The man police believe killed his cousin and a Whittier police officer later the same day described the deadly shootout with police in an interview with sheriff's detectives, according to audio of the interview played in the first of a two-day court hearing Thursday. Michael Christopher Mejia, 26, of Los Angeles, laid out the timeline of the Feb. 20 shootout in the Friendly Hills area of Whittier to two investigators at a downtown Los Angeles jail. The shooting left Officer Keith Boyer dead and Officer Patrick Hazel wounded. Mejia was also wounded in the violent encounter. "I know I smoked this one," Mejia said, apparently referring to Boyer. "Yet the second one. Could not get him."
Mejia described opening the door of his car, which he had just crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Colima and Mar Vista Street, to shield himself from the approaching Boyer. But Mejia said he didn't see Hazel standing behind him. "I opened the door ... to cover myself, but the one in the back, I wasn't focused on him," Mejia said. "I didn't see the one in the back that shot me in the back." Mejia was charged in March with the murder of Boyer and the wounding of Hazel. He was also charged with the murder of his cousin, Roy Torres, 47, of East Los Angeles. Police previously said Mejia shot the two officers as he stepped out of the stolen car he had just slammed into a stopped vehicle.
Michael Mejia, left, and Officer Keith Boyer
Police also believe Mejia killed Torres at a home in East L.A. earlier that day following a dispute. Investigators said Mejia stole Torres' car after that early morning shooting. Mejia told the two detectives that he was high on marijuana and other drugs at the time of the shooting. He also told the detectives he blacked out after being shot, and only remembered the incident later after watching news reports about it on television. Investigators have not released any information indicating whether Mejia had drugs in his system the day of the shooting.
Mejia read a transcript of the interview with his lawyer as it played during the hearing. As the video played, Mejia looked back over his shoulder at five of his supporters who were at the hearing. A trio of Whittier officers also attended the hearing, along with Boyer's mother and stepfather. Witnesses who testified Thursday included the girlfriend of Torres and her cousin, who prosecutors said were in the garage of the home when Torres was fatally shot.[ Both cousins, identified as Jane Doe 1 and 2, testified that they both heard and saw the shooting. "All I remember is that a bullet went through his head," said Torres' girlfriend, who was confused, combative and emotional at times on the stand. "I remember it going into his forehead like a cartoon."
MORE