A 33-year-old resident of Menifee was arrested on Saturday morning in connection with a shooting that occurred on Friday evening in the City of Canyon Lake. It is believed that the victim and the suspect know each other and were attending the same party.
On October 27 at 11:30 p.m., Lake Elsinore Station deputies responded to the area of Calcutta Drive and Canyon Lake Drive South and located the victim with a single gunshot wound. The victim was transported to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspect, identified as Franklin Ortega, fled the scene.
On October 28 at about 5:20 a.m., Ortega was seen driving in the area of Magnolia Avenue and the 91 Freeway in the City of Riverside. Deputies from the sheriff’s Lake Mathews Station attempted a traffic stop. Ortega failed to yield and a pursuit was initiated, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The pursuit ended when Ortega stopped the vehicle near KPC Parkway, just north of Sampson in the City of Corona, and fled on foot. Corona Police Department and members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Bureau and K9 unit responded.
Ortega was located during a search of the area. He was booked into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center for assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, and various other charges. He is being held without bail, according to jail records.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Investigator Garcia Deocampo at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at 951-245–3300.
