A Compton man was charged today with attempting to murder two LA County sheriff’s deputies while they sat in their car outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Transit Center earlier this month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The case was amended to add two counts each of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the LA County DA's Office.
Deonte Lee Murray is expected to be arraigned today in Department D of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Compton Branch.
The LA DA’s Office alleges the defendant walked up to a car occupied by two sheriff’s deputies outside a Metro station and opened fire on Sept. 12 before fleeing the scene. Murray was arrested three days later.
Prosecutors say Murray faces an additional count each of attempted murder in connection with the carjacking and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also faces allegations of association with a criminal street gang, discharging a rifle inflicting great bodily injury and personal use of a rifle in the carjacking incident.
Both deputies were seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
Prosecutors are recommending bail be set at $6.15 million. If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a possible maximum life sentence in state prison.
The shooting hit national headlines and became part of the presidential campaign as surveillance video showed the brazen attack. LA criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Lou Shapiro tells KNX the footage will be key in the case.
The suspect walked up to the passenger side of the vehicle and fired multiple shots through an open window, hitting both deputies in the upper body, according to the sheriff's department.
"Despite being critically injured, the deputies valiantly cared for each other's wounds and safety, communicated their location and plight to others, and tactically prepared for another attack," according to a statement from the department.
Both deputies were released from the hospital earlier this month.
Anyone with information on the case can call the sheriff's tip line at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be left for L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-
TIPS (8477) or at lacrimestoppers.org.
City News Service contributed to this story.
