Now incorporating
LA County Sheriff Villanueva tests positive for COVID-19
Jake Paul trolls Biden
VISIT PASADENAINDEPENDENT.COM
Thursday, June 23-June 29, 2022
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
VOL. 26,
NO. 75
Gascón defends handling of case involving the death of 2 El Monte officers By City News Service
D
istrict Attorney George Gascón, who has come under fire over the disposition of a 2021 criminal case against a man who fatally shot two El Monte police officers last week, defended his office's handling of the matter Tuesday, insisting on a plea agreement that allowed the man to avoid jail time was "appropriate under the circumstances." He conceded that "we have an imperfect" criminal justice system, and said it's impossible to "predict 100% of the time" what will happen with criminal defendants in the future. Critics of Gascón and the parents of one of the slain officers have lashed out at the district attorney in the days following the fatal shootout that occurred last Tuesday afternoon outside the Siesta Inn at 10327 Garvey Ave. Cpl. Michael Paredes, 42, and Officer Joseph Santana,
31, were fatally shot when they entered a motel room to confront a suspect in a reported stabbing. The suspect, 35-year-old Justin William Flores, ran from the room after the shooting and exchanged gunfire with at least one other officer in a parking lot. He subsequently died at the scene of a selfinflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. Paredes and Santana were both shot in the head, according to the coroner's office. They were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where they died. Gascón's critics have subsequently noted that Flores -- a felon with a history of arrests -- was given a plea deal last year that allowed him to avoid prison time for being in possession of a firearm. As a result of the plea, charges of methamphetamine possession and being a felon in possession of ammunition were dropped,
District Attorney George Gascón. | Photo courtesy of Shawn/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
and Flores was placed on two-year probation, serving just 20 days in jail. During a Friday news
conference, Santana's mother, Olga Garcia, said policies implemented by Gascón led to the deaths of
her son and Paredes. "I blame the death of my son and his partner on Gascón," Garcia said. "Gascón
will never know how I feel. Gascón will never know how See El Monte officers Page 9
Families are complicated: ‘Sleep with the Angels’ review Eloin Barahona eloin@beaconmedianews.com
F Left to right: Alex (Nieto), Juana (America), Cindy (Tamez), and Molly (Saldana). | Photo courtesy of Grettel Cortes Photography
amilies are complicated. They don’t always get along and there can be plenty of friction between even the closest of family members. Local playwright Evelina Fernández and director José Luis Valenzuela have captured that sentiment in their newest production, “Sleep with the Angels.” Premiering at The Latino Theater Company in downtown Los Angeles,
“Sleep with the Angels” is a look at a contemporary Latino family. The plot follows single-mother Molly (Elia Saldana), an ambitious, overworked attorney that hires Mexican immigrant Juana (Esperanza América), to watch over her teenage children. In the course of Juana’s stay, the family begins to evolve and confront their individual struggles, all while Juana assists with her own magical touch. The On-Stage Magic
“Sleep with the Angels” doesn’t waste any of its runtime. The story kicks off when Molly and her family enter the stage and the plot after moves at a quick pace. Quickly the production goes from meeting Juana to having a short musical number with Alex (Saul Nieto) in only minutes. It can feel somewhat jarring to have the story go by quickly, but it mostly works for “Sleep See 'Sleep with the Angels' Page 15
