The man accused of killing Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Steven Owen had a capital murder charge filed against him Friday, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Trenton Trevon Lovell, a 27-yer-old parolee, faces one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations of murder for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest and murder of a peace officer, DA spokesman Ricardo Santiago said.
According to the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, Lovell is charged with one count each of attempted murder with an allegation that he used a patrol car as a deadly and dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon with priors, and two counts each of first-degree residential robbery and false imprisonment by violence with a knife use allegation.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake of the DA’S Crimes Against Peace Officers Section said the criminal complaint includes allegations that the defendant was on parole at the time of the crime and that he was convicted of robbery as a juvenile in 2006 and then again as an adult in 2009.
Lovell is accused of shooting Owen, 53, multiple times on Wednesday, shortly after the deputy arrived at the 3200 block of West Avenue J-7 responding to a residential burglary call.
Lovell allegedly then jumped into the sergeant’s patrol vehicle while a second deputy arrived at the scene, prosecutors said.
The defendant is charged with ramming the second deputy’s vehicle with Owen’s patrol car. Lovell then allegedly fled into a nearby residence where he held two victims at knifepoint, prosecutors added. Deputies arrested the defendant soon after.
Lovell is being held without bail.
If convicted as charged, the defendant faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. A decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date.
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