Undercover Officer Evades Being Run Down by Car

A police narcotics officer working undercover in a crime-plagued neighborhood in Orange opened fire on a late-model car Friday after the driver tried to run down his partner, injuring a passenger, authorities said.

Orange Police Sgt. Timm Browne said the shooting happened at 4:40 p.m. when the two plainclothes officers were conducting a narcotics suppression patrol in the 100 block of West Wilson Street.

Browne said the officers, driving an unmarked car, pulled up behind a 1988 Nissan with two men sitting in the front seats. While one officer walked up to the driver’s door, the other approached the passenger side to question the men inside, Browne said.

“Upon contact, the officers identified themselves with their badges and the suspects attempted to flee,” he said. “In so doing, they swerved their vehicle and attempted to strike one of the officers.”

At that point, Browne said, the officer on the passenger side of the car “observed one of the suspects with what he believed to be a gun in his hand. The officer fired twice at the vehicle and hit the vehicle both times.”

The suspects’ car sped off, and both officers ran back to their car and gave chase. A short distance later, Browne said the two men stopped the Nissan and began to run.

The driver, later identified as Salvador Carlos Hernandez, 22, of Buena Park, was taken into custody while the other man, identified as Martin Cornejo of Orange, ran to an apartment “where he surrendered after a brief standoff,” Browne said.

Browne added that a handgun was recovered from one of the suspects.

Cornejo was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, where he was treated for a minor injury to his right arm. Browne said it was not known whether Cornejo had been wounded in the shooting or was injured by something inside the car after the shots were fired.

Browne said both men may face charges of assault with a deadly weapon “upon completion of the investigation.”

The narcotics officers were working in the area because of “numerous complaints about prostitution, fencing stolen property, narcotics dealing and overdoses” in the neighborhood.