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Subscribe to RSSA longtime Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and gun charges in connection with a fatal Father's Day shooting in Los Angeles.
Deputy Francisco Gamez, 41, has been booked into a jail and is being held on $4 million bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Gamez is suspected of having been involved in the June slaying of Armando Casillas, 38, outside of the victim's parents' home in the Sylmar area. Gamez was not on duty at the time of the incident.
Shortly after 11 a.m. (2 p.m. ET) on June 17, residents flagged down patrol officers and Casillas was found suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Read more from NBCLosAngeles.com
A second victim was shot at but not injured, police said. Investigators said the shooter fired from a car.
Detectives from the Mission Homicide and Robbery Homicide divisions investigated the case, and are preparing the case for filing with the District Attorney's Office.
Gamez has been with the department for 17 years and has worked out of West Hollywood since 2005. He has been on paid leave from the Sheriff's Department since July.
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It is time to end the gun culture. Ban handguns and register all guns.
What an Oxymoron! As a taxpayer and working class citizen I'll keep mine it's criminals that don't have to register them!
Just take them away from the cops.
Take them away from Cops get a grip!
takenaka,
That will solve nothing. Criminals would still have guns. You think it's a gun's fault this cop killed someone? You don't think the cop would have had a gun if civilians were outlawed from having them? It would have mattered none if the cop were a normal thug.
Gun control is no more effective than Prohibition. It is in fact outlawing certain things that give criminals more power. Again, see Prohibition and how that led to the fruition of organized crime. People like you need to stop thinking the government can solve every little thing and open your eyes . . . just a tad . . . to a little something I like to call reality. The world is a dangerous place. No amount of steps will make it safe. Safety is an illusion . . . with or without guns being outlawed.
I'm all in favor of tighter gun controls, takenaka. But I fail to see the relevance to this story as the shooter was a law enforcement officer, and they are issued side arms.
This is a story of a cop [allegedly] gone bad, not one of rampant gun violence.
Mark, its not the criminal Im worried about, its the crazy that goes into a theater as Joker with a assault rifle or the crazy that shot Gifford's with a extended magazine or the crazy that killed those people at Virgina Tech, Columbine HS etc. Each one of those crazes were able to buy weapons legally some bought weapons that were designed to kill a lot of people. Why cant we have guns but put some stringent restrictions on who can buy and what type of weapon that is available. After all a defensive/hunting weapon is a lot different than a assault weapon.
When you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns - and of course the police too. Keeping honest, law abiding citizens from owning weapons will do nothing to stop gun violence. Most gun violence is committed with unregistered, illegally obtained firearms. Yes, there have been a number of high profile incidents of gun violence where the weapons were legally purchased, but these represent a very small portion of the total gun violence in this country. Also, to think that those crimes committed with legally purchased weapons would have been prevented if firearms were banned is extremely naive. If the person had been unable to obtain the weapons they needed to carry out their plans legally they would have simply obtained them from an illegal source. Someone who is intent on carrying out a crime like this will always find a way to obtain the means to do so.
Takenaka only knows one tune and we're all tired of it.
he was a cop !!! cops have badges and can kill you !!! there is no gun control for a cop, 50 percent of them are bad, to serve and protect has been turned around for them they serve them selves and protect them selves !!! if you need help then don't call the police because if you do call them your taking your life and the life of your family in your own hands ! never ever trust a cop.............
i would argue if you really wanted to decrease the homicide by firearm rate, banning black and hispanic males between the ages of 15-40 residing in the inner cities would be more effective.
Why not just BAN crime
# 1.7 There were no assault weapons used in any of the crimes you mentioned and the weapons used at Columbine were not purchased legally.
Is he in this country illegally?
JAG why don't you don't us a favor and walk blindly into oncoming traffic or make an intelligent comment.
Really Silver?? 50%?? Do you have anything to back that up or are you just talking from your @$$?
he could of got off if he did it while working
Really rob, do you need statistics, since you are too lazy to pay attention to the news moron. I hope a cop shoots your dumb ass this week, that would be awesome.
Anger issues Alex?? Are you Silver's champion that you need to speak for him?? Can you find the statistics that say that?? Wow it was on the news...You believe everything you see on TV?? Maybe you do and think that Batman is real and Scooby Doo is a dog that can really talk...
Oh wait it was on teh internetz....And a cop won't shoot me because I'm not an idiot and don't put myself in a postion for that to happen...But seeing how angry you are I wonder if that might indeed happen to you?? If so I feel sorry for your family, but it's hard to grieve for the stupid....
silver-594739....my feelings exactly....there are more and more cases of cops using their guns and authority for their own personal agendas. GUNS are the only thing that keeps us from being like every other country that has had to give up their guns. takenaka is an idiot and people that think like that will get us all killed...by the cops!!
