Dec. 08--A former deputy U.S. marshal was sentenced Monday to 15 months in federal prison after he was convicted of obstruction of justice for making misleading statements to police after he shot and killed a man in 2008.
Matthew Itkowitz, 47, was sentenced by U. S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez for making false statements to Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives after the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Ryan Gonzalez in a Fairfax-area alley. In July, a jury found him guilty.
Federal prosecutors argued that Itkowitz told police he shot Gonzalez while being attacked. Instead, prosecutors said, Gonzalez had intervened in a dispute between Itkowitz and his wife outside the tattoo parlor where Gonzalez worked.
Surveillance video presented during trial showed Itkowitz and Gonzalez fighting, then walking away from each other. About a minute passed between the end of the men's fight and the shooting.
According to the video, Gonzalez turns back to motion Itkowitz to leave and the former deputy marshal shoots him. Gonzalez was shot five times, including twice in the back as he ran away, prosecutors said.
The judge had earlier tossed out two charges against Itkowitz, including deprivation of rights under color of law against civil rights. The jury also acquitted him on a second count of obstruction of justice when he told his supervisor that two Latino men attacked him in the alley.
jerome.campbell@latimes.com
