A state appeals court panel Tuesday upheld a man’s conviction for murdering a Pomona police officer and wounding another officer following a short pursuit eight years ago.
Isaias De Jesus Valencia, now 46, is serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole for the March 9, 2018, killing of Greggory Casillas in Pomona.
Jurors convicted Valencia of first-degree murder and found true the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer in the performance of his duties and murder for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest.
The defendant was also found guilty of four counts of attempted murder, including one involving wounded Officer Alex Nguyen, three counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer and one count each of fleeing a pursuing peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon, along with finding true allegations that Valencia personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.
The three-justice panel rejected the defense’s challenge to the warrant-less entry by police into Valencia’s apartment after a standoff, along with a claim that he could only be convicted of six crimes — not eight — because he fired six rounds.
“Valencia’s dangerous and bizarre conduct — wide-eyed laughing at police during an irrational high-speed chase leading nowhere, ending with a crash into a parked car — gave officers grounds for suspecting Valencia’s blood would contain evidence of intoxicants,” the appellate court panel found in a 24-page ruling. “The officers were justified in continuing their pursuit of Valencia through the front door of his apartment in an effort to arrest him before his metabolism eliminated evidence of intoxicated driving.”
The panel added that “Valencia’s conduct had been irrational, unpredictable, confrontational and hazardous to the public and himself” and that he had “posed a flagrant risk to others, to himself, and to the property of others.”
Pomona police responding to a 911 call of a suspected DUI tried to stop Valencia, with a brief pursuit ensuing that ended when he crashed into a parked car and ran into his apartment, according to Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian.
Valencia fired six times at officers as police tried to open the door, shooting Casillas in the head and injuring Nguyen, who was shot in the left cheek, the prosecutor said.
Valencia was taken into custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department the next day after a 15-hour barricade.
Defense attorney Ronald Higgins previously told City News Service he believes his client is “suffering from a mental disorder,” but noted that the defense didn’t have the opportunity to present that to the jury.
The prosecutor countered that Valencia was found competent earlier to stand trial, and said the defendant has “no diagnosed mental health issues.”
Along with the life prison sentence without the possibility of parole, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho also handed Valencia an additional 278-years-to-life sentence. The appellate court panel noted that minor changes needed to be made in the sentence, but those do not affect the life prison term.