Compton Cop Ambush Shooting Suspect Arrested

Convicted felon Deonte Lee Murray, 36, of Compton, has been arrested in the ambush shooting of two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. Murray was arrested on two counts each of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said during a press conference.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said in a release that Murray was charged on September 17 with one felony count each of carjacking, second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm-personal use of a firearm. There was also a case on September 1 when Murray is accused of confronting a man in Compton and shooting him in the leg and stealing his vehicle.

Police eventually caught up to Murray on September 15, three days after he allegedly shot at the deputies. He’ll also face an additional attempted murder charge for the September 1 carjacking.

Asked about a motive, Homicide Bureau Captain Kent Wegener said, “other than the fact that he obviously hates policemen and wants them dead, not specifically,” according to FoxLA.com. Prosecutors are recommending a $6.15 million.

“We knew that he was a violent offender, was accused of stealing a black Mercedes-Benz and lived in the area. However, there was insufficient evidence to support an arrest, much less a criminal filing for the charge of attempted murder on a peace officer and to label him in the media as the person responsible,” Wegener added.

LeBron James was challenged by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to match reward money leading to a suspect in the case, which he refused to even comment on. Outkick founder Clay Travis contributed $10,000 to the reward fund.

Villanueva said that both officers who were shot were released from the hospital earlier this month and are home recovering.

“We saw the worst of humanity — a cowardly act where a suspect ambushed and shot and attempted to kill two of our deputies,” the sheriff said.