LONG BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — A former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer has pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge connected to his fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman near a local high school last year.
Eddie Gonzalez, 52, was charged in October of last year for the Sept. 27 killing of Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez as she sat inside a car near Millikan High School.
At a Jan. 19 hearing, L.A. County Superior Judge Daniel J. Lowenthal rejected the defense’s request to reduce the charge to manslaughter and lower Gonzalez’s $2 million bail. Lowenthal declined on the basis of “the senselessness of this act.”
In January, Lowenthal described the incident as “simply a tragic and heartbreaking case” for the family and friends of Rodriguez.
He added there ewas “no evidence at any point, though, that [Gonzalez] actually was afraid of the car” and “didn’t dive away from the car” as it moved, despite his statement to Long Beach detectives after the fact in which he said he feared the vehicle was going to hit him after he ordered the driver to stop.
Gonzalez told detectives he broke up a fight between Rodriguez and a female Millikan student. He asked the two to sit down after the altercation, but Rodriguez fled to the nearby car, where she was ultimately shot.
Rodriguez, a young mother of one, was in the front passenger seat of the car that was departing the scene when Gonzalez opened fire. She was struck one in the back of the head and was on life support until Oct. 5.
The defense contended that the vehicle’s driver disregarded demands by Gonzalez to stop, and that the officer feared for his life.
Gonzalez was terminated by the district about a week after the shooting. He has remained jailed since his arrest on Oct. 27 by Long Beach police. He is slated to return to court on March 30 for a pretrial hearing.
Related
