LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office indicated on April 23 that Trenton Trevon Lovell, 31, pleaded guilty to the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Steven Owen in 2016.
According to a press release from the LADA’s Office, District Attorney George Gascón stated:
“Sgt. Owen sacrificed his life to protect the community he served. This plea will not bring Sgt. Owen back but will hopefully provide some small measure of peace to his family.”
Lovell entered his plea to one count each of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, person present, and possession of a firearm by a felon; and two counts each of first-degree residential robbery and false imprisonment by violence.
He admitted the special circumstance allegation of murder of a peace officer and special allegations of using a firearm to murder Owen, using a patrol car as a deadly and dangerous weapon during the attempted murder of a second peace officer on scene, using a knife in a robbery and false imprisonment after he fled from the scene of the murder.
The defendant faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17. Lovell ambushed and shot Owen, 53, several times while Owen was responding to a burglary committed in the 3200 block West Avenue J-7 on October 5, 2016.
After the murder, the suspect jumped into the sergeant’s patrol vehicle when a second deputy arrived on the scene. Lovell rammed the second deputy’s vehicle with Owen’s patrol car. He later fled and ran into a nearby home where he held two victims at knifepoint and robbed them. He was arrested soon after. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
