Preliminary findings of an autopsy requested by family members show an 18-year-old man was shot five times in the back by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy in Gardena, according to attorneys for the family of Andres Guardado.
Guardado was shot and killed June 18 near an auto body shop on Redondo Beach Boulevard.
Deputies said Guardado was seen talking to someone in a car that was blocking a driveway, and that he had a gun when he began to run. A deputy fired a half-dozen rounds at Guardado, who died at the scene, according to authorities.
The autopsy requested by the family also showed Guardado suffered a graze wound on the left forearm, and that he did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system at the time, the family's attorneys said.
The June 26 autopsy was performed by Dr. Bennet I. Omalu, a forensic pathologist, the attorneys' statement said.
"Andres was a good boy, he was our son and he had so much life ahead of him. Our son did not deserve to die this way," parents Cristobal and Elisa Guardado said in the statement.
The official coroner’s report has not been released.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that he would soon make public the investigative findings, but said progress was slowed by people who claimed on social media that they witnesses the killing.
“And everyone who says that means that’s another potential witness that we have to interview,” he told the Compton City Council late last month.
He vowed to release video, warrant information and other findings.
Family members and other Compton residents have held demonstrations and demanded more information about the shooting.
The LA County Board of Supervisors called for an independent investigation. Members unanimously approved a motion asking the sheriff to provide the county’s inspector general with “immediate and full access to all evidence requested in order to provide independent oversight.” The motion also called on the county counsel to report on alternative plans for an independent probe, including possible involvement by California’s attorney general.
Sheriff Villanueva says both the state attorney general and the FBI have agreed to monitor the investigation, which is still being handled by Sheriff’s detectives assigned to the homicide bureau.
