The jury weighing the evidence against the former Los Angeles Police Department officer who fatally shot an intellectually disabled man and wounded his parents in the Costco in Corona in 2019 could not reach a verdict on Friday, Dec. 29, and apparently needed clarification on several issues.
The panel will be off for more than two weeks and will resume deliberations on Jan. 18 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
It was not immediately clear Friday why jurors were taking such a lengthy break. A projected schedule for the trial that was posted on the first day, Dec. 6, anticipated that the case would conclude by Friday. It’s possible that jurors, who are typically told how long a trial is expected to last, had vacations or other commitments lined up.
The state Attorney General’s Office could not be reached for comment Friday, nor could Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy, who is the prosecutor, or defense attorney Michael Schwartz.
Online court records show that jurors submitted five questions to Superior Court Judge Jason L. Stone. The content of the questions was not listed.
Salvador Alejandro Sanchez, who was holding his 20-month-old son, acted in self-defense after Kenneth French slugged Sanchez in an unprovoked attack in the sausage samples line on June 14, 2019, Schwartz told jurors on Wednesday when they received the case. Sanchez, who was not in uniform, pulled out his service weapon and fired 10 times, striking French four times and his parents, Russell and Paola, once each.
Sanchez was seen in body-worn camera videos telling Corona police that he believed he had been shot.
Murphy, the prosecutor, argued that Sanchez overreacted and had he taken a moment to assess the situation, he would have understood that the danger to himself and his son had passed and that there was no reason to shoot. Murphy said Sanchez then realized his mistake and fabricated a tale about getting shot and being knocked unconscious to avoid prosecution.
Sanchez is charged with voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. He is out of custody after posting bail.
