A state parole board decision to free a man who shot and killed a clergyman in 1994 after they discovered him intoxicated and drove him home was overturned by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
When Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Terrence Wenger, 31, and volunteer chaplain Bruce Bryan, 39, were shot while riding along in the automobile, it was 24-year-old gang member Derek Eugene Pettis.
That evening, Pettis got into a bar fight, but Wenger chose to take him home by car instead of arresting him. As soon as he opened the door, Pettis thanked him by taking his rifle and giving him a punch to the face.
‘YOUTH OFFENDER’ PAROLE GRANTED TO CALIFORNIA MURDERER WHO SHOT DEPUTY AND KILLED CHAPLAIN AT AGE 24
Floyd Bryan, Bryan’s brother, previously told Fox News Digital, “The hardest part to understand is that they took him home instead of taking him to jail.” “They dropped him off a block from where he lived, and when he got out he hit the deputy, grabbed his gun and shot him in the head.”
Pettis gave Wenger a pointed look. Though he fell, he lived. Bryan attempted to flee as Pettis turned the gun on him.
Floyd Bryan alleged, “He shot my brother in the back after chasing him.” “He had a vest on, so as he was on his knees trying to get up, he shot him again straight down between his shoulder there where there wasn’t a vest and killed him.”
In September, the 54-year-old Pettis was granted parole by California’s Board of Parole. The hearing took place without the presence of prosecutors because of a standing order issued by District Attorney George Gascon, prohibiting his staff from speaking out against the release of murderers.
Pettis has a lengthy history of violence and drug misuse, despite having become sober and staying out of trouble while incarcerated, according to Newsom’s written judgment.
