Wanted Man Tells Police He Will Kill

Authorities across Orange County were looking Thursday for a 25-year-old man who shot at a Garden Grove patrolman and then called investigators threatening to kill people at random if the search for him doesn’t stop. He also threatened to kill a police officer.

Jacob T. Marchesano of Huntington Beach is thought to be in an unbalanced emotional state, given his conversations with police. “This guy is very dangerous,” Garden Grove Lt. Scott Hamilton said. His “emotional level varies from calm to very agitated. He may have psychiatric issues.”

Police say Marchesano shot at an officer late Monday after bolting from a pickup truck in which he was a passenger during a routine traffic stop.

Officer Pat Gildea, who wasn’t injured, attempted to pull the vehicle over about 11:30 p.m. The driver wouldn’t stop, and the passenger jumped out and ran. Gildea followed the pickup but suddenly found himself under fire by the suspect, who then ran away.

Police later arrested the vehicle’s driver, Richard Joseph Martin, 35, of Huntington Beach. He is being held in Huntington Beach City Jail on suspicion of attempting to kill a police officer.

The gunman, identified as Marchesano, called investigators Wednesday after learning that police had contacted his family and friends. He threatened to begin shooting people at random and to “kill the next police officer I see” if police didn’t “back off,” Hamilton said. Marchesano may be driving a gray 2000 Ford Ranger with California license plate 6E70277, police said. Hamilton said Marchesano has a “violent criminal history” as a juvenile but would not elaborate.