A former San Diego County sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a fleeing, unarmed man outside the San Diego Central Jail was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday.
Aaron Russell was found guilty of federal charges of deprivation of rights under color of law and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for the May 1, 2020, shooting death of 36-year- old Nicholas Bils.
The trial was Russell's second in federal court in connection with the shooting, after a prior jury deadlocked last year and was unable to reach verdicts.
Russell was also prosecuted in state court, where he faced a second- degree murder charge, but ultimately pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced in 2022 to one year in jail, plus probation.
The shooting also led to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bils' family, which settled in mid-2022, with San Diego County agreeing to pay the family $8.1 million.
Russell is slated to be sentenced in federal court in May.
Bils, who was in the process of being transported to the San Diego Central Jail, slipped out of his handcuffs and out of a California State Parks officer's car, then was shot multiple times in the back, arm and thigh while running away.
(photo: abc 10)