Funeral Held in DTLA For Sheriff's Deputy Slain In Alhambra

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of mourners gathered in downtown Los Angeles Monday morning for memorial services for sheriff's Deputy Joseph Solano, who was shot in an apparently unprovoked attack inside an Alhambra fast food restaurant.

The funeral for Solano began about 9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, 555 W. Temple St. Burial was planned following the church service in a private ceremony at Calvary Cemetery, 4201 Whittier Blvd., in East Los Angeles, after a procession to the cemetery.

Uniformed deputies escorted the casket into the cathedral, and a large photo of the slain deputy was displayed near it, along with flowers arranged in the shape of a sheriff's badge.

Among the mourners was Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who spoke to the gathering.

``At times like this, I see everyone coming together for this cause,'' Villanueva said. ``And the Solano family, I want to let you know that we're with you, all the way. We'll always be with you.''

The deputy's son, Matthew Solano, also spoke.

``My father had so much life ahead of him,'' Solano said. ``And for it to be taken away in the blink of an eye is unjustifiably heartbreaking. Long live my father, Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano. He was a good man, he was a great father, and he was a beautiful soul. May he rest in peace.''

Solano, 50, was gunned down at a Jack in the Box in Alhambra on June 10. Solano was at the counter of the restaurant when he was shot in the head in what sheriff's officials believe was a random attack. Villanueva said there was no indication the shooter knew that Solano -- who was off-duty and not in uniform -- was a sheriff's deputy.

A Utah man, Rhett McKenzie Nelson, 30, was arrested in Long Beach the next day in connection with the deputy's killing.

Nelson was charged June 13 with Solano's death and two counts of robbery for allegedly carrying out heists at a 7-Eleven store and a Shell gas station, both in Long Beach, hours after the killings.

Nelson is also accused of killing 31-year-old Dmitry Alekseyevich Kolstov -- about an hour before Solano's killing -- in the 1900 block of East Seventh Place, between Santa Fe Avenue and Alameda Street, in downtown Los Angeles.

Kolstov was an accomplished skateboarder and snowboarder from Russia who'd moved to Southern California in 2015, where he continued to indulge his passions and also worked as a surfing instructor, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Friends said Koltsov was hopping off a board in downtown Los Angeles with a group of other skaters when a Kia Sorrento drove toward them and Koltsov was shot.

Nelson is jailed without bail while awaiting arraignment July 22 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

The Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs union is collecting donations on behalf of Solano's family. Donations can be made to the ALADS CARES program at 2 Cupania Circle, Monterey Park, CA, 91755.

City News Service contributed to this report.