Suspect Shot by Officer in Drug Deal

An Irvine police officer on Wednesday shot and wounded a man who allegedly sold half a kilogram of cocaine to undercover narcotics officers and then fled when they tried to arrest him, police said.

The man, whose name was not immediately available, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with a bullet wound in the back of his right leg.

Another man involved in the apparent drug deal with undercover agents was arrested on suspicion of selling cocaine, police said.

Irvine police said the arrests were the result of an extensive investigation that led undercover officers to Santa Ana. The officers had negotiated drug buys with the suspects on several occasions before Wednesday’s incident, which occurred about 6:20 p.m. near Edinger Avenue and the Costa Mesa Freeway, police said.

After completing the alleged drug deal, the suspects fled when the undercover officers identified themselves and tried to arrest them, police said.

One suspect was apprehended quickly, but the other struck an officer with his fist and ran down an alley in an industrial area near Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street, police said.

The officer chased the suspect and “at one point during the pursuit, the suspect turned (toward the officer), causing the officer to fear for his safety and the safety of others,” Irvine Police Lt. Pat Rogers said.

The officer fired two shots at the suspect but missed, police at the scene said. The suspect continued running and crossed Edinger Avenue to a dirt lot. The officer followed and apparently fired two more rounds at the suspect, hitting him in the leg, police said.

Investigators from the Orange County district attorney’s office are investigating the incident as they do all officer-involved shootings.

The incident was the 14th officer-involved shooting in Orange County this year.