Santa Ana : Man, 18, Arrested in Store Clerk’s Slaying

An 18-year-old Santa Ana man has been arrested in the death of a grocery store clerk who was shot and killed when he stepped out of a storeroom while a robbery was under way, police said.

Santa Ana police said Anthony Onnett was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon and charged with robbery and one count of murder in the May 15 slaying of Jose Banda, 22, also of Santa Ana.

Banda, a stock clerk at the Lucky Center Market on West 5th Street, was shot once in the head and killed instantly when he inadvertently walked into a robbery in progress, said police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas.

According to police, Onnett allegedly walked into the grocery store armed with a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle, robbed the owner at gunpoint and then demanded money from the cash register. As the robbery was in progress, Thomas said, Banda came out of the back room and was shot at a distance of about 40 feet.

Thomas said Onnett escaped on foot but was spotted Tuesday by a police officer in downtown Santa Ana. He was arrested at 3:30 p.m. and the alleged murder weapon was later recovered.

Thomas said Onnett was also wanted for robbery in Garden Grove and that he was an escapee from an Orange County juvenile facility. Onnett was being held in Orange County jail.