Man Makes First Court Appearance In Crash That Killed LAPD Sergeant

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Hawthorne man made his first court appearance Tuesday on murder charges stemming from a 2025 crash on the 405 Freeway near Bel-Air that killed a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant and another motorist.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle ordered Mario Joseph Bickham, 36, to remain jailed in lieu of $4 million bail while awaiting arraignment Aug. 11 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Bickham was arrested and charged Monday with two counts of murder stemming from the crash, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on June 23, 2025, on the southbound San Diego Freeway just north of Moraga Drive. The crash killed 53-year-old LAPD Sgt. Shiou Deng and 34-year-old Jesus Garcia.

In a court filing, Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall wrote that the data recorder from the 2023 Nissan Maxima showed Bickham was driving at 112.5 mph five seconds before the crash and that he applied "hard brakes" in the seconds leading up to the collision, but crashed into the patrol car, Garcia's disabled Toyota and the two men.

The prosecutor contended that Bickham — whom he alleged has a driving history that is "littered with minor and serious infractions" — "has shown a pattern of recklessly endangering the public by using his vehicle in a manner extremely dangerous to human life despite repeated warnings" and that "he ignored them and continued his dangerous activity."

The prosecution's motion seeking to have the defendant held behind bars without bail is expected to be heard at next month's court hearing.

Garcia had just finished his shift at Whole Foods in Woodland Hills and was on his way home when his Toyota pickup was struck on the freeway by a hit-and-run driver, leaving it disabled in the southbound HOV lane. The hit-and- run driver has never been identified or located, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday at a news conference announcing the charges.

A short time later, while Garcia's Toyota was disabled, another car swerved to avoid the pickup and wound up striking the freeway median and stopping a few hundred feet away, according to the district attorney.

Deng then arrived on the scene in his patrol vehicle and activated his emergency lights to alert oncoming motorists of the disabled vehicles. Thirty-three other vehicles safely drove past the area without incident before Bickham slammed into the patrol SUV and the sergeant, Hochman said.

Garcia, who was outside his vehicle, was struck and died at the scene, while Deng was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, where he was pronounced dead. Bickham also suffered major injuries in the crash but survived.

"Sergeant Deng lived his life the way most of us wish we could — with kindness, with humor, and with purpose," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at Deng's funeral last year. "He didn't just do the job, he lifted up people doing it beside him. He made people laugh when they needed it most. He made them feel seen, valued and included."

If convicted as charged, Bickham faces two potential life prison terms.

Bickham allegedly had multiple prior citations for speeding, including one he received for driving more than 105 mph just one month before the fatal crash on the San Diego Freeway, Hochman said, noting that Bickham was cited in that case and ordered to appear in court, but failed to show up.

A GoFundMe page created by Garcia's family described him as "a loving son, brother, uncle and friend whose kindness and warmth touched everyone he met."

According to McDonnell, Deng was promoted to sergeant in 2023 and assigned to the department's West Los Angeles Division. Deng had 26 1/2 years on the LAPD, 17 of which he served in the LAPD Mental Evaluation Unit.