LASD Sgt. Steve Owen, slain in line of duty in 2016, remembered with vigil in Lancaster
LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is honoring Sgt. Steve Owen, a decorated 29-year veteran of the department, five years after he was shot and killed in the line of duty.
Deputies and family members, including Owen's wife Tania, will be standing vigil at the spot where the 53-year-old was killed throughout the day Monday as a special tribute for 24 hours.
Sgt. Own was shot five times outside an apartment complex on Oct. 5, 2016, after responding to a burglary call in Lancaster.
He was answering a report of a break-in when he confronted the suspect, Trenton Lovell, at gunpoint. Lovell shot the veteran sergeant once in the head before standing over him and firing additional fatal shots.
LASD Sgt. Steve Owen, slain in line of duty in 2016, honored with highway dedication
A second deputy who arrived on the scene shot and wounded Lovell, who attempted to steal the officer's car before fleeing on foot. Lovell then broke into a nearby home and held two teenagers hostage for an hour. The teens were not physically injured, and Lovell was captured after leaving the home.
Lovell had two prior convictions and was on parole at the time of the slaying of Sgt. Owen.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole earlier this year.
