Lake Forest Detective Cleared in AT&T Robbery Shooting

An Orange County Sheriff's detective who shot an armed robber fleeing a store in Lake Forest has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the District Attorney.

In a letter sent from D.A. Tony Rackauckus to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, the DA's office explains there would be no reason for anyone to think that Marcus Perez acted inappropriately when he fired upon Alejandro Cervantes Oregel of Santa Ana.

Oregel, 28, survived a gunshot wound to his right arm and even admitted to investigators that Perez could not have known that the .40 caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol he held was unloaded.

The incident occurred in Lake Forest on Dec. 13, 2011, after Oregel went to an El Toro Road AT&T store and held six employees and a customer at bay while robbing it. 

Loaded with blue bags of money from the safe, Oregel fled the scene and was chased by a retired police officer working as an armed security officer that day, as well as a second witness who observed the robbery from outside the store. Perez, in an unmarked car and riding with an investigative assistant, was driving past the scene when IA Sandra Spalding noticed the chase.

The security guard, falling behind in the chase, identified himself and commandeered a Suzuki Grand Vitara to continue his pursuit. The security guard caught up to Oregel, who had ignored commands to stop but finally decided to confront the guard head-on. Oregel began dropping money bags on the sidewalk and the security guard recognized the sound of Oregel's gun slide being racked.

Oregel said he would kill the guard and fired on him two or three times, but the weapon misfired. The chase continued, now with a third witness in pursuit.

Perez noticed the second witness running with some of the discarded money bags; it was a person he recognized from their children playing sports together. The witness told Perez of the handgun, and Perez gave chase on foot.

The chase had crossed over Rockfield Blvd., and reached Belgreen Place. When Perez spotted Oregel, he was wearing a full face ski mask and carrying the handgun. Oregel, who had left the sidewalk and was in the street, was struck by the third witness in pickup truck at about the same time it was struck by the Suzuki driven by the security guard.

Oregel was knocked to the ground in front of the truck.

Perez cautiously reached the front of the vehicle where Oregel—with his back to the detective—was rising from the ground with the gun in his hand.

According to the D.A., Perez said "Drop the gun" twice, but Oregel turned toward Perez, who fired twice and hit Oregel once in the right arm.

Oregel, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison, told investigators the gun was empty and he had it simply "to put fear in people."

He went on to say that when Perez fired his gun that the detective "was fearing for his life."

The report was prepared by Christopher Duff, the senior deputy district attorney, who concluded "there's substantial evidence that the officer's actions were reasonable and justified under the circumstances."