Man who shot three LAPD officers was fugitive parolee; two officers sent home from hospital

Two of the three LAPD officers shot during a brief gunfight with a fugitive parolee this week were released from a hospital Thursday as more details emerged about the shooter, who died in the confrontation, police said.

All three officers, who were assigned to the Police Department’s Metropolitan Division, were expected to recover from their injuries, police said. One officer was shot in the arm, another was hit in the leg, and a third was shot in the torso, but his body armor probably deflected the round, authorities said.

Jonathan Magana

(California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

The shootout triggered a citywide tactical alert Wednesday night and saw the Lincoln Heights neighborhood near downtown flooded with officers, including the Police Department’s SWAT team and three armored vehicles.

The incident began when officers were called to the 3800 block of Broadway about 3:50 p.m. to search for a parolee at large, LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said. Officers found the man, who they said refused to comply with police, and a K-9 unit was requested.

Officers used tear gas, but the man, who was identified Thursday as Jonathan Magana, 32, still refused to comply and at some point opened fire on the officers, Labrada said. Police returned fire and Magana died during the confrontation.

Magana’s body was later found inside a building by an LAPD robot equipped with cameras, police said. Whether he died by his own hand or was killed by officers has yet to be determined by the Los Angeles County coroner.

Magana had a lengthy criminal record and in January was charged with battery on a police officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in connection with an incident late last year, according to court records and law enforcement sources. He posted bond and was released after the incident in October, but he failed to show up for his arraignment hearing last month.

In February 2020, Magana was convicted of two felony counts of second-degree robbery connected to incidents in 2019, records show. He was sentenced to five years in prison. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, after getting “several credits during his incarceration under good conduct and program participation guidelines,” he was released to parole supervision in April 2022. His history of convictions runs throughout his adult life.

He was sentenced in Los Angeles County to prison for two years and eights months in May 2011 for possession of ammunition by a former felon, according to corrections records. He was released to probation supervision in June 2013. He was sentenced in Los Angeles County to prison for two years in August 2017 for possession of a firearm by a felon, records show. He was again released to probation supervision in December 2017.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass held a news conference at the hospital, where she once worked, and praised the officers for their courage.

“I deeply appreciate their service, and let them know that their city stands with them,” Bass said after speaking with the officers. “I very much look forward to their recovery. My heart goes out to the officers’ families who tonight got the phone call, or the knock on the door, that they dread every day that their loved ones go on duty.”