Man Found Guilty in ’93 Slaying

A man serving a life sentence for the murder of an Oregon woman was found guilty Thursday of shooting a Manhattan Beach police officer in front of his 13-year-old nephew.

The Torrance Superior Court jury deliberated about two days before convicting Roger Hoan Brady, 33, of first-degree murder in the 1993 slaying.

Because Brady murdered a police officer, a special circumstance, he is eligible for the death penalty. The penalty phase of his trial will begin Monday.

Brady, the son of former NBC television correspondent Phil Brady, grew up in Topanga Canyon and attended Loyola-Marymount University for a few years before dropping out. He eventually developed an addiction to crack cocaine, family friends said.

On Dec. 27, 1993, Officer Martin Ganz pulled over a man near the Manhattan Village shopping mall.

As Ganz approached the car, the man started shooting. Ganz retreated behind his patrol car and the man continued to chase him, still firing. Ganz was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

The suspect then pointed the gun at Ganz’s young nephew, who was on a ride-along with his uncle, before driving away.

The next year, Brady held up a supermarket in suburban Portland, Ore., and shot and killed a nurse who had spotted his car.

After Oregon authorities circulated a description of the suspect, Southern California police officials connected the suspect to the Ganz killing.

When Brady was arrested in Oregon, police found a .380-caliber handgun at his apartment. Ballistics tests showed the .380 pistol was the gun that killed Ganz.