The preliminary hearing is underway for the man accused of killing Sgt. Steven Owen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Trenton Trevon 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, according to the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors.
“The (preliminary hearing) is ongoing,” Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday.
Dring the hearing, prosecutors present evidence in the case, and the defense can respond, after which the judge decides if the case should go to trial.
Lovell’s preliminary hearing is taking place at the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster.Lovell, now 28, is accused of shooting Owen, 53, Oct. 5, 2016, multiple times, 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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