SANTA ANA : Nightclub Gunman Remains at Large

Police on Friday were seeking a man who shot another man to death during an argument outside a nightclub.

The victim, Willie Curtis Ford, 26, of Bellflower, was apparently trying to help a woman who was trading barbs with another man at Mr. J’s nightclub at 2100 E. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton said.

According to witnesses, the woman and man were arguing just as patrons were trickling out of the nightclub at 1:40 a.m., Helton said.

“Apparently, the suspect said something to the female and (Ford) came to her defense and there was an exchange of words between the two males,” Helton said.

The man drew an automatic handgun and fired at Ford several times and then jumped into a dark-colored car, Helton said. Witnesses said the gunman drove across a street divider in his haste to flee the scene, he said.

The woman had already left the bar when police arrived.

Ford was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he died, Helton said.

Police are trying to determine whether Ford and the woman knew each other, but they know that the woman and the gunman did not come to the bar together, Helton said.

“We don’t know if it was a boyfriend, girlfriend thing or a date,” he said. “We don’t know if there was a relationship between the victim and the female either.”

According to police, Mr. J’s is a nightclub that features different musical acts each week, and therefore attracts different kinds of customers. The owners of the club told police they didn’t recognize the people involved in the shooting, Helton said.