A California school cop who fatally shot a teen mom has been sentenced to three years in jail – but he walked free because he already served the time in custody.
Eddie Gonzalez, 54, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter on August 20, after jurors were unable to come to a verdict on the murder count in his trial over the September 27, 2021 shooting in Long Beach, which was caught on video.
The now-former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer gunned down Manuela ‘Mona’ Rodriguez, who was then 18, while she was in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle around a block away from Millikan High School.
Driven by her boyfriend Rafeul Chowdhury, their car had been fleeing the scene of a fight with a 15-year-old girl which Gonzalez had been present to deal with.
Rodriguez died days later after being declared brain dead and removed from life support. Around a month later, Gonzalez was charged with murder. This charge was dismissed on Tuesday as a result of his plea.
Manuela ‘Mona’ Rodriguez (pictured with her son Isael) who was then 18, was gunned down by Gonzalez while she was in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle fleeing a fight around a block away from Millikan High School in Long Beach, California
Eddie Gonzalez (pictured right), the former school cop who fatally shot a teen mom, has been sentenced to three years in jail – but he walked free because he already spent time in custody
Gonzalez sobbed in court as the verdict was read out, and he walked out surrounded by family and friends after the sentencing.
Rodriguez’s heartbroken mother, Manuela Sahagun said she felt she was ‘not getting justice’ and feared that ‘it could happen to another family’, according to ABC7.
Speaking through a Spanish translator in court, she made an emotional statement saying her pain ‘will never go away’.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s brother Oscar said he felt ‘disgusted’, ‘saddened’ and ‘heartbroken’ over his sister’s killing.
He added that his own ‘dream of becoming an officer is crushed.’
‘Losing my sister the way I lost her has been horrific,’ he told the judge. ‘I just want justice for my sister. I miss my sister every single day.’
Rodriguez’s boyfriend Chowdhury, who had been driving the car the day she was shot, said he attended court to ‘get justice for my baby’s mother’.
He added that Gonzalez had ‘shot the person who was to be my future wife.’
Gonzalez (pictured center) sobbed in court as the verdict was read out, and he walked out surrounded by family and friends after the sentencing
The moment a teenage mother was shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer was caught on a cell phone video and posted to social media
The 18-year-old was left brain dead after being shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer as she tried to flee a fight
Mona passed after doctors took the 18-year-old mother off of life support
Gonzalez’s friend Randy George defended him in court, saying he ‘has only wanted to help people’ in his law enforcement role.
‘This man was broken when he found out what happened,’ George said in an emotional statement. ‘This man has been through hell. He doesn’t deserve this.’
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard M. Goul said Gonzalez ‘did not drive’ the tragic incident.
Goul said Gonzalez intervened to stop an attack on a female high school student, and that he was ‘doing his job’ when he tried to stop Rodriguez’s vehicle.
On the day of the shooting, Rodriguez was in the car’s passenger seat and her then 20-year-old boyfriend Chowdhury was driving.
His younger brother, Shahriear Chowdhury, 16, was also in the vehicle when Gonzalez opened fire but no one else was hit.
Rafuel told cops that no one in the car was armed at the time of the fatal shooting and told reporters that ‘it was all for no reason’. Their son Isael was five months old at the time.
Rodriguez was reportedly not enrolled at the high school at the time of the argument.
In September 2019 Gonzalez (right) took another job as a police officer with the city of Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County, which came to an end July 2020. A spokesman for the department said they ‘chose to separate’ from him but wouldn’t comment further
Mona Rodriguez (pictured) was declared brain dead after the September 27 shooting and died after she was removed from life support, her family said
A video of the shooting was posted online, appearing to show the safety officer breaking up a fight between Rodriguez and another girl.
As Rodriguez got in the car with her boyfriend and began to drive away Gonzalez fired at least two shots. At least one bullet pierced a window of the car.
After the mother’s sudden death her heart, liver, lungs and two kidneys were harvested for donation to five people who needed transplants, according to a statement from Rodriguez’s lawyers.
The city of Los Alamitos confirmed that Gonzalez worked for the department from January 8, 2019, to April 8, 2019.
Video footage showed Gonzalez being sworn in February 2019 as a new police officer by Los Alamitos Police Chief Eric Nuñez.
In his introduction Nuñez said Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles and served as a Marine Corps.
In September 2019 he took another job as a police officer with the city of Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County, which came to an end July 2020.
