Burned-Out SUV Tied to Officer Shooting Found in Yorba Linda

Investigators have found the burned-out shell of a sport-utility vehicle they believe a gunman used to flee after shooting an Anaheim police officer in the face, authorities said Wednesday.

The 1991 brown-and-beige Ford Explorer with Oregon plates was found in Yorba Linda on Wednesday afternoon. But Anaheim police would not disclose exactly where or how they were able to locate the vehicle.

Juan Carlos Alcaraz, a known gang member with a prior robbery conviction, was arrested late Tuesday on suspicion of shooting patrolman Thomas “Kasey” Geary during a traffic stop on the East Ball Road onramp to the southbound Orange Freeway early Monday. Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez said the 24-year-old Alcaraz could be arraigned as early as Friday.

Geary, a 39-year-old medal of valor winner, was in fair condition at UCI Medical Center but had only limited mobility in his left arm, hospital spokeswoman Kim Pine said. Neurosurgeons will try to find the cause, and Pine said the officer likely will undergo more plastic surgery.

When officers informed Geary of the arrest Tuesday night, he nodded and smiled in response, said longtime friend Lt. Ray Welch. Although doctors don’t believe his wounds will cause paralysis, Geary is in tremendous pain and is speaking with difficulty, Welch said.

Investigators have yet to interview the injured officer, Martinez said. Detectives also are trying to determine whether the gunman acted alone, after a park ranger who came to Geary’s aid said he spotted the silhouette of a second person in the passenger seat of the stopped vehicle.

Carlos Ortiz, a ranger at Long Beach’s El Dorado Regional Park, watched the officer trail the vehicle for several blocks before it stopped shortly before 2 a.m. Monday. He became suspicious and decided to return to the traffic stop. As he approached the scene, Ortiz said, he saw the Explorer speed away. Ortiz called for help on Geary’s radio and tried to stop the bleeding with his own shirt.

“We’re trying to develop more leads on whether there are any other suspects,” Martinez said.

Police determined Alcaraz was a suspect after reviewing registration records for the Explorer, Martinez said. Minutes before he was shot, Geary called in the license plate to police dispatchers. After the shooting, police officers were able to track the vehicle to a previous owner in Oregon, then to a line of people who had bought the car, eventually tracing it to someone in Orange County.

“Our investigation was able to show a connection between a person tied to that car and our suspect,” Martinez said, but he declined to elaborate.

In 1995, Alcaraz pleaded guilty to a felony robbery charge after forcibly taking a bicycle from an 18-year-old man, court records show. He served 270 days in county jail, but there was a warrant for his arrest on a parole violation, authorities said.

Alcaraz was taken into custody outside a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Corona on Tuesday night. Authorities in Riverside County were tipped off that Alcaraz would be in the area. Alcaraz was planning to meet someone who would give him a ride and help him flee to Mexico, according to Riverside Police Lt. Ron Orrantia.

Since the shooting, Anaheim police have received dozens of calls and e-mails from well-wishers and say they’re pleased by the community’s support.

“It’s been wonderfully overwhelming,” Welch said.