By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH
The man accused of fatally shooting a Baldwin Park police officer and another man made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, June 11, and was ordered to be held in jail without the possibility of bail while awaiting his next court appearance.
Eduardo Roberto Medina-Berumen, 22, is charged with two counts of murder and other charges stemming from the May 31 shooting that killed 35-year-old Officer Samuel Riveros — a nine-year department veteran — along with the shooting minutes earlier of 43-year-old Darius Wong, a married father of two young daughters.
Medina-Berumen, who was injured in the gun battle, appeared in court in a wheelchair.
The murder charges could open him up to a possible death sentence if convicted as charged. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said last week that his office will decide later whether to seek capital punishment.
Medina-Berumen is also charged with attempted murder of other Baldwin Park police officers, including Officer Anthony Pimentel, who Hochman said was “hit by shards of glass that came from a bullet that we believe hit a windshield or a side windshield.”
Riveros was a part of a response dispatched at about 7:15 p.m. May 31 to the 4200 block of Filhurst Avenue, a few blocks east of the 605 Freeway, regarding a man with a rifle.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Pimentel and fellow Officer Alfredo Leal arrived first in separate cars and were “immediately fired upon by this suspect who had a rifle.”
Riveros arrived soon after and he was fatally struck.
Other Baldwin Park police officers arrived and were involved in a “second volley” of gunfire in which “the suspect went down,” the sheriff said.
Wong was found at the scene and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The motive for that shooting remains under investigation.
During Wednesday’s brief court hearing in Pomona, Deputy District Attorney Michael Michelena told Superior Court Judge Ramiro P. Cisneros that he believes prosecutors can prove the defendant was standing outside his home with a short-barrel rifle and “started firing indiscriminately.”
Michelena said Wong was shot prior to the officers’ arrival.
Riveros was a UC Irvine graduate, an avid snowboarder and a Dodgers fan who had watched the team play at stadiums across the nation.
The Peace Officers Research Association of California established an online fundraiser to support Riveros’ family and cover funeral expenses. Donations can be made at porac.org/fundraiser/officer-riveros/.
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