LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles jury found the city not liable in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was killed by a police officer's stray bullet while Christmas shopping in December 2021. The jury deliberated for just over a day before reaching a 9-3 verdict in favor of the city, finding it not negligent on all counts.

Valentina was inside a Burlington store in the North Hollywood neighborhood on December 23, 2021, when a bullet passed through a dressing room wall and struck her. Police had responded to calls for help after a man wielding a bike lock attacked two women in the building.

Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. was part of a group of armed officers that walked through the store. Jones fired his rifle three times, killing the man and Valentina. One of the bullets ricocheted off the ground behind the man and went through the wall, hitting the teenager.

Jones told the Los Angeles Police Department's Use of Force Review Board that he mistook the bike lock the man was holding for a gun. He said he thought the man stood in front of an exterior brick wall, when the area actually contained the women's dressing rooms.

The lawsuit filed by Valentina's parents alleged wrongful death, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Nick Rowley represented the parents in the case.

Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the city shares the family's grief, that the jury made the correct decision, and that the city stands by the officer. In 2022, the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled that Jones was justified in firing once but that his two subsequent shots were out of policy. Then-Police Chief Michel Moore found that all three shots were unjustified.

A report by the California Attorney General's office in April 2024 found that Jones acted with the intent to defend himself from what he reasonably believed to be imminent death or serious bodily injury. The office decided not to file criminal charges against Jones.