Suspect Who Was Shot by Police Is Identified

A man shot dead by a Santa Ana motorcycle officer as he reportedly tried to evade arrest was identified by a police spokesman Friday as Paul Castro, 20, of Santa Ana. Police had been seeking Castro as a suspect in at least two armed robberies.

The spokesman said police “had been looking for him pretty heavily” for at least 2 weeks when officers received a tip early Thursday evening that Castro was at an address in the 2000 block of West Civic Center Drive. Four uniformed officers were sent to the address, the spokesman said, and when Castro saw them pull up, he began to run and reach toward his waist. One officer fired twice, hitting Castro once in the back, police said. A knife was found on the body, police said.

During the search for Castro, police were advised that “he was armed and dangerous,” Lt. Robert Chavez said, because tipsters had told officers that he carried weapons and that he would resist arrest.

Chavez said that the robberies Castro was believed to have committed involved threats with knives, small-caliber handguns and sawed-off shotguns. A warrant issued for Castro stated that he was suspected of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, auto theft, receiving stolen property and hit-and-run driving.

Chavez said that, as is usual in the Police Department when an officer is involved in a shooting, the officer who shot Castro is on a 3-day paid leave during which he will be offered psychological counseling.

Chavez declined to identify the officer or to say whether that officer has been involved in other shootings.

An investigation into the shooting is continuing.