Man found guilty of murder in ambush shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer in Palmdale
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A jury on Monday found an accused gunman guilty of murder in the 2023 ambush shooting of Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer in Palmdale.
The verdict against Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar was read aloud in court Monday morning.
The jurors ruled that Salazar intentionally killed Clinkunbroomer, adding that the shooter knew and should have known the deputy was peace officer.
Salazar was charged in the Sept. 16, 2023, shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was attacked in broad daylight while he was stopped at a red light near the Palmdale sheriff's station.
The murder charge included the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used and discharged a .22-caliber revolver. Salazar was found guilty of each of the special circumstance allegations.
The Palmdale resident previously entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in connection with the killing.
During the trial's opening statements, Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian and defense attorney George Rosenstock described the defendant's apparently irrational behavior on the day of the killing and two days earlier when he was "driving around confronting complete strangers," the defense lawyer said. Rosenstock added that there was "no apparent reason for selecting Clinkunbroomer" for murder.
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Ayvazian told jurors that following his arrest, Salazar told two undercover operatives in jail during a surreptitiously recorded conversation that he had wanted to kill a police officer for years and described following officers, parking and waiting and playing music to prepare himself.
Jurors are due back in court Wednesday for the next phase of the trial, when they will determine whether Salazar was sane or insane at the time of the crime.
Salazar could face life in prison if he is found sane. If he is determined to have been insane at the time of the killing, he would be confined to a state hospital rather than prison.
City News Service contributed to this report.
