Felon Who Killed 2 RivCo Police Officers Sentenced To Death

INDIO, CA — A convicted felon who killed two Palm Springs police officers responding to a domestic disturbance at his mother's home was sentenced to death Friday.

A jury in May deliberated less than two hours before recommending capital punishment for 29-year-old John Hernandez Felix, who gunned down veteran Officer Jose Gilbert "Gil" Vega, 63, and his partner, rookie Officer Lesley Zerebny, 27.

The same jury earlier convicted Felix of two counts of first-degree murder and found true special circumstance allegations of killing peace officers and taking multiple lives.

Following an hours-long sentencing hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos affirmed the jury's findings and imposed the death penalty.

The officers were killed Oct. 8, 2016, as they stood outside the Felix family home in the 2700 block of Cypress Avenue in Palm Springs.

Vega was killed just months before he was set to retire after three decades of service. Zerebny had been with the department for 18 months and had just returned to duty following maternity leave, having given birth to a daughter, Cora, four months earlier.

Deputy District Attorney Manny Bustamante told jurors during the trial that Felix fired 21 shots from an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle inside his family's home as police stood outside. He said Felix carried out an intentional "ambush" on police, who had been called to the home 37 times previously due to his erratic behavior.

Defense attorney John Dolan unsuccessfully argued that at worst, his client was guilty of voluntary manslaughter. While conceding that Felix's actions were "horrible," Dolan argued his client's auditory processing disorder and intense emotions -- combined with methamphetamine use -- created a "perfect storm" of irrational decision-making.

Vega and Zerebny were the first Palm Springs police officers killed in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 1962, when Officer Lyle Wayne Larrabee died during a vehicle pursuit. The only other death in the department was that of Officer Gale Gene Eldridge, who was fatally shot on Jan. 18, 1961, while investigating an armed robbery.

— By City News Service