Lawyer Hit in Shootout Is in Critical Condition : Violence: Charles Salovesh, a volunteer judge in Fullerton and a law professor, exchanged gunfire with robber, police say.

A Brea attorney known in Orange County’s legal world for his work as a law professor and substitute judge was in critical condition Tuesday after four hours of surgery for gunshots suffered in an apparent robbery outside a friend’s home in Orange.

Charles Edward Salovesh, 59, was hit twice in the upper body--one shot piercing his heart--during an exchange of gunfire with a man who demanded money after Salovesh parked his car Monday night, police said.

The gunman, who apparently was not hurt in the shootout, fled with Salovesh’s wallet and at least $25, police said. Investigators said the motive for the attack appeared to be robbery, but they did not rule out other possibilities.

The violent encounter shocked longtime friends at the Municipal Court in Fullerton where the mild-mannered Salovesh has spent much of his working life--as a deputy marshal and then lawyer, and in recent years as a volunteer judge filling in on small claims and traffic matters.

“It was a shock to hear . . . it just made me sick in the heart,” said marshal’s Sgt. Kyle Thomas, who worked with Salovesh when the Fullerton court opened in 1970.

At the courthouse Tuesday, Thomas showed his junior colleagues a grainy police yearbook picture of Salovesh, an accomplished pianist and singer known to most as “Ched,” a hybrid of his first and middle names. “I guess this can happen to anyone, anywhere, nowadays,” Thomas said.

As Salovesh fought for his life at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, investigators said progress in their hunt for the gunman was slow. “We haven’t made any headway in finding the suspect,” said Orange Police Lt. Timm Browne.

Officials at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton had to find a last-minute replacement professor Tuesday for a criminal procedures class that Salovesh has taught since 1992.

“Everybody’s pulling for him,” said Richard Jenkins, an associate dean who has known Salovesh since they attended the law school together in the 1970s. “We’re hoping everything turns out all right.”

Salovesh attended law school while working as a marshal, then joined the Anaheim city attorney’s office in 1978 to prosecute misdemeanors in the same Fullerton courthouse.

Since retiring from the city prosecutor’s office in 1985, Salovesh has taught and occasionally volunteered as a judge pro tem in the Fullerton courthouse. He is among dozens of lawyers who sit as judges on mundane traffic and small claims cases when full-time judges are on vacations or cases are backlogged.

North Court administrator William J. Brennan said Salovesh presided only a few times each year and that it was “very unlikely” the shooting stemmed from one of his cases.

As an instructor at the police academy at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Salovesh has taught legal principles to thousands of recruits and police officers taking refresher courses.

“He’s touched a lot of people, and a lot of people are concerned for him,” said Frank Patino, an academy official.

Investigators, who spoke with Salovesh before he underwent surgery, said the gunman demanded money as Salovesh parked in the 700 block of East Lake Drive. Salovesh handed over the wallet with $20, then another $5 when the man demanded more, police said.

When the robber began to pat down Salovesh for more money, investigators said, the attorney stepped back and withdrew his concealed weapon and started shooting. As a retired marshal, Salovesh is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, police said.

The only blood found at the scene belonged to Salovesh. The robber’s gun, recovered at the scene, apparently malfunctioned after the first shots, Browne said. Salovesh’s gun was found nearby. Police said two shots were fired from the suspect’s gun and three from Salovesh’s.