Did the man convicted of killing a Long Beach deputy know he was a peace officer? – Daily News

A state appeals court panel on Thursday ordered a new trial for one of two men convicted in the off-duty killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in Long Beach more than 18 years ago.

A three-judge panel of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal sent the case against Justin Ashley Flint back to a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for a new evidentiary hearing to determine whether Maria Cecilia Rosa acted “in the course of her duties.” He was a peace officer when he was killed on March 28, 2006.

“The physical evidence demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that Deputy Rosa presented his badge and identified himself as a peace officer,” Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal wrote in an August 2023 decision denying Flint’s request for resentencing.

The ruling stated that Flint and co-defendant Frank Gonzalez “each gave statements indicating that they watched the presentation of the badge and were aware that Deputy Rosa was a peace officer,” which the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt. “Flint was aware before the shooting that Deputy Rosa was a peace officer busy performing his duties.”

Rosa was in the driveway and preparing to leave for work at the Los Angeles County Inmate Reception Center when she was shot and killed during an attempted robbery.

The appellate judges noted in their appeal that Flint argued that the victim was not acting in the course of his duties as a law enforcement officer, under state law provisions that include sheriff’s deputies assigned exclusively or initially to perform duties related to custodial duties. and their authority extends to any location in the state only while they are engaged in the performance of the duties of the officer’s employment.

Flint, who was charged along with co-defendant Frank Christopher Gonzalez, was convicted of one count each of first-degree murder and attempted robbery involving the 30-year-old victim.

Gonzalez, who admitted to shooting the off-duty deputy, was sentenced to death in May 2008, less than a month after being found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted robbery.

Jurors also found true the special circumstances allegations of murder during an attempted robbery against Gonzalez, as well as the allegation that he shot and killed Rosa, who was in plain clothes and preparing to go to work at the sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center. .

A separate jury hearing the case against Flint found the special circumstances claim untrue, and Flint was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison in 2008.

Flint, now 38, had requested the resentencing as a result of a recent change in state law that resulted in the release from prison of some defendants convicted of murder and other charges.

In 2022, a state appeals court panel reversed a ruling by now-retired Judge Gary J. Ferrari, who had denied Flint’s initial petition for resentencing. But the panel also ruled that the prosecution should have the opportunity to show that Flint was ineligible for resentencing under new state law provisions because he knew or should have known that Rosa was a peace officer acting within the scope of his duty. tasks.

At a hearing last year, Lowenthal said the strongest evidence that Flint and Gonzalez knew Rosa was a peace officer was their statements after the murder, noting that Flint told his best friend that he saw a badge and knew she was a police officer. Gonzalez admitted that he knew he was a peace officer during an undercover jail operation.

Sheriff Robert Luna, who was deputy chief of the Long Beach Police Department investigations bureau at the time of the murder, was in the Long Beach courtroom for the August 2023 hearing and told City News Service afterward that the judge “reached the right decision.” .”

In a 2010 decision upholding Flint’s conviction, a state appeals court panel noted that he sang the title line of the Bob Marley song “I Shot the Sheriff” while behind bars.

Flint unsuccessfully argued in his appeal that the trial court wrongly prevented him from taking a deposition to explain why he feared he would be beaten by sheriff’s deputies while in jail and from explaining exactly why he sang the song to show that he would defend himself against them. Such a beating according to the 2010 decision.