The man accused of killing sheriff’s Sgt. Steven Owen in 2016 appeared briefly in court Thursday and was ordered to return to court next month for a pre-trial hearing.
Trenton Trevon Lovell, 28, appeared in court at the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster.
He was told to return on June 20 for a pre-trial hearing, Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, said Thursday.
In June 2018, after a four-day preliminary hearing to ascertain whether there was enough evidence for him to stand trial for the Owen murder, Lovell was held to answer on all charges filed against him.
Lovell 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.
He is also 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.
Lovell is accused of shooting Owen, 53, multiple times on Oct. 5, 2016, shortly after the deputy arrived at the 3200 block of West Avenue J-7 responding to a residential burglary call.
The suspect 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.
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