Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : AT THE SCENE : Arson Trail Leads to Death of Fire Inspector, Suspect
Gunshots fired into a San Juan Capistrano condominium last week killed an Orange County Fire Department arson investigator and wounded a 31-year-old woman.
Police said K.C. Janulaitis, 43, a self-employed computer programmer from San Clemente, was suspected of firing the shots into the darkened bedroom of Barbara Lynn Clark at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, hitting her and killing Dennis J. Donelson, 46, of Seal Beach.
Orange County Fire Department officials said Donelson had been investigating a suspicious fire in July in Clark’s previous apartment and was on duty the night he was killed.
The gunman fled, but police said Clark identified him as Janulaitis. Police also had a description of Janulaitis’ car.
On Sunday, at 11:20 a.m., Janulaitis tried to enter the United States at the San Ysidro border. U.S. Customs agents making a routine computer check found an alert for the car Janulaitis was driving and notification that he was considered armed and dangerous. As the Customs agents moved in, Janulaitis began firing his gun, officials said. The agents fired back.
Janulaitis was struck in the head but still sped off in his car, driving a mile before he crashed. He was dead on arrival at UC San Diego Medical Center.
On Wednesday, more than 300 firefighters and police officers attended funeral services in Cypress for Donelson, a 19-year veteran of fire department work. He had served 14 years as a firefighter and battalion chief with the Seal Beach Fire Department before the city began contracting for county Fire Department service in 1982.
He is survived by his wife and three children. Clark remained hospitalized in serious condition.
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