@Silver & Allen --- Sounds as if you two have some serious personal problems and baggage. Maybe too many speeding tickets or other arrests?
This is only a story because he was a Cop. If you had a dozen Mexicans killing a dozen Mexicans at the same location there would be one giant Yawn. Everyone in all kinds of occupations have guns, time to spit the story bait out and just see this for what it is. Just another dead Gomez killed by Paco for probably drugs an/or a woman.
Question, J.S. in SD, where did these illegally obtained, unregistered firearms come from?
Did somebody find them under a tulip, or were they originally manufactured and sold legally, but subsequently fall into the hands of a criminal?
The very prevalence of guns in our society, legally manufactured and sold, makes it that much easier for criminals and rogue individuals to obtain one at a moment's notice, for use in a robbery, or to payback coworkers and bosses for getting fired, or whatever.
Somehow Europeans and Canadians get by without everybody being armed to the teeth.
Welcome to Southern California, the home of cops as the criminals. LAPD and the County Sheriffs are well known to have high and low level cops operating drug trafficking business on the side. Their law enforcement jobs serve as a cover and early-warning system. As a bonus, these corrupt cops have access to the witness list and thereby ensure the witness testimony is the 'correct' one.
Southern California is the Mecca for illegal drugs. Thousands of illegal aliens serve as the 'mules' who keeps the pipeline of cocaine and heroin flowing into Southern California where the drug culture is at the heart of the cool jet-set crowd. For a 'piece of the action' local cops serve as facilitators and special advisors to the drug king and the king of drug cops. As the illegal drug business is worth nearly $1billion per year, even the straight-and-narrow cops have joined the protection racket.
No one dare to speak out against the corrupt cops, not only because of the Code of Silence but also those who squeeled are never heard from again.
How did California steal this reputation from New York and Chicago?
This happens in other states also.He hasn't been tried and convicted yet.Why anybody views law enforcement officers as being different than the rest of the human race is laughable.
And you will get labelled
It is time for people to realize that simply being a "Police Officer" doesn't mean that the person behind the badge is an honest, trustworthy person. How many thousands of civilians have been sent to prison on the word of some "policeman" and nothing more. And people will still swear by god that the "policeman" wouldn't lie about the case etc and of course the civilian is convicted. In the past couple of years we are seeing civilians being shot down while unarmed, and in record numbers and yet the municipalities they work for cover up and do not bring charges in some of the most blatant cases of criminal assault that I have ever heard of. Generally I think that the charges are not brought against these guys for one reason and that is "Money". The city or county that the officer that did the shooting works for is trying to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit and an award that could be astronomical. But that old saying about fighting city hall still applies. And then there is the other factor where these guys see the public as the enemy and as such they feel no regret or remorse when a civilian is shot dead so they cover each others ass when a shooting is questionable. It is going to stop one way or another, the public will eventually see these shootings for what they are and act on that fact. it is still hard for to people to accept that these "police" are a major part of the problem, once the denial is set aside and people accept that many of these police are the problem then the problem will be dealt with.
Daniel Calc:
LAPD's Rampart Precinct scandal involved a gang of police officers who killed, wounded, intimidated, and even committed perjury to ensure certain individuals are no longer a threat to their illegal drug operations.
Oakland's Rider Case involved cops assassinating innocent people who fit a a certain description and subsequently, planted guns, weapons, and illegal drugs at the crime scene to cover-up the murder.
Two Fullerton policemen murdered a mentally retarded youngman, beating his head against the concrete sidewalk and with a cop's flashlight, because he failed to comply with their orders.
A LAPD policeman fatally shot a homeless bag-lady living on skid-row because she refused to surrender her shopping-cart filled with her stuff and allegedly, threaten the policeman with a screw driver.
An BART police in Oakland fatally shot a handcuffed Black teenager lying on the ground in the back because, allegedly, he mistakenly drawn and fired his gun instead of his Tazer.
In Detroit, a policeman blindly shot into a apartment aiming for a criminal but instead killed a little girl.
In a separate incident in Detroit, a policeman blindly tossed a flash grenade inside residence believing they were raiding a criminal hide-out and to demonstrate to the accompanying eye-witness TV news crew the operation of a police assault. A child was killed because the police had mistakenly raided the wrong house.
And the list goes on.
