SANTA ANA, Calif. – A parolee-at-large has been charged with attempted murder for shooting multiple times at a convenience store clerk in Garden Grove after his credit card was declined and then shooting into the business again as he drove away. The clerk was not injured.
Odis Richard Cox, 33, of Buena Park, has been charged with one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of shooting from a motor vehicle, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one felony count of a prohibited person owning ammunition, and one felony count of discharging a firearm at an occupied building. He is also facing felony enhancements for being armed with a firearm in the commission of a felony and the personal use of a firearm.
Cox faces a maximum sentence of 63 years to life if convicted on all counts. He has two prior strikes.
On November 15, 2021 at approximately 1:56 AM, officers from the Garden Grove Police Department responded to a convenience store located at 8900 block of Chapman Avenue in reference to a report of gunshots being fired.
The store’s clerk told officers a man, later identified as Cox, was upset over his card being declined. Cox is accused of firing seven rounds at the clerk standing behind the counter. The clerk managed to avoid being shot.
Cox left the business and shot into the store’s front window as he was being driven away, shattering the window.
Detectives from the Garden Grove Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Bureau were able to identify Cox as the suspect in the shooting and arrested him on November 18, 2021. At the time of his arrest, Cox was on formal Orange County Probation, Post-Release Community Supervision and was parolee-at-large.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Garden Grove Police Detective Camara at 714-741-5824.
“The apprehension of Odis Cox has made the residents of Garden Grove and our neighboring communities safer,” said Garden Grove Police Chief Tom DaRé. “The victim in this case must now endure a lifetime of mental scars inflicted by this career criminal. It is time we focus on the victims of these violent crimes rather than allowing these aggressive, violent offenders to prey upon our communities.”
“This clerk was just trying to earn a living and he was almost murdered for it,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “I refuse to allow violent criminals to terrorize the hardworking people of Orange County. When someone has repeatedly shown they have no respect for the law and a complete disregard for human life, I am going to do everything in my power to hold them accountable and keep Orange County safe. That is why I have directed my prosecutors to file all legal strikes in Orange County in order to hold these repeat offenders accountable. California’s Three Strikes Law was designed to ensure violent criminals receive sentences that will prevent them from being able to harm anyone else. Every District Attorney in California should be enforcing the Three Strikes law as a way of protecting our communities.”
