Ex-cop whose gun injured minor gets one-year prison sentence

Raymond Lizama Saralu, a former police officer who pled guilty for improperly storing a firearm, which consequently severely injured a child in May 2023, was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison yesterday at the Superior Court. Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, however, suspended four years of the jail term with the 28-year-old Saralu to serve the remaining year at the Department of Corrections.

According to an order from Camacho, Saralu will be eligible for parole after serving 1/3 of the unsuspended sentence. If granted parole, in addition to any other conditions imposed by the Board of Parole, Saralu shall be employed and a portion of his salary shall pay for restitution of the victim’s medical expenses.

Initially, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds proposed a sentence of five years, two years to serve with the remaining three years to be suspended; with five years of probation, restitution, and counseling. Hinds explained his stance and recommendations bringing up other allegations in the case.

“This is a tragic, horrible case, and I agree with some of the speakers that this is a terrible case. There are no winners in a case like this. Nobody wins. I’ve spent many hours myself trying to deal with the circumstances of this case. This is one of the hardest cases that I’ve had to work on. At the end, I come back to what this case is about. And this case is about the law. Storage of firearms. What is the reason a person must store their firearms safely? It’s to make sure that no one gets injured, especially a child. In this case, a 7-year-old child was seriously injured. All because the defendant could not follow the law. The defendant is a police officer. He was a police officer at the time, and he did not follow the law. All of these factors have to be taken into account.”

He also acknowledged Saralu’s remorse. “I do take into account the defendant has taken responsibility in this case.”

Saralu’s counsel, assistant public defender Emily Thomsen, recommended a sentence of two years with three months to serve, the remainder suspended, 100 hours of community work service, with restitution to be determined.

She argued prosecution about sentence, saying that Saralu shouldn’t be serving time based on additional allegations outside the current case, but time allotted should be according to the case at hand.

“Those are all allegations, obviously. As you know, your honor, none of those charges have ever been proven…So to punish him for allegations is not appropriate. The appropriate thing, and what is before you, your honor, here today, is to determine the appropriate sentence for the charge that he has been convicted of, that he has taken responsibility for, and that he has acknowledged, and that is what is before you today.”

Camacho agreed with her stance.

Just before the final sentencing, the dozens of family members and friends that filled the courtroom yesterday on behalf of Saralu, shared heartfelt words pertaining to the character of Saralu, and many tears were shed as an appeal was made for lighter sentencing.

“It has been a very difficult journey for our family after this tragic accident. Especially having to endure what the media, public, and the prosecuting team believed or perceived Raymond to be. I am here to tell you that is far from the truth. Raymond is a person of good moral character and has the biggest heart,” said one family member.

“He was passionate about serving his community. He often put his life in danger to keep citizens in the community safe. He has shown great respect for others, treating everyone with dignity and kindness. His mistake does not define who he truly is. I know he pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him, but I want everyone here to know who Raymond truly is, and that is someone who is far more than the offense he pled guilty to or how the public perceives him to be,” the family member added.

Another family member said, “your honor, this was a tragic accident. Yes, it could have been avoided, but no one is perfect. It just shows and proves that we are all human beings. I truly believe that Raymond is a person of integrity who has made a mistake, and is deeply remorseful for the consequences it has caused him.”

Many testified on Saralu’s caring for children. “I have two grandchildren, and Ray loves them to death,” said one woman. “He loves all the children that come to him. Kids are normally just drawn to him. And I’ve seen Ray, and I’ve seen how broken he has been because of this accident. Yes, it could have been prevented, but, like, everybody has been sharing all this entire time.”

On his part, Saralu sincerely apologized to the victim and his parents. “I take full responsibility for that… I hope one day they can forgive me.” He also extended his apologies to his family and his wife and thanked them for their love and support.

Before handing out the sentence Camacho explained, “An accident is not the same as being irresponsible. An accident is something you have no control over, being irresponsible is when you can do something about it, but you did not. You were irresponsible when you left your gun unsecured and young children found the firearm that resulted in this tragic situation.”

He shared that he can see and has taken into consideration the character of Saralu and his contribution to the community, but he had to make a judgment based off what was just for not just the defendant but the victim. He said that through the sentencing the court imposed on Saralu, instead of just sitting in jail, Saralu may give restitution toward the victim’s family, giving parts of his salary to cover medical bills which currently amounts to over $70,000.

In his order, Camacho added “One last thing, this is not an order but rather a request. I would respectfully ask the DPS commissioner to conduct an inspection to make sure that each DPS officer that has a government-issued firearm have a gun lock or gun safe.”

Saralu was taken back to the Department of Corrections to start fulfilling his sentence