A Long Beach Unified school safety officer who fatally shot an 18-year-old woman in the back of the head in 2021 was found guilty Tuesday of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a three-year prison term but was able to walk free due to credit for time already served.
Eddie Francisco Gonzalez, 54, was previously charged with murder, but a mistrial was declared in April after seven jurors supported the charge and five opposed it. He pleaded no contest to one count of voluntary manslaughter when the second trial began in August.
Prosecutors argued for a six-year prison term during the second trial; however, the court sentenced Gonzalez to three years. He had credit for 41 months served, according to his lawyer, and was released Tuesday on parole.
Gonzalez shot Manuela Rodriguez as she fled the scene of a fight near Millikan High School in September 2021. The bullet caused severe brain damage and she was taken off life support a week after the incident, leaving behind a 5-month-old son.
L.A. County Dist Atty. George Gascón, who said he was disappointed when the first jury deadlocked, issued a statement Tuesday saying that his heart goes out to Rodriguez’s loved ones.
“No words can truly capture the pain of their loss, but we stand in solidarity with them as they navigate this difficult journey,” said Gascón. “The sentencing of Mr. Eddie Gonzalez, a school safety officer, serves as a reminder that those entrusted with the responsibility of protecting our schools and communities must be held to the highest standards.”
In the first trial, prosecutors painted Gonzalez as a wannabe cop whose massive overreaction turned a minor altercation between young people into a lethal situation. The defense, meanwhile, called the killing a “tragedy but not a crime,” arguing that the roughly two-minute event passed too quickly for Gonzalez to form the intent required to validate a murder charge.
The shooting took place following a fight between Rodriguez and a female student. Gonzalez tried to break up the altercation and threatened to pepper-spray the group.
Rodriguez then ran to her boyfriend’s car and attempted to flee the scene as Gonzalez ordered them to stop and ran alongside the car. He fired two shots at the car, one of which struck Rodriguez in the back of the head.
According to the Long Beach Unified safety officers’ policy, officers may fire only when reasonably necessary and justified under the circumstances, such as self-defense and the protection of others. They are not permitted to fire at a moving vehicle.
