m? LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT OFFICE BUREAU OF FRAUD AND CORRUPTION PROSECUTIONS JUSTICE SYSTEM INTEGRITY DIVISION STEVE COOLEY 0 District Attorney JANICE L. MAURIZI I Director JOHN K. SPILLANE - Chief Deputy District Attorney CURTIS A. HAZELL - Assistant District Attorney March 9, 201 1 Captain David Smith Homicide Bureau . Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Department 5747 Rickenbacker Road Commerce, California 90040 Re: J.S.I.D. File# 10-0459 L.A.S.D. File# 010?139644337-013 Dear Captain Smith: The Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney?s Of?ce has completed its review of the June 16, 2010, fatal shooting Of Dexter Jerome Luckett, Jr. by Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Department (LASD) Deputy Daniel Mailloux. We have concluded that Deputy Mailloux acted in lawful self?defense. The following analysis is based upon reports, audio recordings, transcripts and photographs submitted to this Of?ce by Detective Jeffrey S. Leslie of the LAS'D?Homicide Bureau. The District Attorney?s Command Center was notified of this shooting on June 16, 2010 at 11:20 pm. The District Attorney Response Team, comprised of Deputy District Attorney Amy Pellman Pentz and District Attorney Senior Investigator Holly Williams, responded and was given a brie?ng and walk?though of the scene by LASD Lieutenant Don Slawson. NO departmentally compelled statements were considered in this analysis. FACTUAL ANALYSIS On June 16, 2010, at approximately 9:30 pm, Deputies Daniel Mailloux and Brian Espinosa were in uniform in a marked black and white police vehicle. They responded to a ?shots ?red? call in the area of 16131 Eucalyptus Avenue in the City of Bell?ower. Both deputies recognized that address as a location frequented by 18?!3 Street gang members. Upon arrival, both deputies contacted Anabel Hernandez, who was the manager of the apartment building located at 16131 Eucalyptus Avenue. Using Jose Alberto Piedra as a translator, Hernandezcommunicated to the deputies that they should check the back area for the shooters, Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 210 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210 (213) 974-3888 WEBSETE: Captain David Smith March 9, 20f Page 2 of 4 indicating the rear parking lot of the apartment complex.l Deputy Mailloux drove into the parking lot and Deputy Espinosa traveled on foot. 2 As Mailloux drove toward the rear area, both deputies saw two men, who they detained brie?y. Shortly after stopping these two men, the deputies? attention was drawn to Hernandez, who indicated to them that those two men were not the shooting suspects. Instead, she directed them to two individuals, later identi?ed as Dexter Jerome Luckett, Jr. and Christopher Adrian Avila, who were standing in the southwest rear area of the parking lot.3 The deputies let the detained men go and continued to travel west in the direction of'the rear parking lot. Mailloux drove their patrol car and Espinosa continued on foot. Both Luckett and Avila were standing in the southwest. corner of the parking lot. Mailloux turned south and stopped his patrol vehicle in a southwest direction facing the men. As Mailloux got out of the patrol car, he ordered Luckett and Avila to put their hands up, walk towards the vehicle, and place their hands on the hood. As this occurred, Deputy Espinosa ran west towards Mailloux, closing the distance between the two. Avila immediately complied with the commands. He walked forward and placed his hands on the hood of the patrol car. Luckett, who was holding a beer in his right hand, initially raised his hands up in response to the deputy?s commands. As he walked to the car, he put his hands down.4 Both deputies again ordered him to put his hands up. Luckett brought both hands up, walked to the hood of the vehicle, and placed his beer on top of the car. As Luckett placed his beer down with his right hand, he again reached behind him with his left hand. At this time, Mailloux, standing approximately ?ve feet away from Luckett, believed that he was reaching for a gun. Mailloux described Luckett?s body positioning as a ?combat stance? and described his own position as ?without cover.? In fear, Mailloux ?red his duty weapon one time, striking Luckett in the chest and arm. Luckett was not armed. Deputy Mailloux immediately broadcast that a deputy?involved shooting had taken place, and requested assistance and paramedics. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, several deputies, including Espinosa, began CPR on Luckett. Luckett was transported to Long Beach ~Memorial Medical Center and pronounced dead at 10:27 pm. Deputy Mailloux was armed with a Heckler and Koch 45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. This ?rearm has a maximum capacity of twelve rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. After the shooting, Mailloux?s gun had eleven rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. One ?red cartridge casing was recovered at the scene, just south of the hood of the police Piedra heard shots ?red and called 9] 1. He did not see the incident. 