Sandra Serrao, who lives in the Toronto area and has been friends with the French family for more than a decade, said the couple and Kenneth moved to California from Mississauga a few years ago to help care for Paola’s elderly parents. Russell and Paola French were still being treated in an intensive care unit as of Sunday night. The family plans to hire an attorney, he said. He would not go into further detail for fear it would compromise the investigation. Shureih said that witnesses have contacted the family to tell them what they saw, and that their accounts do not match those of police. His gun was the only weapon involved in the incident. Sanchez was holding his 1-year-old when the fight broke out and feared for his life, the source said. Corona Police opted not to arrest Sanchez based on the initial statements of witnesses, the source said. A police source, however, told The Times that Sanchez was with his family and had not been placed on leave. Sanchez’s work status with the LAPD has not been made clear. “His son was in his arms and he was feeding his son some samples when within seconds he was on the ground and woke up from being unconscious and he was fighting for his life,” Winslow said in an interview with The Times. Winslow, Sanchez’s attorney, said the officer was getting food for his son when he was attacked and briefly knocked out. A woman who answered a cellphone registered to Sanchez hung up Monday after a reporter identified himself. Sanchez could not be reached for comment. ![]() The incident was captured by Costco surveillance cameras, according to the police source. “We need justice to prevail!” Shureih wrote. In a Facebook post addressed to the Corona Police Department on Monday morning, Shureih said that his family is “pro police.” Kenneth’s condition had worsened in recent years and he rarely spoke. Russell, 58, and Paola, 59, had dedicated their lives to taking care of Kenneth, who lived with them in their Riverside home, Shureih said. Kenneth had no history of being violent, he said, and his parents are kind and gentle people. Kenneth French was nonverbal and had the mental capacity of a teenager, said his cousin Rick Shureih. Sanchez has been employed with the LAPD since May 2012, according to department records.įamily members of the Frenches are challenging police accounts of the event. Los Angeles investigators are assessing whether Sanchez, who has yet to be officially identified by the force, violated any department policies in the shooting. The officer - who was identified by multiple sources as Salvador Sanchez, a patrol officer in the Southwest Division - suffered minor injuries. His parents, Paola and Russell French, were also shot and taken to the hospital in critical condition. The officer then fired his gun several times, sending scores of frightened Costco members fleeing.įrench’s injuries were fatal. But the attorney, David Winslow, said the officer was knocked to the ground by a large man later identified as French. It is still unclear what incited the dispute. ![]() So was 32-year-old Kenneth French and his parents, who were shopping for a Father’s Day barbecue.Īn attorney for the officer told The Times it was in this sample line that a lethal confrontation began. That's when he fired his weapon.The cavernous Corona store was packed, and customers waited in line for food samples - the quintessential Costco experience.Īn off-duty Los Angeles police officer, his wife and their baby were among those in the tasting queue. Sanchez said he was knocked to the ground and was momentarily knocked unconscious. Sanchez told police that the incident started when French, who is developmentally disabled, assaulted him inside the store while he was holding his baby. Sanchez fired his weapon several times inside the store, killing 32-year-old Kenneth French, and wounding his parents, Russell and Paola French. The shooting happened at the Costco on McKinley Avenue on the evening of June 14, 2019. The preliminary hearing will continue later this week. Salvador Sanchez, 32, of Corona is facing charges of manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.ĭuring the hearing, the prosecution called several witnesses to the shooting for testimony. (KABC) - The former Los Angeles off-duty police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man inside a Costco warehouse in Corona in 2019 had his preliminary hearing Wednesday. ![]() During the hearing, the prosecution called several witnesses to the shooting for testimony.ĬORONA, Calif. police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man inside a Costco warehouse in Corona in 2019 while he was off-duty had his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
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