LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy charged in the fatal on-duty shooting of an unarmed man in Willowbrook waived his right Friday to a hearing in which a judge would have been asked to determine if there was sufficient evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.
Andrew Lyons, 38, was charged last March with one felony count of voluntary manslaughter and two felony counts of assault with an assault weapon stemming from the June 16, 2019, shooting of Ryan Twyman, 24.
Defense attorney Nicole Castronovo argued before the hearing was set to start that the prosecution had violated its duty to immediately disclose interview notes from the deputy medical examiner regarding the cause of Twyman’s death.
“The cause of death is at issue in this case — according to the prosecution, two different deputies fired four fatal rounds at Mr. Twyman — with only one charged for the shooting. As such — if the other shooter fired the fatal shots the prosecution asserts were lawful — and Mr. Lyons’ shots struck Twyman after he was already deceased — there is no voluntary manslaughter or assault as to Twyman,” Lyons’ attorney wrote in her court filing.
Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter said the hearing would proceed, prompting Lyons’ attorney to ask for time to speak with her client. After a brief discussion, she announced that Lyons had opted to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in which evidence would have been presented.
When the judge asked if he gave up his right to have the hearing, Lyons responded, “I do, your honor.”
The case is due back in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment Feb. 28.
Lyons and another sheriff’s deputy responded to an apartment complex in Willowbrook and approached a parked vehicle where Twyman was sitting, with both deputies opening fire after Twyman put the car in reverse, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The car came to a stop nearby, and Lyons allegedly retrieved his semiautomatic assault rifle and shot into the vehicle after it stopped moving, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Twyman was struck by bullets in the neck and upper body and pronounced dead at the scene.
A passenger in the vehicle was not struck by gunfire, but had fragments of glass in his hair and was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for evaluation.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that the case had been “fully investigated” by the department and that then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva “initiated an administrative review of the case which resulted in Mr. Lyons being discharged from his position of deputy sheriff on November 8, 2021…
“Sheriff Villanueva remains committed to transparently holding our personnel accountable while providing for the safety and security of the communities we serve. Our condolences to Mr. Twyman’s family for their loss,” the department’s Facebook post continued.
The other deputy was suspended for 30 days, Villanueva said.
In 2020, the county paid Twyman’s family $3.9 million to resolve a federal lawsuit stemming from the shooting.
Lyons’ attorney has called the prosecution a political move by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in an effort to make him appear tough on alleged offenses by law enforcement officers.
“This is a case based in politics, not facts,” Castronovo said outside court.
