Rare Inquest To Examine LA Deputy Shooting Of Andres Guardado

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the first time in three decades, the Los Angeles County coroner's office is seeking an inquest into the fatal shooting by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy.

Andres Guardado, 18, was shot to death by a sheriff's deputy in June, and the County Board of Supervisors and the coroner's office have broken from the sheriff's department amid doubts about the integrity of the investigation. The decision to pursue an inquest comes after Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sought to block the release of the autopsy report, which showed that Guardado was shot five times in the back. In June, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting while expressing doubts about the sheriff's handling of the case. Soon after, Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas released an autopsy report against the sheriff's wishes.

An attorney for the deputy who killed Guardado acknowledged that the teen was shot while he was lying face down on the ground, but he contends Guardado was again reaching for the gun he had already laid down.

On Tuesday, the coroner appointed former appellate court justice Candace Cooper to conduct an inquest into the circumstances, manner and cause of Guardado's June 18th death. The Nov. 30 inquest will be public and Cooper, as the hearing officer, will hear the testimony then make findings related to the cause and manner of death, then forward her decision and recommendation to the coroner's office. The inquest "supports the department's mission and purpose to provide independent, evidence-based death investigations, addresses the public's interest in the death, and is in accord with a motion approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 1, 2020," according to the coroner's office.

SEE ALSO:

• Teen Was Lying Face Down When Shot In The Back By Deputy: Lawyer
• FBI To Review Killing Of Andres Guardado By LA Sheriff's Deputy
• Protesters Converge On Alleged Home Of Deputy Who Killed Teen

The 18-year-old was fatally shot by Deputy Miguel Vega in Gardena around 6 p.m. June 18 near the 400 block of West Redondo Beach Boulevard. Vega's partner, Deputy Chris Hernandez, was also at the scene but did not open fire.

Sheriff's officials have said the patrol deputies were at the scene in a marked vehicle when Guardado pulled out a handgun, then began running. Deputies chased him and caught up with him in an alley, where the shooting occurred.

Guardado was pronounced dead at the scene. Sheriff's officials said a weapon was discovered at the scene -- an unregistered .40-caliber semi- automatic pistol with a polymer frame and no serial number, a Smith & Wesson slide and a prohibited 15-round Glock magazine. Officials have said there is no evidence Guardado fired any shots.

The case has triggered widespread protests in the streets of Los Angeles and calls for criminal charges to be filed against Vega. Protesters have gone so far as to take their demonstration to Vega's front door, lining up around his home and calling him a murderer.

The official autopsy report confirms details included in an independent medical examination commissioned by Andres Guardado's family and released on Wednesday.

The county coroner's office autopsy of Andres Guardado -- whose full name was listed as Andres Guardado Pineda -- had been on a security hold requested by the sheriff's department. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said earlier that investigators were still trying to identify and interview witnesses, and releasing the report might compromise the probe into the shooting.

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But Lucas, Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner, said in a statement that he decided to release the report "after careful thought and deliberation."

"In doing so, I have given careful consideration to the major variables in this case -- supporting the administration of justice, as well as the public's right to know," Lucas said in a statement.

"I do not believe that these are mutually exclusive ideals. Both are important, particularly amid the ongoing national discussion about race, policing and civil rights. I believe that government can do its part by being more timely and more transparent in sharing information that the public demands and has a right to see," Lucas said.

Villanueva quickly blasted Lucas for breaking protocol and releasing the autopsy.

"The unprecedented release of the Andres Guardado autopsy report today by the Medical Examiner-Coroner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, has the potential to jeopardize the investigation, the filing of the case, and any possible future criminal or administrative proceedings," Villanueva said, accusing Lucas of bowing to pressure from the Board of Supervisors, Office of Inspector General and the public.

Guardado's family attorney praised Lucas' decision to release the autopsy.

"We would like to recognize the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner for doing the right thing by releasing the report and standing on the side of truth -- we are in agreement with Dr. Lucas that the administration of justice, as well as the public's right to know, should not be mutually exclusive ideals," attorney Adam Shea said. "The findings of both autopsies are indisputable, and establish that Andres' death was, without a doubt, the result of unjustified police violence against an innocent young man."

