Ex-con gets life without parole for LAPD officer’s 1983 killing

SAN FERNANDO (CNS) — An ex-con was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of a Los Angeles Police Department officer during a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace more than 40 years ago.

Kenneth Earl Gay, 65, was convicted Aug. 25 of first-degree murder for the June 2, 1983, shooting death of Officer Paul Verna, a married father of two young sons who both eventually became police officers. Jurors also found true special-circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer in the performance of his duties and murder to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest.

The panel could not reach a unanimous verdict on an allegation that Gay personally used a gun during the crime.

Gay had been previously convicted and sentenced to death in the case. But his conviction was reversed once by the California Supreme Court, and his death sentence was reversed twice.

Most recently, the California Supreme Court sent the case against Gay back for retrial in the guilt phase, finding that he was “denied his constitutional right to the assistance of competent counsel” during his first trial.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office opted against seeking the death penalty in the retrial after District Attorney George Gascón was elected.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky, however, rejected a bid by Gascón’s office in January 2021 to dismiss the two special circumstance allegations under which Gay was sentenced Monday to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

The judge — who rejected the defense’s motion for a new trial — said during Monday’s sentencing hearing that the pain the victim’s family has suffered was “immeasurable.”

Zacky noted that he has “never had a trial like this before,” noting that the case has had a “tortured history” and that the “last thing I want to do is create an issue where this has to be tried again.”

“I really do hope that this is the end of the road for this case,” the judge said, while noting that he knew an appeal will follow.

Among those speaking during the hearing were Verna’s widow, who has since remarried, their two sons and LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who said he and Verna were once partners while they were officers in the agency’s Devonshire Area in the San Fernando Valley.

The police chief said Verna had made “a lasting impression on me,” referring to his former partner as “a quiet giant.” Moore said he has watched the slain officer’s two sons go on to careers as LAPD officers.