The man charged with killing Palm Springs Police officers Jose “Gil” Vega and Lesley Zerebny in 2016 was found guilty of first-degree murder in an Indio courtroom by a jury after only a few hours of deliberation.
Jury finds Felix guilty of first-degree murder of @PalmSpringsPD Officer Lesley Zerebny and find the special circumstance of murder of a peace officer to be true. They also find special circumstance of multiple murders to be true.
— Riverside County DA's Office (@RivCoDA) May 20, 2019
John Hernandez Felix was taken into custody Oct. 9, 2016 following a long standoff with police and a shootout that killed two Palm Springs Police officers and left several others injured.
In addition to the first-degree murder charges, Felix was found guilty of attempted murder of other law enforcement officers and weapons charges. He was found guilty on all counts – with the exception of wearing a bullet-proof vest:
TO RECAP…here's what the jury found Felix guilty of: pic.twitter.com/4HMc0XnmxS
— Jake Ingrassia (@JakeKESQ) May 20, 2019
The verdicts were announced in a courtroom at Indio’s Larson Justice Center. The room was filled with loved ones and family members of the victims and law enforcement officers from several agencies.
The trial now moves to the penalty phase, which begins tomorrow:
The penalty phase will begin tomorrow, May 21, at 10 a.m.
— Riverside County DA's Office (@RivCoDA) May 20, 2019
Felix is eligible for the death penalty.