And on and on and on check you tube
takanaka, yeah that will solve the problem dummy!
California, need I say more !
Yes, you need to say more.
You need to say why you pigeonhole almost 38,000,000 people because of the state in which they reside.
You need to say why you snicker at the people who live in what would be the world's 8th largest economy if it were its own country.
You need to say why you look upon with derision the state that includes the Mojave Desert, King's Canyon, Yosemite, the Napa Valley, Mount Whitney, half of Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, the San Joaquin Delta, Mount Shasta, San Diego, the best beaches on the west coast, and a fertile valley that supplies 3/4 of the nation with food.
You can also say that we have problems, because we do.
I have been all over the world and all over this country and I have yet to find a place besides California where I would like to live.
Big Jeff, you forgot to mention the 10's of billions of dollars of racked up debt from crazy, government union perks and supporting some 15+ million illegal aliens. I left that God forsaken armpit over 9 years ago and have never regretted it. Love CA all you want, just don't ask the rest of the country to bail your sorry a$$es out.
PS: Please keep the faces of your medusa trio of Feinstein, Boxer and Pelosi covered under burkas or paper bags, the country is already suffering enough.
Big Jeff,the rest of the U.S. is jealous of our weather.We can actually go to the mountains,beaches and desert in one day.I took did this one day for a person from Illinois because they didn't believe that it could be done.I love my state,it has it's faults,but whose state doesn't
Murder happens in June. Department suspects officer and places him on paid leave in July. Public hears about it in November? Hmmmm. Seems like this one just couldn't be covered up quick enough. The victim must be related to someone important - another cop, maybe?
And they wonder why some people call them pigs. This guy certainly fits the mold. There actually are good, honest, intelligent police officers out there, but there are far, far too many who are in it for the power, the money they can obtain by that power, and the freebies they seem to feel they are entitled to. I have relatives who are or were cops, and they were good men, so it's not like I have an anti-police bias.
I've never been arrested, or mistreated by a cop, but there are too many accounts of this happening throughout the country. One of my friends was brutally murdered by a police officer who had become unhinged over an alleged child sexual abuse charge involving his daughter, that was tossed out by the court after a trial. He also murdered this guys wife, two or three people across the street, and then killed himself. This pig killed my friend and his wife simply because they were character witnesses for the defendant. May this pig roast in Hell for eternity!
Nobody is ever going to convince me that I should trust the police blindly, or respect them unconditionally, after incidents like that and many, many others. My general philosophy regarding the police is to avoid any and all contact with them, by not doing anything that would attract their attention, such as drunk driving, speeding, pulling over to the roadside to take a pee, or wearing blatantly anti-cop t-shirts.
So far, so good, but you never know when you may encounter one of the sickos on a bad day. If one of these psychos ever seriously harms or kills one of my family members because he can't control his demons, I will remove him from the realm of the living, and do the prison time standing on my head and laughing myself to sleep at night.
I can't believe the moronic and IGNORANT culture in america. There has been a steady slow building of police departments all over the united states. All the while they are getting larger, bigger and stupider.
The solution is not to hire stormtroopers and overgrown humans to be cops. That will not work. You cannot overcome basic stupidity by training.
Do what the scandinavians do. Hire nice intelligent normal sized people whoa re not brutes to be the cops. WHen cops in finland find a drunk kid on the street to be disabled. They try to take the kid home as opposed to arrest his or her ass and create more problems for everybody.
THAT is the problem. american cops are average at best but mostly below par and on the aggressive and dumb side.
Most of you dumb @!$%#s can't see that because you automatically think you have the best system. How about the worst in the world if you ask me. NOWHERE else are people actually AFRAIUD of cops.
Kill this guy and the rest of you leos stop defending him already. We understand you are loyal to one another but this is MURDER so stop it.
Most cops are good hardworking people but there is always that rotten apple in the barrel, the system can be improved in removing those rotten apples. There is no doubt that the laws today have become more intrusive and the cops more authoritative and that is a trend that needs stopped by getting rid of these so called law and order DA's and politicians.
Most probably are not criminals to the extent of this alleged murder, however, I would not be so sure that most are "good hardworking people" either. As a victim, I have had a few interactions with cops, and found them to be lazy, and went out of their way to avoid work. In plain terms: They did not want to do their jobs.
Most cops are hard working ? REALLY ?!!! Now I find that to be hilarious. Every cop I have ever known has been lazy, in fact that is why they chose the profession, eat donuts and get away with being lazy, so you must be a cop yourself trying to give cops a good name. And only a few are bad apples? Another hilarious statement, even funnier than your first ignorant statement. Its the opposite and most people know this, but have no power to change the facts. Most cops are rotten apples fool, so stop trying to peddle that hogwash.
