Jury Selection Begins for Trial of Accused Cop Killer

RIVERSIDE - Jury selection got under way today for the murder trial of an ex-con accused of beating and gunning down a Riverside police officer.

Earl Ellis Green, 46, could face the death penalty if convicted of killing 27-year-old Officer Ryan Patrick Bonaminio on the night of Nov. 7, 2010.

Superior Court Judge Jean Pfeiffer Leonard summoned the first panel of prospective jurors to the Riverside Hall of Justice this morning. Over the next two weeks, between 150 and 300 jurors will be screened as to their availability and qualifications to sit in the six- to eight-week-long trial.

Opening statements are tentatively set for April 30.

Green is charged with first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of killing a peace officer and committing a murder to avoid arrest, as well as charges of vehicle theft and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He's being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

The parolee allegedly killed Bonaminio after the officer attempted to arrest him on suspicion of fleeing a hit-and-run crash. Investigators said the officer did not realize Green had allegedly stolen the vehicle involved in the collision and had no way of knowing the defendant's background immediately before their confrontation.

The only eyewitness to the shooting, Stephen McQueen, testified at a March 2011 preliminary hearing that Bonaminio was chasing a suspect through Fairmount park when the lawman slipped trying to turn at the corner of a building, falling into a planter.

The groundskeeper said the suspect immediately pounced on the officer, striking him three times in the upper body with what appeared to be a ''pipe or a stick.''

Green allegedly grabbed Bonaminio's sidearm and leveled it at the injured officer as he struggled to his feet, begging the parolee not to shoot.

McQueen testified that the assailant, whom he never identified in court, fired three shots, two of which struck the policeman in the face and head, causing him to collapse face first.

According to McQueen, the suspect fled through the park, jumped into a yellow-colored semi truck with no trailer and drove off.

A dashboard camera mounted on the slain officer's patrol unit captured a man purported to be Green running away from Bonaminio and returning the truck less than three minutes later.

Bonaminio, an Iraq War veteran, was discovered moments later by backup officers and rushed to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Green, who has a rap sheet spanning more than two decades, was identified through a fingerprint match, leading to his arrest outside a Target store in Riverside two days later.

Search warrants served at his Rubidoux residence at 5161 34th St. and another property led to the recovery of Bonaminio's .40 caliber Glock pistol, authorities said.