Suspect Arrested In Ambush Shooting Of 2 LA Sheriff's Deputies

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 36-year-old Compton man has been charged with attempted murder in the ambush shooting of two deputies as they sat in their patrol car earlier this month, the Los Angeles District Attorney announced Wednesday.

His arrest, which has been kept under wraps for weeks, was the culmination of a manhunt that gripped the nation.

Deonte Lee Murray has been custody for two weeks after being accused of shooting a man during a carjacking Sept. 1 in Compton. According to investigators, he shot the victim in the leg and stole his black Mercedes sedan, which he used for his getaway in the Sept. 12 shooting of the two deputies. Murray was arrested Sept. 15 following a chase and standoff, authorities said.

According to Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Capt. Kent Wegener, Murray discarded a pistol during the chase. It turned out to be the weapon used in the attack on the two deputies, Wegener said.

Murray was initially charged with felony count each of carjacking, second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm-personal use of a firearm. But it wasn't until Wednesday that authorities publicly connected him to the shooting of the two deputies.

Investigators initially had no evidence that Murray -- who has prior convictions for sales and possession of narcotics, firearm possession by a felon or addict, receiving stolen property, burglary and terrorist threats -- was responsible for the attack on the deputies, according to Wegener.

"We knew that he was a violent offender, was accused of stealing a black Mercedes-Benz and lived in the area. However, there was insufficient evidence to support an arrest, much less a criminal filing for the charge of attempted murder on a peace officer and to label him in the media as the person responsible," the sheriff's homicide captain said.

"Additionally, bringing the public focus on him at that point of the investigation may have influenced the pending witness interviews and further compromised the mission of solving the attempted murder of the deputies," he said. "As the investigation progressed, we gathered sufficient evidence to substantiate not only the arrest but the filing of criminal charges in this case."

He now faces two counts each of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also faces allegations of association with a criminal street gang, discharging a rifle inflicting great bodily injury and personal use of a rifle in the carjacking incident. If convicted, he would face life in prison.

Prosecutors are recommending bail be set at $6.15 million.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva had told multiple media outlets that there was no connection between the ambush of the deputies and the carjacking suspect, who was arrested after a chase and standoff that ended in Lynwood.

The shooting of two unsuspecting deputies outraged people nationwide and further exacerbated tensions between the sheriff's department and demonstrators who have been protesting a series of deadly deputy shootings for more than a month. Villanueva said his department was contacted by President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

The sheriff said "we saw the worst of humanity -- a cowardly act where a suspect ambushed and shot and attempted to kill two of our deputies."

"This cowardly ambush was followed by bystanders celebrating and cheering that the deputies had been shot, and that followed at the hospital -- the sanctity, the quiet sanctity of the hospital -- with protesters cheering and chanting for the deputies to die," Villanueva said. "These acts and that day, I will not forget it, and it represents the worst in humanity and it shocked the whole nation. And that evening, I said we will find this man. And I can report today, we have found our suspect."

He noted that there was also an "outpouring of support" from across the nation, including both presidential candidates and people from all walks of life.

"Sometimes from the worst comes the best and this is an example of that," the sheriff said.

Both deputies are recovering at home, Villanueva added.

The attack occurred at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Metro A (Blue) Line station at Willowbrook Avenue and Palmer Street. Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching the patrol vehicle from behind, walking up to the passenger side of the vehicle, pulling out a handgun and firing through the passenger side window. The gunman is then seen running away.

City News Service contributed to this report.