Retired deputy fatally shoots purse-snatching supect in La Habra

A retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man as he allegedly tried to steal a woman's purse in La Habra this evening, authorities said.

La Habra police received a call about 5 p.m. from a woman who said her purse had been snatched in the 1300 block of Beach Boulevard. Police then received a second call from the retired deputy, who said he was in his car chasing the suspects, who were fleeing in their vehicle, said Cindy Knapp, a spokeswoman for the La Habra Police Department.

The man opened fire on the alleged purse snatcher in the 700 block of West Imperial Highway, Knapp said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are still looking for the driver of the vehicle, a woman who took off running along Imperial Highway. She was described as a Latina, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 130 pounds with red hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a black tank top with black stretch pants and had a mole or tattoo under her right eye, police said.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Comments

[jeff finney]

The old guy was reckless in his failed attempt to play hero and should be promptly jailed for reckless homicide. The theives were jackasses, but so is this guy. And why is the LAT protecting the old guy's identity? Time for law enforcement and such vigilantes to be held to a MORE stringent accountability standard than the general population. Most are often held to a lesser standard, as I'm sure someone'll find a way to give this murderer a pass when he gets to court.

[leo supporter]

good for him! hope that purse snatcher regrets his life as he burns in hell.

[kooo]

....YAWN...

[jeff finney]

Good to know that old-timey cowboy spirit is still alive in L.A.! But the cowboys who applaud the murder of a, admittedly, piece of human trash, are more of the "Brokeback Mountain" type. As a private citizen it was the old mans duty to "observe and report" ONLY. His actions may inspire the homoerotic blood lust of the weak minded and fearful among us, but the man is a murderer and should be jailed as such with no special treatment often accorded current and former law enforcement. In fact, his sentencing should be harsher than someone with no law enforcement training would get. In America we have our owm Taliban.

[Barney Fife]

The retired old man ex-pig will say the car was backing up towards him and he felt threatened. That may work with LAPD when they murder someone, but this guy is a private citizen. He will fry for this.

[Paul]

Death penalty for stealing a purse? Seems a little harsh...

[Arrow12]

Shoot first ask questions later?

[Antonio Villaraigosa]

THIS IS HORRIBLE!! Why are you people in favor of someone shooting and killing an unarmed man who (as the article says) 'alledegly' stole a purse???

For all of you who applaud this deputy, I hope he catches you one day in a verbal arguement with a friend or stranger, and he shoots you for domestic violence or some other 'alleged' crime.

This is horrible!!

[Ben]

It's unsettling to me that people are glad the man who was shot is dead.

Theft sucks - I've been robbed twice, my girlfriend twice as well. Even though it's made me want to hurt the people who did it, I'm glad that they didn't somehow get killed for their mistakes. Punished - fine, but not killed.

I'm not trying to criticize the retired officer. There's not enough information to say whether the retired officer acted competently

But if you're very glad that person died, you might have had either bad experiences with crime or just feel justified in killing for that reason.

But either way, imagine if the now-dead person was someone you knew or someone you could empathize with. What if the dead person had been a member or your family, for instance?

It's important to not tolerate this kind of crime, but this kind of death causes suffering for many people - friends, family, the community, the police. It's to be taken somberly - not celebrated.

[Frank]

I am so glad there is one woman going to bed tonight knowing she has her hair-brush and tampons safe and sound. I personally feel safer knowing this ex-cop is roaming around taking care of business. Maybe we can get him into our schools to thin down the herd. Man, what a classic argument for the right to bear arms. Rock on bullets!

[Hagop]

All the losers who think the thief didn't deserve death are idiots and apparantly like living in a crime filled society. I don't think we should have to tolerate any crime and and that's what it takes to make people think twice before they jack you. Eventually they won't pull that crap anymore.

[Anibal Jaramillo]

Please take into consideration the following: This retired deputy, thinking that he is still part of the law enforcement, took it upon himself to due justice. However, his justice is not the American way. There are countries where you need to be caught stealing several times before being severely punished. He completely forgot about due process, didn't he? Lots of facts remain unknown about this article but let me just say that for those of you people that think it is fine for ex cops or even cops to kill on sight for a petty crime as purse snatching, I say to you that you are the reason why we lose our rights so often. You surrender your rights as Americans to the "authority figures" instead of choosing to govern them ourselves. One day you will wake up to be in a police state unless you stop siding with murdering bandit cops (and ex cops).

