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Prosecutors in California are seeking the death penalty for a man accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy in Sacramento last September, according to a report.
The Friday announcement from the Sacramento District Attorney’s office comes just after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on the death penalty in the state, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Prosecutors in four California counties are also seeking the death penalty for accused Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo.
Deputy Mark Stasyuk, 27, was killed last September after a shootout with a suspect in Sacramento County, California. (Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department)
FAMILY MEMBERS OF MURDER VICTIMS SLAM CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM'S MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
Anton Lemon Paris, 38, faces four counts of felony murder, attempted murder and felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charges in the shooting death of Deputy Mark Stasyuk, 27, and injuries to his partner Deputy Julie Robertson, 28, as well as a store employee, the Bee reported.
Stasyuk and Robertson headed to a Sacramento area Pep Boys auto service store on Sept. 17 of last year after employees reported Paris harassing workers and knocking items from shelves.
Anton Lemon Paris, 38, faces four counts of felony murder and other charges in connection with the shooting death of Deputy Mark Stasyuk, authorities say. (Sacramento County Sheriff's Department)
The arriving officers faced gunfire almost immediately, according to the report. Robertson was shot in an arm and Stasyuk was shot twice – once in the back and once in the back of the head. Robertson attempted to give first aid to Stasyuk during what the Sacramento County Sheriff called an “extensive" firefight. Pep Boys employee Arturo Nolasco was also shot once in the back.
“Instead of taking the opportunity to flee in either direction, [Paris] followed Deputy Stasyuk into the parking lot, continuing to fire at his back and struck him one time in the back of the head. This caused his almost immediate death," Sheriff Scott Jones said in September, according to Sacramento's KCRA-TV.
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Paris, who was shot multiple times, was arraigned 10 days after the shooting in his hospital room. He is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history and is expected to be back in court May 17.
When Newsom signed his moratorium in March, he cited "disparity" in the way the punishment has been applied in the Golden State and said "a more enlightened choice" would be better for the state's criminal justice system.
“If someone kills, we do not kill," Newsom said. "We’re better than that.”
Earlier this month, however, some relatives of murder victims and several district attorneys denounced the governor's stand.
“Governor Newsom took a knife and stabbed all the victims and all the victims’ families in the heart,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly contributed to this story.
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