A person whose report consists of seven felony convictions now faces an tried homicide cost after prosecutors say he opened hearth with a machine gun on two Los Angeles cops, grazing one in every of them.
Malcolm Darnell Guss Jr. is accused of utilizing a completely automated AR-style rifle to shoot at Officers Stefan Carutasu and Joshua Rodney after they tried to cease his white Chevrolet sedan at round 9:30 p.m. on July 3 in Willowbrook close to Broadway and Rosecrans Avenue, simply south of Los Angeles.
Guss allegedly unloaded on the officers earlier than they might get out of their patrol automobile, leading to two graze wounds to the top. Each officers suffered lacerations from the glass fragments of the patrol automobile’s windshield. Guss fled the scene however was apprehended July 12. On Tuesday, he pleaded not responsible in Compton courtroom to tried homicide and different expenses for allegedly utilizing a machine gun within the assault.
Court docket data present Guss’ prior convictions embody two strikes for residential burglaries in July 2014 and December 2018. Since 2020 he’s been charged thrice with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In December 2020, data present, Guss was arrested with medicine and a gun by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. He was sentenced to 2 years in jail after hanging a deal to plead no contest to a single felony cost in March 2021. That very same month, he obtained one other two-year sentence in a separate gun case that stemmed from a September 2020 incident.
The district legal professional’s workplace in a press release stated the 2 convictions had concurrent jail sentences
Guss was arrested once more within the Antelope Valley in Might 2022, charged with resisting arrest and assault with a lethal weapon. He pleaded no contest to the resisting offense and acquired 16 months in jail, based on courtroom data.
In February 2023, a choose issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he allegedly violated the phrases of his launch. LAPD officers in Newton Division arrested Guss on July 10, however he was launched a month later, county jail data present.
Asserting the costs Tuesday, Dist. Atty. George Gascón stated Guss opened hearth “throughout what ought to have been a routine visitors cease,” and known as the incident “completely horrific.”
“This unprovoked assault is a stark reminder of the hazards our legislation enforcement officers confront,” Gascón stated. “This act of violence isn’t solely an assault on the officers, but in addition on the values of security and justice of our neighborhood.”
Jamie McBride, vp of the Los Angeles Police Protecting League, the union that represents rank and file officers, known as Guss “a coward.”
“There’s solely two locations for him. Life in jail or six toes down,” McBride stated.
Guss is due again in courtroom on Aug. 10. He’s being held with bail set at simply over $2 million.
The district legal professional’s workplace stated a conviction would topic Guss to sentencing below the state’s “three strikes” legislation. He faces a most of life in jail.
