SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two men are facing felony charges in connection with protests that erupted into violence in Santa Ana over the weekend. This marks the first civil unrest charges filed in Orange County after Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer vowed to vigorously go after rioters and looters.
One of the men is accused of jumping over the wall of the Garden Grove Police Department parking lot and attempting to steal a police vehicle out of the secure lot. A second man is accused of throwing a rock and then a bottle at police while yelling “F*** the pigs,” at the police officers.
“We are protecting the peaceful lawful protests,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “These kinds of criminal acts do nothing to honor the memory of George Floyd; in fact, they desecrates his memory and hamper the ability of peaceful protestors to achieve the social change that they want and that I support.”
Quincy Lunford, 18, of Orange, has been charged with one felony count of resisting a police officer, one felony count of attempted theft of a vehicle, one misdemeanor count of trespassing with the intent of interfering with a business and one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer.
At about 8 p.m. on May 31, 2020, Lunford is accused of jumping over the fence of the back parking lot of the Garden Grove Police Department and attempting to steal a police vehicle. He was detained at gunpoint, and arrested.
He faces a maximum of three years and four months in state prison if convicted on all charges. He is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on $20,000 bail.
Ernesto Isaiah Luquin, 23, of Orange, has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Two uniformed Santa Ana police officers were in their marked patrol car assisting with the civil unrest on May 30, 2020 when a rock and then a beer bottle was thrown at their vehicle. The rock left a large dent in the side of the vehicle’s door.
Luquin faces a maximum of six years and four months in state prison if convicted on all charges. He is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Deputy District Attorneys Matt Plunkett and Jake Jondle of Special Prosecutions are prosecuting these cases.