Santa Ana : Suspect in Burglary Shot in Police Chase

A burglary suspect was in serious condition Wednesday after he was shot by a police officer during a chase through a residential area, authorities said.

Richard John Ramirez, 24, of Santa Ana was being held in the jail ward at UC Irvine Medical Center with a bullet wound in a shoulder. He was booked on suspicion of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon and of receiving stolen property, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said.

Police said they chased Ramirez in a 1980 Mazda at speeds up to 55 m.p.h. from the 1900 block of West 2nd Street to an alley near Rancho Santiago College at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

When the Mazda crashed into a block wall between an apartment complex and a day care center, Ramirez scaled the wall with a duffel bag in one hand and a handgun in the other, Thomas said.

The man then stopped and pointed the handgun at a police officer, who had followed him over the wall in pursuit, she said. The officer, whose name was not released, fired three shots, striking Ramirez once in the shoulder, she said.

Police said Ramirez was driving a stolen car that reportedly had been involved in a burglary earlier that day at a Garden Grove apartment. Several handguns were stolen.

The victim of that burglary told police that she had seen the Mazda in her apartment parking lot and had recognized a pillowcase inside the car, stuffed with goods. She had jotted down the license plate number and then had gone home to discover that she had been burglarized, Garden Grove Police Lt. Stu Finkelstein said.