A man accused of fatally shooting a Baldwin Park police officer and another man told a judge Thursday that he wants to plead guilty, despite his attorney entering a not guilty plea on his behalf.
“I want a speedy trial and I want to plead guilty,” Eduardo Roberto Medina-Berumen told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho, who reminded him that it is a “potential capital case.”
“I want to plead guilty,” the 23-year-old defendant again reiterated within moments after his attorney entered the not guilty plea.
The judge said he could not accept a guilty plea without a determination from the District Attorney’s Office on whether it wants to seek the death penalty against Medina-Berumen.
Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian told the judge that he hopes to have that decision by the next court date May 26 “considering we have a defendant who wants to plead guilty.”
Medina-Berumen — who remains jailed without bail — refused to waive his right to a speedy trial, saying he wanted it as soon as possible even though his attorney wanted to return to court in June.
The judge cautioned the defendant that “the stakes of this case are extremely high” and said that he didn’t want him to “make an ill-advised decision.”
Medina-Berumen is charged with two counts of murder stemming from the May 31, 2025, shooting that killed 35-year-old Officer Samuel Riveros — a nine-year department veteran, along with the shooting minutes earlier of 43-year-old Darius Wong, who was walking from his parked car after dropping off his wife, two young daughters and his sister-in-law at a housewarming party in the 4200 block of Filhurst Street in Baldwin Park.
The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder of a peace officer that could open him up to a possible death sentence if convicted as charged.
The defendant is also charged with one count of possession of an assault rifle and two counts of attempted murder involving two other Baldwin Park police officers, including Officer Anthony Pimentel, whom District Attorney Nathan Hochman said was wounded when he was “hit by shards of glass that came from a bullet that we believe hit a windshield or a side windshield.”
Pimentel suffered abrasions to his face from the broken glass, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Robert McGaughey testified during an April 16 hearing in which the judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to allow the case to proceed to trial.
The second officer named in the attempted murder charges, Alfredo Leal, could be heard saying in bodycam footage played in court during last month’s hearing, “Shots fired” and “He’s firing at units” before he ran toward the injured Pimentel.
Leal told detectives that he was responding to a call of a man unresponsive on a sidewalk when he found Wong in a pool of blood and then saw the suspect in black-and-white flannel pointing a firearm at him and appearing to be standing at an elevated position, McGaughey testified.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ernesto Castaneda testified last month that Juan Ruvalcaba told investigators that he heard loud noises, looked outside his living room window and identified his neighbor, Medina-Berumen, as the man he saw holding a rifle, firing up in the air and shooting up and down the street.
Multiple officers were involved in a plan to rescue Riveros on the sidewalk where he had fallen after being shot once in the head, Castaneda said. Officers moved him to a Baldwin Park Police Department vehicle, drove eastbound on Palm Avenue and spotted paramedics, who treated the mortally wounded officer before he was taken to the hospital, according to the sergeant.
Medina-Berumen was taken into custody in the front yard in an arrest captured on an officer’s bodycam, with an AR-style rifle found on the ground next to him, Castaneda testified.
Under cross-examination by one of the defendant’s attorneys, the sergeant said the rifle had three crosses on it and the magazine for the rifle also appeared to have three crosses on it along with a Bible verse.
Riveros was a part of a response dispatched to the scene, a few blocks east of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, regarding a man with a rifle, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Robert Luna said the Baldwin Park Police Department received a report of a man armed with a rifle who was shooting, saying that Pimentel and Leal arrived at the scene first in separate cars and were “immediately fired upon by this suspect who had a rifle.”
“An officer-involved shooting occurred at that time and Officer Pimentel was injured as a result of the suspect’s gunfire,” the sheriff said, adding that Riveros arrived soon after and he was “tragically struck by the suspect’s gunfire and unfortunately that ended up being a fatal gunshot.”
Other Baldwin Park police officers who subsequently arrived at the scene were involved in a “second volley” of gunfire in which “the suspect went down,” according to the sheriff.
“Officer Riveros, along with his fellow officers, ran towards the danger (with) absolutely no hesitation. That’s an act of profound courage,” Luna said, calling what happened “a tragedy” and saying that it serves as a painful reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face on a daily basis.
Medina-Berumen, who was injured in the gun battle, appeared in court in a wheelchair during his arraignment last year.
During a June 2025 hearing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Michelena said he believed that prosecutors can prove the defendant was standing outside his home with a rifle and “started firing indiscriminately.” Michelena said Wong was shot first prior to the officers’ arrival.
Officers ultimately “took him into custody after he ran out of ammunition,” the prosecutor said.
At a news conference announcing the charges, Hochman said approximately 40 to 60 expended shell casings were found near the weapon.
Baldwin Park Police Chief Robert Lopez — who was at the courthouse for the April 16 hearing — had called Riveros a “dedicated officer” who “selflessly put the safety of others before his own (and) gave his life doing so.”
“… We will never forget Sam,” he said.
Riveros was described as a UC Irvine graduate, an avid snowboarder and a Dodgers fan who had watched the team play at stadiums across the nation.
The Peace Officers Research Association of California established an online fundraiser to support Riveros’ family and cover funeral expenses. A GoFundMe page was established to help cover funeral expenses for Wong.