DOWNEY — A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of a man charged with an off-duty Monterey Park police officer’s shooting death in what authorities called a botched daytime robbery attempt in a Downey parking lot.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph R. Porras cited concerns that jurors — who were not told that Gardiel Solorio was an off-duty police officer — might have figured it out while hearing evidence during the trial of the alleged gunman, Carlos Daniel Delcid.
Delcid’s attorney, Rick Sternfeld, initially asked for a mistrial after a Long Beach police officer testified that he received information that a “Monterey Park police officer had been” — before he was quickly cut off by Deputy District Attorney Geoff Lewin — and then again requested a mistrial after the lead detective on the case notified prosecutors that he believed he had heard the phrase “off-duty” in a recording that was played for the jury but was not contained in transcripts given to the panel…