Two men jailed for 1980 shooting which left policeman paralysed are rearrested after he dies from injuries 30 years later
Two men who were jailed 30 years ago for the attempted ****** of a policeman have now been charged with his ****** after the paralysed ex-officer died from his injuries.
Prosecutors in Orange County, California, reopened the case after doctors blamed bullet wounds sheriff's deputy Ira Essoe suffered in the 1980 shooting for his death earlier this year.
David Knick, 54, and Robert Strong, 55, both served lengthy jail sentences in the 1980s and 90s after being convicted of attempting to ****** Mr Essoe.
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Victim: Ira Essoe, pictured in 1981, was left paralysed and later had to have both legs amputated after he was shot twice in the back
The victim, who was in plain clothes, was shot twice in the back after confronting them in a mall car park.
They escaped in a police car after the shooting but were captured following a high-speed chase in which they fired at pursuing officers.
Both were arrested again on Thursday and charged with ******.
The shooting left the deputy paralysed and he also suffered serious medical complications as a result of having both legs amputated.
Strong served ten years of a 17-year sentence after he was convicted in 1981 of felony attempted ******, possession of a firearm by a felon, assault with a deadly weapon and auto burglary.
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Rearrested: Robert Strong served 10 years and, right, David Knick nine for the attempted ****** of the former policeman in a mall car park
Knick was sentenced to 16 years in prison on similar charges the same year, but only served nine.
They are both now being held in Santa Ana, California, on $1million bail. If convicted, they could each face another 25 years to life in state prison.
Bedridden and still in pain from his injuries, Mr Essoe died in February of the ***** disease sepsis, caused by bed sores.
After his attackers were released from prison, the deputy said he accepted his fate because he knew the dangers when he became a law officer.
At the time, he said: 'What I can't accept is that one of the men does half a sentence and walks off.'
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