Robbery Suspect Is Fatally Shot by O.C. Officer

A fleeing, unarmed man, who was suspected of robbing a clothing store in Orange two weeks ago, was fatally shot in the back by a Santa Ana police officer after he ignored an order to stop, authorities said Wednesday.

Ernest Henry Nunez, 31, of Orange was shot late Tuesday with a single shotgun blast by a Santa Ana police officer while Nunez’s wife, two daughters and son, who range in age from 9 to 12, looked on. He died early Wednesday morning at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

It was the sixth shooting by a Santa Ana police officer this year and the second that resulted in a death. Throughout the county, there have been 25 shootings involving officers so far this year. In them, 15 of those who were shot have died. Last year, there were 20 shootings involving officers, and 10 of those shot died.

Santa Ana police said Nunez, who has five drug or burglary convictions in Orange County dating to 1977, was hit by shotgun pellets in the back and head.

He was carrying no weapon, police said.

In the robbery for which Nunez was being sought, his wife, Rosie Nunez, said her husband went with her to the Kids Mart store on Chapman Avenue where she works, tied her up and took about $3,000. Police declined to provide any details about the case.

Tuesday night’s incident began in Orange, where police from that city spotted Nunez and his wife in her car and followed them into Santa Ana, where more police cars joined the pursuit. It ended on Camille Street just east of Harbor Boulevard where Nunez, aware that he was being followed by police, jumped out of the car and ran a short distance before being shot.

Rosie Nunez told The Times that he made no threatening gestures toward police as he attempted to flee on foot in the 3700 block of Camille Street.

Police “didn’t have to shoot him,” she said. “It seemed to me that he was trying deliberately to kill him.”

However, a source in the Santa Ana Police Department familiar with the details of the case said the officer, whose name was not released, saw Nunez running “with his hands in his waistband.” The officer was fearful that Nunez was about to turn, pull a gun and fire, said the source who spoke only on the condition his name be withheld.

Rosie Nunez disputed that account, saying her husband was running with his hands pumping at his sides and never made a move to his waistband.

As is standard procedure in police officer shootings, the Orange County district attorney’s office has been asked to join the Santa Ana police in investigating the incident.

Santa Ana police policy permits use of deadly force when “there is fear of death or serious bodily injury to the officer, another officer or a citizen or a bystander,” Lt. Robert Helton said.

“ ‘Life-threatening’ is the key in the use of (deadly) force, and that’s a determination made by the individual involved based on the circumstances he’s confronted with,” Helton said.

However, Helton said he does not “have the details of whether (the officer) saw furtive movements or the factors that led up to the discharge of the shotgun.”

“I don’t know for sure what (the officer’s) thoughts were at the time of the shooting,” Helton said.

The patrolman who fired the shot was routinely placed on three-day paid administrative leave, which includes psychological counseling.

Edward Nunez, born and raised in Orange, attended Orange High School but never graduated, his wife said. He began using drugs as a teen-ager and spent time in a juvenile camp for delinquents, she said.

When he was 19, he joined the National Guard in what family members described as an attempt to turn himself around. From time to time he helped out his father, Francisco, who owns an Orange roofing company, she said.

But he inevitably found himself in trouble with the law on a variety of drug and burglary offenses--none of them violent crimes--and spent much of the last decade of his life behind bars, family members said.

“He was in trouble most of his life, hanging around with the wrong people,” Francisco Nunez said.

The events leading up to Nunez’s death began to unfold about 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Two undercover, unmarked Orange Police Department cars spotted a Toyota driven by Rosie Nunez, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Art Echternacht said.

When the officers confirmed that the car’s passenger was robbery suspect Ernest Nunez, they requested assistance from Santa Ana Police for “a felony car stop” after the auto had entered that city, he said.

Nunez’s car, southbound on Harbor Boulevard, turned left onto residential Camille Street and at least six Santa Ana and Orange police cars followed, Echternacht and witnesses said. Police attempted to pull Nunez’s car over using flashing lights and a short burst of siren, witnesses said.

As Nunez’s car slowed and pulled alongside the curb, Ernest Nunez jumped out and attempted to flee, Echternacht said.

“The officers yelled at Nunez to stop, which he ignored,” Echternacht said. “A single shot was fired from a shotgun by one of the Santa Ana officers, striking Nunez, who fell to the ground, and he was taken into custody.”

Nunez was transported to UCI Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and died about 3:45 a.m., Echternacht said.

“Our officers were advised when the assistance was requested (by Orange police) that this was a robbery suspect,” Santa Ana Police spokesman Helton said.

But Helton was unable to say whether Nunez was also suspected of using a weapon in the robbery. Orange police said Wednesday that they had been asked by investigators from the district attorney’s office and Santa Ana Police Department not to comment on the robbery because it might jeopardize their homicide investigation.

Rosie Nunez, however, said the Sept. 5 robbery of a Kids Mart store on Chapman Avenue for which police sought her husband had not involved a weapon. Her husband was “not a violent person” and has never owned or used a weapon, she said.

The robbery, Rosie Nunez said, occurred after her husband had brought her to work that day. He asked for money, and after she refused, tied her up in a back room and fled with about $3,000, she said.

Nunez then fled to Las Vegas, his wife said, but returned Sunday to her home in Orange. The next day he told her it would be best if he left his family alone and asked her to drive him Tuesday to Santa Ana.

“He loved us, but he just couldn’t be with us,” she said.

Rosie Nunez believes that police had her house under surveillance because as she, her husband and their children drove from the home Tuesday night, an increasing number of police cars fell in line behind them.

When her husband attempted to flee on foot, a police officer shouted for him to stop, then shot him when he didn’t, she said.

Andy Kline, 17, watched from a bedroom window as the incident unfolded.

Nunez was fleeing with his back to an officer with a raised shotgun when the patrolman shouted “Hold it!” three times, then fired, Kline said.

Bryan Brown, who heads the district attorney’s homicide unit, said all witnesses will be interviewed by teams of investigators.

Staff Writer Eric Lichtblau contributed to this story.

The Camille Street Shooting

1. Robbery suspect Ernest Henry Nunez gets out of the car driven by his wife, Rosie, and begins to flee and approaching police patrol car. 2. The Santa Ana police officer stops his car and orders Nunez to halt. 3. When Nunez continues to run the officer fires one shotgun blast. Nunez is hit in the back and head and collapses on the street.

Based on police and eyewitness accounts