Ex-deputy avoids jail for deadly East LA shooting, plea deal slammed by victim's family
A former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy agreed to a plea deal Tuesday for the fatal shooting of a man in East Los Angeles, avoiding jail time through an agreement with prosecutors that has been slammed by the victim's family.
Remin Pineda was immediately sentenced to two years probation, 250 hours of community service and one year of mandatory counseling for the March 14, 2021 killing of David Ordaz Jr., whose family previously filed a federal lawsuit over the shooting. LA County Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold suspended a 180-day jail sentence as part of the deal, in which Pineda pleaded no contest to one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and assault by a public officer.
The 40-year-old ex-deputy must also give up his certification as a peace officer and write an apology to Ordaz's family.
Family members had called law enforcement reporting Ordaz, a 34-year-old father of three, was allegedly armed with a knife and having a mental health crisis and was suicidal, according to prosecutors. The lawsuit alleged unjustifiable lethal force was used when Ordaz was shot in the back and killed, in front of his family, while lying on the ground and posing no threat.
"If you watch the video, you see David lose his life the second after he fires that last shot," his partner, Jazmine Moreno, said when the litigation was filed months after the deadly shooting.
Upon filing charges, in November 2022, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office alleged Pineda continued to shoot after Ordaz fell down to the ground.
"After arriving and talking with Ordaz who was armed with a knife, two deputies fired beanbag rounds at him as he stepped toward the deputies. Ordaz then ran toward the deputies with the knife and he was shot by deputies multiple times," the DA's office statement reads. "After Ordaz fell to the ground, had dropped the knife and laid with his back facing the deputies, Pineda is accused of continuing to fire his handgun."
On Tuesday, some of Ordaz's family members urged the judge to not approve the plea deal and allow the case to go to trial.
"I speak for my entire family that we do not agree with it," Hilda Pedroza, Ordaz's older sister, said as she addressed Judge Arnold. "Give us the opportunity for the community of LA, for the county of LA, to actually watch this video and give them the opportunity to be able to see it themselves and judge for themselves."
"Having to live without him for the past three years has been horrible," Pedroza said. "A piece of our family has been taken, has been stolen. Our family is not the same anymore."
Arnold ultimately approved the plea agreement, saying he "agonized over whether it was the right thing to do" but it "does comport with justice."
During the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Dibble said the maximum sentence for one of the criminal counts carries a maximum possible sentence of nine years while the other is punishable by up to eight months.
