Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin will pursue the death penalty against the man accused of killing two police officers in Palm Springs, California.
John Hernandez Felix is accused of ambushing the officers on October 8 as they responded to a family disturbance call from a woman who said she was Felix’s mother.
Officer Jose Gilbert Vega, a 35-year veteran of the department was due to retire this year; Officer Lesley Zerebny was the mother of a 4-month-old daughter.
Why the death penalty call?
Felix, 26, was charged with two counts of murder.
He faces special circumstance allegations attached to these charges: the murder of law enforcement officers and lying in wait.
“Those allegations each make Felix eligible for the death penalty,” authorities said. They say he is a convicted felon.
Felix also was charged with three counts of attempted murder for allegedly opening fire on three other officers. One was wounded by gunfire, the two others were not hit.
Authorities say Felix, who they said was wearing soft body armor, unlawfully possessed the ammunition and weapon.
According to CNN affiliate KMIR, Felix has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Who made the decision?
The choice to seek the death penalty was made after Hestrin met with other prosecutors to examine the evidence.
“This was a heinous crime involving the murders of two police officers who were gunned down simply because they were police officers,” Hestrin said.
“The victims in this case were responding to a call for service and died in the line of duty protecting our community.”
The shootings left the quiet desert town 100 miles east of Los Angeles in mourning.