LAPD cop pleads ‘not guilty’ to killing Imanol Gonzalez while drunk driving; family seek justice

Imanol “Manny” Gonzalez was killed by drunk off-duty LAPD Sergeant Carlos Coronel in a hit and run incident in February, according to Orange County (OC) prosecutors. Gonzalez was a Santa Ana resident who had just graduated high school and was the eldest son of Ariana Gonzalez. He was 19. Coronel is facing felony charges that have a maximum sentence of six years and eight months, if convicted on all counts. Friday morning he pleaded “not guilty” at the OC Superior Court in Santa Ana. 

Ariana Gonzalez stated at a press conference organized by Community Service Organization OC (CSO OC) that same morning that she wants to see “justice happen because [Coronel] is culpable.”

Gonzalez’s attorney Linda Lannelli stated at the press conference that Coronel’s alleged actions say “consciousness of guilt.” 

According to prosecutors, Coronel asked his girlfriend to drive him home the next day, searched online for any hit and run accidents in Tustin where he allegedly killed Gonzalez and later drove back to the scene to see what was going on. He did not alert Tustin police who were investigating the incident that he was the alleged killer.

At the same press conference, Coronel’s attorney stated that Coronel has been put on leave with pay, pending the outcome of the criminal charges. Coronel refused to say anything publicly and spoke through his attorney Randy Collins. Collins said that Coronel has been ordered to wear an alcohol monitor that Collins claimed will alert the court and attorneys if Coronel drinks. It is unclear if that is just to keep a record of drinking habits or if there are consequences if he drinks. 

Some of the TV news crews present for the press conference told CSO OC, Gonzalez and Imanol’s friends to step aside and let Coronel and Collins speak first. 

At the same press conference later, Ariana Gonzalez stated about Imanol and Coronel, “He didn’t do anything, they just left him there. They’ve let him go free as if he didn’t do anything when he killed my son.” 

Prosecutors say Imanol Gonzalez was left in the road to die and that Coronel did not stop his car to see what he had done. 

Lannelli stated that they have filed a claim with Coronel’s automobile insurance. She also stated that she is representing Gonzalez to ensure her rights as a victim under Marsy’s Law are respected and that if any civil case is to arise from the incident, Lannelli would represent Gonzalez and Imanol’s estate. 

Coronel has been an LAPD cop for seventeen years and became a sergeant last year, according to Collins. In 2011, Coronel was convicted of driving under the influence, according to court records. Police accountability advocate Jocelyn Pacheco of Community Service Organization OC (CSO OC) said at the press conference that Coronel’s past conviction “should have ended his time as a police officer.” 

Pacheco went on to say that Coronel remaining on the LAPD behind the wheel of a vehicle is a “failure of leadership, a failure of accountability” that “puts lives at risk.”

Coronel’s alleged actions are part of a larger pattern of current and former LAPD officers being arrested for drunk driving, with some killing or injuring civilians while doing so. In April, Edgar Verduzco, a former officer, pleaded guilty to killing three people while drunk driving in 2017. Between November and December 2022, seven LAPD officers were arrested for drunk driving, according to former LAPD Chief Michel Moore. 

“Unfortunately, this tragedy is not an anomaly. It is part of a pattern, a pattern of police violence, cover ups and misconduct that have gone unchecked for decades,” said Pacheco. “This is not the first time we are demanding justice and accountability from a police department. This is not the first a family has been shattered, and unless we act, it won’t be the last.”