Police release body cam footage depicting Feb. 1 fatal shooting of homicide suspect at Newport Beach Pier

Police released footage Monday of a pursuit last month involving a homicide suspect shot and killed by officers after he sped past bystanders in a small SUV to the end of Newport Beach Pier and allegedly brandished a firearm.

The violent series of events unfolded on Feb. 1, and began with reports of a shooting at 2:40 a.m. in the city of Menifee. Responding officers found the body of 38-year-old Temecula resident Storm Wolf inside a pickup truck.

Detectives identified her boyfriend, Jose Velasquez, 45, of Menifee, as the primary suspect in the killing. They tracked his cellphone signal to his ex-wife’s house near the 1400 block of North Freeman Street in Santa Ana.

Dispatchers informed police in that city that Velasquez was armed with a handgun and driving a silver Honda CRV. He fled when a pair of police officers tried to pull him over at 6:36 a.m., officer Natalie Garcia, a Santa Ana Police Department spokeswoman, said in a community bulletin posted to YouTube.

Officers chased him through multiple cities and wound up in Newport Beach. Footage posted on social media showed patrol vehicles following the suspect’s CRV as it drove onto the pier, racing past several people who were out fishing or strolling on a Saturday morning.

Santa Ana police chase an SUV driven by a homicide suspect down Newport Beach Pier on Feb. 1. He later exited the vehicle holding a handgun, and was then shot and killed by officers.

(Courtesy of the Santa Ana Police Department)

There were about 20 bystanders nearby when pursuing officers eventually cornered Velasquez at the end of the pier. Moments later, he got out of the SUV holding a Glock 9mm pistol and police responded by opening fire at least two dozen times, as seen in body-worn camera footage.

Velasquez collapsed, and was still breathing and holding the gun in his right hand immediately after he was wounded,, according to Garcia. He did not respond to commands from officers, prompting them to fire a 40mm less lethal round at him before approaching. He was taken into custody, then pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting at 7:24 a.m.

Detectives believe the gun in his possession was the same one used to kill Wolf, Garcia said.

Santa Ana police have been reviewing the matter to determine whether their officers acted in line with the department’s policies, but the investigation is not complete, SAPD Chief Robert Rodriguez stated in Monday’s community briefing. The chase and shooting have also been under investigation by Newport Beach police and the Orange County district attorney’s office. The latter will determine if any allegations of wrongdoing on the part of officers may be warranted.

No bystanders or officers were hurt during the incident.

This Glock 9mm handgun was in the possession of a homicide suspect shot and killed by police at Newport Beach Pier on Feb. 1. Investigators believe it was the same one used to kill a woman in Menifee earlier that morning.

(Courtesy of the Santa Ana Police Department)