Armando Albarran, was charged with conspiracy and murder with the special circumstance that the murder was carried out to further a criminal street gang.
He’s the fourth of six alleged gang members to face charges in the slaying of Deputy Juan Abel Escalante.
Escalante was gunned down in from of his parents home in Cypress Park as he prepared to head to work at the Men’s Central Jail.
He was shot in the back of the head as he reached into his car to adjust a child’s car seat.
Another participant in the killing, Carlos Velasquez pleaded guilty to murder in October and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors say Velasquez wrongly believed he was killing a gang rival and shot the deputy numerous times.
Three alleged members of the Cypress Park gang, Jose Renteria, Armando Albarran, and Roberto Salazar have also been charged in the killing and their trials are pending.
Escalante, a father of 3 and U.S. Army Reserve veteran, had been with the sheriff’s department about 2 1/2 years.
After the shooting, the LAPD flooded the streets of northeast L.A. with undercover detectives with hopes of gaining street intelligence about the slaying.
They were hoping to make inroads into the Avenues gang, which for generations has been a source of crime in the area.