Man charged with shooting at LAPD officers with an automatic rifle during traffic stop
A man accused of shooting at two police officers with an automatic rifle during a traffic stop in the Willowbrook neighborhood of South Los Angeles is facing charges including attempted murder of a peace officer, according to the LA County District Attorney's Office.
Malcolm Darnell Guss Jr., 31, allegedly opened fire on a pair of Los Angeles Police Department officers, Stefan Carutasu and Joshua Rodney, after they tried pulling him over near Broadway and Rosecrans Avenue on July 3. The officers hadn't even gotten out of their patrol car when the driver shot at them from a white Chevrolet sedan and they returned fire, according to LAPD.
Guss is accused of shooting at them with a rifle, according to prosecutors, with bullets striking one of the officers and leaving him with two graze wounds to the head. Both officers were cut by the glass of their vehicle's windshield being shattered by gunfire.
Bodycam video released by the department shows the car stopping in front of officers before a hail of gunfire pierced through the rear windshield of the suspect's car.
Prosecutors have filed charges against Guss, including two counts of assault with a machine gun upon a peace officer, one count of attempted murder of a peace officer, one count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, one count of possession of a machine gun and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, the DA's office announced Tuesday.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted of all counts, he could face a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
In the days after the shooting, the gunman remained at large after speeding away from the scene. The officers lost sight of him about 200 yards away near Broadway and West 135th Street, according to LAPD.
A little over a week later, police arrested Guss as the suspect and seized the car believed to have been involved.
Prosecutors said he was being held on $2,025,000 bail.
"The heinous attack on two law enforcement officers in what should have been a routine traffic stop is absolutely horrific," DA George Gascón said in a statement from his office.