LOS ANGELES, CA – According to a report from The Gateway Pundit [1], Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is defending his past handling of a gun case that gave probation to a convicted felon who murdered two police officers earlier in June.
Red Voice Media [2] previously reported on the killing of El Monte Police Officer Joseph Santana and Corporal Michael Paredes, who were gunned down when responding to an incident involving 35-year-old gang member and convicted felon Justin Flores on June 14th.
The two officers had responded to a call at the Siesta Inn Motel located off of 10327 Garvey Avenue near the I-10 regarding an alleged stabbing, where the two came under immediate fire by Flores upon arriving on scene.
Flores was also fatally shot during the exchanged gunfire, but the loss of these two officers has resulted in some intense scrutiny of DA Gascon.
Prior to the deadly shooting on June 14th, Flores had been the recipient of two prison stints, one in 2009 and the other in 2011. Flores’ 2009 case was for vehicle theft where he served only two months of a 16-month sentence, whereas the 2011 case saw him serve nine months out of a two-year sentence for burglary.
Come March of 2020, Flores would wind up being arrested again – this time for possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and possession of methamphetamine. Months down the line, Gascon wound up winning the race for the DA’s office – and his soft-on-crime approach lent Flores a hand in that gun case.
In February of 2021, Flores was sentenced to 20 days in jail and two years of probation after pleading no contest to the felon in possession of a firearm charge, with the DA’s office outright dropping the ammunition and methamphetamine charges.
This was a charge that should’ve landed Flores in prison for years, but, instead, saw him confined for less than a month. His freedom and obvious record of illegally securing firearms resulted in the deaths of two police officers.
In the wake of the shooting, DA Gascon’s office issued a statement standing by their decision to give Flores probation in the 2020 gun case, claiming the “sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense.”
Apparently, not many people are thrilled with DA Gascon’s response to the matter, with the parents of El Monte Police Officer Joseph Santana blaming their son’s death on Gascon.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin took to Twitter on June 21st, highlighting the aforementioned while noting that DA Gascon simply walked out of a presser when asked if he had any words for the parents of the slain officers.
“After doubling down on his handling of cop-killer Justin Flores’ felon w/ gun case, LA DA [George Gascon] walks out and ignores colleague [Matt Finn], who asks if he has anything to say to the parents of murdered El Monte PD officer Joseph Santana, who blame Gascon for his death.”
