Riverside County DA seeks death penalty in officer killing

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco announced Thursday he would seek the death penalty against Earl Ellis Green, suspected in the Nov. 7 killing of police officer Ryan Bonaminio.
With the top Los Angeles television and radio stations showing up to the inland area city, Pacheco told the media, “It was not a close call for us.”
Green, 44, was being sought by police initially for a hit-and-run accident. Upon being pulled over by Bonaminio near Fairmount Park, reports are that the officer slipped while chasing Green. Police say Green struck him on the head several times with a metal bar, then shot him in the head and casually drove away.
“When someone murders in cold blood a police officer in our county there is no more significant case,” Detective Ron Sanfillippo wrote in a court declaration. “There is no greater effort that we will take in the murder of a peace officer.”
Prosecutors spoke to the victim’s family, Green’s attorney and law enforcement officials in arriving at the decision, said Pacheco.
“Victims and their families are almost always forgotten,” Pacheco said. “We, of course, listened to the family. Officer Bonaminio is a hometown hero.”