Grieving family, friends and law enforcement colleagues will gather Monday to bid farewell to a rookie Escondido police officer gunned down at her home last month, allegedly by her husband.
The late-morning services in the student union building at Cal State San Marcos will honor the life and public service of Officer Laura Perez of Murrieta, who had been with the Escondido Police Department since October.
The procession for Perez’s service is expected to leave the Escondido Police Department and head south to Mission Avenue, then west to Barham Drive. Southbound Centre City Parkway will be closed between El Norte Parkway and Mission Avenue while the procession is underway, according to a Escondido police statement.
Police advised motorists to access state Route 78 from Broadway, the Interstate 15 connector or Centre City Parkway.
Perez, 25, immigrated from Mexico a decade ago and settled in the Riverside area with her family, the Valley Roadrunner reported. She met her husband, Freddy Perez Rodas, 27, while attending Riverside Polytechnic High.
Rodas allegedly shot her during an argument at their residence July 23 and then set fire to the house. The couple’s daughter, Suzette, 4, was not harmed.
Rodas has been charged with murder and arson and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Last week, Escondido Police Chief Craig Carter said his department was reeling from the news of Perez’s violent death.
“The men and women of the Escondido police family and all city employees are shocked by the tragic loss of one of our own,” Carter said.
The Escondido Police Officers’ Association is accepting donations through its website to help Perez’s family with her funeral expenses and to support her daughter. A man was recently charged with creating a bogus campaign to benefit Perez’s family.
The memorial service will be followed by a private burial in Riverside, U-T San Diego reported.
– City News Service
