Guarding Secrets (Locked Out) by Patrick Jones

Author:Patrick Jones [Jones, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Darby Creek Publishing
Published: 2015-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

11

WOMAN CONVICTED IN MURDER OF LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICER; WILL FACE DEATH PENALTY

A member of the transnational criminal gang Los Reyes de Aztlán was convicted Wednesday in the murder of a Los Angeles police officer who had responded to a call near LAX.

Prosecutors said Officer Chandler Watson, who had been with the department for less than two years, was fatally shot by Gina Hernandez, age 21. An accomplice, Raul Mero, age 28, pleaded guilty earlier and testified against Hernandez in exchange for a lesser sentence. Hernandez faces the possibility of the death penalty. In her remarks to the jury, state’s attorney Ann Ramos, who prosecuted the case, said Hernandez was part of a premeditated “kill team.”

Prosecutors said Watson, a 25-year-old father of one, and his partner, Officer Wayne Smith, responded to a call in the 6000 block of South Huron Avenue just after midnight. Soon after exiting their vehicle, the two officers were fired upon and injured. According to testimony, Hernandez opened fire with a .357 Magnum while Mero fired a rifle. Mero testified that he wanted to leave, but Hernandez wanted to “finish the job” and shot Watson in the face at close range. Officer Smith, seriously injured, appeared to be dead, which saved his life.

In court Wednesday, Hernandez wore glasses, a blue scarf, and a white dress. Behind her, an unidentified relative sat with Hernandez’s young daughter. “Don’t be fooled by the look of motherly love, ladies and gentlemen,” Ramos told jurors. “Life is about choices, and Miss Hernandez made the choice that night to kill in cold blood.”

Hernandez will remain in Los Angeles County Jail pending her sentencing hearing. Prosecutors said they intend to ask for the death penalty despite Hernandez’s young age. “A community has lost a fine officer and a daughter has lost her father because of the cold, callous actions of Miss Hernandez,” Ramos said. “She showed no mercy, so neither shall the state.”

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