The man who killed two California police officers during a shootout on Tuesday night died by suicide after the shooting.
Justin William Flores, 35, killed two El Monte, California police officers who were responding to reports of a stabbing at a motel.
When officers, Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana approached the suspect, a shootout ensued and both officers were shot. They were later pronounced dead at a Los Angeles area hospital.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office determined that Flores died by suicide as a result of a gunshot wound to the head.
Flores had a previous strike conviction and also received two years of probation for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Flores was a gang member and on probation at the time of the shooting for a weapons charge after he received a lenient sentence through a plea deal.
The Gascon policy allowed Flores to plead no contest and get a light sentence, despite a strike being on his criminal record.
Sources within the district attorney’s office said Flores would have likely been handed a sentence of up to three years in prison if he had been prosecuted in February 2021.
Gascon’s office said Flores didn’t have a “documented history of violence” at the time he was sentenced.
“The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense,” the statement says. “At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence.”
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