A single shot, a hard reminder

As safe as our community is, it takes just a single bullet to shatter

the sense of well-being. That bullet was shot Saturday afternoon, and

it left a 20-year-old Santa Ana man dead.

Police on Wednesday released the name of the suspect, 31-year-old

Ismael Rosolio Martinez of Costa Mesa. The intensive search for him

is on.

Until he is caught, it will be a little bit more difficult to

sleep, a little bit harder to relax while walking the streets. That

police don’t believe the shooting of Ferdinand Eugenio

Zamudio-Saucedo to be gang-related feels a mixed blessing. On one

hand, there is no need for a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of

gang violence increasing. On the other, there is apparently a man

loose who, when an argument heated up, pulled a gun, pulled the

trigger and took another’s life.

This shooting is the first major incident in the tenure of Police

Chief John Hensley. It is likely that how police officers handle it

will set the tone for his leadership. A quick resolution would rally

the community to his efforts and would lend credibility to his style

and the changes he is making. If Martinez, or whoever turns out to be

the shooter, goes unfound and unpunished, Hensley’s job will rapidly

become tougher.

Even as police search for the shooter, there was other, more

soothing news to be found. As reported in today’s Daily Pilot,

overall crime in Costa Mesa dropped by 6.1% in the first half of 2003

compared to 2002. Assaults and robberies both fell significantly.

Forcible rape, however, showed a troubling rise, from five incidents

in the first half of 2002 to 22 in the first six months of this year.

In general, this report from the state attorney general

demonstrates that Costa Mesa police continue to find ways to keep the

city safe. Saturday’s shooting is a painful reminder that we can

never be truly safe.