A former California school safety officer who fatally shot an 18-year-old girl near a Long Beach high school in 2021 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Eddie Gonzalez was initially charged with the murder of Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez, who was the mother of a 5-month-old baby at the time, on September 27, 2021.
The case sparked outrage in the community and went to court, but ended in a mistrial earlier this year.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Under the agreement, he will be sentenced to three years in prison (short prison sentence) or six years (medium prison sentence) on October 8, the Public Prosecution Service said.
NBC News has reached out to his attorney for comment on the settlement.
Gonzalez, who was employed by the Long Beach Unified School District, was driving a school vehicle near Millikan High School when he saw a physical altercation between Rodriguez and a 15-year-old girl taking place on the street, Long Beach police said at the time.
Police said Rodriguez initiated the attack. When Rodriguez attempted to flee in a sedan, Gonzalez approached the vehicle to stop her and opened fire, Long Beach police said. She was hit and died from her injuries a week later on Oct. 6.
Gonzalez was fired by the school district that same day. The district said its use-of-force policy states that officers may not shoot at a fleeing person, either in a moving vehicle or through a vehicle window, unless the circumstances warrant it. Rodriguez was unarmed during the ordeal.
On October 27 of that year, he was charged with murder and in December 2021 he pleaded not guilty. His attorney had argued that Gonzalez was in fear for his life and acted in self-defense, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The case was declared a mistrial on April 16 of this year after the jurors reached a 7-5 deadlock, with the majority in favor of convicting Gonzalez of second-degree murder and five voting for voluntary manslaughter and acquittal on the more serious offense of second-degree murder, NBC Los Angeles reported.
In April 2023, Rodriguez’s family received a $13 million settlement from the Long Beach Unified School District in connection with her death. The district said the agreement was “not an admission of liability on the part of the district.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