[2 cents]

shocking and disgusting to me to see how many comments here seem to support robbery and sympathize with the thugs perpetrating this crime - thank you deputy, for continuing to keep decent folks safe even in your retirement

[Joanne]

A purse snatcher hurt me so badly, that I had to have two back operations, and was terribly disabled for two years. Still, that is not what the death penalty is for. It is one thing to follow long enough to get a license plate number, I'd do that. But shooting someone when the victim wasn't hurt, when the crime wasn't even completed, is madness. This is a cold blooded murder. The shooter tracked this guy down and murdered him.

[MV]

what if the victim had been your wife or your daughter, wouldn't you want someone to protect them when you are not around.

[Jaunenito]

The hatred in this column is flat out shamefull & sad! The LA County Sheriff's Dept. is never ceasing to amaze at how killing is so routine. Everything this "Retired" deputy did was illegal & he will have to pay for it. Getting the license plate & following them until help came seems more logical & humane & legal. What he did was a cardinal sin regardless if the kid snatched a purse. This intoxication of power is why the city pays out so much money. Just train these murdering mercenaries & it will save us pain & money.

[Jaunenito]

The hatred in this column is flat out shamefull & sad! The LA County Sheriff's Dept. is never ceasing to amaze at how killing is so routine. Everything this "Retired" deputy did was illegal & he will have to pay for it. Getting the license plate & following them until help came seems more logical & humane & legal. What he did was a cardinal sin regardless if the kid snatched a purse. This intoxication of power is why the city pays out so much money. Just train these murdering mercenaries & it will save us pain & money.

[Ryan]

According to the OC Register, the purse snatcher pulled a replica firearm before being fired upon. Clear justification for the use of deadly force on the part of the retired officer. If you point something that looks like a gun at someone who is armed, you will probably be shot, don't do it.

[OC Latina]

Thank you, Mr. Retired Deputy. I wish we had more like you. I'm so fed up w/crime in the streets, I don't care if they're Black/White/Brown. I don't care if they're stealing a purse or robbing a bank, it's not yours to take. The Deputy saved taxpayer's money by not having to support one more idiot in jail. There's no such thing as excessive force when you're breaking the law, big or small!

[Mario]

I'm a liberal, I own firearms and believe in self defense... but this is too much. Yes, any citizen can witness, follow and report criminal activity. All that is good. But he broke the law by carrying a firearm, drawing on it and firing it. What if he had injured innocent bystanders? I hate these low-life perps just like the next person, but I cannot support this type of vigilante behavior. This retired deputy should be taught that the law, as imperfect as it is, is far more just than his own hand. If we allow/condone this type of behavior, we are not much higher than the perpetrators themselves.

[ohwell]

one less for the gene pool i say ....................

[john]

That is MURDER in any language, country or legal system.

[William K]

Well let's see here criminals have guns use them in the commission of a violent crime killing their victim or victims. Where is the citizen outrage? When a citizen legally in possession of a firearm takes action to assist another citizen instead of standing by and watching shoots and kills the criminal all you liberal naysayers come out on your soap boxes. Wake up you ignorant people! Criminals don"t care about your civil rights or your lives...So I applaud this retired police officer for having the courage to do what you liberal civil libertarians would not do.

[coco]

My 81 year old mother was purse snatched in front of my eyes while i was waiting at a red light . She was within an eyeshot of me in front of a church where she and a group of senior citizens had just been dropped off after a casino trip. when the light turned green, i arrived just in time to see the whole brutal crime unfurl in maybe 10 seconds, some punk hit my mother from behind, dragged her when her arm was stuck in the strap , broke her glasses all in front of a group of defenseless seniors. I jumped out and all these fragile people were upset and crying. My mother lived say in fear because her i.d w/ address was in her bag . lo and behold , her identity ws stolen right after this crime.
Yeah , ok death penalty for a purse snatching? Maybe.
I wish that "off duty " deputy was around for that !
Stop nursing and appeasing stupid street punks who are repeat offenders!
Really people , wait until a violent crime happens to you or a member of your family . Then how will you feel ?

[ReilleyFam]

Sad that this well-meaning man thinks that purse-snatching deserves the death penalty. I am for this type of intervention but a retired deputy of all people knows what "excessive force" is. This is a good example of why retired cops should be stripped of their wepons and given a "your now a regular citizen like everyone else" training so they dont continue to think they are SuperCop. Sad, this is literally homicide and this deputy should do time under the law - if you or I did this we would.