Former LAPD Officer Found Guilty of Assaulting Men With Gun Outside El Segundo Restaurant
A man was convicted on Friday of approaching three men outside an eatery in El Segundo and pistol whipping one of them while he was employed as a Los Angeles police officer, prosecutors said.
Posted — UpdatedJoseph William Rooney, 34, also took aim at all three during the 2016 incident, pointing his weapon at the first before striking him then turning the gun on the other two, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
The jury deliberated for less than a day before finding him guilty on two counts of assault with a firearm. He had originally been charged with four counts.
The victims had just left a bar in the 100 block of Main Street when Rooney approached them as they were standing outside a nearby restaurant, according to prosecutors.
It's unclear why he singled the men out or decided to brandish his weapon. DA's officials did not say whether it was his force-issued firearm.
Rooney, who was off duty at the time, is no longer a Los Angeles police officer.
He was expected to be sentenced on June 7, prosecutors said.
The 34-year-old faces a maximum possible sentence of 18 years and four months in state prison.
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