Kevin, I agree
A few years back I was dozing roads on a friends 200 acres near Mt. Rainier. I had left my truck with a brand new 30/30 Winchester in it on a landing beside the road I was building. Around 11:00 am I walked back to my truck to get a cup of coffee and sandwich when I noticed my rifle was gone and there were two sets of tracks in the fresh dirt leading away from my truck to a house about 400 yards away. I called the cops immediately and a female deputy came out and instructed me to get in the back seat of her vehicle while she took a statement. While she was taking the statement, I told her about the tracks that led directly to the back of the house over there, and ask her to walk with me so I could prove it. She said she had just polished her shoes and it was too muddy to walk, and instructed me to follow her in my truck. I followed her in my truck to the driveway of the house where she knocked on the door and a teenager about 16 or17 answered. After a few minutes the deputy came over to my truck and told me the kid said he knew nothing about the stolen rifle. I ask her if she had ask to see the soles of his shoes because the tracks had a unique pattern, and the size was very clear in the dirt she would not get out of her car to look at. Anyway, at that time the deputy informed me she had done a check on me on the way over and found I was driving on an expired license, and told me she was going to have to give me a ticket for driving on an expired license. I argued, but you did not see me driving until you ordered me to follow you in my truck. Made no difference, I had to park my truck and walk about half a mile and call my wife and son to come and get me and my truck..........Never did hear anything about my $400 rifle I had given the serial # on, but I paid $175 for the ticket........Now I know why no witnesses want to talk to cops when they investigate a crime
Ellis, that story was interesting.
But one bad or lazy cop does not make all of them into lazy fools. I've generally had no complaints regarding the actions of police, even though I received my share of driving citations.
They ain't perfect, but who is?
$4 million bail, Little excessive for a man 17 years in law enforcement.
Why are you worried about a murderer getting bail? Does that bother you? I think it's inane to let someone that murdered someone walk the streets because of some paper money. Yeah I know innocent until proven guilty. Maybe they have so much evidence that the bail is so high.
I have to agree with Raymond. What do you just ignore 17 years in law enforcement ? The mans record of the good he has done has to stand for something.
I am a regular citizen with 30 years of good behavior and non violence. What special treatment would I get?
The cop belongs in jail while awaiting trial. It is a murder charge you clowns.
For thirty years you didn't risk your life everyday. And you would get special treatment like low bail for your good behavior over 30 years.
The life of a law enforcement officer is a thankless job. For 17 years the man did a lot to make the people safe. It has to account for something. It just can't be ignored.
Treat him like any other criminal. He is not special. Murderers usually do not get any bail.
If you want to take his service into account, do it at his sentencing.
Great, let him walk the streets so that he can kill again. Let him out so he can flee the country and never face a jury.
Some of you people are as stupid as can be.
ray & raymond, how do you 2 clowns know he was a good cop for 17 years. I would bet your pathetic lives that he committed hundreds of felonies in those 17 years. Cops get plenty of great benefits, so stop with the whining that he put his life on the line all those years of service. No, the people who put their lives on the line with the unlucky ones who had to deal with that criminal cop. Imagine your life is going great and your life intersects with that criminal cop for a day, and your life is gone. Too bad this criminal cop did not shoot one or both of you idiots to death. I hope all bad cop lovers get theirs someday.
@ Kevin
Well said.
I can't believe you people who think this guy should get a break because he was a cop for 17 years. So what. He threw any good that he has done right out the window when he decided to become a common low life murdering thug! The operative words being HE DECIDED. This guy is not some kind of victim. No one put a gun to his head & forced him to murder someone.
This low life piece of trash thought he was above the law & he deserves everything he gets. People are responsible for the consequences of their actions.
If anything LEOs who break the law should face harsher punishment than a regular civilian. They should be held to a higher standard since they are entrusted with public safety, which this loser obviously violated.
His bail is appropriate for the crime that he is accused of,however,the legal eagles after probably afraid that he will commit suicide if let out on bail.If that happened and he were to be exonerated posthumously his family would sue for millions.
Another dirty cop. Bail should be higher for murder.
SOME cops are just smart criminals. Educated just enough to become an Officer. It is one of THE most powerful, LEGAL positions some criminals can get, with irresistable opportunities: You can beat-up people, shoot or kill people without trial, destroy evidence, plant evidence, expose witnesses, issue tickets to 1st time misdemeaner offenders when a warning could save people $$, rob drug dealers - then get PAID leave while it all blows over, if you fire your weapon...or not.
