SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Theft Suspect Flees, Later Surrenders
A man suspected of stealing two handguns from a sporting goods store jumped from a second-story motel window to escape, but later surrendered, officials said.
Lt. Richard J. Olson of the Sheriff’s Department said the incident began when a man pointed a handgun at a clerk in Capistrano Sports, 32261 Camino Capistrano, shortly before noon and demanded the two handguns.
Witnesses told deputies that the man fled in a white Ford Mustang with Ohio license plates. An all-points bulletin was issued countywide for the car, Olson said.
About 12:40 p.m., a deputy pulled into the parking lot of the Dana Villa Motel, at Del Obispo Street and Coast Highway, and spotted the car, which had been reported stolen last month in Florida, Olson said.
The suspect jumped from a back window in his motel room onto a pile of rubble and ran, Olson said.
A few minutes later, as deputies and their bloodhounds gathered to search the area, the suspect called 911 from a pay phone at neighboring Doheny State Beach and said he wanted to surrender, Olson said.
He was identified as Dean Jerome Wells, 29, of Ohio. He was booked in Orange County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery.
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