2 former Marines playing ‘Pokemon Go’ help nab attempted murder suspect
Javier Soch and Seth Ortega went to downtown Fullerton on Tuesday hoping to hunt monsters on the new “Pokemon Go” smartphone game.
Instead, the Marine Corps veterans helped police in the Orange County city catch a man who was bothering children at a playground. Investigators later learned the man, identified as Jacob Kells, was wanted for attempted murder by authorities in Monterey County.
“It’s not what we were expecting our day to turn out with,” said Ortega, who is pursuing his associate’s degree in automotive technology at nearby Fullerton College.
“The game, when it loads up on the screen, says to be cautious of your surroundings. Strongly follow that advice.”
Ortega, 24, and Soch, 26, who are roommates in Placentia, arrived downtown about 9 a.m. and played the smartphone game for an hour.
At some point, Soch’s game froze near a museum at Pomona and Wilshire avenues. He looked up and saw a man who appeared to be scaring a woman and her three sons.
The man appeared odd, wearing a mismatched outfit with an oversized jacket and a baseball cap. He held an artificial rose in his hand, Ortega said. At some point he snapped his fingers and appeared fidgety.
The roommates walked toward the man, who told them he was looking for a shelter or cigarettes.
“I said, I don’t have smokes but there’s a police station nearby. If you go, they can point you to resources,” Ortega recounted.
After the man walked away, he approached another woman who was with her two sons, Soch said. He briefly talked with the mother, but as he walked away, he managed to wipe his hand across one of the boy’s chest or shoulders.
The mother did not seem to notice the touching, but Soch said it made him uncomfortable, so he continued observing the man.
“We kept our distance. We didn’t want to alert the guy and escalate the situation,” Soch said.
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The man made his way over to the park, where the mother and two sons had ventured. Then, Soch and Ortega saw the man grab one of the boy’s feet and move his hand up the boy’s leg.
The two men immediately sensed a threat.
Ortega bolted to the park and escorted the man away, while Soch stayed with the two mothers and five children.
Police arrived and detained the man for questioning. Officers took witness statements from Soch and Ortega as well as the mothers and their sons.
“It did not get violent in any way,” Ortega said, noting that the man cooperated with police and sat calmly on the sidewalk as police questioned him.
Fullerton Police Sgt. Kathryn Hamel said the man, 39-year-old Jacob Kells, was initially arrested on suspicion of child annoyance, but investigators later learned that authorities in Monterey County have a warrant for his arrest on charges including attempted murder, possession of a stolen vehicle and assaulting a peace officer.
Kells is being held in the Orange County Jail and awaits extradition to Northern California for prosecution, Hamel said.
Soch said the experience has not diminished his enjoyment of the “Pokemon Go” game. He played a Gameboy version of the game as a child, and the app has offered a fun source of nostalgia.
Still, he said he is grateful for his training in the military, which taught him to always be aware of his surroundings.
“If I hadn’t looked over to my left and seen this guy who looks out of place, I could have missed it,” Soch said. “The best thing I can say: Remind yourself that you are not in the phone playing the game. Look around and be more aware.”
The arrest comes as police are urging players to show caution when playing the game. Two San Francisco teens were robbed while playing over the weekend, one of several crimes reported around the country.
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UPDATES:
3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the identity of the man arrested by Fullerton Police and additional details about his outstanding arrest warrant.
7:50 a.m.: This article was updated with other national incidents.
This article was published at 4 a.m.
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