LOS ANGELES _ The California Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday that it would seek the death penalty for Scott Dekraai, the gunman who killed eight people in a 2011 rampage in Seal Beach.
"This tragic event has caused so much harm to far too many families," Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "After weighing the evidence, considering the law and the responsibilities of my office, I have concluded that the appropriate course of action is to seek the death penalty in this case."
Dekraai has already pleaded guilty to the killings and awaits trial in the penalty phase of the case.
Wednesday's announcement was the latest development in a long-running case that saw the recusal of the Orange County District Attorney's Office following a scandal over the use of jailhouse informants.
The killings occurred on an October afternoon, when Dekraai burst into the Salon Meritage on Pacific Coast Highway and opened fire. He killed ex-wife Michelle Fournier, 48, along with seven others.
Dekraai and Fournier were longtime residents of the area and embroiled in a custody dispute over their 8-year-old son.
Dekraai offered to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison, but the deal was rejected by the Orange County DA's office, which wanted to pursue the death penalty.
In hopes of securing a death sentence, county prosecutors had planned to use recordings of Dekraai's conversations with a jailhouse informant as evidence.
But an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled that key information about that informant was not turned over to the defense and recused the Orange County DA's office. An appeals court upheld his decision.
The state attorney general then assumed responsibility for the case.
In addition to Fournier, the victims of the shooting included Victoria Buzzo, 54, David Caouette, 64, Laura Elody, 46, Michele Fast, 47, Randy Fannin, 62, Lucia Kondas, 65, and Christy Wilson, 47.
The family of at least one of the victims is also in favor of the death penalty for Dekraai.
Others have been outspoken about their wish for prosecutors to accept the defendant's plea offer in hopes of ending their prolonged journey with the criminal courts.
"It's miserable _ there are no words," said Tom Stretz, 72, whose stepdaughter was among the victims. His wife, Hattie, 78, was also shot, but survived.
"Every time any element of the case comes up, we just regurgitate the same feelings. Anger, sadness, disbelief _ it's almost surreal. It's just hard to understand how something that was so slam dunk could have reached where this has," Stretz said.
