An anonymous donor is offering a $100,000 reward to help capture and convict a masked gunman who ambushed and shot a marijuana dispensary owner in Santa Ana last fall.
The victim, 48-year-old Derek Warden, said he always looks over his shoulder since the Nov. 2 attack and has hired around-the-clock armed guards to protect him and his business, South Coast Safe Access on East Warner Avenue.
“I want to protect myself and I want to protect my family. I have a fiance and five children,” Warden told the Los Angeles Times. “My goal is to find this shooter. This shooter will probably lead to the suspect or suspects that had something to do with this.
Though neither Warden nor police would offer a possible motive for the shooting, officials said video of the incident makes it clear it wasn’t a random attack or robbery, The Times reported Tuesday.
“He laid in wait for the victim for quite some time,” said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. “We don’t know if this is some kind of dispute, business problems or some kind of hit.”
Warden would not identify the donor but said that person wants the shooter found “at any cost.”
The gunman was described as between 20 and 30 years old, with a thin build, between 5 foot 4 and 5 foot 6, wearing dark pants, a hoodie and mask over his face. He opened fire while standing near the right front tire of Warden’s car while the business owner was in the driver’s seat.
—City News Service