Surgery Set for Cop’s Wound
An Orange County sheriff’s sergeant wounded in a Lake Forest gun battle spent Sunday awaiting surgery to remove a bullet that ricocheted off his cheek and lodged in his shoulder.
Sgt. Kurt Vasentine, 45, remained in fair condition at a Mission Viejo hospital with a .380-caliber round just beneath the skin, said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.
Vasentine was shot once Saturday morning as he grappled with a car theft suspect in an alley. Surgeons had expected to operate Sunday but the procedure was postponed until today.
Sheriff’s investigators spent Sunday trying to piece together the alleged involvement of two reputed Santa Ana gang members who were arrested later Saturday in connection with the shooting.
A stolen Toyota Avalon seen speeding from the crime scene was spotted by police in Santa Ana Saturday afternoon. After a brief chase, officers arrested the driver, Miguel Valdivinos, 20. He was booked Sunday on suspicion of carjacking and lesser crimes.
Valdivinos’ 16-year-old brother was also arrested Saturday after entering a Riverside hospital with a gunshot wound. Deputies allege that the teen, not named because he is a minor, shot Vasentine and was wounded by the officer.
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