{"id":48807,"date":"2026-04-08T01:37:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/family-sues-lapd-over-teens-death-in-store-shooting-trial-begins-wednesday\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T01:37:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:37:57","slug":"family-sues-lapd-over-teens-death-in-store-shooting-trial-begins-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/family-sues-lapd-over-teens-death-in-store-shooting-trial-begins-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Sues LAPD Over Teen’s Death in Store Shooting, Trial Begins Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

A civil trial is scheduled to commence Wednesday in a wrongful death case against the Los Angeles Police Department involving the shooting death of a teenage girl during a 2021 incident at a retail store.<\/p>

Fourteen-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was browsing for holiday clothing with her mother inside a Burlington retail location in North Hollywood on December 23, 2021, when a police bullet penetrated the fitting room wall and fatally wounded her.<\/p>

Law enforcement had responded to emergency calls about an individual attacking two women with a bicycle lock inside the building. During the response, Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. discharged his weapon three times, resulting in the deaths of both the attacker and Orellana-Peralta.<\/p>

The civil action brought by the teenager’s parents claims wrongful death, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.<\/p>

According to the lawsuit, her mother Soledad Peralta “felt her daughter’s body go limp and watched helplessly as her daughter died while still in her arms.”<\/p>

The legal filing contends that the LAPD failed to properly train and oversee the responding officers and “fostered an environment that allowed and permitted this shooting to occur.”<\/p>

Family attorney Nick Rowley stated: “Valentina had her entire life in front of her, and it was taken in an instant due to reckless decisions made by the very people who were sworn to protect her. We intend to hold LAPD fully accountable for taking an innocent young woman’s life.”<\/p>

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which is defending the LAPD, has not yet provided a response to requests for comment.<\/p>

In 2022, the Los Angeles Police Commission, which provides civilian oversight, determined that Jones was justified in his initial shot but violated department policy with his second and third shots. Former Police Chief Michel Moore had previously concluded in his separate review that all three shots violated policy.<\/p>

During testimony before the LAPD’s Use of Force Review Board, Jones explained that he believed an active shooter was inside the store and confused the bicycle lock for a firearm. He also stated he assumed a solid exterior wall was behind the suspect, when the area actually contained women’s changing rooms.<\/p>

Rowley previously obtained a $30 million settlement from San Diego for the death of 16-year-old Konoa Wilson, representing one of the largest police shooting settlements in United States history. That agreement exceeded the $27 million settlement Minneapolis paid in the George Floyd case.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department moves to trial this week over the 2021 shooting death of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta. The teenager was killed by a police bullet that went through a dressing room wall while she was Christmas shopping with her mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":48806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775626677565.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-cHd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63444,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/la-jury-rules-city-not-liable-in-teens-death-from-officers-stray-bullet\/","url_meta":{"origin":48807,"position":0},"title":"LA Jury Rules City Not Liable in Teen’s Death from Officer’s Stray Bullet","author":"Admin","date":"May 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A Los Angeles jury has determined the city bears no responsibility for the tragic death of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was killed by a police officer's stray bullet while Christmas shopping in 2021. The verdict came after a nearly month-long wrongful death trial brought by the teenager's parents against the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778197104895.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778197104895.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778197104895.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778197104895.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40347,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/key-moments-in-breonna-taylor-case-since-2020-fatal-police-shooting\/","url_meta":{"origin":48807,"position":1},"title":"Key Moments in Breonna Taylor Case Since 2020 Fatal Police Shooting","author":"Admin","date":"March 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A comprehensive look at the major developments in the Breonna Taylor case, from her death during a police raid in March 2020 to recent federal court decisions. 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