A man has been charged in connection with the shootings that killed a Southern California police officer and another man, and wounded a second officer over the weekend, prosecutors said.
Eduardo Roberto Medina-Berumen, 22, was charged on June 3 with two counts of murder with special circumstances for the death of Baldwin Park Police Officer Samuel Riveros and Darius Wong, a 43-year-old father of two from Hacienda Heights, authorities said. Medina-Berumen was also charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of an assault weapon.
Medina-Berumen faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted on all charges, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office will decide on a later date whether to pursue the death penalty.
Authorities accused Medina-Berumen of opening fire at Riveros on the night of May 31 after officers responded to a call of shots fired in a neighborhood in Baldwin Park, a city located about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The district attorney's office alleged that Medina-Berumen also shot and killed Wong, who had just parked his car.
