Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

16-year-old charged as adult in California officer’s killing

Maricela Alvarado

Nick Ut / AP

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, Maricela Alvarado, sister of Abel Diaz, tearfully tells reporters during a news conference in Downey, Calif., that her brother couldn’t have been the person who shot Downey Police Officer Ricardo “Ricky” Galvez.

Click to enlarge photo

In this undated photo released the Downey Police Department shows Downey police officer Ricardo Galvez, 29. He was shot to death in the driver's seat of his personal vehicle when two male suspects ran up and opened fire late Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, in the parking lot of Downey police headquarters in Downey, Calif.

LOS ANGELES — A 16-year-old has been charged as an adult in the shooting death of a Southern California police officer in what investigators called a botched robbery.

The teen, Abel Diaz, was charged Friday with murder in the death of Downey police Officer Ricardo "Ricky" Galvez.

A court appearance for Diaz set for Friday was postponed until Monday. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Two other suspects — 18-year-old Steven Knott and 21-year-old Jeremy Anthony Alvarez — are expected to be charged Monday.

It was not clear whether any of the three has an attorney.

The 29-year-old Galvez was in plainclothes in the driver's seat of his personal car at the end of his shift Wednesday night when he was shot.

The former Marine, a five-year veteran of the police department, died in his car.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy