Suspect charged with attempted murder in shooting of two LA deputies

Los Angeles area officials said Wednesday that law enforcement have arrested and charged a man in the shooting for two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies earlier this month.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacy told reporters that Deonte Lee Murray, 36, has been charged on two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting. Murray was arrested earlier this month in connection with a separate carjacking and shooting, which occurred prior to the shooting of the deputies. 

The deputies were shot on Sept. 12 while sitting in a patrol vehicle near the Metro Blue Line Station in Compton. Both deputies were hospitalized, one shot in the face and another shot in the head, but they are now recovering at home. 

Graphic footage of the shooting shows a man dressed in dark clothing approaching the deputies’ vehicle and firing several shots.

Murray was linked to the shooting using forensic evidence, sheriff’s Capt. Kent Wegener told reporters on Wednesday. Officials also said a pistol used in the shooting of the deputies was recovered as Murray tried to flee law enforcement before his arrest earlier this month 

The man allegedly fled the scene of the shooting of the deputies in a black Mercedes Benz sedan, the same vehicle he is accused of carjacking.

Murray will be arraigned on Wednesday in Compton. Prosecutors are recommending that his bail be set at $6.15 million. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the charges.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters that “these acts and that day, I will not forget it, and it represents the worst in humanity, and it shocked the whole nation.”