By Vaiva Utaraite
LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón this week ordered former LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Lyons to stand trial in the fatal shooting of an unarmed victim, Ryan Twyman.
The incident, which happened on June 6, 2019, in Willowbrook involved Lyons and another sheriff’s deputy responding to an apartment complex call. The officers approached a parked car where Twyman, 24, and another victim were seated.
When “Twyman put the car in reverse.. both deputies opened fire. The car came to a stop nearby. Lyons is accused of retrieving his semiautomatic assault rifle and shooting into the vehicle after it stopped moving,” according to a Gascón office news release.
Twyman was reported dead while the passenger was not physically harmed.
Lyons was charged “with one felony count of voluntary manslaughter and two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing,” according to the news release. He is expected to return to court on Feb. 28 in Dept. 109 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
“Under District Attorney George Gascón, the office has filed more officer-involved shooting cases against officers who were on duty than the prior two administrations combined,” the news release reported.
“This has been a very long painful journey for the Twyman family. They have waited far too long for some semblance of justice. I know we are not quite there yet but we are definitely moving in the right direction,” said Gascón.
