street gang .
The complaint also alleged prior convictions including auto burglary , possession of a firearm by a felon and resisting and executive officer .
Orozco will be held without bail .
Joining Cooley at the news conference was Assistant Sheriff Doyle Campbell .