Opinion ID: 770823
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Cunningham/Soly Robbery

Text: 3 On May 3, 1995, LAPD detectives received information concerning Cunningham and Soly's involvement in a Simi Valley armed robbery. Having received additional information concerning Cunningham and Soly's criminal activities, SIS members placed Cunningham and Soly under surveillance at approximately 3:00 p.m. on June 26, 1995. After observing the suspects for several hours, SIS officers followed them to what they believed would be the scene of a robbery--the Southwest Liquor and Deli in Newbury Park, California. The officers permitted Cunningham and Soly to rob the store, although the officers had both probable cause and the ability to arrest the armed duo before the robbery was committed. After allowing the two robbers to leave the store and enter their getaway car, SIS officers used their police cars to jam 7 Cunningham and Soly's car into a confined space, thus preventing them from escaping in their vehicle. According to plaintiffs, the officers then, without announcing themselves as police, opened fire with approximately eighteen shotgun blasts and handgun shots, which resulted in Soly's death and Cunningham's permanently disabling injuries. The defendants claim that Cunningham and Soly fired the first shots, a claim supported in Cunningham's criminal trial, where a California jury rejected Cunningham's claim that the officers provoked the use of force.