LOS ANGELES, CA — A man convicted of first-degree murder for gunning down a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy at a stoplight in Palmdale just over three years ago was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar, 32, was convicted Aug. 24 for the Sept. 16, 2023, killing of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a fourth-generation member of the sheriff's department. Clinkunbroomer — who had become engaged to be married four days before he was killed — was shot in the back of the head while in a marked patrol SUV near the Palmdale Sheriff's Station and was rushed to Antelope Valley Medical Center in grave condition. He was pronounced dead that night.
Jurors convicted Salazar of first-degree murder, and also found true the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used and discharged a .22-caliber revolver.
Just over a week later, the panel found that Salazar was sane at the time of the crime. He would have been sent to a state mental hospital for treatment if jurors had found that he was legally insane then.
Defense attorney George Rosenstock unsuccessfully asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen to grant a new trial for the sanity portion of the case, writing in a court filing that the judge should independently weigh the evidence the jury heard and consider both sides, including "Salazar's documented past and continuing psychosis, and the complete testimony of the three experts who maintained opinions of legal insanity."
Prosecutors Michael Blake and David Ayvazian countered in their response that "the defendant proved that he suffered from serious mental illness," but "he did not prove that he was legally insane at the moment he killed Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer."
Clinkunbroomer's great-grandfather joined the sheriff's department in 1937, followed by the deputy's grandfather and father. Clinkunbroomer had served with the department for eight years.
Sheriff Robert Luna said after the sanity verdict that Clinkunbroomer was randomly targeted because he was wearing a sheriff's deputy uniform and driving a marked black-and-white vehicle.
Blake told jurors during the trial that Salazar was initially following a Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant who wound up pulling into the sheriff's station, but turned his attention to Clinkunbroomer and made a U-turn to follow him and stalk "his prey" as the deputy pulled his patrol SUV out of the station.
The crime appeared to have been motivated by retaliation because the defendant "blamed the government and police for his own disappointments," Blake said.
Salazar's attorney countered during the trial's guilt phase that "impulse is inconsistent with deliberation," questioning the prosecution's assertion that Salazar was capable of premeditation and deliberation.
The defense presented evidence that Salazar had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2019 and experienced auditory hallucinations and delusions, including beliefs that he was being controlled by satellites and electrocuted.
Salazar's attorney told jurors that three doctors who examined Salazar and reviewed his medical records concluded he was legally insane at the time of the killing.
But District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after the verdict in the sanity phase that prosecutors "determined that the standard they (the three experts) had each used to reach the legal conclusion of insanity was the wrong standard, not a standard used in the state of California" and methodically explained the facts before, during and after the murder.
Ayvazian argued during the trial's sanity phase that he was not questioning whether Salazar had been diagnosed as schizophrenic, while maintaining that "mental illness is not legal insanity."
The prosecutor pointed to surveillance video showing the defendant at a Lancaster shooting range four days before the killing and said Salazar took steps to avoid detection after the shooting.
Ayvazian also cited a surreptitiously recorded jail conversation in which Salazar told undercover operatives that he had wanted to kill a police officer for years and described following officers, parking, waiting and playing music to prepare himself.
Investigators identified a Toyota Corolla believed to have been used in the shooting through surveillance video. A motorist who photographed the car's license plate after an aggressive encounter with its driver also identified Salazar in court.
Detectives later found a .22-caliber revolver at Salazar's home, according to testimony at a 2024 hearing. Salazar later acknowledged his involvement in the shooting during questioning by detectives, a sheriff's homicide detective testified.
Outside court after the sanity verdict, Salazar's sister said her brother had a documented mental condition that dated to 2019.
"We were asking for help. We were not asking for freedom," Jessica Salazar said.
The Castaic Sports Complex was renamed the Ryan M. Clinkunbroomer Castaic Sports Complex in January, and earlier this month, a street in Palmdale was renamed in his honor.
By Terri Vermeulen Keith, City News Service
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