Widow of slain LASD Sergeant says Gascón 'doesn't understand how much he's hurting the victims'
LOS ANGELES - LA County DA George Gascón promised criminal justice reform but some say he’s gone too far, only caring about the defendants and not the victims or their families.
"I’m furious that Mr. Gascón just doesn’t understand how much he’s hurting the victims," says Tania Owen.
She’s the widow of LASD Sgt. Steven Owen, who was killed execution-style on October 5, 2016, in Lancaster.
Investigators say Trenton Lovell, a reported gang member and parolee, pulled the trigger.
Tania says, "The day he murdered my husband. He might as well have shot me as well. He has destroyed our family and really left us reeling."
Attorney Matt Murphy, who represents the Owen family says, "He wounded Sgt. Owen. Sgt. Owen was helpless on his back and this defendant walked over to him, put the gun about a foot away from his face, and fired into Sgt. Owen’s face, killing him and then he shot his badge."
Murphy says Lovell then fired at responding deputies as he was trying to flee.
"He then went into local community and took two teenagers hostage and kept them in their home at knifepoint not allowing them to leave," says Owen.
The SWAT team eventually took Lovell into custody. Owen wants to see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
She says, "We want justice to be served because this individual is a danger to society, he’s an animal and there’s no reason for him to be out on the streets."
However, under George Gascón’s new policies, capital punishment, as well as all special enhancements and special circumstances -- like killing an officer in the line of duty -- are off the table.
"By dismissing all of those, we’re talking about a situation where it is conceivable that this guy could spend less than six years in state prison for the cold-blooded murder of a police officer. It is astonishing what George Gascón is trying to do," says Murphy.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LA DA George Gascón's sweeping policy changes bring concerns to some
Sgt. Owen’s mother Millie Owen says, "It just took us right back to the very beginning and to the death itself. How can he? Is he not listening to the victims? It’s so disturbing."
Anger and disappointment have led Millie and Tania to join the growing Facebook group Recall George Gascón.
Tania says, "I would tell him that his days are numbered because I will do everything in my power to unite with whomever I need to, to make sure that he is recalled."
FOX 11 tried to get a response from George Gascón but his office refused to comment. So far, the DA has not filed to dismiss the special circumstances in this case. The next hearing is on February 22.
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