Two men in Santa Ana tried to carjack an unmarked car last night – only to realize that the two men in the car were cops! The cops were searching for illegal fireworks, according to the O.C. Register, when an SUV stopped in front of them and one of the bad guys tried to talk tough and insinuated that he had a gun. Busted!
The cops jumped out and confronted the would-be carjackers. The bad guys jumped back in their SUV and a short chase ensued, after which the cops lost one of the miscreants, after he got out and ran. But they did catch the driver, Eleazar Lopez, a Santa Ana resident.
What the O.C. Register did not report was that this carjacking was just the latest episode of this sort of crime in Santa Ana. There have been several carjackings this past year, including the jacking of a guy’s taco cart, along with his van.
As you would expect, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido did not make mention of the carjackings at his “State of the City” address a few weeks ago.
I am glad the cops stopped this carjacking…but the bad guys picked the wrong car to jack. They just as easily could have jacked a different car. We obviously have a crisis on our hands in Santa Ana – but don’t expect anyone on our City Clowncil to address this problem. Instead they will look the other way and talk about whatever development scheme they are currently excited about.
You have to wonder why carjackings are on the rise in Santa Ana. What is happening to the cars that get jacked? Are they being sold for parts? Are they being driven to Mexico? Are they being resold as used cars? Are they being used to commit crimes, such as bank robberies? And when is Pulido going to take this bull by the horns?
Maybe we all need to ask SAPD Chief Paul Walters for a concealed weapons permit…
Too bad one got away. How are civilians supposed to handle these jackings if cops can’t even handle them and are trained for it? This has to be one creative police report on file. Can we say OOPS?
Let’s see, on a CCW application when asked to list reason(s) for application, and demonstrated need for CCW;
#1 I drive in Santa Ana
#2 Even the SAPD can’t get/stop these A-holes when they are carjacked
#3 When seconds count the police are only minutes away
#4 It’s my freaking Right to protect myself and family, (see SCOTUS, DC vs. Heller)
#5 The police have no legal obligation to protect or respond to any particular private party/property incident
#6 I drive/live in Santa Ana
Should be a slam dunk right?
Carl;
That sounds about right to me. When car jackers confront 2 of Santa Ana’s finest and one bad guy can still get away, then what are the average guys chances waiting for a cop to show up after the crime? These cops had guns, pepper spray, and night sticks but still couldn’t stop one from escaping. I wonder what would have happened if this was in Texas?
Anonplus,
They wouldn’t be out on the streets waiting to assualt anyone else is my guess.
Most of us who shoot recreationaly are more practiced and accurate then most of the “pros” who wear them as a tool everyday and only fire them to qualify once a year.
Carl,
Actually the ‘pros’ now have to shoot at least every other month and in some places every month. They do combat and tactical shooting scenerios as well as just the old PPC course.
My guess on this caper is that because no gun was shown by the bad guys the cops were unable to esculate to deadly force. However that still doesn’t explain why they lost control of the situation.
Carl –
Could it be that the “pros” were laughing to much at the thought of these perps actually trying to pull this caper off. . . this of course caused them to lose a step in the foot chase, and they were winded as well. Yeah, that’s got to be the answer.
This evening I got more of the true story. It seems the papers got it wrong factually. The vehicle was an unmarked PD vehicle, however there was one Santa Ana Police officer and one Santa Ana Fireman in the vehicle. Doing an stakeout for illegal fireworks. It was an attempted assault not an attempted carjacking as reported in the paper.
Burned by a newspaper report, who’d have thunk it. So, I guess my comments should be directed at the real target. How sad that we jump on the potential missteps of law enforcement, and not on the fact that the criminal element of society feels so safe in their actions that the carjacking/assault was even attempted.