The coroner's report noted that in addition to the five fatal gunshots to the back, Guardado also had two graze wounds on his forearms "along with other secondary fragment wounds." The report labeled the death a homicide, meaning he killed by another person.

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said the deputy who fired the fatal shots still had not been interviewed by investigators weeks after the shooting. Villanueva said he could not offer an opinion on the shooting until the homicide investigation is completed.

"This is a criminal investigation, so all persons that are going to be interviewed are entitled to the Fifth Amendment, and deputies are no exception to this, so they provide a voluntary statement," Cmdr. Chris Marks said in July. "We're not in an administrative investigation at this time, so we cannot compel the statement. We're relying on that deputy to provide a voluntary statement."

Marks said investigators determined that the deputy fired a total of six shots. Cameras seized at the scene did not contain any video recording of the shooting, Marks said.

At attorney for Vega, the deputy who fired the shots, told the Los Angeles Times in a statement that Guardado ignored multiple commands to stop while he was running from the deputies, and that Guardado pulled out a gun during the chase.

Attorney Adam Marangell said Guardado eventually turned around and raised both arms, still holding the weapon. Under orders from Vega, Guardado put the firearm down then got on the ground, face-down, but the gun was still near his right hand, the attorney told The Times.

According to Marangell, Vega holstered his weapon and approached Guaradado to put him in handcuffs, warning him, "Don't reach for the gun." But Guardado reached for the gun near his hand, prompting Vega to open fire, Marangell said.

The attorney told The Times that the findings of the family's autopsy "do not alter in any way the ultimate fact that Deputy Vega acted properly and lawfully."

Tom Yu, an attorney for the second deputy, Hernandez, told The Times his client saw Guardado pull out a weapon while running and eventually saw him start to get on the ground under orders from Vega. When the shots rang out, Hernandez had only a partial view of Guardado, Yu said.

Relatives have said Guardado was working as an informal security guard for an auto body shop in the area, and was doing so when he was approached by the deputies.

"The Guardado family, and their attorneys, believe that the preliminary findings from the second autopsy prove that Andres' death was, without a doubt, the result of unjustified police violence against an innocent young man," according to a statement from the family's lawyer issued earlier this week.

Following the release of the independent autopsy, Guardado's parents, Ciristobal and Elisa Guardado, issued a statement saying:

"These findings confirm what we have known all along, which is that Andres was unjustifiably killed by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy. Andres was a good boy, he was our son and he had so much life ahead of him. Our son did not deserve to die this way. We understand that there is still a long way to go, but we are going to continue to keep fighting for justice for Andres."

Guardado's family has filed a suit against the county for wrongful death and civil rights violations.
Inspector General Max Huntsman told the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 1 that his office would have been better able to gauge allegations against deputies in the Guardado case if his staff still had access to LASD computers, but the department locked them out some time ago.

"We have made requests for information that have been denied," Huntsman said.

The inspector general mentioned an accusation that the deputy who witnessed the shooting was involved in a deputy gang. Huntsman also revealed that the deputy who shot Guardado "didn't give a statement for weeks," saying that delay could raise concerns in the community about some kind of deal between the department and the deputy's lawyer.

"The county's Sheriff's Department's refusal to comply with state law and permit monitoring of their investigations of themselves deeply undermines law enforcement credibility," Huntsman said.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva has consistently pushed back against the board's allegations that he does not favor transparency, pointing to his direct communication with the public through postings of department policy and other information on his website and community town hall meetings. In addition to legal wrangling with the board, the department has sued Huntsman, accusing his office of conspiracy, unauthorized computer access and theft of confidential files.

The sheriff blasted Ridley-Thomas' motion when it was introduced.

"The motion proposed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is poorly written, riddled with inaccuracies and contradictory to the law as well as best practices employed in death investigations," Villanueva said.

The sheriff said the motion portrayed the deputy involved in a negative light that could be deemed slanderous and open the county up to civil liability. He challenged the board's authority to request an inquest, and said releasing information earlier could compromise an investigation.

"Transparency cannot come at the expense of integrity in any criminal investigation," the sheriff said.

"We do hold our employees accountable, so any suggestion or inference that we cannot hold ourselves accountable to the rule of law is factually false," Villanueva said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.