One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Convicted cop killer Earl Ellis Green scheduled for sentencing in Riverside
Joseph Bonaminio (left), the father of slain Riverside policeman Ryan Bonaminio, and Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco announce the charges against killer Earl Ellis Green.
(
Steven Cuevas/KPCC
)
Listen
0:56
Convicted cop killer Earl Ellis Green scheduled for sentencing in Riverside
Convicted cop killer Earl Ellis Green is scheduled for sentencing Monday. A jury recommended the death penalty earlier this month after convicting Green of murdering a Riverside police officer two years ago.
Earl Green killed 27-year-old officer Ryan Bonaminio at the end of a late night foot chase in a Riverside park. Prosecutors say Green clubbed Bonaminio, an Iraq War veteran, with a steel bar after the officer slipped. He then got hold of Bonaminio’s service revolver and shot him.
After jurors returned their verdict recommending the death penalty, Bonaminio’s sister Nicki called her brother a hero.
“After having his skull cracked, he still got up and fought for his life," said Nicki Bonaminio. "Earl Green does not deserve to be on death row. He deserves to have his skull cracked just like how my brother’s was. And deserves to be executed just like he did my brother, and laying in an empty parking lot just like he left Ryan.”
Defense attorneys conceded that Green was the shooter. But they argued the killing was not premeditated and that the career criminal suffers from a range of psychological problems.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
