Man convicted of killing LAPD cop after 40 years in retrial

An alleged armed robber was found guilty of murdering a Los Angeles police officer after 40 years in a retrial this week. Jurors found Kenneth Gay, 65, guilty of murdering Officer Paul Verna during a traffic stop. Gay and his co-defendant Raynard Cummings had committed a string of armed robberies in the weeks prior and feared that Verna would arrest them. Prosecutors said Cummings fired the first shot and Gay emptied the gun on Verna, firing an additional five shots. Both Gay and Cummings were convicted in 1985 and later sentenced to death. The state Supreme Court twice overturned Gay’s death penalty sentence and vacated his original conviction due to incompetent counsel.