A man convicted in the 2010 slaying of Riverside Officer Ryan Bonaminio -- a shooting that occurred after the officer fell during a foot pursuit in a park -- was sentenced Monday to death.
Earl Ellis Green, a parolee who beat and gunned down Bonaminio, was convicted May 11 of first-degree murder. About four weeks later, the same eight-man, four-woman jury recommended that he be executed for the crime.
The judge Monday agreed with the jury's recommendation.
Bonaminio was beaten and shot in Nov. 7, 2010 after encountering Green during a traffic stop. Bonaminio, a 27-year-old Iraq War Army veteran, was attempting to arrest Green after the subject fled the scene of a hit-and-run on Market Street.
Green was in a stolen semi-trailer truck.
A foot chase led through Fairmount Park and into the nearby Center for Spiritual Living on Ridge Road. Bonaminio caught Green, but lost his footing and fell into the mud, according to prosecutors.
Green attacked, striking the officer with a steel pipe and grabbing his service weapon. Green shot him in the head at point-blank range, prosecutors said.
Thousands, including family members, friends, and law enforcement and military colleagues, attended Bonaminio's funeral in November 2010. He joined the Riverside Police Department after serving in the Army's 314th Military Police Company.
Bonaminio was remembered as a servicemember who always remained positive, despite difficult conditions in Iraq.
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