2 The driveway runs in an east/west direction along the north side of the property. Underneath the west rear portion of the property is a carport which opens onto an uncovered parking area west of the building. 3 It is unclear whether Hernandez indicated that the two detained individuals were not suspects or whether she was referring to a family that happened by the location. Either way, Hernandez directed the attention of the deputies to the two individuals in the rear of the parking lot. 4 At this time, both deputies were concerned with this action. Deputy Mailloux felt ?very nervous? and believed that Luckett was ?checking? his weapon. However, by the time that Maiiloux processed and reacted to this threat, he saw that Luckett?s hand was empty. Espinosa believed that Luckett was trying to either conceal or reach for his gun. ?a Captain David Smith March 9, 201 Page 3 of4 vehicle. A ?rearms analysis determined that the casing was fired from Mailloux?s service weapon. On June 19, 2010, Associate Deputy Medical examiner Cho Lwin, M.D., conducted an autOpsy on Luckett. Luckett had sustained two gunshot wounds. The bullet penetrated his front chest, exited his back on the left side, and entered his left arm, where it was recovered. Both wounds were caused by a single bullet fired from Mailloux?s duty weapon. Dr. Lwin ascribed the cause of death as gunshot wound to the chest. At the time of his death, Dexter Luckett was 23 years? old, measured ?ve feet eleven inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. His blood alcohol level (as measured by femoral blood) was .14 percent and 38 nanograms per milliliter of marijuana was detected. He had several tattoos on his body, including a ?51? on his right shoulder and a ?50? on his left shoulder. Christopher Adrian Avila, an admitted 181h Street gang member, was interviewed. Avila said that he was in the back of the apartment smoking marijuana with Luckett, who he had recently met. Two deputies approached them. Deputy Mailloux said ?let me see you hands.? Avila immediately ?complied with the rules.? As Luckett was walking to the car holding a beer, the deputy shot him. When the deputy shot him, Luckett?s left arm was at his side. Luckett was two feet behind and to the right of Avila at the time he was shot. Luckett?s criminal record includes a misdemeanor conviction for Penal Code section 273.5, Corporal Injury to a Spouse or Cohabitant, in 2005. On June 30, 2010, Luckett was identi?ed as an outstanding suspect who perpetrated a robbery, in violation of Penal Code section 211, on March 28, 2010. CONCLUSION According to the law in California, a person acts in lawful self-defense or defense of another if l) be reasonably believes that he or someone else was in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily injury and (2) he reasonably believes that the immediate use of deadly force was necessary to defend against that danger. CALCRIM 505. The ?reasonableness? of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than the 20/20 vision of hindsight. . .The calculus of reasonableness must embody allowance for the fact that police of?cers are often forced to make split?second judgmentsmin circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolvingwabout the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation. Graham v. Conner (1989) 490 US. 386, 396?397. Actual danger is not necessary to justify the use of deadly force in self?defense. If one is confronted by the appearance of danger which one believes, and a reasonable person in the same position would believe, would result in death or great bodily injury, one may act upon those circumstances. The right of self?defense is the same whether the danger is real or merely apparent. People v. Toledo (1948) 85 Cal.App.2d 577. Captain David Smith March 9, 2011 Page 4 of 4 The evidence examined in this investigation shows that Deputies Mailloux and Espinosa responded to a shots fired call in an area frequented by 188? Street gang members. Dexter Luckett and Adrian Avila were identi?ed by Hernandez as the perpetrators ,of that crime. Upon approaching these men, Maillomi, reasonably concerned that one or both of them were in possession of a weapon, ordered the men to show their hands and place them on thehood of the police vehicle. Avilaimmediately complied. However, Luckett did not comply with these commands and reached his hands behind him. Those hand movements led both deputies to believe that ankett had a ?rearm concealed on his person. Upon being ordered to do so, Luckett removed his hands from behind him, but reached back with his left hand for a second time. Deputy Mailloux, who stood without cover and reasonably believed that Luckett was reaching for a ?rearm, ?red one shot, killing Luckett. We conclude that LASD Deputy Daniel Mailloux was placed in reasonable fear of imminent danger of death ?or great bodily injury by Dexter Luckett?s actions and acted lawfully in self? defense when he used deadly force against Luckett. We are therefore closing our ?le and will take no further action in this matter. Very truly yours, STEVE COOLEY District Attorney By gm i AMY PELLMAN PENTZ Deputy District Attorney (213) 973?3888 0: Daniel Mailloux #459724-