Gascon Seeking to Drop Special Circumstances Against Man Charged With Fatally Shooting Deputy Who Grew Up in Pasadena

Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon wants to drop special circumstances allegations against a man charged with fatally shooting an off-duty sheriff’s deputy.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Solano was shot in the head while waiting for food at a Jack in the Box in Alhambra. The 50-year-old Solano died two days later.

Solano graduated from La Salle High School in 1987 and obtained an associates’ degree from Pasadena City College.

Rhett Nelson, 31, of Utah, has been charged with two counts of murder, second-degree robbery, and one count of attempted murder.

Prior to allegedly shooting Solano on June 10, 2019, Nelson allegedly was in downtown Los Angeles when he shot and killed 31-year-old Dmitry Kolstov, who was skateboarding with friends when a man drove up and shot Kolstov in the head without provocation, police said

Special circumstances allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, as well as allegations of using a handgun in the commission of the crimes were also added to the list of charges

But Gascon, a former LAPD deputy chief and former chief of the Mesa, Arizona, and San Franciso police departments, has vowed to reform the criminal justice system by eliminating the death penalty, doing away with cash bail in many cases, and refusing to impose special circumstances as sentencing enhancements.

“Completely in shock, I can’t even tell you, my heart just dropped, I couldn’t believe it,” Solano’s wife, Christina Solano, told FOX 11 News. “He (Gascon) should be there for the families. We are the victims here, not this person who shot him. I don’t understand what his purpose is to let these murderers out of jail. I don’t get it. He’s like the devil. I don’t understand it.”

Nelson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, FOX 11 News reported.

Without the special circumstance allegations, Nelson faces a sentence of at least 40 years and at some point would be eligible for parole, according to FOX 11 News.

Nelson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.