Kidnap Try Ends With Victim and Suspect Shot

An attempted kidnaping of a man, a woman and a newborn baby ended behind the Orange police station Saturday when the suspected kidnaper shot the man and a police officer shot the gunman, police said.

Both suspect and victim were in guarded condition in nearby hospitals but were expected to survive, said Orange Police Sgt. Art Romo. The woman and the baby were not hurt.

Details of the kidnaping were sketchy Saturday night, but police said the incident began about 3 p.m. near the Riverside Freeway in Riverside. Nelson Preves, 45, of Santa Ana was driving a pickup truck, with Esines Rodriguez, 23, of Orange, and Rodriguez’s day-old infant boy in the passenger seat when they were confronted by four Latino men in a small gray car, Romo said.

“There’s an argument over some kind of drug dispute that happened a while back, we’re not sure what,” Romo said.

The suspect, Emilio Sitt Garcia, 19, of Santa Ana, who police believe had a .45-caliber automatic handgun, ordered Preves to drive to Santa Ana and jumped in the back of the pickup, Romo said.

But Preves knew the location of the Orange police station, and drove there instead.

The late-model Mazda pickup pulled up to 300 Almond St., near the the back lot of the police station about 4:45 p.m., Romo said.

Rodriguez, holding the baby, jumped out and ran for help toward a motorcycle police officer, who was standing about 10 feet away. The woman stood in front of the pickup trying to explain to the officer she needed help, Romo said.

At the same time, Garcia jumped from the bed of the truck into the cab, where he wrestled with Preves, and the gun went off, wounding Preves in the chest, Romo said.

Rodriguez, hearing the gunshots, fell to the ground with the baby, Romo said. The officer saw the gun in Garcia’s hand and fired several rounds, at least one of which struck him, Romo said.

The windshield was shattered, as were the passenger and driver side windows.

“We think the suspect was shot twice. The officer fired several shots,” Romo said. Police think one round went through the windshield. They believe Garcia was hit once in the hip and once in the chest, but were still awaiting hospital reports Saturday night.

The Orange County district attorney’s office was investigating the officer-involved shooting, and police were investigating the entire incident. They are also seeking the three other men in the gray car, who followed the pickup for at least part of the way, Romo said.

Garcia is expected to be charged with attempted murder and possibly kidnaping, Romo said.

Garcia was undergoing surgery at UCI Medical Center in Orange Saturday night. Preves was being treated at United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, Romo said.

Times staff writer David Reyes contributed to this story.