Suspect in officers' shooting tied to extortion case
Parolee who later died had 2 loaded handguns in barricaded apartment under construction
The 32-year-old parolee who shot and injured three Los Angeles police officers before he was shot during a standoff in Lincoln Heights this week had been named a suspect in an extortion investigation, authorities said Friday.
Los Angeles police also said they found two loaded handguns, including a ghost gun, in the area where Jonathan Magana had barricaded Wednesday afternoon.
Magana fired at the officers after they deployed a chemical agent, police have said. Three officers were hospitalized, but two since have been released and the third remains in stable condition.
Details about the extortion probe were not provided in Friday's announcement.
The three officers who were shot were with the Metropolitan K-9 Division and Narcotics Enforcement Detail and were in plain clothes. They had been conducting surveillance on Magana about 4 p.m. when they briefly saw him walking in the area, police said. They established a perimeter after losing sight of him and brought in K-9 units.
One of the dogs alerted officers to a downstairs unit of an apartment building in the 3800 block of North Broadway Street that appeared to be under construction but was converted into a living space, police said. For about two hours, officers gave commands in English and Spanish for Magana to surrender, but he refused, leading to the officers using the chemical agent and the exchange of gunfire.
It wasn't known whether Magana was struck by police gunfire, or if he shot himself.
Officers sent a robot with a video camera into the room and after seeing Magana unresponsive, officers went in and took Magana into custody, police said. Paramedics rendered aid, but Magana died.
Two 9 mm handguns and a loaded, extended highcapacity magazine were found, police said.
The shooting led to a brief citywide tactical alert in which officers were ordered to stay on call past the end of their shifts.
Magana had a lengthy criminal record, including charges of possessing firearms and drugs, robbery and assaulting a peace officer in January. He had multiple stints in prison from 2011 to 2020, including a five-year sentence in February 2020 for two counts of second-degree robbery. Magana was released on parole in April 2022.