in Colusa, a jury recommended the death penalty for Cuitlahuac Tahua "Tao" Rivera...

in Colusa, a jury recommended the death penalty for Cuitlahuac Tahua "Tao" Rivera, 24, a gang member convicted of killing a police officer, Stephan Gray, in April 2004. A judge could accept the jury's recommendation, or lessen the sentence, at a hearing scheduled for June 21. Defense lawyers never disputed that Rivera killed the officer, but argued that the shooting was not premeditated and did not deserve a 1st-degree murder conviction. Gray, a 34-year-old father of 3, is the only police officer to be killed in the line of duty in the Merced Police Department's 118-year history.