Detective Sergeant John Fitzgerald

John Fitzgerald

Sergeant John Fitzgerald was shot and killed while leading a raid on a home that contained illegal liquor and narcotics.

Sergeant Fitzgerald was shot in the stomach during the raid and died as a result. The suspect, who had been arrested by Sergeant Fitzgerald in 1916, had been paroled from San Quentin Prison three months earlier, and had also served time in Folsum Prison in 1911 and 1913.

The suspect fled to Mexico where he was arrested in 1922 and returned to Los Angeles in February of 1923. He was convicted of Sergeant Fitzgerald's murder and sentenced to life in prison in June of 1923. In June of 1936 he was charged with another murder after evidence was discovered that he robbed and killed a pool hall operator minutes after he killed Sergeant Fitzgerald. He was found guilty of his murder and received another life sentence. In July of 1953 he was released from prison and deported to Mexico.