Ex-Deputy Charged With Murder Of Father Of Lover's Children
RIVERSIDE (AP) - A former Southern California sheriff's deputy who was previously cleared of wrongdoing has been charged with the murder of the father of his lover's children.
Former Deputy Oscar Rodriguez was arrested Thursday in the 2014 shooting death of Luis Carlos Morin Jr., the Riverside County district attorney's office said in a statement.
Prosecutors had previously determined that Rodriguez was justified in shooting Morin while attempting to arrest him on a warrant. But they reopened the case after learning through a civil lawsuit filed by Morin's family that Rodriguez was intimately involved with the mother of Morin's children, the statement said.
"Based on additional information, we realized this was not an officer-involved shooting review, it was a murder investigation," the statement said.
Rodriguez was indicted on one charge of murder and use of a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in court in Indio on Friday.
Perez, who was arrested Thursday on a charge of being an accessory to murder, is expected to be arraigned Jan. 3
It was not immediately known which attorneys were representing Rodriguez and Perez. A message was left for attorney Douglas Smith, who handled Rodriguez's civil case.
John Hall, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, could not immediately explain what led the agency to absolve Rodriguez in the first place.
The shooting occurred Jan. 27, 2014, after Morin returned to his mother's home in Coachella - a desert city southeast of Palm Springs - from attending a family birthday party.
Rodriguez tried to detain Morin from behind and then held him on the ground after Morin fell, firing at least one shot, Morin's family said in federal court filings.
Rodriguez claimed in court papers to have shot Morin in self-defense after trying to arrest him on two warrants.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.