Coroner: Andres Guardado was shot 5 times in the back. Sheriff condemns disclosure

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has determined that Andres Guardado, the 18-year-old killed by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy last month in Gardena, was shot five times in the back, according to the official autopsy report, released Friday. The Guardado family attorneys said the independent findings showed that Guardado’s death was “the result of unjustified police violence against an innocent young man” and called on the Sheriff’s Department to release the coroner’s report. This is a matter of public interest and public trust.” In a statement, Sheriff Alex Villanueva blasted what he called an “unprecedented” disclosure, saying it has “the potential to jeopardize the investigation, the filing of the case and any possible future criminal or administrative proceedings” and would force the Sheriff’s Department to use court orders to enforce security holds that exist to prevent tainting witness interviews. “As sheriff of Los Angeles County, I find it deeply troubling that an elected supervisor would use the authority of his office to bully the coroner and sow mistrust of law enforcement in the community.” The Sheriff’s Department has said that Guardado was shot and killed around 6 p.m. on June 18, after two deputies saw him speaking to someone in a car blocking the entrance to an auto body shop on West Redondo Beach Boulevard. “The reported independent autopsy’s findings do not alter in any way the ultimate fact that Deputy Vega acted properly and lawfully,” Marangell said in the statement.