SUMERSET, Calif. (AP) – A marijuana field worker who shot and killed a Northern California deputy sheriff was convicted on Friday of second-degree murder.
Juan Carlos Vazquez-Orosco, 22, was also found guilty of assaulting three other lawmakers with a gun. He could face up to life in prison when convicted in May.
Prosecutors say Vazquez-Orosco killed El Dorado County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Ishmael in October 2019. 37-year-old Ishmael answered a call to 911 from a landowner in rural Somerset about people who may have stolen garden plants. for marijuana, prosecutors said.
Ross did not tell authorities that Vazquez-Orosco and another man, both Mexican nationals, were tending the garden on his land, and he was worried he would take the plants without the men who hired them to pay Christopher Ross $ 3,000. who owe him, prosecutors said.
Ross also did not tell authorities that Vazquez-Orosco and Ramiro Bravo Morales had a gun, the El Dorado County Attorney’s Office said.
When three deputies from El Dorado County and one of the neighboring San Joaquin counties arrived at the site, Vazquez-Orosco opened fire and fled the plant, then returned and ambushed lawmakers, prosecutors said.
Ishmael, a four-year veteran and father of three, was hit four times and died on the spot. San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Tassabia was injured.
Ross pleaded guilty to manslaughter and faces up to 11 years and eight months in prison, said District Attorney Vern Pearson.
Ramiro Bravo Morales was convicted of aiding and abetting after the fact.
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