El Dorado County District Attorney blasting the light sentence given to convicted cop killer.
The man who fatally shot El Dorado County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Ishmael in October 2019 has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder, California’s statutory minimum for the crime. Juan Carlos Vasquez-Orozco, 22, was convicted last month for killing Ishmael - the deputy responded to a 911 call at an illegal marijuana grow site near Somerset, where Vasquez opened fire, hitting Ishmael several times and wounding another deputy.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson blasted the sentencing decided by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras, and blamed recent legislation passed by California lawmakers he believes “eroded” accountability for violent crimes. “It no longer matters whether you use a gun or how many people you harm or how many prior violent felonies you have committed,” Pierson, who had sought a maximum sentence, said in his three-page statement Monday. Pierson referenced Senate Bill 620, which gave California judges more discretion in striking crime enhancements from sentencing decisions. Pierson said the legislation paved the way for what the prosecutor called a lenient sentence, and wished for a harsher decision.