BREA, Calif. – A good Samaritan came to the aid of a Brea police officer as a man described as a felon with a long criminal history violently fought to disarm the law enforcement professional.
The suspect has subsequently been charged after allegedly taking the officer’s firearm and taser, and battering the officer during an arrest attempt this week, officials said.
Moreover, the Brea Police Department would like to find the citizen who offered aid and then quickly disappeared after helping subdue the offender, KTLA reported.
The incident took place Wednesday about 1:35 p.m., when the unnamed officer noticed a blue Hyundai Elantra associated with a man who had an outstanding felony warrant, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The officer stopped the car in a Home Depot parking lot. However, the driver — identified as Gilbert Antonio Villaba — bolted and a foot chase ensued.
Villalba, 31, “abruptly ran back to his vehicle, where his girlfriend had exited the vehicle and was standing next to it,” officials said.
The officer then grabbed Villalba to prevent him from getting back in his car. During the struggle, the suspect kicked the officer, causing him to lose his balance, police said.
But then Villalba increased the level of violence as he grabbed the officer’s gun, “ripping the holster from its base plate, leaving the holster dangling upside down,” officials said, KTLA reported.
Although Villalba reportedly told his girlfriend to grab the officer’s gun, she refused, officials said.
The good Samaritan rushed in to assist the officer get Villalba into custody. The dramatic ordeal was caught on the officer’s body camera and other video. Authorities released the footage, hoping to identify the citizen who offered assistance so they can thank him, according to the news outlet.
“We don’t know who the guy is, he left before we could get his name,” Brea police Lt. Chris Harvey told KTLA. “We’d really like to talk to him and recognize him for what he did.”
Villalba has a prior strike conviction under California’s three-strikes law for a second-degree robbery, and a felony conviction for manufacturing an improvised gun, according to officials.
“Here in Orange County, we do not tolerate violence of any kind and we support our police officers,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “If you attack a police officer, we are going to throw the book at you.”
As a result, the combative suspect was charged with one felony count of attempted firearm removal from a peace officer, one felony count of battery on a peace officer and one felony count of resisting and deterring an executive officer, according to the D.A.’s Office. Hence, he faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison if convicted of all charges.
