@meghannmcuniff: A Los Angeles police officer testified on Tuesday that he's always known he fired three shots at an assailant in a clothing store in 2021, but he mistakenly said in an interview shortly after that he only fired two. One of the bullets from Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr.'s AR-15 ricocheted and killed 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was hiding in a dressing room with her mother. They were at a Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood on Dec. 23, 2021, shopping for dresses for her quinceañera, when Jones and five other officers ran through, searching for a pantless man who was reportedly assaulting customers with a bicycle lock. Lawyers for the girls' parents argue Jones negligently fired the shots, but Jones testified today he assessed each shot before he fired and mistakenly believed the man with the bicycle lock had a firearm and had shot his victim in the face. (You can watch body-cam video here @Meghann Cuniff.) Jones testified as an adverse/hostile witness, which means plaintiffs' lawyer Haytham Faraj could ask him leading questions. "You were not aware that you had fired three rounds, correct?" Faraj asked. "Immediately after? I mean, you got to think, this is a very dynamic and like a tragic situation," Jones said. "So it's a simple question. We're at the time you fired the three rounds. ... You were not aware that you had fired three rounds?" Faraj said. "At the time I fired the three rounds? Yes, I was aware at the time," Jones testified. "Do you recall testifying that you believed that you'd only fired two rounds?" Faraj asked. "Yes, but in the total context of that, right after a tragic incident like that, sometimes you may forget fine details like that. But at the moment I fired those shots, I fired all three rounds, and I assessed between each one," Jones answered. "My question to you, sir, is it true that when you testified previously, you testified under oath that you believed you had fired only two rounds?" Faraj asked, referring to Jones' interview with the Los Angeles Police Department's Force Investigation Division. "In my FID statement or testifying?" Jones asked. "Well, you were asked about it in both. Let's go to your FID statement. In your FID statement, you testified, or you stated, that you believe that you had fired two rounds, true?" Faraj asked. "Correct," Jones answered. "That was immediately after the incident?" Faraj asked. "Yes. And then you were asked about that under oath in your deposition, and you confirmed that that's what you believed at the time, true?" Faraj asked. "At the time of my FID statement, I did believe I had only fired two rounds, but after having time to reflect on watching my body on video, I realized that I had fired three rounds," Jones answered. You can watch Faraj's entire 90-minute questioning of Jones on Tuesday on my YouTube channel and Facebook page. #law #police #court #thinblueline

Meghann Cuniff

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Wednesday 22 April 2026 23:51:19 GMT