The last defendant in the shooting of an off-duty cop on his Valencia driveway is now scheduled for trial in January, according to records for the L.A. County Superior Court in San Fernando.
Judge Hilleri Merritt scheduled a pretrial conference for December and a trial to start Jan. 6 in the case against Hector Sandoval, a documented Newhall gang member charged with assault with a deadly weapon, criminal conspiracy and driving a stolen vehicle.
Prosecutors believe that Hector Sandoval was one of dozens kicked out of a party last year, but he came back with two relatives and shot the homeowner, who also happened to be an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer.
Two have taken plea deals as Sandoval’s alleged accomplices in the April 21, 2024, shooting: a 17-year-old cousin was sentenced to 90 days of electronic surveillance at home, a program known as Home on Probation; Anthony Alexis Sandoval, Hector’s older brother, was sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading no contest in July.
Hector pleaded not guilty after his preliminary hearing, during which the defense raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, after a pair of videos circulated on social media.
One video showed Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies walking through a backyard filled with empty alcohol containers at the officer’s house where teens had been partying the night before; another video showed the officer yelling at teens to leave while he walked into the street racking his shotgun.
The determination from deputies after their investigation is that the officer was a victim and no charges were presented against the officer.
However, during Sandoval’s preliminary hearing, the officer admitted to lying to the initial officers who took his statement, saying he was interviewed three hours after the shooting and still on heavy pain medication.
At the hospital, the off-duty officer told deputies that he had grabbed the shotgun to clear the party, stepped out of his front door, and then went back inside when everyone started to leave.
The officer said he initially pulled a weapon after he saw an altercation at the party involving the underage suspect who brandished a gun and another party attendee he knew.
The off-duty officer said on the stand he was clearing the party with the weapon and then went looking for the teen suspect because he was worried there was going to be a shooting.
News of the trial comes as the community continues to mourn two people killed at a house party on Friday in Newhall.
A Halloween party in the 25000 block of De Wolfe Road ended in tragedy, with a fatal shooting that happened after a fight broke out.
Detectives have yet to make an arrest in the incident.
