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3 trials involving assaults against Inland police begin soon
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Authorities are seeking the death penalty against Earl Ellis Green in the murder of Riverside police officer Ryan Bonaminio
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Three criminal trials that involve deadly assaults against Inland Empire police officers will get underway soon.
Earl Green, the ex-con who allegedly killed a Riverside cop two months ago, is scheduled to appear in court later this month. Prosecutors say Green gunned down officer Ryan Bonaminio after a foot chase through a Riverside park.
Investigators linked Green to the murder through fingerprints, surveillance video and an eyewitness. He’s pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The court hasn’t set a trial date.
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"This matter should not take years to get to trial," says outgoing Riverside County district attorney Rod Pacheco. “Unfortunately the court system in this county moves very, very slowly because of a culture of continuances that exists throughout the courthouses. Hopefully some judge will move it along instead of granting continuance after continuance. This family does not need to go through that torture at the hands of the court system.”
A San Bernardino County manslaughter case involving a Rialto cop took three years to reach a jury. It’ll be back in court this year.
Rialto SWAT officer Sergio Carrera was killed in 2007 during a drug raid at the apartment of suspect Krist Wiggins. A jury convicted Wiggins of involuntary manslaughter. But it deadlocked over a special enhancement allegation. A judge says prosecutors may seek a new trial.
Two men who allegedly launched a string of potentially deadly attacks against Hemet police are expected to stand trial later this year. Nicholas Smit and Steven Hansen face attempted murder charges; they’re accused of rigging home-made explosives to patrol cars, and trying to fire an antique bazooka at Hemet police headquarters. Prosecutors say Smit masterminded the deadly plot after Hemet cops busted him for growing marijuana.
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