Security Guard, 63, Found Fatally Stabbed : Crime: Body is found in The City area of Orange, where two others have been killed in the past year.

The body of an unarmed security guard described as a “kind and gentle” man was found stabbed repeatedly in an office complex at midnight Tuesday.

The body of John Chappell, 63, of Garden Grove, was discovered in the 700 block of The City Drive by another guard arriving to begin his shift. Chappell had been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen utility knife, Police Lt. Timm Browne said. His wallet and keys were missing, and the guard room “showed signs of a struggle,” Browne said.

Sheriff’s bloodhounds traced the scent of the attacker to a convenience store a block away, where they lost the trail, Browne said.

Across the street from the slaying, a security guard reported that a white Honda Civic had been stolen between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. Detectives said they were investigating whether that incident was related to the killing.

It was the third slaying in a year within a several-block area. A year ago, another guard was shot to death down the street at a movie theater in The City Shopping Center. Three months later, a Huntington Beach woman was found beaten to death a few blocks from Wednesday’s slaying.

Police on Wednesday were trying to find Chappell’s relatives, if any.

His resume on file at a security company where he had worked from 1989 to 1993 listed St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Garden Grove to be notified as his “next of kin” in an emergency.

“He always spoke of the church as his family,” said Senior Pastor Scott Jenkins.

According to the resume, Chappell had an impressive career as an electrical engineer before he became a security guard. He obtained a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and had worked for a number of companies, including Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton and General Dynamics in Pomona, where he had designed PC boards for radar systems. According to the resume, he quit the job “in lieu of layoff” in 1987.

He was now earning about $6 an hour and struggling to pay his living expenses, friends said. Jenkins said Chappell got good jobs but didn’t keep them long.

“He was an enigma,” Jenkins said. “You would wonder, how he could have an engineering degree and not be able to pull his life together.”

But Jenkins added that “John was about as kind and gentle a soul as you could meet.” Whatever chores needed to be done at the church, from painting to raking, he volunteered to do. “He had a heart of gold,” Jenkins said.

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In turn, the pastor said, whenever Chappell got into a financial bind, the church congregation would take up a special collection for him.

“It’s a real heart-breaker,” Jenkins said of Chappell’s death.

Jenkins said he is helping the police to hunt for Chappell’s relatives, and said the church is more than willing to arrange for his funeral. A friend who requested anonymity said Chappell was divorced and had been living for almost two years at the Fire Station Motel on Harbor Boulevard, in a single room equipped with a microwave.

Debbie Wadlow, motel manager, said, “He was a pleasant, quiet man who was always prompt in paying his ($125-a-week) rent.”

Neighbors remember him as the loner who loved children and sometimes offered them a dollar when they helped him carry the groceries to his second-story room.

“Nowadays, the bad things happen to the good people,” said Brenda LaFountain, 35, of Garden Grove.

The slaying shocked the neighborhood as well as security guards at Shield Security Inc., where Chappell had been working for almost two months and was the first to be killed on the job in the company’s 31-year history. On Wednesday, the company organized personal counseling sessions for its 300 guards in Orange County, said Edward C. Morse, director of operations.

“It is still hard for all of us in trying to deal with this,” Morse said.

Police and other security guards said the neighborhood is ripe for crime.

“The most dangerous hours are from about 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.,” said Joseph Prado, 45, a security post commander who also works in the 700 block of The City Drive. “That’s when you get the most activity. You get the traffic, you get the night crowd and you get a lot of vagrants.”

Within a mile are UCI Medical Center, Theo Lacy Branch Jail, Juvenile Hall, a shopping center and several business complexes. At night, people newly released from jail sometimes wander the streets, Prado said.

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Last year, a movie theater guard, Dagoberto R. Carrero, 23, of Orange, was killed after he asked six people to leave the theater, police said. Three Santa Ana young men were later arrested, and their case is still pending.

Several months later, the body of Leanora Annette Wong, 23, of Huntington Beach was found fatally beaten in the 3800 block of Metropolitan Drive. She died of injuries to the head, neck and pelvis.

Sgt. Robert Lucas, a police officer stationed at the UCI Medical Center a few blocks away, said, “This area has the highest homicide rate in Orange.”

The area’s proximity to Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Anaheim as well as the intersections of several freeways contribute to the high crime rate, he said.

“It’s easy access, they come down from the freeway, commit the crime, and get back on the freeway,” Lucas said. “Then they’re gone.”

Steve Gutman, director of security for The City Shopping Center, said, “Sometimes, you just may be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I think that was the case here.”

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Guard Killed Within the last year The City area of Orange has been the site of three brutal slayings. 1. Woman bludgeoned to death May 20, 1994, near a nightclub. 2. Security officer shot Feb. 19, 1994, at movie theater. 3. John Chappell found slain at office complex Wednesday.