Off-Duty CHP Officer Wounded Foiling Holdup; 1 Robber Killed

An armed robber was killed and three other people wounded during a late-night restaurant robbery attempt that was foiled by an off-duty highway patrolman, authorities said Friday.

The incident occurred around 11:20 p.m. Thursday when at least three men entered the Emma Cafe on Garden Grove Boulevard, said Jill Angel, spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.

One bandit pulled out a handgun and aimed at an off-duty CHP officer who was standing near the cash register. When the officer attempted to go for his gun, the robber shot at him but missed, Angel said.

The officer then apparently grabbed the barrel of the gunman’s weapon. During the tussle that followed the gunman was fatally shot and the officer suffered two bullet wounds to his left arm, authorities said.

The officer then shot and wounded a second armed bandit in the leg. The wounded intruder and at least one other companion fled the restaurant, as did most of the customers, Angel said. A bystander, identified by the restaurant owner as her dishwasher, was wounded by a bullet fragment.

Police later found the wounded suspect, who is 16 years old, by following a bloody trail on the sidewalk outside the cafe. At least one suspect is still at large.

Police declined to release the name of the highway patrolman, but the restaurant owner identified him as her boyfriend, Lt. Ronald B. Ryen. A law enforcement source confirmed the name. Police also declined to release the name of the dead man, the suspects and the wounded bystander pending notification of relatives.

Ryen was listed in serious condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange after undergoing surgery. None of the survivors’ injuries appear to be life-threatening, authorities said.

The CHP and Orange County district attorney’s office have joined Garden Grove police in the investigation because an officer was involved in the shooting.

CHP Sgt. Mike Brey said the officer committed a brave act, “especially when you consider that he was outnumbered.”

Garden Grove Police Officer Stu Finkelstein said multiple shots were fired in the struggle and it is not clear how many guns were involved.

The interior of the tiny restaurant was riddled with at least seven bullet holes. “The bullets went everywhere,” said Chil Sun Park, 35, owner of the Korean-food restaurant, as she pointed to a hole in the ceiling.

Park was coming out of the restroom when the bandits entered her restaurant. She said they ordered her to lie down on the floor.