Judge Allows Cameras in Downey Officer Murder Trial

Two men and a teenager accused in the fatal shooting of a police officer in a botched robbery appeared Friday in court, where a judge ruled that television cameras will be allowed at their trials.

They are accused in the shooting death of Downey Officer Ricky Galvez, gunned down Nov. 18 as he sat in his car in the police department parking lot. The five-year officer and Marine, who served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, had just returned from a training program and was not wearing his uniform when he was targeted in what authorities described as a botched robbery.

Steven Knott, 18, and Jeremy Anthony Alvarez, 21, are charged with capital murder and attempted second-degree robbery in connection with Galvez's death. A 17-year-old suspect, Abel Diaz, will be tried as an adult, but he will not be eligible for the death penalty due to his age, unlike his co-defendants.

Defense attorneys argued Friday that allowing television cameras in the courtroom would be prejudicial to potential witnesses. They also said the defendants should be allowed to wear something other than their orange prison jumpsuits if cameras were allowed.

"The defense pitched the idea that if you let the public see these guys in their orange jumpsuits, that someone going to deprive them of a fair trial," said NBC4 legal analyst Royal Oakes. "The judge wasn't buying it. The fact is everybody knows they're in orange jumpsuits because they've been arrested. It doesn't mean you can't get a fair trial."

The three suspects are scheduled to return to court next month to set a date for a preliminary hearing. All pleaded not guilty.

The criminal complaint also includes gang and gun allegations against all three suspects.

Alvarez, the alleged getaway driver, was taken into custody following a police pursuit that ended in the 1000 block of Carob Way in Montebello soon after the shooting. The other two suspects were seen fleeing into a nearby home and taken into custody by members of a sheriff's special weapons team after warrants were obtained, officials said.

Diaz's sister, Maricela Alvarado, earlier told NBC4 her brother told her he did not shoot Galvez. Outside a courthouse in November, she showed reporters a text message Diaz sent her about 20 minutes after the shooting.

"Mari I love all y'all,'' the message read. "My homie (expletive) up n did something.''

Investigators said they believe the suspects were out to rob someone and were unaware that Galvez was a police officer or that they were in a rear parking lot of the police station.

Galvez is survived by his mother, a brother and two sisters. He joined the department in 2006 as a police aide.