> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Suspect charged in cop’s shooting
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/suspect-charged-in-cops-shooting/
- Published: 2006-02-07T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:11:28.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Alleged shooter’s accomplice yet to be charged*

LAX COURTHOUSE — A 20-year-old Santa Monica man was charged on Monday with two counts of attempted murder after he allegedly shot a local police officer last week.

German Michael Espinola was charged with two counts of attempted murder; two counts of premeditated murder; two counts of assault with a firearm; one count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle; and one count of unlawful firearm activity. In addition, the complaint alleges the attempted murder was to further a criminal street gang, which carries a higher penalty.

Espinola is being held on $2.4 million bail. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Espinola’s alleged accomplice in the shooting is Santa Monica resident Richard DeLa Cruz, 32, who was arrested on Jan. 26 for attempted murder of a police officer and a felony probation violation, said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has not charged DeLa Cruz, pending further investigation and evidence analysis.

The shooting occurred about 5 a.m. last Thursday near the corner of 20th Street and Pico Boulevard. Officers immediately sealed off the area and conducted a search, locating Espinola and DeLa Cruz in an apartment building in the 1900 block of 17th Street near Santa Monica College. The department’s SWAT team was deployed and negotiated the surrender of the two men at approximately 6:15 a.m., according to police.

Officer Walter Ramirez, a four-year-veteran of the department, suffered a wound to his right wrist, and was transported to UCLA Medical Center where we was treated and released.

Shortly before the shooting, the suspects were observed acting suspiciously in the parking lot of the Ralph’s grocery store at 1600 Cloverfield Boulevard.

Officers in a marked patrol car notified Ramirez and his partner, who were in an undercover unit assigned to burglary suppression. They observed Espinola and DeLa Cruz drive off in a blue van and proceeded to follow them at a distance of roughly two blocks, according to police.

The officers lost sight of the suspects’ van around 18th Street and Pico Boulevard. As the officers drove south on 17th Street, they noticed the van parked in a driveway. As Ramirez drove closer, a suspect, believed to be Espinola, jumped from the passenger side of the van, raised a weapon and fired three rounds, one striking Ramirez in the right wrist as he tried to drive away from the scene.

As Ramirez drove forward, one shot was fired. The second shot went through the passenger side window and struck Ramirez. A third shot shattered the right rear window.

The officers did not return fire, police said. DeLa Cruz was arrested two years ago after the SMPD SWAT team raided his apartment in the 1900 block on 17th St. He was charged with probation violation after police found evidence in his apartment that allegedly linked him to shootings in the neighborhood weeks before.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 7, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)