Summary: A love triangle involving a Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy will cost the county nearly $7 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
Riverside County in California will be dishing out nearly $7 million to settle a lawsuit against a sheriff’s deputy. Deputy Oscar Rodriguez claimed to be trying to arrest Luis Morin Jr. for two outstanding warrants but the truth of their relationship emerged. Rodriguez was having an affair with Morin’s girlfriend.
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Morin was pinned to the ground and shot point blank by Rodriguez in front of his mother when they returned home from a family birthday party in January 2014. When Rodriguez was asked by attorneys for Morin’s family during a deposition, “Isn’t it true that you wanted Luis Morin dead and out of the way so that you could continue a relationship with Diana Perez?” his responded by pleading the fifth amendment.
Morin was a father of four and self-employed mechanic. The settlement money will go towards supporting his children with some going to his parents and the family’s attorneys. The county is paying for $1 million of the $6.95 million with insurance picking up the rest.
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The criminal investigation into the incident has been re-opened since the allegations arose. The District Attorney’s Office had originally closed the case, believing that Rodriguez did nothing wrong. Rodriguez has been on paid leave since September when the allegations of a love triangle first surfaced.
The attorney for Morin’s family claimed Rodriguez met Perez when responding to complaints about Morin and then lured her into a sexual relationship using his law enforcement authority. The attorney then went on to claim the truth of the relationship was about to be exposed so Rodriguez plotted to avenge himself against the couple.
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County attorneys believed the lawsuit was a standard excessive force case but were left scrambling when the information of how those involved were connected surfaced. They had started off arguing that Rodriguez shot Morin in self-defense.
Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2016/02/09/police-shooting-love-triangle/80053530/
Photo: pe.com