Los Angeles DA sentenced to death for accused police killer
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is going against prosecutors and will not seek the death penalty for an admitted gang member charged with the murder of officers; Officer Boyer’s stepfather Don Clark joins ‘Fox and Friends Weekend’.
Los Angeles District Attorney (DA) George Gascón said Friday he would not seek the death penalty for an admitted gang member who killed a police officer and his own cousin.
Michael Christopher Mejia (30) is awaiting trial on charges arising from February 20, 2017.
One of Mejia’s victims was Officer Keith Boyer, 53, who was responding to a report of a traffic collision involving Mejia.
Michael Christopher Mejia
Mejia shot Boyer and another officer, Patrick Hazell, as they tried to flee from the crash scene. Hazell survived a shot to the abdomen.
Deputy District Attorney Garrett Dameron said during a hearing in Norwalk Courthouse that he had been ordered to remove the death penalty consideration, despite his own objection and that of Deputy DA Geoff Lewis, FOX LA reported.
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Don Clark, Boyer’s stepfather, said the reversal was “a fistfight”.
“People do not realize how difficult it is for families,” a tearful Clark told Fox & Friends host Jedediah Bila on Saturday.
“What Gascón does – not just to our family, but also to the cousin’s family – but to so many other families … it’s absolutely awful,” Clark added.
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Clark found it difficult to hear Mejia say that he was ‘proud’ of what he had done and that he had to ‘smoke’ the other policeman earlier.
Whittier police chief Aviv Bar spoke during the trial, saying Boyer’s death was “devastating to our department”.
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Mejia also killed his own cousin, Roy Torres. Tiffany Garcia, one of Torres’ family members, said: “I will be his voice, but it is not justice.”
During a recording interview with police, Mejia initially claimed he did not remember the murders because he “had a lot of drugs”, but later admitted that he had said all the murders and shootings, according to reports.
“They just got a taste of an LA gang member, a real LA gang member,” Mejia said. “You know what I mean?”
“And no, I do not feel sorry. Because I know they would drop me, they would not feel sorry for my family,” he apparently added.
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In addition to the murder counts, Mejia was charged with one count each of attempted murder of a peace officer, hijacking cars and possession of a firearm by a criminal with two previous convictions.
Fox News reached out to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for comment, which is pending.