Man guilty of killing a Los Angeles County deputy

A 27-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of murdering an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy during a botched robbery attempt in 2006.

A Long Beach jury convicted Frank Christopher Gonzalez of shooting Maria Rosa, 30, whose body was discovered outside a fellow deputy’s home after she left in the early morning to work at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles.

Prosecutors built their case around an elaborate undercover sting in which Gonzalez bragged about the killing to sheriff’s deputies who were disguised as jail inmates.

During the trial, Gonzalez’s girlfriend testified that he had confessed to her about the shooting. DNA evidence also linked him to a bike abandoned near the scene of the killing.

Rosa’s body was discovered the morning of March 28, 2006, near the trunk of her car in the 2900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue in Long Beach.

Officials initially thought that she might have accidentally shot herself. But a ballistics test and other evidence showed that her weapon had not been fired.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Pat Connolly contended during the trial that Gonzalez and Justin Ashley Flint targeted Rosa as they scoured nearby streets in the Wrigley area for potential victims to rob so they could buy drugs.

Connolly told jurors that Gonzalez confronted the deputy. Rosa showed him her badge and drew her service pistol, but the weapon jammed.

Flint, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery and was sentenced in January to 29 years to life in prison.

The jury now must decide whether Gonzalez should be put to death or serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

jack.leonard@latimes.com