Police say a man killed and shot two El Monte police officers before killing himself in the shooting before he had served his sentence for vehicle theft and robbery.
Justin Flores, 35, was taken in a body bag on Wednesday, several hours after the shooting at the Siesta Inn Motel. CDCR
Justin Flores, 35, was taken in a body bag on Wednesday, several hours after the shooting at the Siesta Inn Motel. A man who said he was Flores’ stepfather confirmed that a photo from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was Flores.
The two officers, Corporal Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana, were responding to a report of a stabbing at the motel at 10327 Garvey Ave., off Highway 10. They were shot immediately as they tried to he contacted the suspect inside the room, and the suspect was shot dead after running from the motel to the parking lot.
His wife, Diana Flores, spoke to CBSLA on Wednesday. She said the 911 call was made while she was with her husband at the motel.
“I’m so sorry. My condolences for saving me,” Flores said. “I’m so sorry. They didn’t deserve this. They were trying to help me.”
No evidence of a stabbing was found at the scene and it is unclear if anyone else was in the room when the emergency call was made.
Flores had been sentenced to prison at least twice before Tuesday night’s shooting, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was sentenced to one year and four months in 2009 for vehicle theft, but served less than two months of that sentence and was finally fired from probation on November 21, 2010. He was sentenced again. for first-degree robbery in 2011 and was sentenced to two years, CDCR officials said. In this case, he served about nine months of his sentence and was released on parole on August 7, 2016.