Crime & Safety

Police: Off-Duty CHP Officer Shoots Burglary Suspect

A burglary suspect was shot at about 3:30 a.m. near the Murrieta home of an off-duty CHP officer, police said this morning.

A burglary suspect was recovering from his wounds and an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer was under investigation following a shooting in a Murrieta neighborhood early Tuesday.

The shooting occurred at about 3:30 a.m. in the 27300 block of Wedgewood Way, according to Murrieta police Capt. Dennis Vrooman. The cul de sac is off of Greer Road, near Clinton Keith Road.

"We had an off-duty officer who lives in the neighborhood who stopped what we believe a theft in progress," Vrooman said. "He was awakened by dogs and some noises outside, so he came outside and confronted the person.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The officer believed that maybe the suspect was armed with what he believed at the time was a handgun. Based upon that, he ending up shooting the suspect."

The suspect is a 26-year-old man who lives in the Moreno Valley area.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Vrooman said the suspect was taken into custody when he went for treatment of non-life threatening gunshot wounds about an hour later at Riverside County Medical Center in Moreno Valley.

The suspect, whose name was not released, suffered wounds to one of his legs, according to Vrooman.

"But I will say he has extensive criminal history," Vrooman said.

The quiet neighborhood remained taped off at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday as officers from the sheriff's department, California Highway Patrol and the Murrieta Police Department gathered evidence.

The rounds appeared to have been shot in the roadway, and Vrooman said the suspect's pickup truck—silver or gray in color—had been recovered and had damage consistent with rounds being fired.

The CHP officer, who Vrooman said works out of the San Diego area, remained at his Wedgewood Way home and was being routinely questioned by both the Murrieta Police Department and CHP.

The CHP officer, whose name was not released either, was not injured, Vrooman said.

"As standard with any officer-involved shooting, his agency will conduct a parallel investigation to determine whether his actions were within their department policies," Vrooman said.

The CHP referred all inquires regarding the investigation to the Murrieta Police Department.

As to whether anything was taken in the attempted theft, Vrooman said police are still determining that.

"We are investigating to determine if there were any accomplices in the car with him at the time of the theft or anybody who may have helped him in his escape afterwards," Vrooman said.

"It appears maybe the theft was at the front of the residence [of one of the officer's neighbors]. We are investigating other possibilities as well by contacting other neighbors to see if there was any forcible entry into any homes.

"From time to time we do have thefts; realize that we are within close proximity to the 215 freeway. We do have people who come from other areas within the county that will get off on Clinton Keith Road and commit thefts in some of these neighborhoods close to the freeway. That is very common with any city. The closer you are to an escape route to the freeway the higher probabilty for the opportunity for a theft."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.