A judge has ruled that a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant can move forward for now with his petition for reinstatement and back pay after he was terminated in 2024 stemming from the department’s investigation into a fatal 2017 traffic collision in which two children died.
On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tiana J. Murillo denied the county’s motion to dismiss former Sgt. Vincent Moran’s petition. County attorneys contended that Moran could not seek court relief regarding his Jan. 22, 2024, termination while the administrative appeal process he initiated remains pending before the Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission.
But the judge said ripeness — a legal doctrine that determines whether a dispute is sufficiently developed and ready for a court to decide — is a barrier only where a petitioner seeks review of an administrative decision that has not yet become final. Murillo also noted that the commission has not yet heard any evidence.
Moran was training former Deputy Carrie Robles-Plascencia when the LASD vehicle she was driving struck Maria Munoz and her two sons as they stood on a Boyle Heights sidewalk on Nov. 16, 2017. Although no criminal charges were filed against Robles-Placencia or Moran, the two were terminated due to the accident in January 2024.
Moran was hired in May 2006. Two years before Moran’s 2024 termination, he was promoted to sergeant and was assigned to the Norwalk station. His petition, filed Jan. 8, alleges that his termination was in violation of the Peace Officers’ Procedural Bill of Rights Act.