District Attorney’s Office requested dismissal, unable to prove case beyond a reasonable doubt
April 18, 2026 – LOS ANGELES, CA – A judge has dismissed an indictment charging two Torrance police officers 
with voluntary manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of 23-year-old Christopher Deandre Mitchell, who was sitting in a suspected stolen car with an altered air rifle between his legs.
In a 34-page opinion, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Samuel Ohta ruled that he found no evidence that prosecutors were seeking to dismiss the uniquely situated case in bad faith.
In granting the prosecution’s motion to dismiss the case yesterday in the interests of justice, Judge Ohta wrote: “It is axiomatic that when a prosecutor believes he or she cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, such cases should not be prosecuted. This rationale is protective of the defendants’ constitutional rights.”
Judge Ohta noted that “a prosecutor is a minister of justice which carries with that role a special obligation to see that a defendant is accorded procedural justice. . . Society has no legitimate interest in seeking prosecution of individuals when the public prosecutor does not believe he or she is able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman thoroughly reviewed the case, along with Special Prosecutor Michael Gennaco, one of the nation’s most experienced police use-of-force experts, who dissected the case, analyzed all the facts and the law and determined the case should not move forward because there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“After several hearings where the merits of our dismissal motion were discussed, Judge Ohta ruled that this case could no longer move forward and has dismissed the case,” District Attorney Hochman said. “In this case, despite its best efforts, the prosecution could not meet its burden to prove the officers committed voluntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt when the officers shot and killed Mr. Mitchell who was sitting in a stolen car at night in a parking lot with an altered air rifle between his legs at the point at which he moved his hands down from the steering wheel toward his lap and the rifle.”
Torrance police officers Matthew Concannon (40) and Anthony Chavez (37) were each indicted by a grand jury on one count of voluntary manslaughter in March 2023.
On December 9, 2018, Concannon and Chavez responded to a call about a stolen vehicle and they both approached a car with Mitchell inside. The officers instructed Mitchell to place his hands on the steering wheel and he initially complied. Concannon opened the driver’s side door and Chavez noticed what appeared to be a rifle or shotgun between Mitchell’s knees.
Concannon ordered Mitchell to exit the vehicle and then said he saw Mitchell’s hands lower toward the weapon. Concannon believed Mitchell was retrieving the gun, placing him and Chavez in imminent peril of being shot. As a result, Concannon fired one shot. Chavez fired two additional shots. Mitchell died at the scene.
The case was initially reviewed by highly experienced prosecutors who dealt with police use-of-force cases under then-District Attorney Jackie Lacey. These prosecutors concluded in October 2019 that charges should not be filed against Concannon and Chavez because the officers acted lawfully in using deadly force, reasonably believing Mitchell had a firearm and their lives were in danger.
After being elected as district attorney, George Gascon decided to review four officer-involved shootings, including the Mitchell case. He hired Lawrence Middleton as a special prosecutor who presented the case before a grand jury in March 2023, which returned an indictment only for voluntary manslaughter.
Middleton, who began work in June 2021, could have initially sought an involuntary manslaughter charge, but the three-year statute of limitations for that charge expired in December 2021, well before he presented the case to the grand jury. Unlike voluntary manslaughter, there is no intent-to-kill requirement for involuntary manslaughter; instead, the prosecution only need prove criminal negligence or recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.
Special Prosecutor Gennaco found there was insufficient admissible evidence to overcome the officers’ observations that Mitchell had a long firearm between his legs and their reasonable belief that he presented a deadly threat to them. Analyzing the 12-second shooting in meticulous detail, Gennaco concluded that, as detailed in his memorandum attached to the prosecution’s motion to dismiss, the prosecution could not meet its burden at trial of proving the voluntary manslaughter charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
District Attorney Hochman expressed his thanks to Special Prosecutor Gennaco for his thorough review of the case.
Read Judge Ohta’s ruling here.
Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office