The former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who shot Andres Guardado to death near Gardena almost three years ago will not be charged, prosecutors said on Friday, April 14.
District Attorney George Gascón’s office cited insufficient evidence in declining to charge Miguel Vega, who was accused of shooting the 18-year-old five times in the back after a short foot pursuit in an unincorporated county area on June 18, 2020.
In a memo outlining the case released Friday, the D.A.’s Office wrote that a lack of witnesses or security-camera footage of the shooting itself led to their decision.
“There were no witnesses to the shooting other than Vega,” the memo read. “No surveillance video captured Vega’s or Guardado’s actions.”
The decision not to file charges comes less than a month after a federal grand jury indicted both Vega and his partner, Chris Hernandez, in a civil rights case tied to the pair’s stop of a skateboarder in Compton about a month before the shooting of Guardado.
In a statement, Gascón said he was aware of the accusations against Vega and Hernandez.
“This decision doesn’t validate the actions of these officers,” he said. “They have a troubling background of misconduct and that was thoroughly considered. Sadly, at the end of the day we do not believe that there is enough evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Guardado’s killing led to days of heated protests around the Sheriff’s Department’s Compton station. His killing occurred just a few months after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers led to demonstrations locally and around the country.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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