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| Oscar Rodriguez and lover Diana Perez |
A police officer in California, nearly got away with murder when he hid behind his badge to justify killing his lover’s boyfriend.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputy Oscar Rodriguez fatally shot 39-year-old Luis Carlos Morin Jr., back in 2014.
He told detectives that he went to the home to serve a warrant and a fight ensued so he shot the man to protect himself.
Officer Rodriguez was cleared of all charges and was allowed to continue working in law enforcement.
However, the victim’s family soon filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Riverside County.
In the civil lawsuit, the family alleged that Rodriguez was in an intimate relationship with Diana Perez, who is the mother of Morin’s children.
The family believed that Morin was killed in a love triangle.
The lawsuit also claimed that Rodriguez was hiding in the bushes waiting for Morin to come home on that fatal night.
The family claimed that Rodriguez attacked Morin from behind and he fired a shot into his back, killing him.
Based on this information, the “justified” shooting turned into a murder investigation, authorities said.
The police department settled a lawsuit with the victim’s family for nearly $7 million.
After presenting the case to a grand jury, Rodriguez was indicted for murder. Rodriguez left the department and he now faces life in prison.
Perez was also arrested on a charge of being an accessory to murder.
