A 34-year-old man who attacked a Los Angeles police officer and stole his gun for an unknown reason at the department’s Harbor Station in 2020 was sentenced Wednesday, May 20, to 33 years in state prison following a plea deal with prosecutors, authorities said.
Jose Cerpa Guzman of Los Angeles had no criminal history, six kids and a job, Deputy District Attorney Geoff Lewin said. Police and prosecutors still have no idea why he attacked the desk officer, exchanged gunfire with a watch commander and led police on a brief pursuit on Sept. 26, 2020.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debra A. Cole said the attack was “mind-boggling to me” and told the defendant his choices “left some devastating consequences” before handing down the sentence.
In March, Guzman pleaded no contest to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer, one count of robbery, and one count of evading a police officer with disregard for public safety, all felonies, court records show. Two counts of attempted murder were dismissed as part of the deal.
Guzman arrived at the station, on John S. Gibson Boulevard in San Pedro, about 10 p.m. that night, adjusted the tailgate of his truck and then walked into the station, exchanging words with the desk officer before stepping back outside, according to video released by LAPD weeks after the attack.
Moments later, Guzman went into the station again, this time walking toward the officer, striking him in the head and knocking him down, the video shows. He then wrestled the officer for the gun and hit him multiple times over the head with it.
A watch commander who heard the commotion stepped out as Guzman was fleeing and the two exchanged gunfire, but no one was hit.
Guzman got back in his truck and fled on John S. Gibson Boulevard, ultimately leading police to Pacific Avenue and 17th Street. Guzman did not comply with officers’ commands to put his hands up and was tackled and taken into custody.
The officer’s firearm was found on the passenger side of Guzman’s truck, a white Chevrolet Avalanche that at this point was missing a rear-right wheel and had the tailgate hanging off of the back.
While surveillance video from the station and body-worn camera from the desk officer show an exchange of words, what was said was unclear, as the officer’s body-worn camera did not record audio until after Guzman had squared up to fight him.
One officer involved in the arrest suffered a broken hand that required multiple surgeries and died due to complications from COVID-19, Lewin said. The desk officer was bloodied following the attack and briefly hospitalized.
Lt. Robin Aguirre, the watch commander the night of the attack who exchanged gunfire with Guzman, characterized the officer who died as “a man who answered the call when others needed him most.”
In a statement Aguirre read during the sentencing proceedings, she said the desk officer missed a year of work “because of what you did to him.
“And I still have to live with the reality that I almost did not make it home to my family,” she continued. “My boys almost lost their mother. My husband almost lost his wife. My family almost lost me forever. For more than five and a half years, we have carried the weight of what you did that night.”
She said no sentence would ever undo the damage caused by Guzman that night.
“Because of your choices, families were shattered. Lives were permanently changed,” Aguirre said. “Trauma is carried by every officer who responded that night.”
City News Service contributed to this report.