Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar was sane at the time of ambush shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer in Palmdale, jury finds

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES () — A jury on Wednesday found that the man convicted of fatally shooting a sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale was sane at the time of the 2023 ambush, making him eligible for a possible sentence of life in prison.

The verdict in the sanity phase of the the trial was announced just over a week after Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar was convicted of murder in the killing of Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer.

Sheriff Robert Luna was present in the downtown L.A. courtroom when the jury’s finding was announced.

Salazar was charged in the Sept. 16, 2023, shooting of Clinkunbroomer, who was attacked in broad daylight while he was stopped at a red light near the Palmdale sheriff’s station.

The murder charge included the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used and discharged a .22-caliber revolver. Salazar was found guilty of each of the special circumstance allegations.

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said the evidence presented significant challenges for the defense.

“It’s very difficult for the defense to prove that the defendant did not know this was a police officer,” he said. “It was broad daylight. The victim was in his vehicle in a marked police car. There was some admissions after the fact that the defendant was looking for a police officer to shoot and was playing hype music.”

The Palmdale resident previously entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in connection with the killing.

Last week, Rahmani said the outcome of the sanity phase could affect the defendant’s future custody status.

“If the defendant is found to be sane, then he’s going to spend the rest of his life in California state prison. There’s three different special circumstances that carry the possibility of the death penalty, which of course hasn’t happened in California in decades, and if not, carry mandatory life without the possibility of parole sentence. If the defendant is found insane, there’s a possibility that he may be released to the public if a judge at some point finds that he’s no longer a risk to himself or others.”

Salazar could face life in prison if he is found sane. If he is determined to have been insane at the time of the killing, he would be confined to a state hospital rather than prison.

City News Service contributed to this report.