Official: Reforms didn’t cut sentence of suspect in killing
LOS ANGELES — A gang member suspected of shooting two California police officers, killing one of them, was released from prison last year on probation under a criminal justice reform initiative that had no impact on how long he spent behind bars, a prison official said Tuesday.
Suspect Michael Christopher Mejia, 26, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2010 on a felony robbery charge as a member of a street gang and was paroled in 2014, according to Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
While on parole, Mejia was arrested again on grand theft and vehicle theft charges and sentenced to an additional two years in prison, Callison said.
“None of the state’s recent criminal justice reforms — including AB 109, Proposition 47 or Proposition 57 — impacted when this individual was released from state prison,” Callison said.