A man who allegedly used an untraceable “ghost gun” to shoot a Los Angeles Police Department officer during a chase in the Exposition Park area pleaded not guilty Wednesday .
Ernesto Sepulveda, 26, was charged Tuesday with two counts of attempted murder involving the wounded officer and another uniformed LAPD Gang Enforcement Detail officer, along with one count of carrying an unregistered firearm.
The attempted murder charges include allegations that Sepulveda personally and intentionally discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury to one of the officers.
The shooting occurred at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at 39th Place and Western Avenue, at or near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Miller told City News Service.
The two officers were patrolling along the Western Avenue corridor near Martin Luther King Park when they spotted a man, later identified as riding a bicycle north on the sidewalk, according to an LAPD statement.
“The officers believed that Sepulveda possessed a handgun and initiated a pedestrian stop on the 3900 block of South Western Avenue,” according to the LAPD.
Sepulveda fled and while being chased, he allegedly drew a pistol from his waistband and fired at the officers, “resulting in an officer-involved shooting.”
“One officer was struck in the legs by gunfire,” police said. “Sepulveda continued to flee south on Western Avenue and fired an additional round at backup officers.”
The other gang enforcement officer returned fire, but the gunman was not hit, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.
When Sepulveda’s gun malfunctioned, he got rid of it and fled further into the park, according to the LAPD.
He was subsequently taken into custody.
The injured officer’s wounds were not believed to be life-threatening, the police chief said.
A black steel, 9mm, Polymer-80 ghost gun, a loaded magazine and discharged cartridge cases were recovered at the scene, according to the LAPD.
Sepulveda was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $3 million bail. He is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom July 22, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence against him to allow the case to move forward to trial.