Man Fatally Shot in Traffic Is Identified

A man gunned down as he sat in traffic was identified Tuesday as a 28-year-old Westminster resident, and police said the Monday shooting is now being investigated as a possible drug-related crime.

Police say Stephen Paul Werner was the man shot about 10 a.m. Monday as he sat in his truck at Euclid Street and Westminster Avenue, according to Sgt. Bob Clark. The gunman was trailing him in a car, then “casually walked up” to Werner’s pick-up truck while it was stopped at a light.

Witnesses told police that Werner had earlier argued with a man a few blocks away, and Clark said investigators believe that confrontation--perhaps about a drug purchase--led directly to the shooting.

Initially, police thought the gunman had fired three times, but an autopsy showed that three wounds were caused by a lone shot that went through the victim’s hand, leg and side, Clark said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Tom Serafin at (714) 834-4211.