The Code of Silence is not much different than street gangs' code: "snitches get stitches". Maybe WORSE!
If you last 20+ yrs, you get a nice retirement package, to boot. Why would a career-criminal NOT join?
Good cops, bad cops. We know that. The system needs fixing and a LOT more oversight. Even military personnel don't have the power & opportunities cops have, because the chain of command & UCMJ is much better, by far. Only in war...can the military compare to cops, but they don't get to go home each night.
I respect & sometimes appreciate law enforcement, but I avoid them....like CRACK, or the PLAGUE!
You people are idiots...
Criminals cannot purchase gun's legally...someone has to sell them a gun, someone who can purchase the gun legally...
Besides, more and more of the people who are committing crimes with guns are the ones who are allowed to purchase them...
You fools are right, guns do not kill people, the people who bought the guns kill people...
You are the idiot peanutbutter breath. This pig shot and killed someone, he is the criminal you sack of cat litter. This pig committed dozens, if not hundreds of felonies over his career as a bad cop.
Dont know if anybody else saw this but figured worth mentioning: "A second victim was shot at but not injured, police said." Can someone explain this to me please.
Well, I figure they missed.
Its L.A.! What do you expect. Fast becoming the West Coast Chicago. Corruption, Unions, Violence, Failing Schools, Declining Economy.. all the things that make liberal cities great!
Are you kidding me?! He's on PAID leave?!
Ray-2194047 How do you know his 17 years have been doing good, he could have been totally shady????
I agree with you folks that make the argument that banning guns would do no good, criminals will always have them and certainly won't register them. It's so ridiculous to think otherwise, like trying to fine people for not having auto insurance, they're not going to pay a large fine if they don't pay cheap insurance. Holding people who run from police and crash liable for damage, think you'll get a dime from those sorts?
Certain things are inevitable people.
N. Serling you are a moron. Look punk, did you read the story. A cop shot an american citizen and killed him, so who is the criminal moron? Hint: the cop in this story. So don't try and have someone believe all cops are good, when we know that is far from the truth moron.
My rebuttal was not for you ass clown. Second he was a Sheriff Deputy and I have read the story why don't you go back to watching the sci fi channel in the basement!
Oh, did I hurt your tender little feelings ass clown. Go back to licking some more sheriff ass in your mommys basement you homo.
Basement can't come up with your own comebacks! Tell you what I hope you rub a cop the wrong way someday and he sticks a plunger up your ass one that has a broken handle!
alex,
Did not read where it said the dead man was a citizen. You do know it has been estimated there are about 1.3 million illegal immigrants living in the LA area
First it's crazy that he is on paid leave!! Second if you dont believe that most police are legal thieves and thugs then you have obviously never had any contact with them. Think about it there are police that go to work march a man down to a room strap him down watch him die carry him out then goes home has dinner with the wife and kids and he's not a phsycopath??
Why don't you and your homo friend you have been answering for go down to Starbucks in your pink prius have some coffee and pretend to have a life.
Another Mexican drug cartel owned cop, southern California is full of them
This has nothing to do with the LAPD, illegal immigration, or gun control. This sounds like a domestic disturbance and someone's wife or girlfriend completes this unholy family triangle.
It's not the guns. They are fine all by themselves.
What we must ban are the idiots whose fingers are on the triggers.
heather, do you know something the rest of us don't ? Off duty cops do not do drive- by shootings on domestic disturbances
If you had not noticed, if was a drive by shooting with two targeted victims. How would you know the victims were not rival drug cartel members in the country illegally ?
For the record, I am a gun rights supporter
Proponents of fewer gun restrictions answer to this is "more guns." Well, we have more guns, and pretty much no restrictions/controls. Really helping the gun-murder situation isn't it?
Esteban, answer this: How come the most gun restrictive cities in the US(LA, Chi, Det, NYC, DC, etc.) have the highest violent crime rates? Banning or severely restricting gunownership for non criminals only makes matters worse because criminals don't obey laws--especially gun laws. All these restrictive laws do is make sitting ducks out of the law abiding citizens.
Don't know anything about that subject do you.
It'd be interesting to see the pedigree of all the principals.And Esteban as well. Bonus Ftards.When a gun is used in a crime,it is an ILLEGAL use of a firearm.When you come to my house with a loud mouth and a stupid idea and I shoot you[lots],that is a LEGAL use of a firearm
Ummmmm somebody remind me WHY he is on PAID leave?!!! and Since July!!!???