San Pedro Man Guilty in Officer Murder

Carlos Daniel Delcid, a 24-year-old San Pedro man, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of off-duty Monterey Park police officer Gardiel Solorio in a Downey shopping-center parking lot. A Norwalk jury also found true special-circumstance allegations that the killing occurred during an attempted robbery and carjacking, according to court coverage published Thursday and Friday. The case centers on the Aug. 8, 2022, shooting outside the Downey Landing Mall, where prosecutors said Solorio was targeted after driving into the lot. Delcid is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5 in Norwalk Superior Court and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. ### Who was Gardiel Solorio, and how did prosecutors say he was killed? Gardiel Solorio, 26, had recently graduated from the police academy when he drove into the Downey Landing Mall parking lot at about 3:20 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2022, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Solorio was sitting in his black Dodge Charger and preparing to get out when Delcid approached with a gun and demanded the car. (presstelegram.com) The district attorney’s office said Solorio put the car in reverse and tried to flee. Delcid then fired five shots at close range, prosecutors said, striking Solorio in the chest and abdomen. ### What did the jury decide on Friday? A Norwalk jury found Delcid guilty of first-degree murder after about 40 minutes of deliberation, according to MyNewsLA. (da.lacounty.gov) The panel also convicted him of shooting at an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon, and found true the special circumstances tied to attempted robbery and carjacking. The same verdict included findings on related charges from Downey and Long Beach, according to the Press-Telegram report. Those findings strengthen the prosecution’s case for a sentence of life without parole at the August hearing. ### Why were jurors not told Solorio was a police officer? (mynewsla.com) Jurors were not told that Solorio was an off-duty Monterey Park police officer, MyNewsLA reported. The report said the trial was presented as the killing of a man in a car during an attempted robbery, rather than as the slaying of a law-enforcement officer. That approach kept the verdict focused on the evidence tied to the shooting, the attempted taking of the car and the firearm allegations described in the charges. (presstelegram.com) Court coverage did not indicate that the victim’s job title was part of the jury’s deliberations. ### What happened with the other defendants in the case? Gerardo Magallanes was sentenced on Sept. 29, 2025, to 24 years and eight months in state prison after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm, with gang and gun allegations, the district attorney’s office said. (mynewsla.com) Prosecutors said Magallanes remained in the getaway car during the shooting but later admitted providing the gun used by Delcid. A 17-year-old driver also pleaded no contest in adult court and received an 11-year prison term for his role in the crime, according to the same district attorney release. Prosecutors said the three followed Solorio to his parking spot before the shooting. ### What led to this verdict now? (da.lacounty.gov) A retrial began this month after an earlier proceeding ended in a mistrial, according to prior coverage of the case. Daily Breeze reported on May 11 that Delcid was being retried on murder, shooting at an inhabited vehicle and firearm-possession charges tied to Solorio’s death. (da.lacounty.gov) The May 15 conviction resolves the retrial phase for Delcid, but not the sentencing phase. Court coverage said he is due back in Norwalk Superior Court on Aug. 5, when a judge is expected to impose sentence. ### What happens next in court? Aug. 5 is the next scheduled court date for Delcid in Norwalk Superior Court, according to reports on the verdict. (dailybreeze.com) If the special-circumstance findings stand at sentencing, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. (presstelegram.com)