A state appeals court panel Thursday ordered a new hearing for one of two men convicted in the murder of an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in Long Beach more than 18 years ago.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal sent the case against Justin Ashley Flint back to a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for a new evidentiary hearing to determine whether Maria Cecilia Rosa was acting “in the course of (her) duties as a peace officer” when she was killed March 28, 2006.
In an August 2023 ruling that denied Flint’s bid for re-sentencing, Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal wrote, “The physical evidence indicates, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Deputy Rosa presented her badge and identified herself as a peace officer.”
He noted in the ruling that Flint and co-defendant Frank Gonzalez “each made statements that indicate that they observed the presentation of the badge, and were aware that Deputy Rosa was a peace officer,” and that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that “Flint was aware, before the shooting, that Deputy Rosa was a peace officer who was engaged in the performance of her duties.”