An ex-con who was convicted of repeatedly shooting at police officers during a series of gunfights and wounding a police dog in South Los Angeles was sentenced Thursday to more than 550 years to life in state prison.
Jose Alfredo Rauda, 36, was convicted of 19 counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer, 12 counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a firearm and one count each of assault with a police animal, shooting at an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Jurors also found true allegations that Rauda personally and intentionally discharged a handgun and that he knew or reasonably should have known that the officers were engaging in the performance of their duties.
Prosecutors opted not to retry four other attempted murder charges and a series of allegations on which jurors deadlocked.
Rauda initially shot at officers who were conducting a probation check on June 15, 2017 — in which he was not the target — at a home in the 400 block of East 49th Street, with several officers returning fire. He also fired shots at police as he fled from the home, with officers firing back toward him.
He was subsequently found trying to hide in a trash can in a backyard in the same block where he shot a police dog named Aro in the left hind leg after the Belgian Malinois was sent in to investigate, according to Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian.
Rauda fled again, but was later found hiding in a nearby shed from which he opened fire again, with one bullet striking the helmet of an officer, who testified that he suffered a concussion, Ayvazian said.
Rauda surrendered to Los Angeles police that night.
The defendant was not injured by the return gunfire or bitten by the police dog, but broke his nose jumping over a fence while fleeing from police, the prosecutor said.
He has a string of convictions dating back to 2004 — most recently for robbery in 2012, according to Ayvazian.