A Los Angeles police officer who unintentionally shot and killed a 14-year-old girl at a Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood won’t face criminal charges, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced.
On Dec. 23, 2021, Los Angeles Police Department officer William Jones Jr. fired three times with a high-powered rifle when he responded to the store following reports of a possible active shooter situation. One of those shots went wayward and hit an innocent bystander who was hiding in a changing room with her mother.
Jones was responding to the department store after receiving calls about a man acting erratically, possibly armed with a gun.
Inside the store, Jones and other officers encountered 24-year-old Daniel Elena-Lopez. The officers saw a woman crawling and covered in blood with Elena-Lopez standing near her and holding something in his hands. The items later turned out to be a bike lock.
Jones almost immediately fired at Elena-Lopez, killing him, but one of his shots, according to the California Department of Justice report, struck the floor and changed direction. The bullet pierced through the changing room wall where 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta and her mother were hiding and praying for their safety.
Valentina died at the scene. The mother and daughter were shopping for Christmas presents.
Elena-Lopez was also pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy later determined he was on methamphetamine at the time of his death.
The accidental death of Orellana-Peralta, who had just moved to Los Angeles from Chile a few months prior and was in the process of obtaining residency, led to national headlines, widespread outrage and calls for the officer to be criminally charged.
The California DOJ is required by state law to investigate any law enforcement shootings that result in civilian deaths. In this investigation, which Bonta called “particularly challenging,” the DOJ determined there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against the LAPD officer.
“The evidence does not show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer involved acted without the intent to defend himself and others from what he reasonably believed to be imminent death or serious bodily injury,” a release from Bonta’s office reads.
The DOJ review pointed at an apparent communication breakdown between the first officers on scene and the second wave of reinforcements which included Jones.
The first group of responding officers were informed by a civilian that the suspect was wielding a bike lock, not a gun, but that information was never communicated to Jones in person, the report states. The updated information was broadcast over emergency radio, but it’s unclear if Jones heard it.
At one point, fellow officers urged Jones, who had assumed the “point” position and was leading the group, to slow down so they could assess the threat, but he did not slow down.
The shots were fired shortly. Jones later told the LAPD’s Use of Force Review Board that when he fired at the suspect, he assumed the wall behind him, which turned out to be where the changing room was located, was a brick exterior wall that would stop his shot.
The DOJ investigation concluded that Jones could’ve reasonably assumed that the item in the suspect’s hand was a firearm and he likely believed he was acting in self-defense or defense of others.
Due to the legal theory of “transferred intent,” Jones is insulated from criminal responsibility because the bystander’s death occurred during a lawful act of self-defense as he attempted to eliminate the threat.
“This killing appears to have been unintended and unforeseeable,” the report states. “Officer Jones’s intent in shooting Mr. Elena Lopez transferred to the unintended killing of Ms. Orellana Peralta, and thus no charges relating to her death can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Bonta’s office identified communication and training as recommended areas for improvement, writing “LAPD should consider updating their communication training bulletin and any related training to account for the type of situation presented during this event.”
While he will not face criminal charges, the LAPD has previously stated that Jones’ actions violated department policy.
In November 2022, a civilian oversight board ruled that two of the shots fired by Jones broke that policy. Then-chief Michel Moore previously said in his own review that all three shots were unjustified.
Moore and the Review Board concluded that Jones was “hyper-focused” on his belief that there was an active shooter situation unfolding and said he may have failed to accurately assess the threat.
Jones remains employed by the LAPD and is currently assigned to the Topanga division, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta has filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.