A 33-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of opening fire four years ago on a Fullerton police K9 officer, who sustained leg and arm wounds but was spared a gunshot to the chest because he was wearing a bullet- proof vest.
Marcos Allen Bush, who had been acquitted of attempted murder about a week-and-a-half prior to the shooting of now-Cpl. Jim Boline, was now convicted of attempted murder, possession of a weapon by a felon and shooting at two inhabited dwellings. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors also found true various sentencing enhancement allegations for the personal discharge of a weapon.
A prior felony conviction will double his punishment, according to state law.
Before trial, Orange County Superior Court Judge David Hoffer granted a defense motion to hold another trial on gang charges the defendant is facing in connection with the March 17, 2013, shooting. It is unlikely prosecutors will seek another trial since it would only have the potential of adding another 10 years to his prison sentence if convicted, Senior Deputy District Attorney Gary Logalbo said.
“I’m very happy with the verdicts. He’s an extremely dangerous individual,” Logalbo said.
Boline spotted a 2002 Grand Prix “kind of weaving” just after midnight and pulled the driver over at Woods and Knepp avenues, according to Logalbo.
Boline noticed the rear windows were tinted and he could not see in, but Bush told the officer that the window didn’t work and he couldn’t open it, the prosecutor said. Boline asked Bush to show his hands, which he did several times, but then Bush withdrew back into the car, Logalbo said.
Bush also seemed to be lying when he said he was in the area to see a girlfriend because he didn’t know her last name, and when he was asked for her address, he paused before looking around at street signs and settling on an address within eyesight, Logalbo said.
Bush then “came up with a .45, semiautomatic Glock,” and Boline “feels the gun hit him in the chest,” Logalbo told jurors in his opening statement.
A round slammed into Boline’s chest, which was protected by body armor, Logalbo said.
The officer staggered back as the defendant fired off a total of seven rounds, the prosecutor said.
The officer sustained wounds to his leg and arm and a graze wound to a hip, Logalbo said, but managed to get behind his patrol car and fire off two rounds using his wounded arm as the defendant raced away in the car.
Another officer who was nearby rushed Boline to a local hospital, Logalbo said, noting that Boline underwent surgery later due to an infection from one of the bullets.
Police later tracked down the vehicle and recovered a can of Coke with the defendant’s DNA on it, Logalbo said. Boline also identified the defendant in a photo lineup and described a tattoo on Bush’s arm that said “West Coast” in “tagger calligraphy,” he said.
Later the same day, police tracked Bush down to a home in Anaheim and arrested him following a foot chase, Logalbo said. During the pursuit, the defendant dropped a gun, retrieved it and then tried to throw it away, but police recovered the weapon and ballistics tests showed it was used in the shooting of Boline, according to the prosecutor.
Bush testified that a man in the backseat of the car he identified as Maurice was the actual shooter.
Andre Jones, who was arrested in the case but was not charged, refused to testify in the trial and cited his constitutional rights against self- incrimination.
Co-defendant Sjanee Duhart, 31, of Riverside, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for being an accessory after the fact, Logalbo said.
On March 6, 2013, Bush was acquitted of attempted murder, carjacking and second-degree robbery. The case involved a fistfight with a man accused of carrying on a relationship with the underage niece of Bush’s girlfriend at the time, according to Bush’s attorney, Doug Myers.
— City News Service