Julian St John arrested as suspect in Dana Point shooting

Posted By CotoBlogzz

 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - On Sunday, March 9, 2014, Orange County Sheriff's deputies responded to a residence at 32500 block of Crete Road, Dana Point, and located an adult, male victim, 56, with a gunshot wound according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) office.  

An OCSD  investigation into the shooting incident identified  suspect, Julian St. John, 40, Orange, as the shooter.  The victim indicated that following the shooting, St. John stole his Mercedes Benz SUV parked in the driveway and fled the scene.

Approximately 30 minutes later, the vehicle driven by St. John was located in the San Clemente area. Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle resulting in a short pursuit southbound on Interstate 5 into the San Onofre area of San Diego County, terminating near the nuclear generating station.  St. John abandoned the vehicle and fled the area on foot.  

A search team comprised of the Sheriff's Department Bloodhounds and Air Support Units, with assistance from US Border Patrol, US Marine Corps Police and San Diego County Sheriff's deputies, searched the area for approximately five hours but were unable to locate St. John.  Sheriff's deputies recovered the abandoned stolen vehicle and located a handgun that is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting.

On Monday, March 10 at approximately 2:50 a.m., St. John was located by State Park Rangers near their gate off Basilone Road in San Clemente.  St. John was detained and subsequently arrested on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.  He is currently being held on $500,000 bail at the Intake Release Center.  He is scheduled to be in court on Tuesday, March 11.