Help Sought to Identify Gunman

Orange police Wednesday were seeking the public’s help in identifying a suspect in the attempted murder of a man shot in a bar.

Roberto Padilla, 50, of Santa Ana sustained a single gunshot to the stomach Tuesday night and was in critical condition at a local hospital, Sgt. Paul Ordonez said.

Padilla was shot while in the restroom of Los Vacitos, a bar at 223 W. Chapman Ave., Ordonez said. Immediately after the shooting, a lone individual left the restroom, he said.

Witnesses followed the suspect’s vehicle, described as an early 1970s’ model white-over-maroon Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Oldsmobile Cutlass, but lost it as it was westbound on Chapman Avenue, Ordonez said.

Police described the suspect as a male Latino with a dark complexion, 33 to 36 years old, about 5-foot-7, and weighing 180 to 200 pounds. The suspect has shoulder-length black hair and a heavy mustache past the corners of his mouth. At the time of the shooting, he was wearing a brown shirt with a white collar and brown pants, police said.