The former Los Angeles Police Department officer who shot and killed a man at a Costco in Corona won’t be retried after a mistrial was declared in January, his attorney says.
In 2019, Salvador Alejando Sanchez shot and killed 32-year-old Kenneth French, an intellectually disabled man, and shot each of his parents once after French struck Sanchez from behind while the former officer was holding his child.
Last month, a jury failed to reach a verdict on manslaughter and other charges, and Sanchez’ attorney told The Press-Enterprise that his client won’t be retried by the state Attorney General’s Office.
“Defense attorney Michael Schwartz said that jurors favored acquittal on the voluntary manslaughter charge by a 9-3 count and were deadlocked on the firearm assault counts that leaned more to acquittals,” the outlet reported.
The case was dismissed on Friday, Schwartz said.
“The Department of Justice stands by the decision to charge and prosecute this case, however, after considering a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the input of the surviving victims and feedback from the trial jury, the department has decided not to retry the case,” the AG’s Office told The Press-Enterprise.