RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A former Los Angeles police officer whom authorities in Riverside County declined to charge after he fatally shot an intellectually disabled man and wounded his parents at the Costco in Corona will stand trial on charges brought by the state after a judge ruled Monday, Aug. 15, that there was sufficient evidence that the volley of 10 shots was not fired in self-defense.
Salvador Alejandro Sanchez, 31, was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with voluntary manslaughter in the June 14, 2019 death of Kenneth French, 32, and two counts of assault with a firearm in the shooting of Russell French, now 61, and Paola French, 62. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“After hearing conflicting testimony from witnesses, the court reviewed the law of imperfect self-defense, the court reviewed the law of self-defense, the court reviewed the law of defense of others, the court also reviewed the law on voluntary manslaughter and even of involuntary manslaughter,” Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz Jr. said before setting Sanchez’s re-arraignment for Aug. 29.
