LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon on Friday appeared to say that people yelling at him were too uneducated to not interrupt him while he was speaking in front of a Pomona courthouse, according to a report.
“It’s unfortunate that some people do not have enough education to keep their mouth shut so we can talk,” he said while the family of a murder victim shouted at him, according to a video taken by FOX 11 Los Angeles reporter Bill Melugin.
“My son can never speak again because he was murdered,” a woman, who FOX 11 reported was the mother of Joshua Rodriguez, who was killed in 2015, told Gascon. “He was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. My son matters.”
Gascon planned to drop special circumstances filed for Rodriguez’s accused killers, removing the possibility of life without parole, according to Melugin.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise since it is one of the newly elected DA’s campaign promises after receiving support from the BLM movement and financial backing of George Soros, Los Angeles Times reported.
Gascon took office this month, promising to end sentence enhancements with “no exceptions,” prompting outrage from victims’ families.
In a reversal Friday, he said he would make exceptions for hate crimes and those involving child and elder abuse, sexual assault and trafficking and some financial crimes.
Enhancements are laws that make certain crimes extra punishable under specific circumstances like having a prior conviction, using a firearm while committing a felony, or committing multiple murders. These are a few examples among many enhancements that can be charged.
Earlier this week Gascon angered the sister of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano who was murdered in 2019. The man accused of his death is also charged with the murder of another man. Gascon said he will drop the special circumstances, which will allow the killer to be eligible for parole down the road, if convicted.
“Completely in shock, I can’t even tell you, my heart just dropped, I couldn’t believe it,” Christina Solano, the deceased LASD deputy’s sister said, Law Officer reported. “He should be there for the families, we are the victims here, not this person who shot him. I don’t understand what his purpose is to let these murderers out of jail, I don’t get it, he’s like the Devil, I don’t understand it.”
Gascon issued a statement to FOX 11 about his reaction to the Friday crowd.
“While speaking to colleagues outside of the office there were individuals yelling on opposite sides of the crowd,” Gascon said. “I did not understand what they were yelling about until later, let alone that they were victims. Regardless, it’s not how I should have reacted. Clearly, this family is in pain, and I will be contacting them to speak directly and hear them out. The defendants in this case are all facing life in prison.”
Gascon beat former Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey last month after running on a progressive agenda, specifically calling for more accountability for police officers.
