{"id":2013138,"date":"2023-08-26T15:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T19:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-found-guilty-of-murdering-los-angeles-police-officer-over-40-years-ago-in-retrial\/"},"modified":"2023-08-26T15:36:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T19:36:29","slug":"man-found-guilty-of-murdering-los-angeles-police-officer-over-40-years-ago-in-retrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-found-guilty-of-murdering-los-angeles-police-officer-over-40-years-ago-in-retrial\/","title":{"rendered":"Man convicted of killing LA police officer over 40 years ago in retrial."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-found-guilty-of-murdering-los-angeles-police-officer-over-40-years-ago-in-retrial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2013138&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Ex-Con \u2064Found \u200bGuilty of First-Degree Murder in Retrial for Killing LAPD Officer<\/h2>\n<p>In a dramatic turn of events, an ex-con named Kenneth Earl Gay,\u200d now 65, has been\u200d found\u2063 guilty of \u200dfirst-degree murder in\u200d a retrial for the killing\u2062 of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Paul\u200c Verna over 40 years ago. The jury in San Fernando, California, reached this verdict after two \u2062previous\u200b juries failed to come to a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n<p>Officer\u200c Paul Verna, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wwe-hall-of-famer-iron-sheiks-cause-of-death-revealed\/\" title=\"Iron Sheik's cause of death revealed: WWE Hall of Famer.\">devoted family \u2063man<\/a> with two sons who later became <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-selects-pamela-smith-as-police-chief-as-crime-in-district-soars\/\" title=\"Pamela Smith chosen as DC police chief amidst rising crime.\">police \u2064officers<\/a>\u2062 themselves, was fatally shot during a routine traffic \u200dstop in Lake View Terrace on June 2, 1983. The jury also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-found-guilty-of-murdering-los-angeles-police-officer-over-40-years-ago-in-retrial\/\" title=\"Man convicted of killing LA police officer over 40 years ago in retrial.\">found true special-circumstance allegations<\/a> of murder of a peace officer in\u2062 the performance\u2062 of his duties and \u200dmurder to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/3-killed-in-multi-vehicle-crash-in-south-los-angeles-5481188\">3 Killed in\u2063 Multi-Vehicle\u200d Crash in South Los Angeles<\/a> \u200b- \u20648\/26\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/flash-mob-robbers-strike-sherman-oaks-macys-5480868\">Flash Mob Robbers Strike Sherman Oaks Macy&#8217;s<\/a> -\u200d 8\/25\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Although the panel could not \u2062reach a unanimous verdict regarding the \u2064allegation that Gay personally used a gun during the crime, his conviction for first-degree murder stands. It is worth noting that Gay&#8217;s conviction had been overturned by\u2064 the California Supreme Court in the past, and his death sentence has been reversed twice.<\/p>\n<p>The California Supreme \u200bCourt recently ordered a retrial in the \u200cguilt phase, \u200bciting Gay&#8217;s denial of his constitutional right to competent\u2064 counsel during his initial trial. \u200bThe L.A. County District Attorney&#8217;s Office, under the leadership\u200d of District Attorney George \u200dGasc\u00f3n, \u2062decided not to pursue the death penalty in the retrial.<\/p>\n<p>Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky denied the District Attorney&#8217;s Office&#8217;s \u200crequest to dismiss the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/orange-county-d-a-says-if-l-a-countys-gascon-wont-seek-justice-for-slain-six-year-old-he-wants-the-case\/\" title=\"Orange County D.A. Says If L.A. County\u2019s Gasc\u00f3n Won\u2019t \u2018Seek Justice\u2019 For Slain Six-Year-Old, He Wants The Case\">special circumstance allegations<\/a>, which means Gay now faces life in state prison\u200b without the possibility of parole. Officer Verna&#8217;s widow and sons expressed \u2064their opposition to the dismissal.<\/p>\n<p>Gay, who appeared in\u200c court in a wheelchair throughout the trial, is scheduled for sentencing on October 2. The latest jury deliberated for two weeks, with one juror being replaced, before reaching their verdict.<\/p>\n<p>Sandy Jackson, Officer Verna&#8217;s widow, expressed\u200b her relief at \u2064the\u2064 guilty verdict,\u200b although she found the lengthy deliberation process agonizing. She\u200b stated, &#8220;He \u2063should not be \u200dout among\u200c us,&#8221; emphasizing the importance of justice being served.<\/p>\n<p>Both of Officer Verna&#8217;s sons followed in their father&#8217;s footsteps and became police officers. Bryce,\u2063 one of his sons, wore his father&#8217;s old badge on his Los Angeles Police Department uniform during the trial.<\/p>\n<p>In the closing argument, \u200dDeputy District Attorney Eric Siddall highlighted that\u200b Officer\u2064 Verna had no knowledge of the\u200d danger \u2063he was about to face when he pulled over the \u200dcar containing \u2064Gay, his alleged crime partner Raynard Cummings, and Cummings&#8217; wife. Siddall described the trio as being involved in a series of violent \u200dand \u200bbrutal robberies in the San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n<p>According to Siddall, Officer Verna unknowingly wrote a ticket that would eventually lead to solving his own murder. The prosecutor portrayed the \u200ckilling as a brutal act \u200dconsistent with the \u2064violence displayed by Gay and \u2063Cummings in their previous crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor \u2064David Ayvazian told jurors that Cummings fired the first shot \u200dat Officer Verna from the car, and Gay emerged to \u200cshoot the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-charged-with-stabbing-middle-schooler-to-death-in-random-attack-days-after-third-arrest-of-year\/\" title=\"Man Charged With Stabbing Middle Schooler To Death In \u2018Random\u2019 Attack Days After Third Arrest Of Year\u00a0\">officer multiple times<\/a>, even \u2064as he\u2063 lay \u200bdying on the ground. This tragic\u2062 incident occurred shortly after both men were released from prison on \u2062parole.<\/p>\n<p>Monnica Thelen, one of Gay&#8217;s attorneys, argued that the case against her client was severely\u200b lacking and that\u200c Gay had no involvement in the\u200b murder. She placed the blame solely on Cummings, stating that he had already been held accountable for his actions.<\/p>\n<p>Thelen dismissed the idea that Cummings would pass the gun to Gay after \u2062firing the initial shot, calling it ludicrous. She urged the jury\u200b not to let the evidence of robberies\u2064 cloud their judgment.<\/p>\n<p>During the retrial,\u200d Pamela Smith, Cummings&#8217; \u2063ex-wife, testified as \u200dthe prosecution&#8217;s first witness and identified Officer\u2064 Verna \u2062as \u2063the man who was murdered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An ex-con was convicted of first-degree murder on Aug. 25 in a retrial for killing an LAPD officer during a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace over 40 years ago. This was the third jury in San Fernando to hear the case against Kenneth Earl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":2013139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2013138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2013138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2013139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2013138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2013138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2013138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}