Jury Recommends Death for Riverside Cop Killer
RIVERSIDE – A jury decided that a man convicted of killing a Riverside police officer in 2010 should receive the death penalty.
Earl Ellis Green, 46, was found to have killed Officer Ryan Bonaminio with a metal bar and shooting him with his own service revolver. After several hours of deliberations, according to county District Attorney spokesman John Hall, the jury decided on Green’s fate. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25 by Superior Court Judge Jean Leonard.
Bonaminio was investigating a report of a hit-and-run accident that involved a big rig on November 7, 2010. Prosecutors had said that Green, who was suspected of stealing the big rig, got into an accident. Bonaminio was the first officer to respond at the scene after stopping Green. While chasing Green on that fatal Sunday night, Bonaminio slipped and fell, which led to the suspect’s actions. Green was arrested within days of the attack.
Green was also found guilty of one count of vehicle theft, a crime for which he had a previous conviction, along with another count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
While the prosecution presented a case that persuaded the jury to recommend the death sentence, Green’s defense attorneys admitted to the crime, but sought a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The case ended on June 1 before being submitted to the jury, which consisted of eight men and four women. Closing arguments were presented by Deputy District Attorney Michael Hestrin and by Deputy Capital Public Defender O.G. Magno.
Photos courtesy Riveride PD, Riverside Sheriff
Read More:
mydesert.com: Death Penalty recommended for Earl Ellis Green, convicted of killing Riverside police officer
Press-Enterprise: Death recommendation for Earl Ellis Green
LA Times: Jury orders death penalty for parolee in officer’s killing