Mona Rodriguez death: Mistrial declared in case of school resource officer charged with shooting teen mom
PREV. COVERAGE: Mona Rodriguez: School cop who shot young mom charged with murder
PREV. COVERAGE: Former Long Beach school resource officer Eddie Gonzalez was arrested on a murder charge Wednesday in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Mona Rodriguez, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced.
LONG BEACH, Calif. - A judge declared a mistrial in the case centered around Mona Rodriguez's death, an 18-year-old mom shot by a Long Beach school resource officer.
The announcement of the mistrial comes as jurors revealed they were deadlocked. According to a report from the City News Service, the panel was on a 7-5 vote, with a slight edge toward convicting the officer, Eddie Gonzalez, of second-degree murder.
CNS reports in trial coverage that the five people who voted against convicting Gonzalez were moreso in favor of convicting the ex-school resource officer voluntary manslaughter instead of the second-degree murder.
Back in September of 2021, Rodriguez was shot while she was sitting in a car a short distance from Millikan High School in Long Beach. Rodriguez was sitting in the front passenger seat of a moving car near Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue when she was shot in the back of the head.
During the earlier stages of the investigations, Gonzalez argued via his attorney that he acted in self-defense. The shooting incident prompted the school district to fire him and Gonzalez was arrested and charged in late October 2021.
Prior to the news of the mistrial in 2024, a $13 million settlement was reached between Rodriguez's family and the Long Beach Unified School District.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: $13M settlement announced in Mona Rodriguez shooting death
CNS reports Gonzalez, who is now 54, is free on bond while awaiting trial. Rodriguez's son was five months old at the time of the 2021 shooting.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Mona Rodriguez death: LBUSD fires school cop accused of shooting young mother in head
- Young mother shot by Long Beach school safety officer dies after being taken off life support
- Woman shot by school resource officer in Long Beach declared brain dead, family says
- 'She didn’t deserve this', Family of woman shot in head by Long Beach school cop demanding justice