Thread: Sheriff: Deputy's Death 'Definitely Not An Accidental Shooti

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/8313415/detail.html
Deputy Shot While Standing By Her Car

POSTED: 7:20 am PST March 28, 2006
UPDATED: 6:28 pm PST March 29, 2006

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The shooting death of an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was a homicide that apparently occurred during a robbery, Long Beach police said Wednesday.

Deputy Maria Cecelia Rosa, 30, of Pomona, was fatally shot about 6 a.m. Tuesday in the driveway of a home in the 2900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue, according to Long Beach police. She died of a wound to the upper body.

Sheriff Lee Baca initially said Rosa might have inadvertently shot herself as she was putting her gun in the trunk of her car. He spoke with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"She was killed by another person or persons," Baca said. "It is definitely not an accidental shooting."

LBPD Officer Jackie Bezart said the motive appeared to be robbery, but Bezart did not disclose what might have been taken or what suggested the killing was a robbery.

"A ballistics report on her gun has indicated that the gun had not been fired," Bezart said.

Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts conducted a news conference Wednesday afternoon. He was asked about the preliminary report from Baca that the deputy's gun might have discharged.

"It was an understandable error," Batts said. "We had many theories we were working on at the time and that was one of the theories we put out there."

Batts said ballistics reports confirmed that Rosa's weapon had not been fired.

Batts said Rosa -- who was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, not her uniform -- was shot twice with a .22-caliber weapon. A newspaper delivery person called 911, according to Batts.

Batts said two people were seen leaving the site of the shooting. He described both assailants as male Hispanics in their late teens to early 20s.

One person was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, Batts said. He said both assailants were riding a bicycle near the scene.

A native of Sonora, Mexico, Rosa was hired by the sheriff's department in July of 2000. She was assigned to work at the county jail's Inmate Reception Center.

The shooting occurred in the driveway of the home of sheriff's Detective Jenny Martin, with whom Rosa frequently stayed.

Rosa, known as "Sessy" to her friends, was the second Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy to die in less than a week. Deputy Pierre Bain, 45, a 14-year department veteran, was killed in an on-duty motorcycle accident in Lancaster on Thursday.

Rosa is survived by three brothers and two sisters. Funeral plans are pending.

Batts said anyone with information about the shooting should call investigators at (562) 570-7244.

It's such a puzzle at this point. I will watch to see how this unfolds. So sad.

While I was at the state capital today, I asked a CHP officer why the flag was at half mast, and he said it was due to a sheriff officer in Los
angeles County who was killed. I am wondering if this was the same.

Bet on it. That is just so sad. May God have mercy.

How could they even consider she shot herself-twice?