Funeral for L.A. County Sheriff’s Explorer

Cesar Rodriguez’s brothers grieve on his casket during his funeral in Sky Rose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. Rodriguez had volunteered at the sheriff’s Norwalk station for four years and had applied to become a deputy. L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca was among those who attended the service.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. County sheriff’s deputies and Explorers fill Sky Rose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park. Rodriguez “was very well liked” at the sheriff’s Norwalk station, said Sgt. Mike Mendoza, who called him “a very upstanding guy.” He said Rodriguez had worked his way up through the ranks of the Explorers, becoming a member of the elite color guard.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Family members, friends, sheriff’s deputies and fellow Explorers pay their respects to Rodriguez in Sky Rose Chapel. The motive for his shooting was not clear, said Deputy Bill Brauberger. Also killed was Rodriguez’s friend Larry Villegas, 24, with whom he was standing outside a house after leaving a party when several shots were fired by the driver of a gray Scion.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Several of Rodriguez’s family members and friends are overcome with grief as they gather around his casket before his burial at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. “It was Cesar’s lifelong dream to become a deputy sheriff,” said Capt. Patrick Maxwell, commander of the sheriff’s Norwalk station, where Rodriguez was a well regarded member of the Explorer Post.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Patrick Maxwell presents the American flag that had draped Rodriguez’s casket to his parents, George and Lupe Rodriguez. The boy’s mother broke down and sobbed as hundreds of mourners wiped tears from their eyes at the service.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The American flag that had draped Rodriguez’s casket is folded so it can be presented to his family during graveside services at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Family members watch as Rodriguez’s casket is loaded into a hearse. No arrests have been made in his shooting. Deputies said three or four people were in the car with the assailant who gunned down Rodriguez and his friend. Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives are handling the investigation.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)